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Hollywood's strongest supporting actor has been launched, AI is not far from subverting "Dreamworks"?

As a major city in the United States and even the global film industry, Hollywood has gathered a large number of veteran film and television production companies, including Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Disney Pictures, MGM Pictures, etc. In addition, new streaming forces such as Netflix have also entered in recent years. When the new generation of technology represented by generative AI sweeps the world, the movie "dream factory" is also experiencing a transformative moment.

In early May last year, the US film and television industry launched a series of strikes that lasted for five months. Two labor disputes, led by the Writers Guild and the Screen Actors Guild, have caused the worst industry disruption since the 2020 pandemic, forcing many film projects and TV shows to halt or delay production. The strike has been costly, with Kevin Klowden, chief global strategist at the Milken Institute think tank, estimating it has cost the U.S. economy more than $5 billion, affecting not only film and television production companies, but also surrounding service industries such as catering, trucking and dry cleaning.

One of the main conflicts between labor and management is that many actors and screenwriters have expressed concerns about "unemployment" due to the "invasion" of artificial intelligence.

Luo Chenya has been working in the film and television industry for more than 10 years, including scriptwriter, documentary photographer and assistant director. She told the first financial reporter that after ChatGPT became popular, she also tried to use chatbots to assist script creation. "I can talk to the AI about my ideas and ideas, and it will help analyze and refine my ideas, and even make some suggestions that I think are quite effective." But on the execution level, the idea of writing it down into a very specific scene, character action, it doesn't really help me."

Luo Chenya said that AI still needs more training and evolution in script writing, but the ability to present images is amazing. "AI can directly generate images, which can indeed save labor to a great extent, and may even replace photographers in the future." In post-production, AI can beautify images and modify flaws."

A place to be fought over

Earlier this year, OpenAI released the Vincennes video model Sora on its website, which can create videos up to a minute long, generating complex scenes with multiple characters, specific types of movement, and precise theme and background details. In addition to being able to generate video from text, the model can also generate video from still images, precisely animating the image content.

"Vincennes Video can quickly produce high-quality video content, greatly improving production efficiency, and generative AI helps to improve the analysis of user preferences and personalized recommendations, and enhance the attractiveness of content." These technologies will disrupt traditional video production and content distribution models, and media companies need to adapt and change their operating models." Wang Haoyu, CEO of Mairui Asset Management, said in an interview with the first financial reporter.

For this reason, Hollywood giants have long made big bets and stepped up their layout.

iPhone 16 Pro leak just confirmed a huge camera upgrade

The tetraprism lens with 5x optical zoom currently exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max could be headed to both the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, narrowing the gap between Apple's premium flagships. That's according to a new report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who cites a recent earnings call with Apple lens supplier Largan. In the call, a spokesperson from Largan said "some flagship specifications will be extended to other models" in the second half of 2024, presumably in reference to the upcoming iPhone Pro models. "Apple is Largan’s largest customer, and Largan is also Apple’s largest lens supplier," Kuo said. "Therefore, the quote likely refers to the fact that the new iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will have a tetraprism camera in 2H24 (while only the iPhone 15 Pro Max had this camera in 2H23).” The report goes on to say that the tetraprism camera for the iPhone 16 Pro series won't be all that different from the one in the iPhone 15 Pro Max. While the lack of an upgrade is disappointing, it's not necessarily a bad thing as these kinds of lenses are already top-of-the-line. They represent a major increase over prior models’ zoom capabilities, and they're capable of offering more depth while still fitting into super-slim smartphones. That being said, Apple does appear to be revamping the main camera and ultra-wide camera on the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Evidence continues to mount that both iPhone 16 Pro models will share the same 5x optical zoom camera. Earlier this week, DigitTimes in Asia (via 9to5Mac) reported that Apple is set to ramp up orders for tetraprism lenses as it expands their use in its upcoming iPhone series. Industry sources told the outlet that Largan and Genius Electronic Optical were tapped as the primary suppliers. Apple would be wise to streamline its Pro-level iPhones with the same camera setup; then all customers have to consider with their choice of a new iPhone is the size and price. Of course, this should all be taken with a grain of sand for now until we hear more from Apple. It's still a while yet before Apple's usual September time window for iPhone launches. In the meantime, be sure to check out all the rumors so far in our iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max hubs.

Exclusive: Nornickel in talks with China Copper to move smelting plant to China, sources say

HONG KONG, July 9 (Reuters) - Nornickel (GMKN.MM), opens new tab is in talks with China Copper to form a joint venture that would allow the Russian mining giant to move its entire copper smelting base to China, four sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. If the move goes ahead, it would mark Russia's first uprooting of a domestic plant since the U.S. and Britain banned metal exchanges from accepting new aluminium, copper and nickel produced by Russia. It also means Nornickel's copper will be produced within the country where it is most consumed. Nornickel said in April it planned to close its Arctic facility and build a new plant in China with an unnamed partner. Executives at China Copper, owned by the world's largest aluminium producer Chinalco (601600.SS), opens new tab, flew to Moscow in June to discuss a possible joint venture, one of the sources said, adding that details of the structure and investment are still under discussion. Nornickel declined to comment. Chinalco and China Copper did not respond to requests for comment via email and phone. Sites being considered in China include Fangchenggang and Qinzhou in the Guangxi region, the two sources said, with another source saying Qingdao in Shandong province was also possible. A decision on a joint venture will be made over the next few months, a fifth source said, adding that Nornickel's Chinese output is likely to be consumed domestically. The new facility will have capacity to produce 450,000 tonnes of copper annually, two of the sources said, amounting to around 2% of global mined supplies estimated at around 22 million metric tons this year. Nornickel, which according to its annual report produced 425,400 tonnes of refined copper last year, processed all of its concentrates in 2023 at the Arctic plant, its only operation producing finished copper suitable for delivery to exchanges.

UAE insurance sector continued to grow in Q4-23: CBUAE

The UAE insurance sector continued to grow in Q4-2023, as reflected by increase in the gross written premiums. As of year-end, the number of licensed insurance companies in the UAE remained at 60, according to the Central Bank of the UAE's (CBUAE) Quarterly Economic Review (Q4-2023). The insurance sector comprised 23 traditional national companies, 10 Takaful national and 27 foreign companies, while the number of insurance related professions remained at 491. The review on insurance sector structure and activity showed that the gross written premium increased by 12.7% Y-o-Y in Q4 2023 to AED 53.2 billion, mostly due to an increase in health insurance premiums by 16.5% Y-o-Y and an increase in property and liability insurance premiums by 18.9% Y-o-Y, while the insurance of persons and fund accumulation premiums decreased by 12.4% Y-o-Y, resulting primarily from decrease in individual life premiums. Gross paid claims of all types of insurance plans increased by 12.8% Y-o-Y to AED 31.1 billion at the end of 2023. This was mainly driven by the increase in claims paid in health insurance by 16.9% Y-o-Y and increase in paid claims in property and liability insurance by 10.9% Y-o-Y, partially offset by the decline in claims paid in insurance of persons and fund accumulation by 2.8% Y-o-Y. The total technical provisions of all types of insurance increased by 8.4% Y-o-Y to AED 74.4 billion in Q4 2023 compared to AED68.6 billion in Q4 2022. The volume of invested assets in the insurance sector amounted to AED 76 billion (60.4% of total assets) in Q4 2023 compared to AED 71.4 billion (59.4% of total assets) in Q4 2022. The retention ratio of written insurance premiums for all types of insurance was 52.9 % (AED 28.1 billion) in Q4 2023, compared to 54.9% (AED 25.9 billion) at the end of 2022. The UAE insurance sector remained well capitalized in terms of early warning ratios and risk assessment. Own funds to minimum capital requirement ratio increased to 335.7% in Q4 2023, compared to 309.3% at the end of 2022, due to an increase in own funds eligible to meet the minimum capital requirements. Also, own funds to solvency capital requirement ratio rose to 221% in Q4 2023 compared to 208.5% in Q4 2022, due to an increase in own funds eligible to meet solvency capital requirements. Finally, own funds to minimum guarantee fund ratio reached to 316.3% at the end of 2023 down from 314.6% a year earlier, due to higher eligible funds to meet minimum guarantee funds. In terms of profitability, the net total profit to net written premiums increased to 6.5% in Q4 2023, compared to 2.9% at the end of 2022. The return on average assets increased to 0.3% in Q4 2023 compared to the 0.1% at the of the previous year.

The Apple Watch is reportedly getting a birthday makeover

Apple is planning to revamp its smartwatch as its 10th birthday nears. The improvements include larger displays and thinner builds, Bloomberg reported. The revamped watches may also get a new chip, which could enable some AI enhancements. The Apple Watch is about to turn 10, so Apple is planning a birthday revamp, including larger displays and thinner builds, Bloomberg reported. Both versions of the new Series 10 watches will have screens similar to the large displays found on the Apple Watch Ultra, the report said. The revamped watches are also expected to contain a new chip that may permit some AI enhancements later on. Last month, Apple pulled back the curtain on its generative-AI plans with Apple Intelligence. Advertisement It hopes the artificial-intelligence features will prove alluring enough to persuade consumers to buy new Apple products. The announcement has been generally well received by Wall Street. Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities wrote in a Monday note that the "iPhone 16 AI-driven upgrade could represent a golden upgrade cycle for Cupertino." "We believe AI technology being introduced into the Apple ecosystem will bring monetization opportunities on both the services as well as iPhone/hardware front and adds $30 to $40 per share," he added. Apple's stock closed on Friday at just over $226 a share, up 22% this year and valuing the company at $3.47 trillion. That puts it just behind Microsoft, which was worth $3.48 trillion at Friday's close. The tech giants have been vying for the title of the world's most valuable company in recent months — with the chipmaker Nvidia briefing claiming the crown last month. Apple also announced some software updates for the watch at its Worldwide Developers Conference last month. The latest version of the device's software, watchOS 11, emphasizes fitness and health, introducing tools that allow users to rate workouts and adjust effort ratings. WatchOS 11 will also use machine learning to curate the best photos for users' displays. Apple has previously used product birthdays to release new versions of devices. The iPhone X's release marked the 10th anniversary of the smartphone. However, it's not clear exactly when Apple plans to release the revamped watches, Bloomberg said. The company announced the Apple Watch in September 2014, with CEO Tim Cook calling it "the most personal product we've ever made." Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment made outside normal working hours.

Gold, silver caught in downdraft of broad commodity market sell off

(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices are sharply lower in midday U.S. trading Monday, on heavy profit-taking from the shorter-term futures traders after recent good price advances. The selling pressure today across most of the raw commodity spectrum is also keeping the precious metals bulls on the sidelines to start the trading week. August gold was last down $37.50 at $2,360.10. September silver was down $0.849 at $30.85. U.S. stock indexes mixed but near their record highs scored last week. The rallying stock market is a bearish element for the gold and silver markets, from a competing asset class perspective. The key U.S. data points of the week include Fed Chairman Powell’s speeches to the U.S. Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the consumer and producer price indexes on Thursday and Friday, respectively. The key outside markets today see the U.S. dollar index slightly higher. Nymex crude oil prices are lower and trading around $82.25 a barrel. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield is presently 4.288%. Technically, August gold bulls have the overall near-term technical advantage. Bulls’ next upside price objective is to produce a close above solid resistance at the June high of $2,406.70. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at $2,300.00. First resistance is seen at $2,382.60 and then at $2,400070. First support is seen at $2,350.00 and then at last week’s low of $2,327.40. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 6.0. September silver futures bulls have the overall near-term technical advantage. Silver bulls' next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at the May high of $33.05. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at the June low of $28.90. First resistance is seen at $31.00 and then at $31.50. Next support is seen at Friday’s low of $30.45 and then at $30.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 6.5. (Hey! My “Markets Front Burner” weekly email report is my best writing and analysis, I think, because I get to look ahead at the marketplace and do some market price forecasting. Plus, I’ll throw in an educational feature to move you up the ladder of trading/investing success. And it’s free! Email me at jim@jimwyckoff.com and I’ll add your email address to my Front Burner list.)