In a nutshell: Lenovo is redefining portable computing with the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable. Unveiled at CES 2025, this innovative laptop features a 14-inch OLED display that can expand vertically to an impressive 16.7 inches at the press of a button or, for a touch of futuristic flair, with a simple wave of your hand. We've seen concepts and prototypes of rollable displays before, but Lenovo is the first to bring this technology to a consumer laptop hitting the market. When you need extra screen real estate for work, coding, or simply immersing yourself in videos and games, the ThinkBook's display literally unfurls, providing those additional inches of viewing area.The resolution scales up as well, increasing from 2,000 x 1,600 to 2,000 x 2,350, offering ample space to keep multiple windows open side by side.A key advantage of this design is the convenience it eliminates the need for separate peripherals like a wireless keyboard or a stand to support a second display, which is often required with current dual-screen models.Lenovo has designed several smart software features to make the most of the rollable display. The ThinkBook Workspace utility allows you to pin widgets and virtual app windows to the bottom portion of the screen while keeping your main app visible at the top. Additionally, the Smart Copy feature maintains a searchable history of your clipboard contents, which you can also pin for easy access.Under the hood, the laptop packs serious hardware. It offers up to an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor from the Ultra 200V series, paired with up to 32GB of LPDDR5x RAM and a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD. The integrated Intel Xe2 graphics should deliver a notable boost for light graphics work. Other impressive features include Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, 2x2W speakers, dual microphones, and a 5MP webcam with IR support for Windows Hello. // Related StoriesOf course, all this cutting-edge technology comes at a premium price the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable starts at $3,499 and launches in Q1 2025. There's also a trade-off in portability; the laptop measures 0.78 inches thick and weighs 3.73 pounds, which is slightly bulkier than others in its class, likely to accommodate the mechanized rollable display mechanism.Still, as the first rollable-display laptop to hit the consumer market, it's an exciting glimpse into the future of portable computing. Lenovo's innovative design suggests that future iterations could address these drawbacks and refine the concept even further.

What just happened? Intel has announced its latest lineup of laptop processors, the Core Ultra 200 series, at CES 2025. This new generation of chips offers improved performance and a complex array of options for manufacturers and consumers. The announcement marks a significant shift in Intel's strategy, as the company opts to use Arrow Lake for several of its new offerings while maintaining the lower-power Lunar Lake architecture for select models. The Core Ultra 200 series now encompasses a broader spectrum of processors, with Arrow Lake serving as the foundation for most of the new chips. This decision has important implications for performance and features across the lineup.While the existing Core Ultra 200V series for laptops continues to utilize Lunar Lake, the newly announced processors, including the U, H, and HX series, are built on Arrow Lake.The architectural choice between Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake results in significant differences in NPU performance. Lunar Lake chips feature a more advanced NPU, capable of delivering the 40 TOPS required for Microsoft's Copilot+ standard and upcoming Windows AI features.In contrast, the Arrow Lake-based processors in the U and H series come with an 11 TOPS NPU, only matching the capabilities of their Meteor Lake predecessors.Intel's Core Ultra CPUs employ a chiplet-based design, allowing for flexibility in combining different components. Interestingly, the Core Ultra 200U series diverges from its counterparts by incorporating older Redwood Cove P-cores and Crestmont E-cores, similar to those found in the Meteor Lake-based Core Ultra 100 series. // Related StoriesBoth the U and H series processors include an SoC tile that provides additional low-power E-cores for handling background tasks efficiently. This feature is absent in Lunar Lake and desktop Arrow Lake CPUs.The Core Ultra 200U series is designed for balanced thin-and-light PCs, offering modest specifications with two P-cores, eight E-cores, and two LP-E cores. These processors feature Intel's previous-generation Alchemist GPU architecture, with up to four cores.Moving up the performance ladder, the H-series targets performance thin-and-light PCs. These processors boast either four or six Lion Cove P-cores, eight Skymont E-cores, and two LP-E cores. Most H-series chips also include an Intel Arc-branded GPU with eight Xe cores, providing a significant boost in graphics capabilities. Intel claims that the H-series will deliver approximately 15% improvements in single-core, multi-core, and GPU performance compared to their Core Ultra 100H predecessors.At the top of the lineup sit the HX-series processors, which are essentially repackaged Arrow Lake desktop silicon designed for high-performance gaming laptops and workstations. These chips offer up to 24 CPU cores in the Core Ultra 9 variants, with eight P-cores and 16 E-cores, matching the core count of their desktop counterparts.The HX-series processors include a 13 TOPS NPU, which, although more powerful than the U and H series, still falls short of the 40 TOPS required for Microsoft's Copilot+ features.Intel announced that the U-series and H-series processors will begin shipping in February 2025. The HX-series systems are expected to be available in the first half of 2025. This staggered release allows Intel to cater to different market segments and device categories throughout the year.The decision to prioritize Arrow Lake over Lunar Lake for most of the lineup may be driven by cost considerations. Intel's former CEO, Pat Gelsinger, had previously described Lunar Lake as a "one-off" design due to the higher production costs associated with integrating RAM into the CPU package.The Core Ultra 200 series represents a balancing act between performance, energy efficiency, and manufacturing costs. While some advanced features are reserved for the Lunar Lake-based 200V series, the broader adoption of Arrow Lake across the lineup ensures that Intel can deliver competitive processors across various laptop categories, from thin-and-light ultraportables to high-performance gaming machines, albeit with varying NPU capabilities.

TL;DR: Microsoft is looking to bring the Xbox experience to PC and handheld gaming. Speaking at an AMD and Lenovo event at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, Microsoft's Vice President of "Next Generation," Jason Ronald, said that the combined Xbox and Windows experience could be rolled out before the end of this year. Speaking to The Verge after the event, Ronald lamented that while the Xbox operating system is "world-class," it is currently locked to the console. He said it makes perfect sense for the company to extend the same robust experience to both players and developers in the Windows ecosystem.Ronald added that Microsoft expects the addition of Xbox-specific features to deliver an improved gaming experience on Windows devices. He also noted that since the Xbox operating system is built on top of Windows, "a lot of infrastructure that we built in the console space" can be ported over to PCs relatively easily.To improve the gaming experience on Windows handhelds, Microsoft is looking to simplify the UI and make it much more console-like. According to Ronald, the company plans to "put the player and their library at the center of the experience" without letting the Windows UI get in the way. He refused to divulge anything else about the company's plans, but added that Microsoft will share more details later this year.The admission that something needs to be done about Windows handhelds comes several months after Xbox chief Phil Spencer confirmed that Microsoft is working on a handheld Xbox console. According to Spencer, it would be a true standalone device like the ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, or Steam Deck, rather than something like the PlayStation Portal.If Microsoft is successful in its plan, future Windows handhelds may be more efficient and user-friendly than existing ones, which are plagued by usability issues associated with what is essentially a desktop operating system designed to be used with a mouse and keyboard. // Related StoriesThis is in direct contrast with the Steam Deck. Valve's handheld is consistently voted by gamers and reviewers as the best gaming handheld in the market, largely because its operating system, SteamOS, is built ground-up for gaming.While Windows handhelds are technically more versatile, they are often criticized for offering a sub-par gaming experience despite high-end hardware. Gamers worldwide will be happy to know that Microsoft has been taking notes and is addressing their concerns.

Its been a whirlwind of a week in Las Vegas, Nevada, as the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2025 continues to go on. Weve covered a lot of incredible new tech from the pre show and the first official day, and were starting to wrap things up.Some of the biggest news from day one included Nvidias RTX 5090 graphics card with beastly performance and high price tag, HyperXs new customizable gaming mice, new futuristic EVs coming from both Sony and Honda, Razer switching to AMD for its thinner-than-ever Blade 16, and a crazy new 11-inch gaming PC handheld from Acer. And thats just a few of the biggest stories from just yesterday!Recommended VideosAs we wrap up another CES, stay tuned here for the biggest stories to come out from the show floor today.LiveLast updated January 08, 2025 8:17 AMPlease enable Javascript to view this contentThe liveblog has ended.No liveblog updates yet.Editors Recommendations

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" Genki posted our most plausible and extensive look at the Nintendo Switch 2 yet. The accessory manufacturer quietly launched a new page on its website, hyping up its Switch 2 products, which shows what Nintendos next console supposedly looks like via a convincing mockup.Nintendo Switch 2 news has heated up in recent weeks as bits and pieces of it have supposedly leaked via production line photos and accessory manufacturers. Weve gotten glimpses of its possible dock and redesigned Joy-cons, but weve still only seen blurry images of the console itself. Genki may have just spilled the beans, giving players a fairly full rundown of what the system might be.Recommended VideosVIDEO La Nintendo Switch 2 en avant-premire au #CES2025. L'accessoiriste Genki indique possder la vraie console et expose une maquette 3D + des accessoires. Les dtails ici : https://t.co/5LDlnR2zC1 pic.twitter.com/IJ6taQggIQ Numerama (@Numerama) January 8, 2025Please enable Javascript to view this contentAccording to Numerama, reporting from CES 2025, Genki is showing off a mockup of the Switch 2 on the trade show floor. While its not the official console, its a realistic replica that just looks like a bigger Switch. There are a few differences, like a mysterious new button underneath the Home button, but the main change shown off is the consoles rumored magnetic Joy-cons. In a video, we see someone easily popping a Joy-con off by pressing a release trigger.RelatedShortly after that began spreading, users discovered a Nintendo Switch 2 page on Genkis website. While it currently just acts as a notification sign-up page, it includes a video of its accessories in action on the device. We get a closer look at the Joy-con release triggers, dock (which features a Switch 2 logo), and more. Notably, some text on the page did change overnight. Originally, it included direct references to the Switch 2 and Nintendo. It has since been changed to scrub both, now just vaguely calling the system the next handheld.Genki now has a page up to sign up for Switch 2 accessories news along with this video https://t.co/hNrX8vclPq pic.twitter.com/uD5qwuEHLg Wario64 (@Wario64) January 8, 2025The clips shown match up with previous leaks. The biggest match is its Joy-cons, which appear to feature optical sensors like one would find in a PC mouse. They also have a splash of color, with their inner rails matching the colors of the original Switch Joy-cons.According to Numerama, Genki claims that the console will launch in April.How credible is all this? Any leak of this kind should always leave you skeptical (this wouldnt be the first time a hardware company faked a Switch 2 leak at CES), but the disparate pieces are starting to add up at this point. Features like the magnetic Joy-cons, optical sensor, and extra face button have all been shown off by separate sources at this point. Still, this would only be a mockup of the console, not the actual thing. Even if its realistic, we still wont know exactly what the final design looks like until Nintendo shows it. Expect that to happen soon, considering how fast leaks are coming.Editors Recommendations

With its growing space program, India will attempt a new feat tonight: docking two satellites together in orbit for the first time. This kind of maneuver requires extremely precise movements and planning, and in the long term, will help Indias ambition to send increasingly sophisticated missions to the moon. The Indian space agency, the ISRO, will livestream the event tonight so you can watch at home.Coverage begins at 9:15 p.m. ET tonight, Wednesday, January 8, and you can watch on YouTube or using the video embedded below:SPADEX Docking event programmeThe docking is part of an experiment called SpaDeX, or Space Docking Experiment, and involves a pair of satellites that were launched on December 30, 2024. Both spacecraft, which are just 485 pounds each, were launched into an orbit 290 miles above the Earth and will attempt to dock together using automated docking technology.Recommended VideosSpaDeX, because of its small size and mass, is even more challenging due to the finer precision required for the rendezvous and docking maneuvers compared to docking two large spacecraft, ISRO wrote. This mission will be a forerunner for autonomous docking needed for future lunar missions like Chandrayaan-4 without the support of [global navigation satellite system] from Earth.Please enable Javascript to view this contentIndia wants to follow up its successfulChandrayaan-3 mission to the moon with a more complex mission, Chandrayaan-4, which will return a lunar sample to Earth. This will require spacecraft to dock in orbit, so the SpaDeX mission is a test of this capability. In the longer term, India also has plans to develop a space station, for which in-orbit docking technology is essential.RelatedIt is still relatively rare for two satellites to dock due to the challenges from their smaller size and less sophisticated controls compared to larger spacecraft. The two satellites involved in the docking tonight, named Target and Chaser, will have to reduce their relative velocities to just 0.2 mph while both are traveling at speeds of 18,000 mph.Once the two are docked, they will fasten together and test out the sharing of electrical power before undocking and separating. The dramatic maneuver wont be the end of their lives, however, as both will continue operating their instruments, including a high-resolution camera and a radiation monitor, for up to two years, collecting data on Earth observation and the space environment.Editors Recommendations

what comes before 1? After partnerships with GM and Sony, here are Hondas next homegrown EVs Production of the Honda Zero SUV begins in Ohio in 2026. Abigail Bassett Jan 8, 2025 11:13 am | 9 We expect some details to change as the Zero Saloon morphs into its production version. But perhaps not that much. Credit: Abigail Bassett We expect some details to change as the Zero Saloon morphs into its production version. But perhaps not that much. Credit: Abigail Bassett Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreHonda provided flights from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and accommodation so Ars could attend its CES events. Ars does not accept paid editorial content.LAS VEGASIf you've always dreamed of a world where your vehicle is a "partner" around whom you can "always be yourself," Honda has the vehicles for youat least that's what the Japanese automaker is promising with its new "near production" Honda 0 prototypes that debuted at CES in Las Vegas on Tuesday.In a somewhat dystopian but highly sentimental video shown at the presentation, a woman drives along a desolate road in search of a sunrise, describing her favorite colors and laughing along with the Saloon concept. A calm voiceover intones, "Saloon is my partneralways by my side, opening me up to new experiences and expanding my world," as the passenger is zipped along the flat purple and pink landscape, sharing moments of joy and tears. The car even "comforts" her when she is sad.This is Honda's vision for what Katsushi Inouye, chief officer of electrification business development operations at Honda, called the "ultra personal optimization" of a "new level of intelligent car." The SUV sticks to a more conventional two-box shape. Credit: Abigail Bassett While that strange and somewhat unsettling vision is probably still relatively far into the future, it's clear that Honda is leveraging a variety of technologies in its upcoming Honda 0 Saloon and Honda 0 SUV models, which the company showed off at the show, to move closer to that vision.Level 3 Automation and a new OSAt last year's CES, Honda showcased prototypes that embodied the Zero platform ethos of "Thin, Light and Wise." This year, Honda focused on the "wise" portion of that proposition and announced a new Honda-developed OS called ASIMO.Yes, the OS carries the same name as Honda's deeply loved bipedal robot Asimo, which stood for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility. Asimo the robot wowed and endeared crowds around the world as it played soccer with world leaders, responded to human gestures like points and waves, and eventually said goodbye to the world in a heartwrenching presentation in 2022. Honda developed Asimo to determine how robots and humans might coexist. The lessons the company learned from that 20-year project will be applied to future Zero products, including the two the company showed off at CES this week. Features include a "hyper personalization" of the user experience, Inoyue said at the press conference.The Asimo OS will also work toward increasing levels of autonomous driving. Honda says it will offer "affordable" options for Level 3 autonomous driving features in the upcoming Zero line, which won't launch in the US until sometime in 2026. The first Zero vehicle will be the SUV, and it will be built in Ohio at Honda's EV hub. Credit: Honda Level 3 offers automated driving in specific situations (divided highways with clear markers, etc.), letting drivers take their hands and feet off the controls and eyes off the road for limited stretches of time. Honda currently offers Level 3 partial automation on only one model available for lease in Japan, the Honda Legend, which is equipped with Honda's Sensing Elite technology. Honda says the future autonomous driving system will allow drivers to remotely join a video call or watch a movie when engaged.In its press release, Honda said it will also leverage its relationship with Helm.ai (a company that Honda invested more than $30 million in 2022) to further develop its Level 3 systems. Stephen Frey, vice president of development operations at Honda America, spoke at length about how the new system, with the help of Helm.ai, assesses data, including looking at trees and buildings to better estimate the vehicle's surroundings, "just like a human driver" does.The company is also developing its own AI to help the system "learn with smaller amounts of data," so the autonomous driving (AD) system can rapidly learn and expand the range of conditions it can be used in, making "AD possible on a road that it has never been on before, even if the white lines aren't visible," Frey said.During a roundtable following Honda's CES press event, Mahito Shikama, VP and head of Honda's software-defined vehicle business development unit, said the company would move to Level 3 in stages, starting with highway driving and moving to local roads as the system gets smarter. While Shikama declined to give specific details of speed ranges (the Legend currently operates at Level 3 autonomy in relatively slow stop-and-go traffic on specific roads in Japan), he said the biggest challenge will be Level 3 on local roads. The Zero Saloon's interior. The Zero Saloon's interior. The Zero SUV looks quite spacious inside. Honda The Zero SUV looks quite spacious inside. Honda The Zero Saloon's interior.The Zero SUV looks quite spacious inside. Honda In addition to the work on AD, Honda is also planning to build a new electronic architecture for the Zero vehicles, which, along with Asimo OS, will handle suspension, ride feel, energy management, and more. Honda has formalized an agreement with Japanese semiconductor business Renesas, a company that helped it achieve its Level 3 autonomy on the Legend in Japan.According to Vivek Banh, the SVP and general manager of high-performance computing at Renesas, the new SoC (system on a chip) that will be jointly developed with Honda will "target the world's top-class 2000 TOPS level AI processing performance and 20 TOPS/W (tera operations per second, per Watt) power efficiency."According to Frey, this will help Honda create an EV that "changes the value of EVs as a space for people." The system will determine emotion, intention, and further personalizationhence the "partner" terminology that peppered the somewhat creepy video Honda showed at the unveiling.Toshiro Akiwa, director and EVP at Honda, told a group of gathered journalists that the idea of the vehicle as "partner" originated with the customer at the heart of the solution. "Utilizing the capability of the vehicle to actualize what the customer wants to do with the software we will create is what we showed off today," he said through a translator.An expansion of options and price range with ZeroEVs are unquestionably expensive, and Honda says its new Zero platform will attain 300 miles (482 km) of range in all forms (SUV and Saloon) at a base level. It will also get NACS (J3400) plugs and have access to the Tesla Supercharger network and the growing IONNA newtork, which Honda is a part of. Executives at the roundtable said they've taken into consideration the additional battery drain of layering an evolving data- and power-hungry AI on top of the platform, and the additional battery requirement will affect the pricing of these future vehicles.Honda established itself in the US by selling affordable, reliable vehicles like the Honda Civic, and as Inoue said during the same roundtable, EVs are expensive. While he wouldn't commit to price range for the upcoming models, he said Honda has plans to "expand the range" of both pricing and the models the company offersand that the Zero platform will underpin a total of seven new vehicles by 2030. Credit: Honda Its unclear how that will all come to fruition, given the incoming administration's open desire to dismantle the EV subsidies that have made them affordable, but Honda execs said they're working on a variety of contingency plans that could involve moving manufacturing from Mexico back to Japan, according to Kaihara.Honda has said it's committed to electrification and greener transportation despite any political headwinds and that it's being flexible in the face of changing customer demands and desires. Whether that involves a vehicle that uses AI to become a partner you turn to for more than just transportation is anyone's guess. 9 Comments

I'm a frequent cruiser who's been on over 50 voyages, and I never book balcony rooms on ships.Most balconies fit two people, so my family of three can't even comfortably sit on them together.Balcony rooms also tend to be expensive, and I'd rather spend money on other amenities.When my son was a toddler, he climbed on a chair and tossed a TV remote off of our hotel room's balcony. It happened so quickly that I didn't have time to stop the remote from falling 10 stories into the bushes even though I was inches away from him.Thankfully, I was able to grab my kid and lock the balcony door before he did any real damage, but at that moment, I swore off booking rooms with balconies at hotels and on cruises for good.Now, I've been on more than 50 cruises, and my son has grown into a responsible, risk-averse tween. But after staying in a wide variety of room types, I've felt no desire to give balcony rooms another try for a host of reasons, most of which aren't safety-related.Balconies aren't nearly as idyllic as I imagined The majority of the balconies I've seen on cruises only comfortably fit two people, but I have a family of three. Shutterstock When my son was little, I dreamed of tucking him in for a nap and slipping out to my cruise cabin's balcony to read a good book and enjoy the fresh air. However, there were problems with this plan.For starters, his bed was right next to the balcony door on many cruises, making it all but impossible to slip in and out of the room without waking him. Also, I had no way of hearing him call for me when I was on the balcony with the door shut.As he grew older, I still found cruise balconies to be impractical, but for different reasons. They generally only have enough room and seating for two, meaning my family of three was unable to comfortably sit on the balcony together.When my husband and I had the room to ourselves, the ship's movement meant it was often too windy to spend time in our outside space. Every time we opened the balcony door, it created a wind tunnel in our stateroom that sent objects flying through the air.Sometimes, our neighbors smoked cigarettes or talked loudly from their adjacent balconies, interrupting what would've otherwise been a peaceful, private experience.Many cruisers prefer to explore the ship rather than sit on a private balcony On cruises, I've seen many balconies go mostly unused. Shutterstock Throughout my decades of cruising, I've noticed that many of my fellow passengers don't seem to use their balconies to the fullest, either. Many people prefer to be out of their rooms enjoying onboard amenities or lounging by the pool, leaving their balconies mostly empty.On a somewhat recent voyage aboard Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas, I paid close attention to the ship's rooms with interior balconies. They face inward, making it easy to peep at how often passengers use them.I saw people briefly step out on them before leaving their rooms to explore, but for the majority of my seven nights on the ship, these balconies appeared eerily vacant. Although they offered perfect views of onboard entertainment, I hardly saw anyone spending time on them.However, I did see passengers use the interior balconies to hang-dry wet towels and swimsuits. That certainly seems practical, but it hardly seemed like a worthy use of this costly space.Of course, I was only observing the interior balconies, and cruisers with ocean-facing balconies might use their outdoor spaces more frequently.Balcony rooms are usually some of the priciest on the shipThough pricing for balcony rooms varies between cruises, they're almost always one of the more expensive cabins on a cruise.On some ships, booking a balcony room can cost hundreds of dollars more than the base-level accommodations, and I can think of a lot of ways I'd rather spend money on vacation.I understand the appeal of balconies and love the views they offer. However, I can usually get the same views for less money by booking a porthole room. Plus, I've found I look out of the portholes more often than I ever stepped onto my balconies.This story was originally published on April 3, 2023, and most recently updated on January 8, 2025.

Wall Street's biggest banks are gearing up to communicate 2024 bonus compensation to staff.Bonuses are expected to be as much as 35% higher as demand for corporate dealmaking grows.Here are the dates banks like JPMorgan and Goldman are expected to tell employees what they made.Wall Street bonus season is kicking into high gear this week as the biggest banks get ready to tell employees how much they earned in discretionary income.Morgan Stanley, known for leading social media company Reddit's IPO in March, is expected to start telling employees how much they earned in 2024 bonuses as soon as this week, according to three people with knowledge of the bank's plans. A spokeswoman for Morgan Stanley declined to comment.Other large banks are scheduled to communicate bonus numbers to staff later this month, including Goldman Sachs as soon as next week and JPMorgan Chase the week after that, people with knowledge of the banks' plans told BI.From junior analysts to senior bankers, year-end bonuses tend to indicate not only Wall Street workers' own performance in a given year, but also their value to the company. It's common for bankers who feel snubbed with a lowball number to leave for other jobs after their check clears.Bonuses have been down in recent years after hittingnew highsin 2021 due tolackluster demandfor mergers and capital raising.This year, investment bankers and traders are expecting bonuses to tick higher (up as much as 35%, according to comp consultants Johnson Associates) thanks to a bounce in deal flow that's predicted to ramp up this year.Worldwide M&A was up 11% in 2024 to over $3 billion, according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group. The five biggest banks JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and Citi dominated the league tables last year, led by Goldman Sachs with 30% global market share, followed by Morgan Stanley with 25%, and JPMorgan with 19%. Bank trading revenue also skyrocketed, propelled by rising interest rates and stock volatility.BI spoke to bank insiders and headhunters to find out when employees of the largest banks are expecting to learn their "number." They said bonus information tends to be closely guarded and that communication dates are subject to change. See when the biggest banks are scheduled to tell staff how much they earned in 2024 bonus money, in chronological order:Morgan StanleyMultiple people with knowledge of Morgan Stanley's plans said the investment bank, which ranked No. 2 in M&A last year, will start to share bonus numbers with staff onJanuary 8, making it the first major bank to do so.Goldman SachsGoldman is expected to begin revealing comp on January 15, the same day it reports its 2024 and fourth-quarter earnings, a process that tends to stretch out for several days, a person with knowledge of the announcements told BI.JPMorganThe biggest US bank by assets plans to start communicating bonus compensation to employees on January 21, a person familiar with the bank's plans told BI. Employees based in the US will be paid the following week.Bank of AmericaBank of America is aiming to begin communicating bonuses on January 27, a person with knowledge of the announcements told BI. A BofA spokesman declined to comment.CitiBonuses at Citi will be shared in the second half of January, according to a person familiar with the plans, though it isn't clear which day. The bank has been undergoing a massive restructuring since 2021 when CEO Jane Fraser took the reigns.

A portion of this post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.Here's a fact that doesn't need checking: Meta is getting rid of its third-party fact-checkers.The tech giant is following in X's footsteps by adopting a community-notes model for Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.If you're unfamiliar with community notes, here's an explanation. In short, users can add context to posts that might contain misinformation or misleading information. Those notes can also be voted on by other users, hence the community aspect.The announcement, which included a video from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, also mentioned bringing back more political content to users' timelines and offering more customization to what people see.It's the latest page Zuckerberg has taken from his rival Elon Musk's playbook, writes Business Insider's Amanda Hoover. From conducting mass layoffs to spending time in Mar-a-Lago, Zuckerberg has been following Musk's lead more and more.At its core, though, the news is really about Meta and Zuckerberg appealing to President-elect Donald Trump, writes BI's Peter Kafka. From what Zuckerberg said "the recent elections also feel like a cultural tipping point" to how it was delivered via a segment on Trump's beloved Fox News it was all packaged perfectly for the incoming president.Meta's CMO Alex Schultz told BI on Tuesday that, while the announced changes bring Zuckerberg "back to the core of what he cares about," the reelection of Trump, and the shift in "the vibes in America," influenced its decision.Trump even seemed to acknowledge as much, saying Zuckerberg was "probably" responding to his previous threats.(As Peter chronicles in his story, this isn't the first sign of Zuckerberg looking to gain favor with Trump recently. From adding prominent Trump backer Dana White to Meta's board to replacing his head of policy with a longtime Republican, the reshaping of Meta is pretty clear.)Some celebrated the change, having viewed Meta as too restrictive and biased of certain content. Others weren't as happy, raising concerns over what might populate on feeds. Here's what some business leaders and lawmakers had to say about it.One group that was particularly upset: the International Fact-Checking Network. The group convened an emergency meeting of its members following the news. BI's Pranav Dixit had an exclusive interview with IFCN Director Angie Holan.Questions still remainMeta's changes will be rolled out in the next few months, but there's still plenty to chew on.Here are two pressing questions:What does this mean for users?Here's how your feeds might start looking differently. (Hint: You could be getting a lot more viewpoints on your feeds.)What do advertisers think of this move? While some users might appreciate a more freewheeling approach to their content, advertisers are a different story. X, which Meta largely modeled its new approach after, has had a contentious relationship with advertisers, to put it mildly.This time, though, it seems like there will be less of a fight. BI's Lara O'Reilly spoke to industry insiders about the decision. Some might have grumbled about the move, but they don't seem likely to shift their spending budgets due to Meta's massive audience.In his interview with BI, Schultz said Meta will take a different approach than X when it comes to relations with the brands that advertise on their platform, and Facebook would maintain its brand safety tools. "We're not going out there denigrating our advertisers and putting them in terrible positions," he said.