Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

In May, a group of more than 20 finance whizzes from across the country descended on OpenAI’s San Francisco HQ for what CEO Sam Altman cheekily called a “party.” They sat through a presentation, mingled with researchers, and some received formal interview invites. A month later in New York City, Altman’s team held another recruiting overture for quant trading professionals — the highly coveted mathematicians, physicists, data scientists, and engineers who power the world’s top hedge funds and high-frequency trading firms.Altman’s pitch: Forsake Wall Street stalwarts like Citadel, D.E. Shaw, and Jane Street and join his $300 billion powerhouse’s quest…

You might not know their names, but they likely have the ear of many powerful CEOs.They’re the leaders of what are widely considered the most prestigious strategy consulting firms: McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, and Boston Consulting Group, which are collectively referred to as the Big 3, or MBB.MBB firms are often tough places to land a job, and their consultants are some of the most sought-after in the industry.They’re the people tech giants like Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple — as well as government agencies — turn to for advice on things like mergers and acquisitions, business strategy, and AI…

One of Google’s most powerful leaders is someone who long tried to distance his company from the search giant.AI mastermind and chess wiz Demis Hassabis, who founded DeepMind and later sold it to Google in 2014, has been propelled into the center of Google’s universe in the past two years amid the frenzied race for AI dominance.After years of trying to create more independence for DeepMind — shielding the AI research lab from the search giant — Hassabis was thrust into the belly of the beast in 2023 when Google merged DeepMind with its internal AI efforts.Now, company insiders close…

An expanded Club World Cup marked by empty seats, slashed ticket prices, searing heat, weather-delayed matches and a criticized field surface ended in a surprise victory by Chelsea, the fourth-best team in the Premier League.Among the lasting lessons was FIFA’s decision to dramatically drop ticket costs as some kickoff times approached, which could impact decisions by fans thinking of attending next year’s World Cup. FIFA lowered the cost to attend the Chelsea-Fluminense semifinal at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, to $13.40 from $473.90, then dropped the Chelsea-Paris Saint-Germain final from $330 to $199.60.There will be 104 matches at…

LONDON (AP) — Iga Swiatek’s Wimbledon championship moved her up to No. 3 in the WTA rankings Monday, and Amanda Anisimova’s runner-up finish allowed the American to break into the top 10 for the first time at No. 7.A year ago, Anisimova was ranked 189th and wasn’t able to get into the field at the All England Club automatically. So she tried to qualify but lost. This year, Anisimova was seeded at Wimbledon and made it all the way to her first Grand Slam final, beating No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals before losing to Swiatek 6-0, 6-0.“I look…

ATLANTA (AP) — Curveballs have been thrown a curve by a modern game valuing velocity over variety, disappearing from the major leagues by more than 20,000 annually.The Athletics have thrown curves on just 2.5% of pitches this season. The overall big league figure dropped from 10.7% in 2019 to 8.1% last year, the lowest since MLB starting tracking in 2008, before rising slightly to 8.5% this season.There were 22,962 fewer curveballs in 2024 than five years earlier.“You don’t really see a lot of people throwing 12-6 curveballs anymore,” Tampa Bay pitcher Shane Baz said. “They’d rather have a hard cutter/slider.…

PHOENIX (AP) — Most American teenagers say it is important to them to graduate from college, with girls especially describing it as a key step for accomplishing their life goals, according to a new poll. Teenagers also generally are more upbeat than adults on college despite concerns about tuition costs, soaring student loan debt and the politicization of many issues in higher education. Overall, about 6 in 10 teens say it’s “extremely” or “very” important to them to graduate from college, according to the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which was conducted this spring among…

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A Trump administration freeze on education grants has put at risk summer and after-school programs for more than 1 million students. While many clubs kept summer programs running, they warn that after-school offerings this fall may not survive. This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors. Children raise their hands while participating in activities during the East Providence Boys and Girls Club Summer Camp at Emma G. Whiteknact Elementary School on Thursday, July 10, 2025, in Providence R.I. (AP Photo/Sophie Park) Children raise their hands while participating in activities during the East Providence…

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — After driving through a downpour to take her son to day camp, Darleen Reyes told camp administrators the rain would have kept her away but her son insisted on going.As she marked her son’s name present on a clipboard at the Boys & Girls Club camp, she laughed about braving a flash flood warning to get there. Before kissing his mother goodbye, Aiden Cazares, 8, explained to a reporter, “I wanted to see my friends and not just sit at home.” Then he ran off to play. Children raise their hands while participating in activities…

LONDON (AP) — Jannik Sinner needed this victory.He wanted to win Wimbledon, of course, and it would have meant a lot to him no matter who the opponent was in the final.That this championship, his fourth at a Grand Slam tournament, came via a win over Carlos Alcaraz made it all the more significant to Sinner — and to the future of their burgeoning rivalry, the best men’s tennis has to offer these days and, perhaps, for many years to come.“It is important, for sure,” the No. 1-ranked Sinner said Sunday night after prevailing 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 against No.…