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President Joe Biden and McCarthy reiterated their aim to strike a deal soon on Wednesday to raise the $31.4 trillion federal debt ceiling and agreed to talk as soon as Sunday. Growth stocks led gains, with Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O), Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) rising between 1% and 4.4%. Bath & Body Works Inc (BBWI.N) gained 9.6% after the beauty and skincare firm raised its annual profit forecast. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.07-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and for a 1.04-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded 22 new 52-week highs and four new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 68 new highs and 50 new lows.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (TTWO.O) on Wednesday rounded off a strong March quarter for the sector that saw its three major players post net bookings growth of between 11% and 66%. The company said "NBA 2K23", "Grand Theft Auto V" and "Grand Theft Auto Online" were some of the top contributors to its net bookings growth in the reported quarter. The company forecast net bookings of more than $8 billion for next year, which was above analysts' estimates. "It (the GTA VI release) would be a watershed moment for the category of open-world games," said MoffettNathanson analyst Clay Griffin. "Tens and tens of millions of units would be sold immediately, and a new or completely refreshed GTA: Online would redefine what a modern 'metaverse' really looks like."

Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) constituent Cisco Systems Inc's (CSCO.O) shares fell 4.3% in premarket trading after it said a large backlog of products weighed on demand for new orders from customers. Shares of Walmart Inc (WMT.N) rose 1.7% after the retailer raised its annual sales and profit targets, befitting from inflation-wary consumers trading down to cheaper groceries. ET, Dow e-minis were down 31 points, or 0.09%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 1.75 points, or 0.04%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 15 points, or 0.11%. Bath & Body Works Inc (BBWI.N) gained 13% after the beauty and skincare firm raised its annual profit forecast. Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he welcomed and expected more investment from global chipmakers in the country.

Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) constituent Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O) slipped 1.7% after it said a large backlog of products weighed on demand for new orders from customers. Shares of Walmart Inc (WMT.N) rose 2.8% after the retailer raised its annual sales and profit targets, benefiting from inflation-wary consumers trading down to cheaper groceries. And you got a little follow through from the optimism around getting a (debt ceiling) deal done," said Thomas Hayes, chairman at Great Hill Capital LLC. Bath & Body Works Inc (BBWI.N) gained 8.7% after the beauty and skincare firm raised its annual profit forecast. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 2.30-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and for a 1.47-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

☆ Take-Two gains on gaming demand rebound, title delivery forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Tiyashi Datta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The company also said it expects to deliver 36 video game titles through 2025 and 2026, and forecast $8 billion in 2025 net bookings and over $1 billion in operating cash flow. Take-Two, however, did not make any announcements about its highly anticipated title "Grand Theft Auto VI". Its fourth-quarter adjusted sales grew 65% to $1.39 billion, compared with Wall Street's estimate of $1.34 billion, according to Refinitiv data. During an earnings call with analysts, Chief Executive Strauss Zelnick said Take-Two was assuming a continuation of the current challenging consumer backdrop within its forecast. Its annual adjusted revenue forecast between $5.45 billion and $5.55 billion came below Street's estimate of $6.07 billion.

☆ Take-Two beats adjusted sales estimates on higher gaming demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 17 (Reuters) - Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (TTWO.O) on Wednesday beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter adjusted sales on strong demand for legacy titles "NBA 2K" and "Grand Theft Auto", sending the video game maker's shares up over 7% after the bell. Take-Two has established itself as one of the dominant players in the U.S. with strong sales from its successful video game franchises and a solid pipeline including titles "Grand Theft Auto VI" and "Star Wars Hunters". Fourth-quarter adjusted sales grew 65% to $1.39 billion, compared with Wall Street's estimate of $1.34 billion, according to Refinitiv data. However, its annual adjusted revenue forecast between $5.45 billion and $5.55 billion came below Street's estimate of $6.07 billion. Reporting by Tiyashi Datta and Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EA's quarterly bookings beat estimates on 'FIFA' strength
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 9 (Reuters) - Videogame publisher Electronic Arts Inc (EA.O) beat fourth-quarter booking estimates on Tuesday as the latest installments in its "FIFA" and "Madden NFL" series kept gamer interest strong, sending the company's shares up 3.3% after the bell. EA reported net bookings of $1.95 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with Refinitiv estimates of $1.76 billion. "Record live services performance and increased engagement, particularly from our EA Sports FIFA franchise, drove better-than-expected Q4 net bookings," Chief Financial Officer Chris Suh said. EA also said it expects fiscal 2024 net bookings between $7.30 billion and $7.70 billion, compared with estimates of $7.52 billion. Bookings outlook for the current quarter was in line with expectations.

May 1 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Detroit on Monday threw out a jury verdict ordering Ford Motor Co (F.N) to pay Versata Software Inc $104.6 million for breaching a 2004 licensing contract and misappropriating trade secrets. He also said jurors had no basis to determine how long Ford would have needed to develop three trade secrets it allegedly stole, and that this also required voiding the damages award. Leitman ordered Ford to pay Versata $3 for breach of contract. "Overturning a jury verdict is difficult by design," Leitman said in a 51-page decision. The case is Versata Software Inc et al v Ford Motor Co, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, No.

☆ Stock-Based Pay and Bonuses Fall Under Finance Chiefs’ Cost-Cutting Knife
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Mark Maurer | Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Videogame company Unity Software is looking at reducing the number of shares it grants as part of compensation but hasn’t made any decisions yet. Some finance executives are tweaking compensation expenses—including stock-based pay and bonus eligibility—in the latest move among U.S. companies to cut costs from increasingly lean operations as recession concerns grow. Videogame company Unity Software Inc. and business-software firm Salesforce Inc. are among businesses weighing or moving ahead with bringing down stock-based compensation, while companies such as DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse parent Designer Brands Inc. and Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc. are planning adjustments to worker bonuses. Firms like Google are making other trims to the employee experience by eliminating popular perks like snack bars and choosing software and equipment vendors based on cost.

☆ Unity aims to open generative AI marketplace for video game developers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Anna Tong | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 22 - Unity Software Inc (U.N), producer of the eponymous video game development environment, aims to open a marketplace for generative artificial intelligence (AI) software, Chief Executive John Riccitiello told Reuters. Game developers routinely spend significant resources creating assets such as characters and sound effects. Major software firms have since announced a flurry of generative AI projects to capitalize on what is widely seen as game-changing technology. "In every video game in history, the dialogue was written by somebody," Riccitiello said in an interview on Tuesday. "But now what you can do with (generative AI) is give these characters motivation, personality, and objectives and then they can spawn dialogue that doesn't require a writer."

☆ Salesforce follows Microsoft in launching A.I. tools for salespeople with help from OpenAI
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The company said Tuesday that it will release software incorporating artificial intelligence to help salespeople, customer service agents and marketers do their jobs. Salesforce is calling the offering Einstein GPT, drawing on OpenAI's technology that's taken the tech industry by storm since the Microsoft-backed startup opened ChatGPT to the public in November. These AI models sometimes display incorrect information, prompting companies that sell to big businesses and governments to proceed carefully. Like Salesforce, Microsoft is trying to keep the spread of incorrect information to a minimum as it brings AI features to its competing Dynamics 365 software. Salesforce is also touting a new ChatGPT app for Slack that can display information derived from Salesforce.

☆ Generative AI Helping Boost Productivity of Some Software Developers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Belle Lin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

The technology, known as generative AI, has been pioneered by OpenAI, the lab behind the ChatGPT writing system and the Dall-E visual illustration generator. Copilot, as well as other tools from Amazon.com Inc., International Business Machines Corp. , and startups like Tabnine Inc. and Magic AI Inc., have quickly found a receptive audience among developers seeking a productivity boost. The AI model behind Copilot is trained on data from GitHub, which houses a popular open-source community where developers contribute and share code. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CIO Journal The Morning Download delivers daily insights and news on business technology from the CIO Journal team. And, with a tightening economy in mind, Hyland Software is holding back on spending for any new tools or technologies.

☆ Cramer's lightning round: Triton International is not a buy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Loading chart...Triton International Ltd : "I'm going to have to say, let's take a pass on that one." Loading chart...Baxter International Inc : "I'd rather see you in Dexcom ." Loading chart...A. O. Smith Corp : "A. O. Smith is the kind of company that makes stuff, does things, returns capital to shareholders. Unity Software Inc : "Unity Software stinks." Loading chart...BigBear.ai Holdings Inc : "How do I say, sell, sell, sell, sell, sell."

☆ Take-Two lowers annual adjusted sales forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 6 (Reuters) - Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (TTWO.O) lowered its annual bookings forecast on Monday, a sign that it is struggling to keep gamers glued amid a weakening economy and broader slowdown in the gaming market. Third quarter adjusted sales stood at $1.38 billion, compared to analysts' estimate of $1.46 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Take-Two said it now expects full-year adjusted sales between $5.2 billion and $5.25 billion, compared with $5.4 billion to $5.5 billion forecast previously. Analysts expected a figure of $5.39 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Unity Software Lays Off More Workers as Tech Job Cuts Grow
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Sarah E. Needleman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Unity Software Inc. is laying off more than 200 employees, making it the latest technology company to implement staff cuts amid mounting recession fears. San Francisco-based Unity said Tuesday that 284 jobs would be eliminated. Some of those losing their jobs may be rehired for other positions if they apply for openings, the company said. Unity, a provider of tools for creating videogames and other applications, last disclosed layoffs in June, when it cut around 225 jobs. At that time, the company said it was looking to better match the size of its staff with its needs.

☆ More Bosses Order Workers Back to the Office as Job Market Shifts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Chip Cutter | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The average office occupancy rate in 10 major U.S. cities remained below 50% for much of 2022, according to data from security firm Kastle Systems. Employers are losing their patience with empty desks in the office. Companies including investment giant Vanguard Group , workplace technology company Paycom Software Inc. and others have sent directives to employees in recent weeks, urging workers to follow existing hybrid schedules or to come into the office on additional days in 2023, according to internal memos viewed by The Wall Street Journal and interviews with employees. In some cases, bosses have told those who fail to comply that they could face termination within weeks.

To fix contacts not showing up on your iPhone, try restarting your phone or showing all contacts. You can also try to sync your contacts with connected email accounts or your iCloud contacts. When you add someone to your iPhone's Contacts app, you expect that person to forever be at your fingertips. While there are many reasons why this might happen, you can fix contacts not showing up on your iPhone in eight ways. Quick tip: The lists in the Contacts and Phone app are linked, so showing all contacts in one app will reveal them in the other as well.

[1/2] Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., December 7, 2022. Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) rose 2% following the tech giant's deal to buy a 4% stake in the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG.L), powering much of Wall Street's gains. The benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) looked to rebound from its worst weekly performance since late September, sparked by dour comments from top U.S. executives and mixed economic data. Fears of an economic downturn have hammered Wall Street's main indexes this year, with the Nasdaq (.IXIC) and the S&P 500 down 29.4% and 17%, respectively. Eight out of the 11 major S&P sector indexes were in the green, led by energy (.SPNY), utilities (.SPLRCU) and technology stocks (.SPLRCT).

[1/2] Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., December 7, 2022. Wall Street's main indexes have slumped this year on fears of aggressive rate hikes triggering a U.S. recession. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 (.SPX) have fallen 29.5% and 17.2%, respectively, so far in 2022 and are on track for their worst yearly performance since 2008. Seven out of the 11 major S&P 500 sector indexes were in the green, led by energy (.SPNY) and technology stocks (.SPLRCT). The S&P index recorded no new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 29 new highs and 136 new lows.

☆ Thoma Bravo to buy Coupa Software for $6.15 bln amid tech slump
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 12 (Reuters) - Coupa Software Inc (COUP.O) said on Monday it will sell itself to private equity major Thoma Bravo for $6.15 billion in cash, calling the deal the "optimal path forward" as broader economic uncertainty hammers technology stocks. Over the last two years, Thoma Bravo has acquired Ping Identity, Sophos, Proofpoint and Sailpoint Technologies. Coupa Software, which went public in 2016, provides business-spend management software, which helps companies manage the purchase of goods and services. Qatalyst Partners and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised Coupa, while Goldman Sachs & Co, Piper Sandler, and Kirkland & Ellis were advisors to Thoma Bravo. Separately, Coupa reported a 17% rise in total revenue for the quarter ended Oct. 31 and a net loss of $84.1 million.

☆ Redis Names Former Five9 CEO to Head Database Startup
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Belle Lin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Database startup Redis Ltd. has named Rowan Trollope its new chief executive officer, effective Feb. 1. Mr. Trollope was CEO of the cloud-based customer-service software firm Five9 Inc. until Nov. 28, and had served in the role since 2018. After Mr. Trollope’s departure, former Five9 CEO Mike Burkland returned to his previous post. At Redis, Mr. Trollope will succeed Ofer Bengal, who co-founded the startup with Yiftach Shoolman in 2011 and has served as CEO since its founding. Mr. Trollope led Five9 through its plans to merge with Zoom Video Communications Inc. in September of last year.

☆ Chinese firm selling surveillance tech to Iran comes under scrutiny
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Dan De Luce | Dan De Luce Is A Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

Tiandy is one of several Chinese companies at the center of China’s vast domestic surveillance network, experts and human rights advocates say. A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, said the embassy could not speak on behalf of Chinese private companies. Last week, the Biden administration effectively banned the sale or import of new equipment from a number of Chinese surveillance firms but Tiandy Technologies was not named. Maya Wang, senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch, said Chinese surveillance technology tends to be less expensive and more attractive for some authoritarian governments. Like other video technology companies in China, Tiandy’s software includes an ethnicity tracking tool that supposedly can digitally identify someone’s race.

☆ Vista exploring deal to buy Coupa Software - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 23 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Vista Equity Partners is exploring an acquisition of Coupa Software Inc (COUP.O), Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Shares of the software firm, which had a market capitalization of nearly $3.5 billion as of Tuesday close, surged 27% to $58.15 following the report. Vista declined to comment, while Coupa did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Vista has held talks with Coupa, which is working with an adviser, according to the report, adding that private-credit lenders could provide financing for a potential deal. Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj KalluvilaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Popular tax prep software sent financial information to Meta, report finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Popular tax prep software including TaxAct , TaxSlayer and H&R Block sent sensitive financial information to Facebook parent company Meta through its widespread code, known as a pixel, that helps developers track user activity on their sites, an investigation by The Markup found. In a report published with The Verge on Tuesday, the outlet found the software sent information like names, email addresses, income information and refund amounts to Meta. "Advertisers should not send sensitive information about people through our Business Tools," a Meta spokesperson told CNBC in a statement. Our system is designed to filter out potentially sensitive data it is able to detect." Meta considers potentially sensitive information to include information about income, loan amounts and debt status.

☆ Coupa Software Weighs Right Time to Refinance Low-Rate Debt Amid High Rates
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Coupa Software Inc. is searching for the right time to refinance over $2 billion in convertible debt that it holds at nearly evanescent rates—despite rising financing costs and the fact that its maturities are more than two years away. Tony Tiscornia, chief financial officer at Coupa Software. “For a young software company, we would really like to see a lot of the focus on just growth at this time, over profitability,” she said, speaking generally. The company will likely refinance with convertible debt because the interest rate tends to be lower than that of straight debt, he said, adding that more equity would dilute shareholdings. Conagra said it had $8.98 billion in net debt as of Aug. 28, down from $9.19 billion a year earlier.

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