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☆ Alibaba and Ant venture to launch RISC-V chips for payments
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The development comes as Chinese companies continue to invest heavily in chips, in the wake of U.S. export restrictions targeting China's semiconductor sector. Alibaba is one of several Chinese tech companies to pour research and development resources into RISC-V, an alternate chip architecture. The open-source nature of RISC-V's design in theory makes it less susceptible to export restrictions. In 2019, Washington imposed export restrictions on China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd (HWT.UL), which threw the company's access to ARM designs in limbo. In late 2022, the United States launched similar export restrictions on Chinese chip fabs and research labs.

☆ Ant-Man’s Shrinkage Is a Problem for Disney—and Theaters
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Dan Gallagher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Paul Rudd and Jonathan Majors star in ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.’Disney ’s smallest superhero doesn’t appear to have much legs. That is a growing problem for the Mouse House, and for those showcasing its fare. “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” is the 23rd theatrical movie Disney has produced and released from its Marvel franchise. That doesn’t count the three “Spider-Man” movies produced by Sony that are considered part of the franchise’s cinematic universe, nor the five Marvel movies that came out prior to 2012’s “The Avengers,” which marked the first Disney-produced theatrical release after acquiring Marvel for $4.3 billion in 2009. Still, Disney’s end hasn’t been a bad haul; its own Marvel movies to date have grossed more than $22 billion in worldwide box-office, according to the industry-tracking site the Numbers.

☆ Airtel would be a complex saviour for Paytm
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Shritama Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

An investment from tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal would deliver a timely vote of confidence in the loss-making Indian financial technology darling whose Chinese investors are exiting. Currently it only has a payments bank licence, so it can accept deposits but not lend. New shareholders might also help ease an ongoing regulatory freeze on Paytm accepting deposits from new customers. He is seeking a stake in Paytm by merging his financial services unit – Airtel Payments Bank – into Paytm’s comparable unit, and wants to buy shares in its parent too from other holders, per Bloomberg. Mittal seeks to fold Airtel Payments Bank into Paytm Payments Bank in a stock deal and is also seeking to buy Paytm shares from other holders, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information.

☆ 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania' box office suffered steep decline in second week
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

That's the sentiment from box office analysts after the Marvel Cinematic Universe's latest film "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" saw the sharpest decline in ticket sales from opening weekend to second weekend in franchise history. To be sure, "Quantumania" is one of the worst reviewed Marvel films, with a 48% "rotten" critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes. "Thor: Love and Thunder," "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" and "Spider-Man: No Way Home," a co-production with Sony , all saw second week drops in excess of 67%. The film also has more counter-programming than other Marvel films released in the last few years. He pointed to "Violent Night" and "M3gan," in addition to "Cocaine Bear," as films that have outperformed expectations at the box office.

☆ SoftBank, Ant discuss to sell Paytm stake via block deal - ET
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] The interface of Indian payments app Paytm is seen in front of its logo displayed in this illustration picture taken July 7, 2021. REUTERS/Florence Lo/IllustrationFeb 27 (Reuters) - China's Ant Group and Japan's SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) have discussed selling stake in One 97 Communications, which operatesIndian digital payments firm Paytm (PAYT.NS), through a block deal, the Economic Times newspaper reported on Monday. SoftBank, Ant Group, Paytm and Bharti Airtel did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comments. Ant and SoftBank are likely to offload shares gradually in the market as part of their plan to exit Paytm, the report said. China's Alibaba Group (9988.HK) earlier this month sold its remaining stake in Paytm for about 13.78 billion rupees.

☆ See The Real-Life Mushrooms That Inspired The Zombies in "The Last of Us"
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Don Steinberg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The documentary shows jungle ants whose brains have been addled by a real parasitic fungus called cordyceps that acts like a neurotransmitter inside them. Cordyceps growing out of an ant. photo: Jasper Nance/Flickr

☆ All 31 Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, ranked by how much money they made at the global box office
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Travis Clark | Samantha Delouya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Universal Pictures Worldwide box office: $264.7 million Total domestic box office: $134.8 million Domestic opening weekend: $55.4 million Budget: $150 million 29. Disney/Marvel Worldwide box office: $370.6 million Total domestic box office: $176.7 million Domestic opening weekend: $65 million Budget: $140 million 28. "Ant-Man" (2015) Marvel Worldwide box office: $519.3 million Total domestic box office: $180.2 million Domestic opening weekend: $57.2 million Budget: $130 million 23. Marvel Studios Worldwide box office: $644.8 million Total domestic box office: $206.4 million Domestic opening weekend: $85.7 million Budget: $170 million 19. Marvel/Sony Worldwide box office: $880.2 million Total domestic box office: $334.2 million Domestic opening weekend: $117 million Budget: $175 million 11.

☆ Asia tech is back, Bernstein says, naming Alibaba and 5 more top picks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

China's reopening is seen as a major tailwind for stock markets this year, and Bernstein has shared a list of stock picks to cash in — which it says also provide downside protection. The bank said it favors "laggards" — beaten down stocks of last year — as providing the "best exposure" this quarter in Asia. Add tech stocks One sector that Bernstein likes is tech. Bernstein also likes Tencent , with the bank expecting Tencent to be a "share winner" in advertising in the "next few years." Alibaba should benefit from reopening, but Pinduoduo and JD market share trends should look stronger in the medium term," the bank said.

☆ Ant Group quarterly net profit plunges by 82.7% -Alibaba filing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SHANGHAI, Feb 23 (Reuters) - China's Ant Group on Thursday made net profit of 3.05 billion yuan ($442.13 million) in the three months to Sept. 30, down 82.7% from a year earlier, according to Reuters calculations from Alibaba Group Holding's earnings report. The e-commerce giant reports profit from Ant one quarter in arrears. ($1 = 6.8985 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Josh Horwitz Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ In China, more families on the fence on home buying, foreclosures cloud sector
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Stabilising the crisis-hit property sector will be a key challenge for policymakers this year as they try to kick-start an economic recovery. The number of families opting to stay on the sidelines for property in the last quarter rose to 27.2% of respondents from 20.1% in July-October, the survey showed. Respondents' willingness to allocate money to domestic stocks, funds, and overseas asset classes also increased, the survey showed. Cities with high numbers of foreclosures were mostly in central and western China, as well as the prosperous Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta regions, according to the property research firm. But analysts expect a sustainable recovery in the sector will only kick in towards the second half of this year.

☆ Baidu says its alternative to ChatGPT is coming to the public in March
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Sun Yilei | ReutersBEIJING — Chinese tech giant Baidu said Wednesday its artificial intelligence product Ernie bot is set to open to the public next month. "We will embed Ernie bot into Baidu search first and we'll open it to the public in March," Baidu CEO Robin Li said Wednesday during an earnings call, according to a FactSet transcript. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Baidu 12-month share performanceDespite widespread assessments that ChatGPT is transformative for tech, businesses don't have a clear path to monetization yet. For Ernie bot, public partnership announcements include Baidu-backed video streaming platform iQiyi's plans for connecting to the bot for search and AI-generated content. Baidu-backed electric car startup Jidu — which is set to start deliveries this year — also said it plans to incorporate Ernie bot.

☆ Beijing mutes ChatGPT meme rally
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, Feb 23 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The rally in Chinese stocks associated with conversational bots, a side-effect of the popularity of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, has been knocked sideways. Beijing has ordered big Chinese technology companies including Tencent (0700.HK) and Ant not to offer ChatGPT services on their platforms, the Nikkei reported citing people with direct knowledge. The latter’s Hong Kong shares surged 45% between the start of the year and early February, before falling by a fifth since. OpenAI, which is backed by Microsoft (MSFT.O), won’t let Chinese residents create ChatGPT accounts. Still, despite warm noises from Beijing about supporting technology companies, its politics still stifles innovation.

☆ Singapore's digital banks dangle incentives to win new customers — is it sustainable?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Singapore's new digital retail banks are offering lower fees, more incentives and waiving minimum account balances to win over customers from traditional banks. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesSINGAPORE — Digital retail banks in Singapore are pulling out all stops to win new customers. Unlike traditional banks — like DBS , OCBC and UOB — which operate physical branches and automated teller machines, digital banks operate entirely online. Singapore's new digital banksThe city-state gave out four digital bank licenses in December 2020. The other two digital wholesale bank licenses were bagged by Ant Group's ANEXT Bank and Green Link Digital Bank, catering to small-and-medium enterprises and other non-retail segments.

☆ NBA and Ant Group launch a strategic partnership in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

A logo of Ant Group is seen at the company's headquarters on October 9, 2020 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China. Chinese fintech giant Ant Group said on Tuesday it had entered a strategic partnership with the NBA league in China that would see the two cooperate in areas such as video content, program broadcasting and membership. Fans in China would have access to NBA video content on Alipay, the hugely popular payments app owned by Ant Group, the company said in a statement. The collaboration with the professional basketball league's Chinese business arm will also cover areas such as joint marketing campaigns and digital collectables, Ant Group said.

☆ NBA, Ant Group launch strategic partnership in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SHANGHAI, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Chinese fintech giant Ant Group (688688.SS) said on Tuesday it has entered a strategic partnership with the NBA league in China that will see the two cooperate in areas such as video content, program broadcasting and membership. Ant made the announcement on its official WeChat account. Reporting by Brenda Goh and Roxanne Liu; Editing by Tom HogueOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Disney’s New ‘Ant-Man’ Movie Brings in Over $100 Million on Opening Weekend
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Robbie Whelan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Paul Rudd continues his role as Ant-Man in ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.’Ant-Man often bests his enemies by shrinking to the size of an insect or growing as tall as a skyscraper, as the situation demands. The character’s ticket sales seem to be supersizing with each new movie that comes out. “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” from Walt Disney Co.’s Marvel Studios, overcame middling reviews from critics to earn $104 million in domestic ticket sales in its debut, making it the third-highest grossing February release ever, after the 2016 superhero comedy “Deadpool” and Marvel’s 2018 blockbuster “Black Panther,” according to box-office tracker Comscore.

☆ Marvel's 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania' scores $104 million during domestic debut
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Paul Rudd is Scott Lang, aka Ant-Man, alongside Johnathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror in "Ant-Man and the Wasp in Quantumania." Disney and Marvel Studios' "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" scored an estimated $104 million at the domestic box office during its opening weekend. "Quantumania's" domestic haul is nearly double what the first standalone Ant-Man film opened to in 2015 and marks the 31st consecutive MCU release to debut at number one at the domestic box office. Internationally, "Quantumania" took in $121 million, bringing its estimated global haul for the three-day spread to $225 million. "'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania' sets into motion what looks to be week after week of solid moviegoing and creates momentum for a solid summer movie season."

☆ ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ Review: Where More Is Less
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Kyle Smith | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Anyone who has been to a comic-book movie lately can tell you that should any interlude dare to linger more than about 37 seconds in a situation where not much is taking place except people talking, the theater will start twinkling like a galaxy as viewers take out their phones to check their messages. To forestall such fidgeting, superhero sagas grow increasingly desperate not to let any period appreciably longer than a Toyota commercial elapse without a frenzied chase, thunderous battle, jolly musical interlude, display of things not seen on this earth, or instance of the universe being turned inside out. The latest hectic example, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” inaugurates Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is as financially hale as it is creatively tired. Thanks to a few sweet father-daughter moments and a relatively direct plot, this entry is a notch better than some even-more-febrile recent efforts such as “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and “Thor: Love and Thunder.” But overall it’s another lackluster blockbuster. It does contain one genuinely awe-inspiring visual spectacle (the face of Paul Rudd , the only American man who looks nearly as good now as he did during the Clinton administration) and one truly scary concept (teen activist daughters bent on achieving universal social justice when you wish they’d just do their homework).

"Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania" premiered in theaters on February 17. How to watch 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania'"Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania" is now available to watch exclusively in theaters. When will 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania' be available on Disney Plus? "Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania" is expected to start streaming on Disney Plus later this year. With this range in mind, "Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania" should hit Disney Plus in April or May.

☆ 'Ant-Man and the Wasp in Quantumania' eyes $100 million open after $17.5 million Thursday
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Disney's "Ant-Man and the Wasp in Quantumania" collected $17.5 million in Thursday night previews on its way towards a $100 million opening weekend. Previously, 2015's "Ant-Man" snared $6 million on Thursday before tallying $57 million over the three-day spready. 2018's "Ant-Man and the Wasp" secured $12 million on its Thursday debut and $76 million across Friday, Saturday and Sunday. "'Quantumania' is tracking to become the best February box office opener in five years," said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com. Lackluster critical reviews of the film likely won't deter moviegoers.

☆ 'The Last of Us' is based on real science: A fungus pandemic is unlikely, but not impossible
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

"The Last of Us" on HBO Max depicts a zombie apocalypse caused by a fungus pandemic. Here's the science fact and fiction behind the show, and the possibility of a fungal pandemic. The new scenario, first realized in the video game that the show is based on, is making viewers wonder whether a fungus pandemic can happen in real life. "A fungal pandemic is definitely possible," Norman Van Rhijn, a mycologist researching fungal infections at the University of Manchester, told Insider in an email. Still, fungal infections are on the rise worldwide, and researchers are concerned that more and more people are at risk.

[1/4] Director Peyton Reed poses at a premiere for the film "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" in Los Angeles, California, U.S., February 6, 2023. "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" is the first movie in phase five of Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe. It takes the superhero and his resizing powers into the Quantum realm, a subatomic world where he meets new challenges. Reality melted away and brought her into the fantasy world that many children grew up reading about in the Marvel comic books, she noted. Disney artists assembled new environments, creatures, buildings and an entire internal history and logic to make the Quantum realm come to life.

☆ 'Ant-Man and the Wasp in Quantumania' reviews: The villain is good, but the movie is bad
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

DisneyAre the pint-sized heroes of Disney's "Ant-Man and the Wasp in Quantumania" enough to take on the newest — and baddest — villain of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Marvel Studios' "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania." "Ant-Man and the Wasp in Quantumania" held a 53% "rotten" rating from 148 reviews, as of Wednesday afternoon. "Sometimes the weight of all this responsibility causes 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania' ... to buckle at the knees," O'Sullivan wrote. Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) in "Ant-Man and The Wasp in Quantumania."

☆ Alibaba exit is first remedy for Paytm’s woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, Feb 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Alibaba’s (9988.HK), exit will be a relief for India’s Paytm (PAYT.NS). The move makes sense for Alibaba, though Paytm’s other Chinese backer, Ant, may find it harder to cash out. Paytm’s languishing stock is up over 27% in four days following the better-than-expected quarterly numbers. That allowed Alibaba’s Singapore arm to exit the company at 643 rupees per share, a decent 10% higher than its average purchase price. That implies Paytm’s stock still has a steep climb before the Chinese payments group may be willing to sell.

☆ Alibaba sells remaining stake at India's Paytm as it continues to exit market
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

In January, Alibaba sold about 3% of Paytm for $125 million, cutting its holdings from 6.26%, based on NSE data. ‘India’s Alipay’Founded in 2010, Paytm is India’s largest payment platform, with more than 300 million registered customers and over 20 million merchants. Paytm and Ant Group had been working on “synergies” since Ant made the initial investment, the company said. In early 2021, Alibaba sold a major stake in BigBasket, an online grocery retailer, to Indian conglomerate Tata Group. In May 2022, Alibaba and Ant Group offloaded their entire stake in Paytm Mall, the e-commerce platform of Paytm.

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