DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ GOP senator asks TikTok's CEO over and over if he's Chinese. He's Singaporean.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Lauren Steussy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

During Wednesday's tense congressional testimony over online safety for children, Sen. Tom Cotton repeatedly asked Singaporean TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew if he's ever been a part of the Chinese Communist Party. An increasingly agitated Chew, who's no stranger to US politicians' prodding, tried repeatedly to shut down the line of questioning by telling the conservative senator that he's Singaporean. "Senator, I'm Singaporean, no," Chew responded. Chew was joined by four other social media companies' CEOs Wednesday for a combative hearing on protecting children online in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Zaveri put it this way:The rhetoric at times seemed to paint the Chinese people with a broad brush and conflated people of Chinese ancestry with the will of the CCP.

Persons: Sen, Tom Cotton, Shou Zi Chew, he's, Chew, Cotton, Jamie MacEwan, MacEwan, Paayal Zaveri, Zaveri, bungled Organizations: Chinese Communist Party, Business, Enders Analysis, Committee, Energy, Commerce, CCP Locations: China, Beijing

But the executive transition does not settle another potential power play that could occur upon Rupert Murdoch’s death, as framed by a document called the Murdoch Family Trust. It is the vehicle through which the elder Murdoch controls News Corp and Fox Corp, through a roughly 40% stake in voting shares of each company. The Murdoch Family Trust has eight votes: four of which are controlled by Murdoch, and the remaining four controlled by the four children from his first two marriages. Upon succession, the four older children will equally inherit Murdoch’s voting shares in the trust, according to Alice Enders, Head of Research at Enders Analysis. The shares in Fox and News Corp owned by Murdoch’s children through the trust are a combination of both classes of shares.

Persons: Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan, Mike Blake, Lachlan Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch’s, Murdoch, Prudence, Elisabeth, James –, Murdoch’s, Chloe, Grace, Wendi Deng, Alice Enders ,, “ It’s, ”, Enders, “, Helen Coster, Stephen Coates Organizations: Fox Executive, Allen, REUTERS, News Corp, Corp, Fox Corp, Trust, The, Alice Enders , Head, Research, Enders Analysis, Fox, Thomson Locations: Sun Valley , Idaho, Murdoch, The Reno , Nevada, Melbourne, New York

☆ Taylor Swift helped lift the US economy this summer with her Eras Tour — she can't get back to the states soon enough
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( Cork Gaines | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

After five months and 53 shows, the economic impact of Swift's "The Eras Tour" was monumental and non-stop. Consider the following:"Taylor Swift's 'Eras' tour is rewriting the playbook of entertainment economics," Chris Leyden, director of growth marketing at SeatGeek told CNN. "It's no surprise that people are flocking to this Eras Tour experience in what is increasingly an otherwise digital environment we live in." AdvertisementAdvertisementOne Swiftie who spoke with Insider called their "Eras Tour" trip "a little bit concert, a little bit vacation." — Taylor Swift, who is releasing a film version of "The Eras Tour."

Persons: Taylor Swift, Swift, Taylor, Chris Leyden, SeatGeek, She's, —, Omar Vega, Alice Enders, Grace Smith, Andrew Heilmann, Robert Douglas, Cork, Oppenheimer, Klaus Vedfelt Piper, Nancy Lazar, Lazar, Barbie, — Taylor Swift, Charlie Harding Organizations: Service, CNN, Bloomberg News, Enders Analysis, World Trade Organization, MediaNews, Denver, Getty, Moody's, Cork Gaines, Bloomberg, Global, Fox News Digital, WGA Locations: Wall, Silicon, Arlington , Texas, LA, —, Hollywood

Within weeks, Della Valle gave them a stark assessment of the problems Vodafone faces. Complicating matters is an investor base with conflicting demands, concerns about Vodafone's dividend outlook and a workforce reeling from the deep job cuts. While many observers in and outside the company had expected a fresh face, Della Valle won over the board. Vodafone's shares are trading at lows last seen in 2002, largely due to a cut to free cash flow forecasts. That may not sit well with Vodafone's other key investors - French telecoms billionaire Xavier Niel, who competes with it in Italy, and Liberty Global, its partner in the Netherlands.

☆ Tech employees should expect more debloating even after 330,000 jobs got wiped
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Twitter have collectively chopped around 70,000 staff — but ongoing concerns about profitability and over-hiring means they could slim down more. Google and Amazon should cut more jobs: analystsAnalysts note that Google, for example, added around 71,000 employees in the past three years. They say Meta has seen "limited impact on its growth" after laying off around 25% of its workforce since November. The bank's analysts say that profitability per employee at Amazon excluding its warehouse workers — a measure of its efficiency — is "significantly below peers." With less cash available, cuts will likely persist and workers in tech should brace for more instability this year.

☆ Apple Pay Later is more about making Apple Pay more convenient than trying to dominate the 'buy now, pay later' arena, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Apple Pay Later could help increase demand for iPhones, one analyst said. Jennifer Bailey, Apple's vice-president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, said the move was a response to consumer demand for flexible payment options. Enhancing the Apple ecosystemSelect users are being invited to use a prerelease version of Apple Pay Later, with plans to widen access later this year. Analysts say Apple Pay Later is more about increasing the convenience of Apple Pay and enhancing its ecosystem than an attempt to dominate the BNPL arena. Holubowskyj believes Apple has an opportunity to benefit from Apple Pay Later by increasing uptake of Apple Pay down the line as it expands into other markets.

☆ It's wild that Western governments have decided that TikTok might spy for China. The app hasn't helped itself.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

TikTok denies it feeds user data to China, but the drip-drip of revelations hasn't helped. The suspicion is that TikTok's owner ByteDance is in cahoots with the Chinese Communist Party and shares data about Western users with China. TikTok has maintained the app doesn't spy on individuals, and has pointed to the steps it's taking to hive off user information. FCC commissioner Brendan Carr responded to Bertram asking if "any member of the CCP accessed non-public US or EU user data from inside China." US social-media services normalized the aggressive harvesting of user data, and routinely hand over information to international governments.

☆ Microsoft and Google will duke it out over Silicon Valley's true financial driver: ads
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Google search dominated, but Microsoft's AI-powered Bing is emerging as a credible challenger. Google has dominated search and the search ad market for the almost 25 years since its inception. The company has around 90% of the search market, according to data firm Stat Counter. Microsoft's share of the search ad market is small: it made nearly $18 billion in ad revenue last year, far smaller than the $224 billion Google made in gross ad revenue last year, the analysts wrote. Declining ads market will spark fiercer competitionThe fight coincides with a slump in ad sales, upping the pressure on Google is the dominant player.

☆ From the digital ad crash to Elon Musk buying Twitter — these were the ad industry's 5 biggest shocks of 2022, and what it means for 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Ryan Joe | Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The ad industry is crossing its fingers that Twitter is a safe place to advertise. 2022 was a volatile year for the advertising industry. DeGroote believes the 2023 ad market growth forecasts from major ad buyers like GroupM (5.9% growth), and Magna (5% growth to $822 billion) are too optimistic. Meta, has also seen its ad revenue decline, and has dumped $4 billion so far into building a so-called Metaverse, which hasn't driven any revenue yet. Elon Musk acquires TwitterMusk's acquisition of Twitter — and subsequent decimation of its employee ranks, including its revenue-driving advertising operations — shook the ad industry.

A spokesperson for the Washington Post, which Bezos bought in 2013 for $250 million, said it is not for sale. "A Bloomberg acquisition of the (Post) is not necessarily just a business decision. According to Axios, Bloomberg sees Dow Jones, also the publisher of Barron's and MarketWatch, as the ideal fit but would buy the Post if Bezos was interested in selling. Dow Jones did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. Reuters competes with Dow Jones and Bloomberg News, a unit of Bloomberg L.P., a provider of financial news.

☆ UK media companies are left with an estimated $100 million-plus shortfall due to an advertising blackout after the Queen's death
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Many UK media companies pulled advertising after the Queen's death and during her funeral. Analysts estimate the ad blackouts could cost media companies more than $100 million in lost revenue. Experts also said media companies could benefit from extra print sales and pent-up advertiser demand. Douglas McCabe, CEO and director of publishing and tech at Enders Analysis, estimated the lost advertising could equate to around 15 million pounds ($17 million) a day for TV companies, 2 million pounds ($2.3 million) for radio, 2 million pounds for billboard owners, and 1 million pounds ($1.1 million) for newspapers. But even when advertising returns, UK media companies remain in a tight spot due to soaring inflation and a gloomy economic outlook.

Search resuls for: "Enders Analysis"

11 mentions found