DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Why Big Tech Is Still Minding Its Bills
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-13 | by ( Dan Gallagher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Google began laying off hundreds of employees this week across several divisions. Photo: Gene Blevins/Zuma PressEven the deepest pockets have their limits. Amazon and Google-parent Alphabet sit on a combined $184 billion in cash and short-term investments. Those two, along with big tech peers Microsoft , Apple and Facebook -parent Meta Platforms, hold the highest such balances among nonbanking companies on the S&P 500, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Amazon and Alphabet are also currently generating just under $95 billion combined in annual free cash flow.

Persons: Gene Blevins Organizations: Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, P Global Market Intelligence

☆ AI Has a Trust Problem. Can Blockchain Help?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-13 | by ( Isabelle Bousquette | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Blockchain is best known as the ledger of cryptocurrencies. Some tech vendors say the technology could track in granular detail the data that artificial intelligence is trained on, and could be useful when AI churns out dubious results. Photo: Omar Marques/Zuma PressThe difficulty of ensuring artificial intelligence algorithms are safe, unbiased and accurate is turning some companies to a technology once hyped as transformative, but that has failed to catch on in business: blockchain. Known for underpinning bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, blockchain is a data structure that makes it possible to create a digital ledger of transactions and share it among a network of computers. Once a transaction is made, the blockchain remains an immutable record of it.

Persons: Blockchain, Omar Marques Organizations: Zuma

☆ Investors Hope the Dogs of the Dow Can Find Their Bite
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-13 | by ( Charley Grant | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Chevron’s stock is one of this year’s 10 Dogs of the Dow. Photo: Paul Hennessy/Zuma PressThe Dogs of the Dow weren’t the best in show last year, but the recent rally in beaten-down corners of the stock market is giving hope to fans of the popular contrarian investment strategy. The approach calls for buying the 10 stocks with the highest dividend yields of the 30 Dow components at the beginning of a year—the Dogs of the Dow—and holding them over the next 12 months. The group of stocks is rebalanced at the end of each year to maintain an investment in the top 10 dividend payers.

Persons: Paul Hennessy Organizations: Dow, Zuma

☆ The U.S. Can Afford a Bigger Military. We Just Can’t Build It.
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-06 | by ( Greg Ip | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The U.S. builds only a little more than one nuclear submarine a year. Photo: U.S. Navy/Zuma PressWhen the Center for Strategic and International Studies simulated a war between the U.S. and China over Taiwan, the wargame ended with Taiwan still free, at grievous cost. The U.S. loses two aircraft carriers and up to 20 destroyers and cruisers; China sees more than 50 major surface warships sunk. As Eric Labs, a navy analyst for the Congressional Budget Office explains, China can replace lost ships far more quickly. In the past two years, its navy has grown by 17 cruisers and destroyers; it would take the U.S. six years to build the same number under current conditions, he said.

Persons: Eric Organizations: U.S . Navy, Zuma, Center for Strategic, International Studies, U.S, Eric Labs, Congressional Locations: U.S, China, Taiwan

☆ Is NBC Rooting for Trump?
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( James Freeman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis campaigns in Ames, Iowa last month. Photo: Fritz Nordengren/Zuma PressA recurring phenomenon of this election cycle is that the same media outlets promoting regular allegations that Donald Trump is the greatest threat to the country also regularly encourage news consumers to view the next most popular candidate among Republican voters as doomed to fail. The loss of media credibility in the Trump era is an old story but isn’t there any journalistic interest in at least allowing a non-Trump alternative to receive a fair hearing? Witness Sunday’s questioning on Meet the Press by NBC’s Kristen Welker, who in interviewing Gov. Ron DeSantis (R., Fla.) seemed determined to confirm the theory that media companies want another Trump candidacy to boost ratings while enhancing the chances of a Democratic victory.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Fritz Nordengren, Donald Trump, Trump, NBC’s Kristen Welker Organizations: Republican, Trump, Gov, Democratic Locations: Florida, Ames , Iowa, Fla

☆ Real-Estate Developers Chase Outer Space Business in Florida
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Konrad Putzier | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Cape Canaveral in Florida. Photo: Miguel RodrÃGuez/Zuma PressHines is developing a sprawling industrial park near Florida’s Cape Canaveral, aiming to cash in on the booming aerospace industry. The giant Texas real-estate firm is betting that companies such as Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX and their suppliers will pay high rents for warehouses and manufacturing space close to launch sites that can store rockets, space shuttles, satellites and any parts used to build and maintain them.

Persons: Miguel RodrÃGuez, Zuma Press Hines, Jeff Bezos Organizations: Zuma Press, Origin, Elon, SpaceX Locations: Cape Canaveral in Florida, Florida’s Cape Canaveral, Texas

☆ The Rise of Temu’s Chinese Parent Will Reshape E-Commerce
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Jacky Wong | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Temu has 52 million monthly active users in the U.S., just a year after its launch. There’s a new online-shopping champion in China: PDD , the company behind discount-retailing app Temu, is now the country’s most valuable e-commerce company. After a 78% rise this year, PDD’s market value has hit $193 billion, snatching the crown from Alibaba. Though PDD’s revenue last quarter was still less than a third of Alibaba’s, it’s growing much faster. Revenue for the three months ended in September surged 94% from a year earlier—Alibaba’s only grew 9%.

Persons: Temu, Nikos Pekiaridis Organizations: Revenue, Alibaba, P Global Market Intelligence Locations: U.S, There’s, China, Alibaba

☆ Yellow Rivals Scoop Up Truck Terminals in Bankruptcy Auction
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Paul Berger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

About a dozen trucking companies bought properties at a bankruptcy court-supervised auction that unloaded 75% of Yellow’s properties. Above, a Yellow terminal in Orlando, Fla. Photo: Paul Hennessy/Zuma PressYellow is set to raise more than $2 billion after a bankruptcy auction that will disperse much of its national network of truck terminals among rivals, casting deeper doubt on a long shot bid to revive the trucker. About a dozen trucking companies bought properties at a court-supervised auction that unloaded 75% of Yellow’s properties for a total of just under $1.9 billion, according to a filing Monday evening in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. The bids must be approved by the court, which is scheduled to hold a hearing Dec. 12.

Persons: Paul Hennessy, Zuma Organizations: Bankruptcy Locations: Orlando, Fla, U.S, Delaware

Beneath Gaza, a labyrinth of tunnels used by Hamas has complicated Israel’s ground offensive in the Palestinian enclave. WSJ’s Rory Jones—who visited the tunnels in 2014—explains the unique challenge they pose for Israel. Photo: Yousef Mohammed/Zuma PressWASHINGTON—Israel has assembled a system of large pumps it could use to flood Hamas’s vast network of tunnels under the Gaza Strip with seawater, a tactic that could destroy the tunnels and drive the fighters from their underground refuge but also threaten Gaza’s water supply, U.S. officials said. The Israel Defense Forces finished assembling large seawater pumps roughly one mile north of the Al-Shati refugee camp around the middle of last month. Each of at least five pumps can draw water from the Mediterranean Sea and move thousands of cubic meters of water per hour into the tunnels, flooding them within weeks.

Persons: Rory Jones —, —, Yousef Mohammed Organizations: Zuma Press WASHINGTON, Israel Defense Forces Locations: Gaza, Israel

☆ Patrick McHenry, Who Steered House as Temporary Speaker, Won’t Seek Re-Election
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Kristina Peterson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Rep. Patrick McHenry was thrust into the spotlight this year when he was tapped to be speaker pro tempore. Photo: Tom Williams/Zuma PressWASHINGTON—Rep. Patrick McHenry , who steered the House through unprecedented turmoil as the temporary speaker for three weeks earlier this year, said he wouldn’t run for re-election. “I will be retiring from Congress at the end of my current term,” McHenry said in a statement Tuesday. “This is not a decision I come to lightly, but I believe there is a season for everything and—for me—this season has come to an end.”

Persons: Patrick McHenry, Tom Williams, “, ” McHenry, ” Organizations: Zuma Press WASHINGTON — Rep

☆ GM’s Cruise Ordered by California Regulator to Testify About October Incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Meghan Bobrowsky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A California regulator said Cruise omitted critical information about the safety of its vehicles regarding an October incident involving a pedestrian. Photo: John G. Mabanglo/Zuma PressGeneral Motors ’ Cruise has been ordered to testify before the California Public Utilities Commission over allegedly misleading comments it gave to regulators about an incident in October in which a pedestrian was hit. The CPUC said the self-driving car firm omitted critical information about the safety of its vehicles regarding the incident. A woman was hit by a human-driven car and thrown into the path of a driverless Cruise vehicle, which collided with the pedestrian and dragged the person about 20 feet. Cruise could face a fine of up to $1.5 million, the latest blow to the company’s operations in recent months after the company lost its driverless permits in California and CEO Kyle Vogt resigned.

Persons: John G, Mabanglo, Motors ’, CPUC, Kyle Vogt Organizations: Zuma Press, Motors, California Public Utilities Commission Locations: California

☆ Remains of Crew From U.S. Military Aircraft Found in Japanese Waters
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Alastair Gale | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Japanese coast guard was used in the search for the Osprey. Photo: Kyodonews/Zuma PressTOKYO—Searchers have found the sunken main fuselage of a U.S. military aircraft that crashed off the coast of southern Japan last week as well as the remains of five of the seven missing crew, the Air Force said Monday. Two of the five have been recovered, and teams from the U.S. and Japan are working on retrieving the others, the Air Force said.

Organizations: Zuma Press, Air Force Locations: U.S, Japan

☆ Global Advertising Growth Is Expected to Slow in 2024, Excluding Elections Spending
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A digital billboard in New York. By 2028, spending on digital advertising will be larger than spending on the entire advertising industry was in 2022, GroupM said. Photo: Richard B. Levine/Zuma PressThe growth in global ad spending is poised to slow in 2024 to 5.3%, excluding U.S. political advertising, according to a new forecast from media investment group GroupM. That would mark a deceleration from the 5.8% increase that GroupM anticipates for this year, the forecast said.

Persons: GroupM, Richard B, Levine Organizations: Zuma Locations: New York

☆ China Evergrande Avoids a Debt Disaster—for Now
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Rebecca Feng | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An Evergrande residential project in Nanjing, China. The company’s default in late 2021 was a watershed moment for China’s real-estate sector. Photo: Cfoto/Zuma PressChina Evergrande Group, the giant property developer whose default two years ago fueled a crisis in the country’s real-estate market, got some unexpected good news on Monday. The company, once China’s largest property developer by sales, was given until late January 2024 to reach a debt restructuring deal, after Hong Kong’s High Court postponed a hearing that could have pushed Evergrande into liquidation.

Organizations: Zuma Press China Evergrande Group, Hong Locations: Nanjing, China

☆ Truce Talks between Israel and Hamas Halt as Fighting Intensifies
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Truce Talks between Israel and Hamas Halt as Fighting IntensifiesThe White House said on Sunday that the cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas have stopped as Israel intensified its attacks on Gaza over the weekend. 110 hostages were freed during the weeklong pause in fighting. Photo: Naaman Omar/Zuma Press

Persons: Naaman Omar, Zuma Organizations: Hamas Locations: Israel, Gaza

Ron DeSantis, who campaigned at the Iowa State Fair this year, faces turmoil at a super PAC that supports his presidential run. “We’re going to win Iowa,” the Florida governor said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program. DeSantis drew a burst of much-needed media attention last week for his feisty televised debate with California Democratic Gov. GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, in red tie, drew a surge in attention last week for his debate with California Democratic Gov. On Saturday, DeSantis completed his tour of all 99 Iowa counties.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Sergio Flores, Nikki Haley, Donald Trump, “ We’re, “ It’s, ” DeSantis, Haley, Trump, Chris Christie, Vivek Ramaswamy, DeSantis, Gavin Newsom, Chris Jankowski, Kristin Davison Organizations: Florida Gov, The Wall, Journal, Republican, Press, United Nations, Former New Jersey Gov, CBS, Republican National, California Democratic, GOP, Fox News Channel, Zuma Press Locations: Florida, Iowa, Journal NEWTON , Iowa, South Carolina, Alabama

☆ Alaska Air Reaches Deal to Buy Hawaiian Airlines
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Alison Sider | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Alaska Air will pay $18 a share in cash for Hawaiian Airlines under the deal. Photo: Bayne Stanley/Zuma PressAlaska Air reached a roughly $1 billion deal to buy Hawaiian Airlines , a combination of rivals that largely serve destinations in the Pacific region that are reliant on air travel. Alaska Air will pay $18 a share in cash under a deal the two companies unveiled Sunday.

Persons: Bayne Stanley Organizations: Alaska Air, Hawaiian Airlines, Zuma Press Alaska Air Locations: Alaska, Pacific

☆ Digital Payments Are Having a Jolly Holiday
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Telis Demos | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Buy now, pay later point-of-sale lending offered by Afterpay and others generated 42.5% more online spending on Cyber Monday this year than last year. Photo: Richard B. Levine/Zuma PressThis year’s Black Friday might not have been marked by stories of mobs of shoppers like in past years, but it made up for that drama digitally. In-store U.S. retail sales on Black Friday rose 1.1% over last year, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, and e-commerce sales were up 8.5%. That might help give a second wind to digital payments stocks whose shares have struggled at times in the postpandemic era.

Persons: Afterpay, Richard B, Levine Organizations: Mastercard SpendingPulse

☆ Russian Court Extends Detention of Journalist Alsu Kurmasheva
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Ann M. Simmons | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A Russian court extended the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich through at least Jan. 30 of next year. Gershkovich is being held on an allegation of espionage that he, the Journal and the U.S. government vehemently deny. Photo: Lefortovo District Court/TASS/ZUMA PressA Russian court extended by two months the detention of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva , a dual U.S.-Russian citizen awaiting trial on a charge that she failed to register as a foreign agent. The Sovetsky District Court in Kazan, a city in southwest Russia, on Friday ordered Kurmasheva be held until Feb. 5, her company said. She was initially taken into custody in October, while visiting Russia for a family emergency, and her detention was subsequently prolonged until Dec. 5.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, Kurmasheva Organizations: Wall Street, U.S, Court, TASS, Press, Radio Free, Radio Liberty Locations: Lefortovo, Radio Free Europe, U.S, Sovetsky, Kazan, Russia

☆ A Threat to the American Way of Real Estate
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

A sign advertises a home for sale in Washington, Aug. 23. Photo: Michael Reynolds/Zuma PressRecent antitrust developments and potential regulatory changes could reshape the U.S. real-estate landscape, making the American dream a potential nightmare (“A Big Legal Defeat for the Realtors,” Review & Outlook, Nov. 1). In Missouri, U.S. District Judge Stephen Bough found that settlements in the first of numerous antitrust class actions are “fair, reasonable and adequate.” We agree, and we welcome improvements that enhance commission transparency, ensure an open marketplace and maintain a framework that ensures agents are representing the interests of both the seller and the buyer. Overreach beyond these rules—as contemplated in some quarters—may jeopardize one of the pillars of fair transactions: buyer agency. This risks leaving the next wave of home buyers navigating the financial decision of a lifetime without professional support.

Persons: Michael Reynolds, Stephen Bough Organizations: Realtors, ”, District Locations: Washington, In Missouri, U.S

☆ New York’s Near Zombie Apocalypse
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Journal Editorial Report: The week’s best and worst from Kim Strassel, Allysia Finley and Dan Henninger. Images: AP/Zuma Press Composite: Mark KellyImagine if nearly half of New York City lost heat for months during the winter. That’s not the plot of a new survival drama. Such a catastrophe nearly occurred last Christmas, according to an alarming recent report by energy regulators that deserves more attention. It was the fifth time in 11 years that power plant failures caused by cold weather jeopardized grid reliability.

Persons: Kim Strassel, Allysia Finley, Dan Henninger, Mark Kelly, Elliott Organizations: Zuma, New York, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, FERC, North American Electric Reliability Corporation Locations: New, New York City

☆ Many More Voters With Guns
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Journal Editorial Report: The week’s best and worst from Kim Strassel, Allysia Finley and Dan Henninger. Images: AP/Zuma Press Composite: Mark KellyMore than half of American voters say that they or someone in their household owns a gun, according to a poll by NBC News. After progressives drove up firearm ownership with policies that are soft on violent crime, they can’t figure out why their gun-control ideas fail to pass. The share of voters with a firearm in the household is 52%, up from 46% in 2019 and 42% in 2013. This is no surprise, in part because rural areas tilt right, and that’s where hunting is a family event and bears might be prowling the woods.

Persons: Kim Strassel, Allysia Finley, Dan Henninger, Mark Kelly More Organizations: Zuma, NBC News

☆ U.S. Leans on Turkey to Stop Supporting Hamas and Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Ian Talley | Jared Malsin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Hamas and other militants hand over newly released hostages as part of a deal with Israel. Photo: Stringer/Zuma PressISTANBUL—The Biden administration’s sanctions chief warned Turkish officials that the country is fueling violence across two continents by serving as a financing haven for Hamas and a trade hub for Russia’s war machine. Despite U.S. sanctions targeting Hamas financiers over the past decade, Turkey has allowed the group’s investment firms, holding companies, real-estate brokerages and a host of other businesses to operate out of Istanbul, U.S. officials say.

Persons: Stringer Organizations: Zuma Press ISTANBUL, Biden, Turkish Locations: Israel, Turkey, Istanbul, U.S

☆ China’s Economy Is Stuck in a Vicious Cycle
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Nathaniel Taplin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The pandemic-era collapse in consumer confidence, borrowing, and job prospects is still a huge obstacle to China’s recovery. Photo: Cfoto/Zuma PressChina probably can’t fix its broken housing market without fixing the labor market and consumer confidence. But more exuberant consumers and a stronger labor market depend on a healthier housing sector, too. Until Beijing finds a way to square that circle, expect China’s subpar recovery to dribble on.

Organizations: Zuma Press China Locations: Beijing

☆ CFOs See Ongoing Pain From Foreign Exchange Oscillations
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Kristin Broughton | Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Many executives had expected the dollar to retreat this year after it shot higher in 2022. Some are now reviewing their hedging strategies. Photo: Cfoto/Zuma PressFinance chiefs are anticipating more pain from foreign exchange rates after the U.S. dollar strengthened again this summer and fall, following a historic tear last year. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the currency against a basket of others, surged during the third quarter on higher Treasury yields, then skipped to its highest point of the year in October, when it stood 7% above a mid-July trough. Since then, the index has tumbled 4% from last month’s pinnacle and is on track for its lowest close in months, as Treasury yields soften and investors gain confidence that the Federal Reserve will be cutting interest rates in the foreseeable future.

Organizations: Zuma Press Finance, U.S ., U.S, Federal Reserve

Search resuls for: "Zuma Press"

25 mentions found