DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Why streamers are shrinking their content libraries
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Last year many streaming services began shrinking their once-robust content libraries in order to pay smaller licensing fees. In the face of profit pressures and growing competition for viewers, streamers have taken to removing content to avoid the residual payments and licensing fees. On one side is Netflix , Amazon and Apple — companies that agnostically license content from other studios to bolster their streaming libraries. Disney-owned Hulu, meanwhile, has seen success with "feel good" 30-minute sitcoms and prestige dramas, Fandom's data shows. Disclosure: Peacock is the streaming service of NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.

Persons: Stephanie Fried, Fried, Hey Arnold, Bell, Severance, Jacob, Jack Ryan, Bel, Universal's, Max, Peacock Organizations: NBC, Netflix, Apple, Universal, Warner Bros . Discovery, Paramount, Hollywood, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros, Disney, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO, CNBC Locations: auctioning, Kingstown, NBCUniversal

☆ Flying cars — or eVTOLs — are becoming reality. Would you ride in one?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +36 min

They are flying cars, they're flying cars,Tom Chitty: These vehicles aren't necessarily actually cars with wheels, either, because I know that you've done you've got a program coming up soon about eVTOL. And the idea is there's going to be a fleet of these run by an operator. You've alluded to this feature program we've got coming out looking at the future of these, these flying cars, basically in these eVTOLs. And also, we can't finish this episode about flying cars and eVTOLs without talking about Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the OG. Yeah, no, that's, that's very surprising.

Persons: Tom Chitty, Arjun Kharpal, who's, I've, we've, We've, I'm, they'd, I'd, there's, Arjun, that's, we're, you've, there'll, they're, You've, Kharpal, it's, you'll, They've, Morgan Stanley, someone's, What's, they've, They're, Big Ben, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Chitty Bang Bang, Tom, We'll Organizations: JPMorgan, CNBC, Mar, Airbus, Archer Aviation, Joby, Infrastructure, Boeing, Heathrow Airport, Civil Aviation Administration, U.S . Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, Autonomy, London, Transport Locations: Spain, China, Europe, Munich, Germany, beyondthevalley@cnbc.com, London, Chinese, Guangzhou, Birmingham, U.S, Manchester, it's, eVTOLs, Battersea, Heathrow

☆ What the Bridge Meant to Baltimore
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Anna Betts | Joanna Daemmrich | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Blue-collar workers crossed it. And couples were known to get engaged near it. Completed in 1977, the Francis Scott Key Bridge was a practical, final link to the beltway of roads that circled Baltimore Harbor, a much-needed solution to reduce Harbor Tunnel congestion. For some, it symbolized the working-class communities around it — for others, the city itself. And the Key Bridge was simply a presence in people’s everyday lives.

Persons: Francis Scott Key Organizations: Teenagers Locations: Baltimore, Fort McHenry, British

☆ Texas appeals court blocks state from investigating families seeking gender-affirming care for trans youth
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Emma Tucker | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —A Texas appeals court upheld two injunctions in a pair of legal cases Friday, in an order blocking the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services from investigating families of transgender youth who are seeking gender-affirming medical care for their children. The court of appeals upheld a trial court decision in the Friday order, ruling in favor of LGBTQ+ advocates and families in two related Texas lawsuits asking a state court to block the agency from investigating parents who provide their children with gender-affirming care. Paxton appealed the district court injunction in March and declared investigations could continue during the appeal process under the law. The court, in its opinion, also affirmed Paxton’s opinion does not alter preexisting law or legal obligations of the department. Abbott’s directive to the agency was seen by many as an attack on transgender children and their families.

Persons: CNN —, Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton, Abbott, “, ”, Paxton, Bill, Chase Strangio, ” CNN’s Amir Vera, Ashley Killough Organizations: CNN, state’s Department of Family and Protective Services, Texas Gov, Republican, Department of Family and Protective Services, ”, Lambda Legal, ACLU, Texas Supreme, Gov, American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, HIV Locations: Texas, State of Texas, Travis County

☆ Where are conjoined twins and former reality TV stars Abby and Brittany Hensel now?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Caralynn Matassa | Lauren Edmonds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Conjoined twins Abby and Brittany Hensel rose to prominence after a 1996 appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." AdvertisementAbby and Brittany Hensel, Minnesota-born conjoined twins who share a single body with separate heads and necks, first rose to fame as children in the 1990s. Abby and Brittany Hensel became famous after appearing on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in 1996The Hensel twins were five years old when they appeared as guests on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in April 1996. Related stories"Joined for Life: Abby & Brittany Turn 16," an update released in 2006, followed the twins as they worked on getting their driver's licenses and attended high school. A second video appeared to show several pictures of the pair and Bowling together, including at their wedding.

Persons: Abby, Brittany Hensel, Oprah Winfrey, —, Hensel, Mike, Patty Hensel, Brittany, they'd, Today.com, Joshua Bowling, Bowling's, TikTok, didn't, Abby's, hashtags Organizations: Service, Time Magazine, Bethel University, St, Huffington, TLC, US Army, Facebook, Business, New York, TikTok, The New York Locations: Brittany Hensel , Minnesota, Paul , Minnesota, Europe, Minnesota, Brittany

☆ Oklahoma Was a Legal Marijuana Utopia. Then Came the Mass Murder
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Matt Stroud | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +32 min

Fourteen months after the murders, the garage of the abandoned marijuana farm on prairie tableland northwest of Oklahoma City sits frozen and dark. Broadway Avenue in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, about 30 miles south of where Wu Chen, 47, executed four people at a marijuana farm. When Oklahoma legalized medical marijuana, the only real requirement was that Oklahoma residents had to be involved in marijuana growing and selling. But Oklahoma required 75% of any marijuana business to be owned by an Oklahoma resident. Deputies from the Kingfisher County Sheriff's Office were the first to arrive at the scene of a quadruple homicide at an abandoned marijuana farm.

Persons: Wu Chen, Mike Simons, Kevin Stitt, Sean Hannity's, Dan Newhouse, Liu, Chen, Yi Fei Lin, Mark Woodward, —, OBN, Adria Berry, BI Adria Berry, I'm, Barb Miuccio, Jeremy Grable, Jeremy, Barb, she's, Barbara Miuccio, Treez, Matt Stacy, Stacy, Stitt, Jeremy they'd, he'd, OMMA, didn't, Barb didn't, Barbara, Stacy —, she'd, Stacy hadn't, BI Jonathan Riedlinger, Riedlinger, Lin, Qirong Lin, Hechun Chen, Qiang Chen, Fang Lee —, Wenbo Lin, Wu Chen —, Wenbo Lin didn't, Reidlinger, Jed Green, Matthew Alan Stacy, Barb —, — he's, He'd, Woodward, Helen Carillo, He's, Kevin Pham, Pham, BI Pham, ProPublica, recriminations, Green, It's, they're, I'd, Ken Thompson, Thompson, Chen didn't, He'll, Jonathan Riedlinger, Kiki, I've Organizations: Oklahoma City, Broadway, BI, Marijuana, Oklahoma, Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, Republican, Sean Hannity's Fox, Fox News, Chen Inc, Narcotics, BI Adria, Oklahoma's Army National Guard, OBN, Business, Oklahoma State Bureau of, Sheriff's, Prosecutors, CSI Accounting Services, Whitney Economics, NBC, Cannabis, Virginia Slim, Florida . Police Locations: Oklahoma, Kingfisher County , Oklahoma, Ames , Oklahoma, Kingfisher , Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, California, Arkansas, Republican Washington, China, Kingfisher County, Dallas, Moore , Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine, He's, Moore, Kingfisher, Hennessey , Oklahoma, OMMA, Mexico, Edmond, Tulsa, Russia, Bulgaria, Armenia, Steakhouse, Virginia, Florida, Miami Beach, Miami

☆ Wyoming Bans Gender Transition Care for Minors
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-22 | by ( Amy Harmon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mark Gordon’s signature, Wyoming joins 23 other states that have passed partial or total bans on gender-affirming care in recent years. Wyoming’s bill, known as Senate File 99, was approved by lawmakers in both chambers earlier this month. Under the legislation, doctors, pharmacists and other health care providers who provide gender-affirming care could have their licenses suspended or revoked. As in other states, proponents of the measure have argued that the treatments in minors are relatively new, and that the long-term effects are not well studied. “I signed SF99 because I support the protections this bill includes for children,” Mr. Gordon said in a statement.

Persons: Mark Gordon’s, Anthony Bouchard, ’, Gordon, “, ” Mr, ’ ’ Sara Burlingame Organizations: Democratic Locations: Wyoming

☆ Want to play red hot gold prices? Buy these 3 stocks, says top hedge fund manager
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-22 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Analysts are expecting gold prices to have even more upside from here . There is a common belief that gold prices tend to rise when interest rates fall, with bonds becoming less attractive as they no longer deliver attractive yields. Stock picks Want to play the gold theme via gold miners? Even in this environment, not all gold stocks are equal – with some big miners underperforming despite the record gold price, according to Neuhauser. A third stock he named is Canada-listed Wesdome Gold Mines , which he says fits his overall criteria for gold miners.

Persons: David Neuhauser, Neuhauser, there's, Joe Biden's, Newmont, they'll Organizations: U.S . Federal Reserve, CNBC Pro, Fed, Livermore Partners, U.S, U.S ., Stock, Barrick Gold, Mining, Mines Locations: Ukraine, Gaza, U.S, Canada, OECD

☆ Uber: Taxi drivers in Australia win $179 million from ride-sharing giant
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Uber will pay more than 8,000 taxi and hire car drivers in Australia almost 272 million Australian dollars ($179 million) in compensation for losses they suffered after the ride-sharing giant entered the country in 2012, lawyers representing the drivers said Monday. It has also made “significant contributions to various state-level taxi compensation schemes” in Australia since 2018, according to the company. Uber now teams up with taxi drivers in many countries. “This caused loss of income to authorized taxi drivers and operators, and hire car operators. In a statement on its website, Uber Australia said ride-sharing regulations did not exist anywhere in the world when it launched more than a decade ago.

Persons: London CNN — Uber, Maurice Blackburn, Uber, ” Maurice Blackburn, “, ” Uber, —, ”, Elizabeth O’Shea, Letitia James, Lyft, Dhruv Tikekar Organizations: London CNN, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, New York Locations: Australia, — Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, United States, United Kingdom, York

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York will evaluate its troubled recreational marijuana licensing program after lawsuits and bureaucratic stumbles severely hampered the legal market and allowed black-market sellers to flourish, Gov. Hochul, a Democrat, has described the state's recreational marijuana rollout as a “ disaster." The Office of Cannabis Management has just 32 people reviewing license applications but has received about 7,000 applications since last fall, a spokesman said. The state's review will embed Jeanette Moy, the commissioner of the state's Office of General Services, and other state government officials, in the cannabis management agency for at least 30 days. “We have built a cannabis market based on equity, and there is a lot to be proud of," said Chris Alexander, executive director of the Office of Cannabis Management.

Persons: Kathy Hochul, Jeanette Moy, Chris Alexander, Moy Organizations: —, Cannabis, Democrat, Cannabis Management, New York Cannabis, General Services Locations: ALBANY, N.Y, — New York, New York City, New

☆ New York Must Figure Out How to Fix Cannabis Mess, Hochul Orders
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Ashley Southall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Kathy Hochul has told New York officials to come up with a fix for the way the state licenses cannabis businesses amid widespread frustration over the plodding pace of the state’s legal cannabis rollout and the explosion of unlicensed dispensaries. The main goal of the review, to be conducted by Jeanette Moy, the commissioner of the Office of General Services, is to shorten the time it takes to process applications and get businesses open, officials said. The state Office of Cannabis Management, which recommends applicants to the board for final approval, received 7,000 applications for licenses last fall from businesses seeking to open dispensaries, grow cannabis and manufacture products. But regulators have awarded just 109 so far this year. The agency has just 32 people assigned to evaluate the applications.

Persons: Kathy Hochul, Jeanette Moy Organizations: New, Cannabis Control Board, General Services, of Cannabis Management Locations: New York

☆ How the billionaire creator of 5-Hour Energy's erratic takeover led to a fumble of Sports Illustrated
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Jack Newsham | Jake Swearingen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

A week earlier, he had become a large minority shareholder at The Arena Group, but had no official title. The company Bhargava claimed to be taking over was so poorly run that he questioned the intelligence of those in the meeting. He also said Bhargava was talking about his charitable endeavors in order to underscore his priorities to Arena Group employees. Media, Bhargava said in the meeting, was "biased." Days later, Bhargava sacked Arena Group CEO Ross Levinsohn, too, causing Levinsohn to angrily resign from the board.

Persons: —, Manoj Bhargava, Bhargava, Zoom, I'm, Steve Janisse, Vince Bodiford, Bodiford, Ross Levinsohn, Levinsohn, Rob Barrett, doesn't, ABG, Jamie Salter, Forbes, Janisse, Nielsen, Arena's, Riley, toh, Manoj, there's Organizations: Service, Arena Group, Energy, The, Business, Sports, Media, Arena, Authentic Brands, Washington Post, Princeton, IRS, United, United States Tax, Bridge Media, Sports Illustrated, Hans Foundation, International, Group, toh e New York Times, New York, Players ' Tribune, Office, BI Locations: NewsNet, India, United States, Michigan, toh e

☆ Authorities Seize Alligator Being Held Illegally in Home Near Buffalo
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Claire Fahy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The alligator’s name was Albert Edward. He was 11 feet long, 750 pounds heavy and 34 years old, and until this week, he lived in a pool house attached to his owner’s home in Hamburg, N.Y., about 13 miles south of Buffalo. The alligator’s owner had built an addition to his house where Albert lived in an in-ground swimming pool, according to the department. It is illegal to own an alligator in New York unless you have a license, according to a statement from the department. But those licenses are only for “scientific, educational, exhibition, zoological or propagation purposes,” the department’s website said.

Persons: Albert Edward, Albert Organizations: New York State Department of Environmental Locations: Hamburg, N.Y, Buffalo, New York

☆ Morgan Stanley's guide to investing in AI as use of the technology spreads
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Morgan Stanley is offering up alternative ways to play artificial intelligence beyond the usual tech "enablers" that have come to dominate investor attention. A report issued Tuesday entitled "15 Ways to Play AI" anticipates a "broadening out of the AI theme over the remainder of 2024 and into 2025" and notable AI adoption in areas such as gaming, education and biotechnology. The study, an outgrowth of Morgan Stanley's technology, media and telecom investment conference last week, highlights "the Tech Diffusion theme from all angles and all geographies." Against this backdrop, here are some of Morgan Stanley's top picks as AI broadens out: Several popular technology stocks made the list alongside AI mainstays such as Nvidia , Microsoft and Alphabet . Morgan Stanley included workplace management software company Asana on two of its AI lists, one of companies that are likely to get a productivity boost from AI, and another that highlighted "Global Adopters" of AI.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Morgan, Edward Stanley, —, Stanley, Morgan Stanley's, Oracle, Asana, Baker Hughes, Prologis, AbbVie Organizations: Microsoft, Meta, Edge, Companies, Nvidia, Apple, Baidu, Palantir Technologies Locations: London, Europe, ASAN

☆ BP and UAE suspend $2 billion gas deal in Israel as Gaza war drags on
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —BP and an oil company owned by the United Arab Emirates have shelved talks to buy a 50% stake in Israel’s leading natural gas producer, judging the $2 billion deal too risky as the war in Gaza rages. “There can be no certainty that discussions will resume or that an agreement will be reached in the future, nor as to the terms of an agreement should one be reached,” NewMed Energy said. But the war has strained those ties, and the UAE has repeatedly called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza. Separately, BP was one of six companies awarded licenses by Israel’s energy ministry in October to explore for natural gas off the country’s Mediterranean cost. Last month, they announced a joint venture to develop natural gas assets in Egypt.

Persons: Abu, Adnoc, NewMed Energy’s, Delek Organizations: London CNN, BP, United Arab Emirates, Energy, Starbucks, McDonald’s, KFC, NewMed Energy, Reuters, NewMed, Chevron Locations: Gaza, Tel Aviv, Israel, UAE, Egypt

☆ TikTok’s Security Threats Go Beyond the Scope of House Legislation
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( David E. Sanger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But that glosses over the deeper TikTok security problem, which the legislation does not fully address. Those algorithms, which guide how TikTok watches its users and feeds them more of what they want, are the magic sauce of an app that 170 million Americans now have on their phones. But TikTok doesn’t own those algorithms; they are developed by engineers who work for its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, which assembles the code in great secrecy in its software labs. But China has issued regulations that appear designed to require government review before any of ByteDance’s algorithms could to be licensed to outsiders. Few expect those licenses to be issued — meaning that selling TikTok to an American owner without the underlying code might be like selling a Ferrari without its famed engine.

Persons: TikTok Organizations: Republicans Locations: China

☆ SpaceX Starship: FAA approves company’s plans for third test flight
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —SpaceX is once again set to fly its gargantuan Starship rocket — the most powerful launch vehicle ever constructed — after federal regulators approved the company’s plans for a third test flight. This test flight comes after two attempts to get the massive Starship vehicle to orbital speeds in 2023 ended in explosions, with the spacecraft and booster erupting into flames before reaching their intended landing sites. What success looks like for SpaceXMusk has indicated that he believes Starship has a high chance of successfully completing this third test flight. “Certainly the third flight is a much better rocket than flights one or two.”Musk said before the last Starship test flight in November that the vehicle had about a 50% chance of success. After the first and second Starship test flights ended in explosions, the company immediately sought to frame these mishaps as successes.

Persons: Elon Musk, Artemis, SpaceX Musk, ”, ” Musk Organizations: CNN, SpaceX, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, NASA, Super Locations: United States, China, of Mexico

☆ Intel survived bid to halt millions in sales to China's Huawei, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"No American company, especially those receiving taxpayer funding, should be fueling its innovation," he said, referencing Intel's expected grant from the Commerce Department to expand its U.S. chip production. Republican Senator Marco Rubio called on the Biden administration to revoke Intel's license to sell to Huawei "immediately" following the Reuters report. Intel, Huawei, the Commerce Department and the White House declined to comment. Intel's share of sales of Huawei laptops containing its chips soared during the period from 52.9% to 90.7%, according to the presentation. Meanwhile, Huawei continues to rely heavily on Intel chips for its laptops, its website shows.

Persons: Patrick Gelsinger, Marco Rubio, Biden, Joe Biden, Trump, Donald Trump Organizations: Intel Corp, Intel Innovation, Intel, Huawei, Commerce Department, Republican, Reuters, AMD, Devices, White, Embassy, NPD, GfK, IRI, NIQ, U.S Locations: Intel Innovation Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan, U.S, China, Washington, United States, Beijing

☆ Larry Ellison is $15 billion richer after Oracle's best day on stock market since 2021
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Ari Levy | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Oracle founder Larry Ellison notched a $15 billion gain on Tuesday after shares of his software company had their best day in over two years and closed at a record. Oracle shares soared 12% to close at $127.54, after the software vendor reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that beat analysts' expectations. "We are building large numbers of data centers and some of those data centers are smallish, but some of those data centers are the largest AI data centers in the world." Over the past year, Oracle shares have now spiked 52%, lifting Ellison's worth by about $50 billion. Unlike Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison has been hanging onto all his stock rather than selling off chunks.

Persons: Larry Ellison, Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos, FactSet, hasn't, Bezos Organizations: Oracle Inc, Oracle, Forbes, Boeing Locations: Hamilton , Bermuda, United States

☆ Small practices are struggling to stay afloat 3 weeks after the cyberattack that crippled the US healthcare industry
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

It's been three weeks since a cyberattack on an under-the-radar but critical technology company caused the payments that flow between healthcare providers and insurers to grind to a halt nationwide. The US healthcare system has been crippled by the cyberattack on Change Healthcare, the company owned by UnitedHealth Group that connects healthcare providers and pharmacies to insurers and facilitates 15 billion transactions each year. And some patients can't afford their prescriptions because pharmacies can't process drug coupons. For many healthcare providers, UnitedHealth and the federal government's response to the ongoing crisis has fallen short. Industry groups including the American Hospital Association and American Medical Association urged the federal government to provide emergency financial support to healthcare providers.

Persons: It's, Sarah von Colditz, Von Colditz, she's, von Colditz, greenlit, UnitedHealth, it's, Kate Ecke, wasn't, Ecke, I've, Optum, Keely Helmick, CareOregon, She's, Helmick, I'm, Brittany Goff, she'd, hasn't, Goff, we're, they've, Tiffany Kettermann, Kettermann Organizations: Business, Healthcare, UnitedHealth Group, US Justice Department, American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, US Health, Human Services Department, Unconventional, HHS, Zen Psychological, Health Allies, Covid Locations: Astoria , Oregon, New Jersey, Portland , Oregon, Maryland, Shoreline

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's government criticized senior doctors at a major hospital for threatening to resign in support of the weekslong walkouts by thousands of medical interns and residents that have disrupted hospital operations. But in some major hospitals like the Seoul National University Hospital, they account for about 30%-40% of the total doctors, assisting senior doctors during surgeries and dealing with inpatients while training. Their walkouts have subsequently caused numerous canceled surgeries and other treatments at their hospitals and burdened South Korea’s medical service. But doctors say newly recruited students would also try to work in the capital region and in high-paying fields like plastic surgery and dermatology. Critics say doctors — one of the best-paid professions in South Korea — are only worrying about the possibility of a lower income in the future.

Persons: JaeSeung, Park, Cho KyooHong Organizations: Seoul National University Hospital, Health Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, South

☆ Microsoft destroys rival cloud firms' profit margins, Amazon-backed group alleges
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Igor Golovniov | Sopa Images | Lightrocket via Getty ImagesMicrosoft was accused Friday of abusing the dominance of its Azure cloud computing unit to squeeze a — and, in some cases, evaporate — the profit margins of rival cloud platforms in Europe. Under those rules, Microsoft required firms to purchase a Software Assurance license and "mobility rights" if they wanted to deploy their Microsoft software on hosted cloud services offered by rival providers. It also formed the basis of an investigation from the European Commission seeking to determine whether Microsoft's cloud practices are anti-competitive. But the growth of the unnamed cloud vendor's profit margins didn't match Microsoft's, and in fact the competing cloud vendor saw their margins fall from a positive mid-twenties percentage in 2018 to double-digit negative profit margins in 2023. The biggest decline in profit margins for this cloud firm occurred in 2019, the same year Microsoft changed its licensing terms to favor licensing software on Azure, the CISPE said.

Persons: Igor Golovniov, Redmond, Brad Smith, CISPE, Frederic Jenny, Jenny Organizations: Ofcom, Microsoft, Getty, European Union, Software Assurance, Google, Italy's, Big Tech, European Commission, CNBC, Amazon, Windows, ESSEC Business School Locations: Europe, CISPE, Washington, Italy's Aruba, Paris

☆ Live in DC? Get ready for 20% service charges when you eat out.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewCouncil members in DC voted to allow restaurants and bars to charge service fees of up to 20%, provided that it's made clear to diners before they order. Travelers United, a nonprofit that filed lawsuits against two restaurant groups that charged service fees in DC, argued that they were deceptive. The Washington Post reported that some restaurants had introduced service charges to cover the higher wages they now need to pay staff. The minimum wage that employers have to pay for tipped workers in DC is currently $8 an hour. AdvertisementFrom July 1, when the District minimum wage goes up to $17.50 an hour, restaurants will have to pay tipped workers a minimum of $10 an hour.

Persons: —, it's, they're, Muriel E, Bowser Organizations: Service, Business, Travelers United, DC, District's, Washington Post Locations: DC, Tuesday's

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's president vowed Wednesday not to tolerate the prolonged walkouts by thousands of junior doctors, calling them “an illegal collective action” that threatens public health and shakes the country’s governing systems. Their walkouts have subsequently caused hundreds of canceled surgeries and other treatments at their hospitals and burdened South Korea's medical service. But if senior doctors joined the walkouts, South Korea's medical service would suffer a major blow. The Korean Medical Association, which represents doctors in South Korea, has expressed its support for the striking junior doctors, but hasn't decided whether to take part in the walkouts. Police were investigating allegations that five senior KMA officials incited and abetted the junior doctors' walkouts, and said they summoned one of them Wednesday.

Persons: Yoon Suk, ” Yoon, ”, haven’t, Heath, hasn't Organizations: Health Ministry, Health, South, Korean Medical Association, . Police Locations: SEOUL, South Korea

☆ AMD reportedly hits U.S. regulatory roadblock for China-tailored chip
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Dylan Butts | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A smartphone with a displayed AMD logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. The report said AMD designed the chip to have lower performance than its premium products in order to comply with U.S. export restrictions. But Bloomberg reported the Commerce Department did not clear the chip for sale in China because it was still too advanced. AMD will now have to obtain a license from the department's Bureau of Industry and Security, the report said. AMD and the Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security did not immediately respond to CNBC's requests for comment.

Persons: It's Organizations: Devices, Bloomberg, AMD, Commerce Department, department's Bureau of Industry, Security, Commerce's Bureau of Industry Locations: China, department's, U.S, Beijing

Search resuls for: "Licenses"

25 mentions found