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☆ HP misses revenue estimates as inflation saps PC demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Global PC shipments declined nearly 30% in the January-March period to levels lower than before the pandemic, according to data from research firm IDC. Sales for HP's Personal Systems segment - home to its desktop and notebook PCs - dropped 29% in the reported quarter, while the company's printing segment recorded a 5% fall. HP said it expects second-half revenue to be higher than the first half, even though the year-on-year comparison will still be negative. California-based HP's second-quarter revenue was $12.91 billion. On an adjusted basis, HP earned 80 cents per share, compared with expectations of 76 cents.

Persons: Enrique Lores, Tiyashi Datta, Jeffery Dastin, Devika Organizations: HP Inc, Companies, HP, Lenovo, HK, Dell Technologies Inc, Global, IDC, Reuters, Thomson Locations: California, Bengaluru, Palo Alto

☆ China's industrial profits tumble 18% in April as demand sputters
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Profits at China's industrial firms slumped in the first four months of 2023, official data showed on Saturday, as companies continued to struggle with margin pressures and soft demand amid a faltering economic recovery. In April alone, industrial firms posted a 18.2% drop in profit year-on-year, according to the NBS, which only occasionally gives monthly figures. Chinese companies are struggling with both weak demand at home and softening demand in the country's major export markets. Earlier this month, Premier Li Qiang vowed more targeted measures to expand domestic demand and stabilize external demand in an effort to promote a sustained economic rebound. Industrial profit numbers cover firms with annual revenues of at least 20 million yuan ($2.89 million) from their main operations.

☆ China industrial profits tumble 18% in April as demand sputters
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BEIJING, May 27 (Reuters) - Profits at China's industrial firms slumped in the first four months of 2023, official data showed on Saturday, as companies continued to struggle with margin pressures and soft demand amid a faltering economic recovery. In April alone, industrial firms posted a 18.2% drop in profit year-on-year, according to the NBS, which only occasionally gives monthly figures. Chinese companies are struggling with both weak demand at home and softening demand in the country's major export markets. Earlier this month, Premier Li Qiang vowed more targeted measures to expand domestic demand and stabilise external demand in an effort to promote a sustained economic rebound. Industrial profit numbers cover firms with annual revenues of at least 20 million yuan ($2.89 million) from their main operations.

☆ Microsoft is bringing an A.I. chatbot to data analysis
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Scott Guthrie, executive vice president of Microsoft's cloud and artificial intelligence group, speaks at the Microsoft CIO Summit in Redmond, Washington, on Feb. 1, 2023. Microsoft 's hefty investment in artificial intelligence chatbots is finding its way into data analysis. For example, the data can be tapped in Synapse Data Science for collaborating on AI models and Power BI business intelligence software for building charts and dashboards. A single Copilot will be available for the tools in the Microsoft Fabric portfolio, which includes Data Factory, Synapse Data Engineering, Synapse Data Warehousing, Synapse Real-Time Analytics and a new monitoring tool called Data Activator, in addition to Power BI and Synapse Data Science, a Microsoft spokesperson said. He said that Copilot will be able to write formulas using Microsoft's Data Analysis Expressions language in Power BI.

Xbox Game Pass vs. PlayStation Plus: GamesHorizon: Forbidden West is one of the latest high-profile games to hit PlayStation Plus. Horizon Forbidden West / SonyThe main selling points of Game Pass and PlayStation Plus are their Netflix-style libraries of downloadable games. Xbox Game Pass' recent day-one releases include the cooperative shooter Redfall, and the rhythm-based action game Hi-Fi Rush. Game Pass members get a 10% discount when buying games that are already on Game Pass, so you can always get a deal before a game leaves the service entirely. That 10% discount also applies to downloadable content and add-ons for Game Pass games, which aren't always included with the base version.

☆ Microsoft releases update that allows iPhone users to text from Windows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Microsoft announced Monday that the latest version of Phone Link for Windows 11 PCs can receive notifications, send texts and answer calls from a user's paired iPhone. Most Americans use iPhones, and Apple's integration across its products has helped its Mac business take market share from Windows PCs in recent years. It works through Bluetooth, according to The Verge, and requires the iPhone to have Microsoft's "Link to Windows" app installed. A Phone Link-enabled Windows PC gets notifications from the user's iPhone and shows the messages in Windows. It doesn't support group texts through iMessage and doesn't allow users to send photos or videos, either.

☆ Amazon, Embracer strike deal to make 'Lord of the Rings' video game
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The Hobbiton Movie Set, a location for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogy, is pictured in Matamata, New Zealand, December 27, 2020. REUTERS/Praveen MenonMay 15 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and Swedish game developer Embracer Group have agreed to develop and publish a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game based on fantasy series "The Lord of the Rings", the companies said on Monday. The game, which is in the early stages of development, will be set in Middle-earth, featuring stories of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" literary trilogy written by J.R.R. Video game publisher Electronic Arts also launched its mobile game "The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth" earlier this month. Earlier in 2021, Amazon had canceled an online role-playing game based on "The Lord of the Rings", which was announced in 2019.

☆ Microsoft opens up Bing access and adds chat history and export features
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Microsoft said Thursday that it's dispensing with the waiting list it has had in place for the past three months for its revamped Bing search engine, allowing anyone with a Microsoft account to use it. Kumar said the company will provide more details on how developers can build for the Bing chatbot at its Microsoft Build developer conference, which starts on May 23. That means Google has yet to allow people to use the Bing chatbot from Google's dominant Chrome browser. Microsoft includes Edge in its Windows 10 and Windows 11 operating systems, and the default search engine in Edge is Bing. may ruin Alphabet's only real business: Google Search, says CIC Wealth's Malcolm Ethridge

☆ Infineon raises full-year guidance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, May 4 (Reuters) - German chipmaker Infineon (IFXGn.DE) raised its full-year guidance on Thursday, citing strong demand from the electromobility, renewable energy generation and energy infrastructure sectors. Infineon now sees full-year revenues of 16.2 billion euros ($17.96 billion)- plus or minus 300 million - compared with its previous forecast for 15.5 billion and with analyst consensus for 16.1 billion. The group, whose chips are used in cars and data centres, had in February already lifted its full-year forecast on strong demand from carmakers, which are restocking inventories following a global chip glut, leading to higher prices. Shares in Infineon rose 1% in early Frankfurt trade. ($1 = 0.9021 euros)Reporting by Maria Sheahan, editing by Kirsti KnolleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Apple set to report quarterly earnings after the bell
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Apple is scheduled to report fiscal second-quarter results after the close of regular trading on Thursday. Here's what analysts are expecting:EPS: $1.43 per share, according to Refinitiv$1.43 per share, according to Refinitiv Revenue: $92.96 billion, according to RefinitivRevenue is expected to decrease 4.4% from $97.28 billion in the same quarter a year ago. The information it provided earlier this year suggested that sales would drop for a second straight quarter by roughly 5%. In the first quarter, PC shipments decreased almost 30%, according to IDC, while smartphone shipments were off 14%. Apple's report wraps up earnings season for tech's mega-cap companies, after Alphabet , Amazon , Meta and Microsoft all issued results last week.

☆ Apple beats revenue, profit estimate on iPhone sales growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Profit was flat at $1.52 per share, compared with estimates of a 5.7% fall to $1.43 per share, according to Refinitiv data. IPhone sales rose 1.5% to $51.33 billion, compared with analyst expectations of a 3.3% decline to $48.9 billion, according to Refinitiv. Mac sales fell more than 30% to $7.17 billion compared with analyst estimates of a 25% decline to $7.8 billion, according to Refinitiv. Apple's sales fared only slightly better than PC unit shipments in the market, which fell 33% in the calendar first quarter, according to Canalys data. Both were roughly the same as the 23 cents-per-share dividend and previous $90 billion share repurchase increase the company announced a year ago.

☆ AMD shares sink following weak revenue forecasts due to a PC slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailAMD shares sink following weak revenue forecasts due to a PC slowdownCNBC's Deirdre Bosa joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss the short-term slowdown in PCs and data centers, the early stages of the A.I. market cycle, and competition in the A.I. chip space.

☆ Wall Street wants to see if AMD can rebound in 2 key businesses. But analysts disagree on how to play the stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Wall Street is focused on the potential for a bounce back within Advanced Micro Devices ' struggling personal computer and data center businesses. Arya's price target of $95 reflects the potential for an upside of 5.7% over Tuesday's close. Meanwhile, Citi's Christopher Danely said data center growth estimates for the second half seem aggressive. "We believe there could be more downside to AMD's data center business as AMD's data center revenue has only corrected 22% from its peak in 3Q22 while Intel's data center business has corrected 42%." Moore said the data center business was down 22% quarter over quarter, while PCs dropped 18% quarter over quarter and 65% year over year.

☆ AMD revenue drops 9% as PC chip sales decline sharply
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

AMD reported first-quarter results on Tuesday that showed revenue dropping 9% on an annual basis. While earnings and sales beat Wall Street expectations, AMD's guidance for the current quarter was light and shares dropped over 3% in extended trading. AMD reported $739 million in sales in the category, a 65% decrease from $2.1 billion in sales during the same period last year. AMD management also said that the category is likely to grow in the current quarter. Last week, Intel, AMD's primary competitor in the PC and server chip markets, reported that its overall sales dropped 36%.

☆ The big cybersecurity risks when ChatGPT and AI are secretly used by employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Mikaela Cohen | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Soaring investment from big tech companies in artificial intelligence and chatbots — amid massive layoffs and a growth decline — has left many chief information security officers in a whirlwind. But not every company has its own GPT, so companies need to monitor how workers use this technology. PCs were similar, so we're seeing the equivalent now with generative AI." "If you're a corporation, you don't want your employees prompting a publicly available chatbot with confidential information," Chui said. Protection of confidential information, regulation of where the information gets stored, and guidelines for how employees can use the software — all are standard procedure when companies license software, AI or not.

☆ US Army admits ‘error’ could force pilots to serve 3 years longer than they thought they’d signed up for
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Haley Britzky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

A problem surrounding how service obligation contracts are enforced could result in hundreds of pilots having to stay in uniform three years longer than they’d expected, possibly disrupting plans for civilian life, including wedding plans, their spouse’s careers and their own civilian employment opportunities. After realizing the mistake for those officers, Drew said the Army then did an audit of sorts for other aviation officers, finding the error that is now impacting roughly 600 people. “As an Aviation Officer near the end of my understood service obligation, this impacts my family and I the most as I am attempting to make the transition to civilian life,” the letter said. But Army pilots have an additional obligation of six years in uniform after they complete flight school. But no matter what occurred in the past, the officer told CNN that dozens of aviators are prepared to pursue legal action in court if the Army doesn’t resolve the issue.

During a conference call with investors, the company projected that adjusted gross margins will climb above 40% in the second half, having hit historic lows in the first half of the year. Underscoring Intel's profitability slump in recent years, its first-quarter unadjusted gross margin fell to 34.2%, almost half of its multi-decade high of over 67% in 2010. The company forecast a further drop to an unadjusted gross margin of 33.2% for the second quarter. "While we understand investors may be disappointed in its 2Q23 gross margin outlook, we are confident that Intel's gross margin will recover in 2H23 as the burden of factory underutilization and new product start-up cost diminishes," said Kinngai Chan, analyst at Summit Insights Group. Intel said adjusted losses were 4 cents per share, above analysts' expectations of a 15 cent per share adjusted loss.

☆ Intel reports largest quarterly loss in company history
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

It's also Intel's largest quarterly loss of all time, beating out the fourth quarter of 2017, when it lost $687 million. In the first quarter, Intel swung to a net loss of $2.8 billion, or 66 cents per share, from a net profit of $8.1 billion, or $1.98 per share, last year . For the second quarter, Intel expects to lose 4 cents per share on revenue of $12 billion. Still, the loss per share and sales were slightly better than soft Wall Street expectations. In the meantime, a business that used to print money is struggling, especially in PC chips, which used to be the company's strongest product line.

☆ Cloud, not consoles, blocks Microsoft's Activision view in UK
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, April 26 (Reuters) - For all the thunder about Xbox versus PlayStation, it was the nascent cloud market that led to Britain's surprise decision to block Microsoft's record Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O) takeover. That only answered the CMA's console concerns, leaving cloud gaming as the only remaining - and apparently lower - hurdle. Defining cloud gaming is not simple. The CMA disagreed, saying that cloud was the most rapidly growing sector in gaming, while consoles were a mature market. It said Microsoft already accounted for 60-70% of global cloud gaming services and had other trump cards: Xbox, the leading PC operating system Windows and cloud provider Azure.

☆ UK blocks Microsoft's $69 bln Activision deal over cloud gaming concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The country's antitrust regulator said on Wednesday that Microsoft's commitment to offer access to Activision's multi-billion dollar "Call of Duty" franchise to leading cloud gaming platforms would not effectively remedy its concerns. The gaming company also reported quarterly results on Wednesday, a day earlier than scheduled, beating quarterly bookings estimates although that seemed to do little to allay investor concerns about Britain's move. Europe will decide on the Activision deal by May 22. The CMA said the cloud gaming market was forecast to be worth 11 billion pounds ($13.7 billion) globally by 2026. The CMA said Microsoft had an estimated 60%-70% of global cloud gaming services as well as competitive advantages including owning Xbox, PC operating system Windows and cloud provider Azure.

☆ UK blocks Microsoft $69 bln Activision deal over cloud gaming concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The country's antitrust regulator said on Wednesday that Microsoft's commitment to offer access to Activision's multi-billion dollar "Call of Duty" franchise to leading cloud gaming platforms would not effectively remedy its concerns. Microsoft announced its Activision bid in January 2022 to boost its firepower in a video gaming market led by Tencent (0700.HK) and Sony (6758.T). Europe will decide on the Activision deal by May 22. The CMA said the cloud gaming market was forecast to be worth 11 billion pounds ($13.7 billion) globally by 2026. The CMA said Microsoft had an estimated 60%-70% of global cloud gaming services as well as competitive advantages including owning Xbox, PC operating system Windows and cloud provider Azure.

☆ UK blocks Microsoft takeover of Activision Blizzard
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —The UK antitrust regulator has blocked Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, thwarting one of the tech industry’s biggest deals over concerns it will stifle competition in cloud gaming. “The cloud allows UK gamers to avoid buying expensive gaming consoles and PCs and gives them much more flexibility and choice as to how they play. Allowing Microsoft to take such a strong position in the cloud gaming market just as it begins to grow rapidly would risk undermining the innovation that is crucial to the development of these opportunities,” it added. “Alongside Microsoft, we can and will contest this decision, and we’ve already begun the work to appeal to the UK Competition Appeals Tribunal,” Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said in a statement. “Cloud gaming needs a free, competitive market to drive innovation and choice.”The UK cloud gaming market is expected to be worth up to £1 billion ($1.2 billion) by 2026, around 9% of the global market, according to the Competition and Markets Authority.

☆ Microsoft, Google just told us AI is for real, right now. Here's a broad selection of stocks that will benefit
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

(I've said it over and over if First Republic were to collapse it would not be a systemic industrywide problem.) When I say listen to what the market is telling you, I like to look at stocks that have no news but are ramping anyway. This move in these stocks could turn into a change in mindset about these stocks because AI may mean an acceleration of laggard tech, including personal computers (PCs) and servers. Despite the endless obsession with trying to sound like Microsoft when it comes to AI — mentioned like 50 times on the call. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ Samsung faces weakest quarter since 2009 as memory chip market in 'worst slump in decades'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A lack of demand and a chip glut has put pressure on memory prices which could hammer Samsung's profit. Samsung is the world's largest maker of memory chips, which go into everything from PCs to servers in data centers. But buyers are now cutting back on purchases of these goods due to inflation and macroeconomic concerns, leading to somewhat of a memory chip glut. Analysts at Mirae Asset Securities estimate that Samsung's chip division will post a 4.4 trillion Korean won loss in the first quarter. "Memory chip losses are expected to persist in the coming quarters as inventories remain at all-time highs, putting further downward pressure on chip prices," CrispIdea analysts said.

☆ Read the Q&A guideline Amazon shares with managers on how to answer pay-related questions from employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +23 min

To prepare managers to discuss pay with employees, Amazon shares a lengthy Q&A guideline that addresses some of the most pressing questions, according to internal documents obtained by Insider. This includes base pay, variable pay, other cash, and equity in the form of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) or stock. A: We plan employee's total compensation in outlook years. Q: Why am I positioned at XX in my pay range and how can I increase my pay? Clearly and directly explain the reason there was no base pay increase:"Employee A, you are at the base pay max."

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