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☆ U.S. blacklists two firms that built Meta, iOS and Android spyware
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Commerce Department blacklisted two European cyber firms that build spyware software, the Commerce Department announced Tuesday, including technology hawked by both firms that was used to surveil Meta users and reportedly at least one Meta employee. The software exploited vulnerabilities in Android and iOS software and deployed hundreds of spoof Meta accounts to surveil activists, politicians and journalists around the world. Meta in December 2021 warned thousands of Facebook users that they'd been targeted by spyware-for-hire software, including Predator. The New York Times reported extensively on Intellexa's Predator product, and the company's efforts to sell it to a Ukrainian intelligence agency. Intellexa's Predator was also used by Greek intelligence to spy on a Meta trust and safety employee, the Times reported.

Persons: Gina Raimondo, —, Cytrox —, they'd, Tal Dilian, Intellexa, Biden, Trump Organizations: Commerce, The Commerce Department, Commerce Department, Industry, Security, Citizen Lab, Export, Meta, Facebook, Israel Defense Forces, The New York Times, Times, Huawei Locations: Davos, Switzerland, Greece, Ireland, Hungary, North Macedonia, Ukrainian

WASHINGTON, July 17 (Reuters) - U.S. chip company executives met with top Biden administration officials on Monday to discuss China policy, the State Department and sources said, as the most powerful semiconductor lobby group urged a halt to more curbs under consideration. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talked with chip company chief executives about the industry and supply chains after his recent trip to China, a department spokesperson told reporters. The chip industry is keen to protect its profits in China as the Biden administration considers another round of restrictions on chip exports to China. Last year, China accounted for $180 billion in semiconductor purchases, more than a third the worldwide total of $555.9 billion and the largest single market, according to Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). The Biden administration is considering updating a sweeping set of rules imposed in October to hobble China's chip industry and a new executive order restricting some outbound investment.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Gina Raimondo, Lael Brainard, Jake Sullivan, Biden, Blinken, Matthew Miller, Commerce's Raimondo, Washington, hobble, Pat Gelsinger, David Shepardson, Andrea Shalal, Simon Lewis, Stephen Nellis, Chris Sanders, Susan Heavey, Matthew Lewis, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Biden, State Department, National Economic, National Security, Intel, Qualcomm, Nvidia, Reuters, Semiconductor Industry Association, SIA, Department, White, Commerce Department, Huawei Technology Co, San, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, Washington, San Francisco

☆ Shopify's midlife crisis: How a surprise pivot away from logistics capped the e-commerce giant's whirlwind year
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Madeline Stone | Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

But Shopify's logistics acquisitions, which came with around 550 more staff altogether, started to look like dead weight after the shine of the initial announcements wore off. By the beginning of 2023, the attitude toward logistics inside Shopify had shifted to palpable frustration, four people who worked for Shopify's logistics division said. Lance McMillan/Toronto Star via Getty ImagesIndependent of logistics, Shopify saw massive cultural shifts in the past several years. One core tenet of Shopify's work culture is "default to open," meaning it values transparency and sharing information with employees. The letter referred to Shopify's logistics work of the past four years as a "side quest" that distracted the company from its "main quest."

Persons: Shopify, it's, Oppenheimer, Ken Wong, Lance McMillan, crafters, Tobias Lütke, Slack, —, Lütke, Shopify's, I've, Toby Shannan, Morgan Stanley, Jeff Hoffmeister, Bobby Morrison, Allan Leinwand, Kaz Nejatian, Nejatian, Madeline Stone, Emma Cosgrove Organizations: Employees, Amazon, Systems, Kiva Systems, Toronto Star, Getty, miscalculating, Facebook, ecosgrove Locations: Shopify, Ottawa , Ontario, —, Silicon

☆ Sen. Tommy Tuberville voted against a bill that just gave his state $1.4 billion for rural broadband. He's celebrating it anyway.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Biden administration announced Monday that Alabama will get $1.4 billion in broadband funding. Sen. Tommy Tuberville celebrated the news, calling the funding "crucial" for rural broadband. But he voted against the 2021 infrastructure bill that established the program he's now touting. "Coach voted against the infrastructure bill because it wasted Alabamians' tax dollars. He's advocated for including expanding rural broadband as part of an upcoming farm bill, and he introduced legislation earlier this year to shield broadband grants from being taxed as income.

Persons: Sen, Tommy Tuberville, —, Republican Sen, Tuberville, I've, Terri Sewell, Terri A, Sewell, Steven Stafford, Stafford, He's Organizations: Biden, Alabama, Service, Republican, Broadband Equity, Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Infrastructure Law, White House, Democratic, Agriculture, Rural Development, Energy Locations: Alabama

☆ Drugmakers aim to strike down Medicare drug-price negotiations at Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

And Bristol Myers Squibb is trying protect its blood thinner Eliquis, which brought in $11.8 billion in sales last year, or about 25% of the company's $46 billion total revenue for 2022. Long legal battle aheadMerck, the chamber and Bristol Myers Squibb filed their lawsuits ahead of two key deadlines. Bristol Myers Squibb did not either. If circuit court decisions on the matter contradict one another, the Supreme Court would step in to decide the issue, Bagby said. Bristol Myers Squibb made an identical argument in its complaint.

Persons: Richard A, Gonzalez, Pascal Soriot, Giovanni Caforio, Jennifer Taubert, Johnson, Kenneth C, Frazier, Albert Bourla, Olivier Brandicourt, Win Mcnamee, Drugmaker Merck, Drugmaker, Bristol Myers Squibb, PhRMA, Eli Lilly, Merck, Bristol Myers, Robin Feldman, Nicholas Bagley, Bagley, Gretchen Whitmer, Chris Meekins, Raymond James, Antonin Scalia, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, Meekins, Long, Xavier Becerra, Randolph Daniel Moss, Barack Obama, Judge Thomas M, Rose, George W, Bush, Kelly Bagby, Bagby, Amgen, Donald Trump, Karine Jean, Pierre, Biden, Jean, we'll, Becerra, Feldman Organizations: Senate, AbbVie Inc, AstraZeneca, Myers Squibb Co, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Johnson, Merck & Co, Inc, Pfizer, Sanofi, Getty, U.S . Chamber of Commerce, Bristol Myers Squibb, Washington , D.C, Southern, Southern District of, Democratic Party, U.S, Merck, Bristol, Pharmaceutical Research, Manufacturers of America, CNBC, Medicare, University of California College of, Justice Department, Michigan Gov, Bristol Myers, Human Services, Centers, Services, AARP Foundation, HHS, AARP, Specialty Pharmacy, Reuters, Supreme, Appeals, Democratic, U.S . Sixth, Republican, Third, White Locations: America, Washington , DC, Bristol, U.S, Washington ,, Southern District, Southern District of Ohio, New Jersey, Commerce's Dayton , Ohio, San Francisco

☆ Inflation rose 0.4% in April and 4.7% from a year ago, according to key gauge for the Fed
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Price increases were spread almost evenly, with goods rising 0.3% and services up 0.4%. On an annual basis, goods prices increased 2.1% and services rose by 5.5%, a further indication that the U.S. was tilting back toward a services-focused economy. The report showed that spending jumped 0.8% for the month, while personal income accelerated 0.4%. Including food and energy, headline PCE also rose 0.4% and was up 4.4% from a year ago, higher than the 4.2% rate in March. Still, Citigroup economists expect the Fed to raise its forecasts for inflation and GDP when it releases its updates at the June meeting.

☆ Turkey's runoff election is paralyzing key oil exports from northern Iraq
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Oil typically flows through Turkey from both the Iraqi state and the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). More specifically, this Kirkuk crude flows down the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline linking the north of the Gulf country with Turkey's Ceyhan port in the Mediterranean. But the flows have been paralyzed since March 25 by a legal dispute involving federal Iraq, the KRG and Turkey. This decision led to U.S. companies deciding to exit contracts in Kurdistan and deterred some KRG oil buyers from further purchases. "The ruling party in Turkey [Erdogan's AKP] wants to settle the elections and then deal with KRG's oil with Baghdad."

Persons: KRG, Hayan Abdul, Ghani, —, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Lawk Ghafuri, Yerevan Saeed, Saeed, Bilal Wahab, Wagner Organizations: CNBC, Kurdistan Regional Government, Turkey Pipeline, International, Commerce's, Reuters, ICC, Baghdad, BTC, Kurdistan, Gulf Institute, Sinjar, Washington Institute for Near East Locations: Turkey, Ankara, Baghdad, Iraqi, Kurdistan, Kirkuk, Iraq, Basra, Paris, U.S, Ceyhan, Baku, Syria, Erbil, Yerevan, Washington

☆ Nearly half of UK firms to defer investment due to tax rises, survey finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) - Almost half of medium-sized British companies plan to delay investment plans due to last month's rise in corporation tax, a survey published on Monday found. Britain's headline rate of corporation tax rose to 25% in April from 19% the year before, under the enactment of a policy announced in March 2021. "The recent rise in the headline corporation tax rate will dampen current business investment plans although the positive reaction to the new full expensing capital allowances regime suggests this may only be a short-term effect," said Paul Falvey, a tax partner at BDO. The BDO survey was based on responses from 512 companies polled between March 30 and April 16. ($1 = 0.7923 pounds)Reporting by David Milliken; editing by Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"Since Xi Jinping took power in 2012, China has expanded the legal landscape for exit bans and increasingly used them, sometimes outside legal justification," the Safeguard Defenders report reads. Attention on the exit bans comes as China-U.S. tensions have risen over trade and security disputes. The Reuters analysis of records on exit bans, from China's Supreme Court database, shows an eight-fold increase in cases mentioning bans between 2016 and 2022. Most of the cases in the database referring to exit bans are civil, not criminal. Some activists say the wider use of exit bans reflects tighter security measures under President Xi.

☆ Chamber of Commerce gets nearly half its funding from those who give at least $1 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce pitches itself as representing the interests of millions of businesses of all shapes and sizes. The chamber, according to the study, brought in 18 contributions from those who donated anywhere from $2 million to over $4 million. The report says that the group raised around $54 million from those big-money contributors alone. And like America, the vast majority of our members — 90% — are small businesses and state and local chambers of commerce." By all measures, our impact for them is substantial and small businesses are strongly engaged with the Chamber."

☆ Artificial intelligence is a $38 billion revenue opportunity for retailers. Here's how to play the trend
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +15 min

Morgan Stanley estimates that in 2022, only 23% of the $4.3 trillion of U.S adjusted retail spending was online. Add in AI, which can drive better shopper experiences or better conversion, it could bump to 9% or possibly 10% CAGR, he said. Eventually, AI can help retailers pitch tailored products to each potential customer based on their prior history. You might see it in the member services experience in having a better opportunity to get customer support," he said. As retailers move ahead in their plans to integrate AI into their business, some will build the capabilities.

NEW YORK, April 21 (Reuters) - EverCommerce Inc (EVCM.O), a private equity-backed management software vendor, is exploring a sale of the company after attracting acquisition interest, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. EverCommerce is working with investment bank Centerview Partners to explore its options, the sources said. EverCommerce shares jumped on the news and were trading up 15% at $13.27 on Friday morning in New York, giving the company a market value of $2.5 billion. PSG Equity and Silver Lake declined to comment, while EverCommerce and Centerview did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Based in Denver, Colorado, EverCommerce provides management software tools and services to companies, including in the healthcare and fitness sectors.

☆ Seagate hit with $300 million penalty for continuing $1 billion relationship with blacklisted firm Huawei, despite U.S. export controls
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Computer storage company Seagate will pay a $300 million penalty for allegedly continuing an unauthorized $1.1 billion relationship with Chinese technology firm Huawei after the company was added to a U.S. trade blacklist in 2020. Seagate shipped over 7.4 million HDDs to Huawei from Aug. 2020 to Sept. 2021, federal regulators said. Neither Huawei nor Seagate made an apparent effort to hide their relationship, according to federal charging documents. Those lines of credit allowed Huawei to order an "increasing volume" of HDDs, federal regulators said, that Huawei wouldn't have been able to pay for otherwise. Even after export controls were imposed, a senior Seagate executive publicly justified the continued relationship with Huawei, regulators alleged.

☆ This e-commerce stock has a whopping 300% upside, according to Morgan Stanley
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The e-commerce market grew in 2020 as consumers shied away from brick-and-mortar stores and opted for contactless deliveries during pandemic lockdowns. A period of normalization then followed, according to Morgan Stanley , with the sector notching a streak of four consecutive quarters of declining penetration. Stock picks The recovery in e-commerce growth is an opportunity for incremental sales growth and gains in market share, according to Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley said the company is a "share taker" in a key underpenetrated e-commerce category: global luxury. Nike expects the figure to rise to 40% over the longer term, according to Morgan Stanley, which implies e-commerce sales of $30 billion by 2027.

☆ Cramer on AI regulation: Chamber of Commerce has to be more specific on what they want to stop
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailCramer on AI regulation: Chamber of Commerce has to be more specific on what they want to stopCNBC's 'Squawk on the Street' crew discusses the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's recent calls for regulation in artificial intelligence.

March 7 (Reuters) - Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O), Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD.O) and other tech firms are scrambling to assess whether they must halt sales to units of China's Inspur Group Ltd after its addition to a U.S. export blacklist last week. The United States last week added Inspur to its trade blacklist for allegedly acquiring U.S.-origin items in support of the China's military modernization efforts. Executives from AMD and Nvidia were questioned about dealings with Inspur Group Co Ltd. at an investor conference on Monday. An Nvidia spokesperson declined to comment beyond her remarks. An AMD spokesperson did not return a request for additional comment on AMD Chief Technology Officer Mark Papermaster's remarks made at the same conference.

☆ U.S. Sec. of Commerce's Gina Raimondo on CHIPS Act: This isn't a blank check
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailU.S. Sec. of Commerce's Gina Raimondo on CHIPS Act: This isn't a blank checkGina Raimondo, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss her thoughts on U.S.-China relations and the CHIPS act.

☆ US approved 192 licenses for exports to blacklisted Chinese firms early 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Karen Freifeld | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 3 (Reuters) - The Biden administration approved 192 licenses worth over $23 billion to ship U.S. goods and technology to Chinese companies on a U.S. trade blacklist in the first quarter of last year, according to a document released by a U.S. congressional committee on Friday. The 192 licenses granted were out of 242 license applications decided between January and March 2022, a chart showed, and 115 of those approved contained controlled technology. Nineteen, or 8 percent of the total number of applications, were denied, and 31 were returned without action. "This critical U.S. technology is going to the Chinese Communist Party's surveillance and military efforts," he said. BIS also noted that licenses for some well-known Chinese companies are reviewed under policies set by the Trump administration that do not carry presumptions of denial.

☆ Investing in Space: Sizing up
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. Measuring the size of the space economy, whether globally or just for the U.S., is an important part of understanding the scale of the industry and its influence on our lives. But a new space survey is underway, by none other than the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). While BEA did a pilot study on space previously, the more robust study will be an annually refreshed estimate on the sector. It also plans to expand the analysis to breakdowns of each state, to show where space dollars are getting spent across the U.S.

Industry sources say that the measure was a surprise and that it is unclear how it would be applied to companies, each of which will have to negotiate separate agreements with the U.S. government. Share repurchases have helped keep investors happy during tumultuous market conditions in the chip industry, which have swung from shortage to glut in two years. “I believe this is going to cause heartburn for companies," a second chip industry executive told Reuters, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. “It’s pretty odd for a foreign company to accept this kind of meddling in its business," said a third chip industry source. A more onerous issue is that building new chip plants will probably get more expensive in the U.S., where costs are already higher than industry centers such as Taiwan and Singapore.

☆ McCarthy, Scalise go to war with U.S. Chamber after group backed some Democrats in 2020 and 2022 elections
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

McCarthy's refusal to meet with the Chamber is the latest strike in an ongoing feud between some House Republican members and the Chamber of Commerce. Tim Doyle, a spokesman for the Chamber of Commerce, told CNBC in a statement that the group's policies are more in line with House Republicans than Democrats. Representatives for House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., did not return requests for comment. McCarthy's ire against the Chamber started after the group endorsed 23 House Democrats in the 2020 election cycle when Republicans failed to regain the majority. The Chamber reportedly endorsed 23 House Republican candidates and four Democrats during the 2022 election fight.

☆ Debt ceiling fight threatens to deepen divide between GOP and corporate America
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Shannon-Pettypiece-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Shannon Pettypiece | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

WASHINGTON — Corporate America’s warnings of a financial catastrophe if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling are falling on deaf ears among key congressional Republicans who find themselves increasingly at odds with the party's longtime allies. Republicans, who for decades closely aligned with the business community, have largely downplayed the alarm bells sounded by business groups, corporate CEOs and Wall Street investors over the economic consequences of missing an early June deadline for action on Capitol Hill. Instead, many GOP lawmakers vow to seek spending cuts in exchange for passing legislation that would let the U.S. government keep paying its bills. “The business groups and the major economic agents in this country are still going to be very influential by once again reminding Congress about the severe consequences the U.S. will face if the debt ceiling is not raised,” said the political consultant with corporate clients involved in the debt ceiling debate. “I think a lot of Republicans in the House, in the Senate, will understand that.

☆ Treasury Secretary Yellen and China's Liu He talk U.S. tech policy at their first in-person meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He held their first in-person meeting in Zurich on Jan. 18, 2023. BEIJING — Chinese Vice Premier Liu He discussed U.S. economic and tech policy toward China in a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday, according to a Ministry of Commerce readout. China "hopes the U.S. side pays attention to the policies' impact on both sides," the readout said, according to a CNBC translation. The meeting in Zurich was the first time Yellen and Liu met in person, after three years of Covid-related restrictions on travel. While Beijing retaliated with tariffs of its own, its most substantive response to U.S. tech bans has been filing a dispute with the World Trade Organization in December.

☆ India, U.S. establish new trade group to bolster supply chains
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and India's Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, poses for a picture before the start of their meeting in New Delhi, India, November 22, 2021. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/PoolNEW DELHI, Jan 12 (Reuters) - India and the United States have established a new working group to build sustainable supply chains and boost bilateral trade, the governments said in a joint statement on Thursday. The United States will also consider India's interest in the restoration of beneficiary status under the U.S. generalized system of preferences program, the statement added. The Trade Policy Forum, revived in 2021 after a gap for four years, will reconvene on a ministerial level before end of 2023. The two countries said they mean to continue to work together on resolving outstanding trade issues.

☆ FTC Chair Lina Khan on noncompete ban: Workers are losing $300 billion a year from noncompetes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFTC Chair Lina Khan on noncompete ban: Workers are losing $300 billion a year from noncompetesLina Khan, FTC chair, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the FTC's recent proposal, the Chamber of Commerce's statements against the proposal and who the proposal impacts.

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