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☆ Finance Chiefs, Facing Another Year of Persistent Inflation, Prioritize Cost Savings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Kristin Broughton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Finance chiefs are pushing their companies to do more with less as they face another year of rising costs. Obviously, we’re dealing with a very unique environment right now with the unprecedented level of cost inflation. But we’re not in that environment right now. Ideally, we can grow as the demand environment hopefully normalizes. And that’s going to give us more optionality as we better understand our demand for AI over time.

☆ Amazon is the latest threat to Facebook as ad targeting suffers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

"So many people start their shopping on Amazon," Hassett said in an interview. People take selfies in front of the logo of Facebook parent company Meta on November 9, 2022 in Menlo Park, California. Liu Guanguan | China News Service | Getty ImagesFor Loftie, Amazon and Google provide better value because a shopper is showing intent by searching for a particular item. "In the near term, we expect Meta ad share to decline further in '23 given macro headwinds and the pivot to Reels," they wrote. Rachel Tipograph, CEO of marketing technology firm MikMak, said there are other unforeseen costs tied to Amazon advertising.

Feb 9 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Thursday sanctioned Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) and its law firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher for “delay, misdirection and frivolous arguments” in a data privacy lawsuit over the company’s sharing of user information with third-parties. Representatives for Gibson Dunn and Facebook did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Los Angeles-founded Gibson Dunn has represented the company in numerous matters. The court had ordered Facebook to turn over data it had collected on the plaintiffs in the case, regardless of whether it had been shared. The case is IN RE: Facebook, INC. Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No.

☆ Facebook, Gibson Dunn sanction order is light on dollars, heavy on message
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Alison Frankel | Thomson Reuters | Alison Frankel Has Covered High-Stakes Commercial Litigation As A Columnist For Reuters Since A Dartmouth College Graduate | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

CompaniesCompanies Law firms Meta Platforms Inc FollowFeb 10 (Reuters) - To Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) and its lawyers at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, $925,000 isn't a whole lot of money. Chhabria, as you've probably heard, ordered Facebook and its lawyers to pay that sum to plaintiffs' lawyers as recompense for their bad-faith litigation tactics. "Does anyone really think that Facebook was planning on taking this case to trial?" This is, by far, the most likely explanation for Facebook and Gibson Dunn’s conduct." Facebook and its lawyers fell into their roles with ease, and then they took things way too far.”Gibson Dunn and Meta both declined to provide a statement on Chhabria’s order.

☆ News Corp announces job cuts, misses estimates for earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 9 (Reuters) - Media conglomerate News Corp (NWSA.O) said on Thursday that it would cut 1,250 jobs after it missed estimates for second-quarter earnings due to weakness in its news and digital real estate businesses. "A surge in interest rates and acute inflation had a tangible impact on all of our businesses," Chief Executive Robert Thomson said in a statement. Advertising revenue fell 10.6% to $464 million during the quarter. Revenue was $2.52 billion in the second quarter ended Dec. 31, while analysts on average expected $2.55 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ IPG Posts 3.8% Organic-Revenue Growth, Flags Tech-Sector Challenges
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Interpublic Group of Cos. reported organic-net-revenue growth of 3.8% for the fourth quarter, saying that growth continued—albeit at a slower pace—despite a more cautious marketing and media environment due to macroeconomic and geopolitical factors worldwide. Net revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022 was $2.55 billion, relatively flat when compared with the fourth quarter of 2021. For all of 2022, IPG reported organic-net-revenue growth of 7%. “As expected, growth slowed in the fourth quarter, consistent with global macroeconomic and geopolitical crosswinds which we are all aware of,” Chief Executive Philippe Krakowsky said on the company’s earnings call Thursday. Earlier this week, IPG competitor Omnicom Group Inc. reported organic-revenue growth of 7.2% for the fourth quarter.

☆ Meta restores Donald Trump's access to Facebook, Instagram
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Feb 9 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) has restored former U.S. President Donald Trump's access to Facebook and Instagram, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone confirmed on Thursday, following a two-year suspension after the deadly Capitol Hill riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Meta in January said it would lift Trump's suspension "in the coming weeks" and would institute heightened penalties of a suspension between one month and two years if the former president violated its content policies again. Trump now regains access to key platforms for voter outreach and political fundraising ahead of another run for the White House in 2024. He had 23 million followers on Instagram and 34 million on Facebook as of January. Reporting by Rami Ayyub, Kanishka Singh and Sheila Dang; Editing by Mark PorterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where data for up to 87 million users was accessed. Investors claimed that Facebook, as the company was known, misled them in 2016 by describing data breaches as a mere "risk," when it knew that Cambridge had accessed user data. "It's not plausible that the company was trying to mislead the public about something the public already knew," he said. Facebook paid more than $5 billion in penalties to U.S. authorities over Cambridge Analytica. It agreed to pay $725 million to settle a lawsuit by Facebook users in December.

☆ Guns Offered for Sale in Facebook Groups Devoted to Religious Extremists in India
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Newley Purnell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Facebook users have offered for sale on the platform handguns, rifles, shotguns and bullets to members of a forum devoted to an extremist Hindu organization with a history of violence in India. Eight posts, some of which had been up since April, caught the eye of Raqib Hameed Naik, the founder of a group that monitors attacks against religious minorities in India. He began reporting them to Meta Platforms Inc. in late January as contravening the company’s publicly stated policy that prohibits private individuals from buying or selling firearms or ammunition on Facebook platforms.

☆ Meta's Facebook, Instagram down for thousands of U.S. users - Downdetector
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Feb 8 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc's (META.O) Facebook and Instagram were down for thousands of users in the United States on Wednesday, according to outage tracking website Downdetector.com. More than 12,000 Facebook users reported errors and about 7,000 incidents were reported for Instagram, according to Downdetector.com. Users also reported issues with Facebook's online messaging service Messenger. Downdetector tracks outages by collating status reports from several sources, including user-submitted errors on its platform. Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The AI craze has sent some stocks soaring up to 300%. This list of over 74 stocks across 5 categories features the top picks from the sector's leading fund managers.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

These 74 stocks are picked by AI ETF managers. What she believes is unique about her fund is its heavy focus on quantum computing technology, making up 41.22% of the fund. While big data is used for different technologies, it enables AI to work with massive data sets in its machine-learning process. TipRanks, a financial technology website that uses AI to analyze financial data, created a stock list for what they deem are the best AI stocks based on popularity. TipRanks' list of nine of the best AI stocks have large market caps and are likely to remain relevant for a long time.

☆ Despite Alphabet's AI event flop — remember, Google dominates search for now. That's what matters
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

While Microsoft's new AI capabilities could take some market share from Alphabet, Google is still the unshakable leader in search. Alphabet also showed AI-enabled capabilities to Google Maps and Google Lens, allowing users to search for images from their phone's camera. Looking at Alphabet's total revenue of $76.05 billion during the fourth quarter , about 57% came from Google Search & Other. But data from Statcounter shows Google accounts for 93% of search engine market share in all platforms including desktop, tablet and mobile, overshadowing Bing's 3% market share. But Google search, the preferred platform for users, still has the edge with advertisers over Microsoft's Bing.

☆ Factbox: Tech firms, Wall Street titans lead job cuts in corporate America
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File PhotoFeb 8 (Reuters) - Big Tech firms and Wall Street titans are leading a string of layoffs across corporate America as companies look to rein in costs to ride out a global economic downturn. Here are some of the job cuts by major American companies announced in recent weeks. TECHNOLOGY, MEDIA AND TELECOM SECTORIBM Corp (IBM.N):The software and consulting firm said it will lay off 3,900 employees. read moreMicrosoft Corp (MSFT.O):The U.S. tech giant said it would cut 10,000 jobs by the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2023. MANUFACTURING SECTOR3M Co (MMM.N):The industrial conglomerate said it would cut 2,500 manufacturing jobs after reporting a lower profit.

☆ Meta Targets Teen Users in Broader Horizon Metaverse App Revamp
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Salvador Rodriguez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. is revamping its fledgling Horizon Worlds metaverse app, seeking to draw in more teen and young-adult users after working to improve the service’s design, according to a memo sent to the team working on the initiative. The new strategy includes opening up Horizon to teens aged 13 to 17, the memo says. The app is currently available to people 18 and older. A teen launch for Horizon could happen as soon as March, according to people familiar with the matter.

☆ The Market’s Breadth Is Improving as More Stocks Join Rally
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Hannah Miao | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

More stocks across different sectors are participating in the market’s 2023 rebound, often an encouraging sign of a rally’s durability. The S&P 500 has risen 7.1% in 2023, with last year’s worst performers bouncing back sharply to lead the way. Some of the bellwethers of the U.S. stock market, including Meta Platforms Inc., Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp., have broken through their long-term trend lines in recent sessions.

☆ Meta to Revamp Horizon Metaverse App, Plans to Open for Teen Use as Soon as March
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Salvador Rodriguez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Factbox: U.S. stock buybacks so far in 2023: big money, fewer companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The oil major's announcement was followed last week by Meta Platforms Inc (META.O), the parent of Facebook which last week unveiled a $40 billion buyback. So far in 2023, 78 companies have announced buybacks compared with 125 companies as of this time last year, according to EPFR TrimTabs, which tracks announcements by companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and American Stock Exchange. ** S&P 500 companies are expected to have completed $220 billion in buybacks during the fourth quarter of 2022, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. ** Buybacks have contributed 3.7% to S&P 500 earnings-per-share growth for the fourth quarter, according to data from Credit Suisse as of Friday. The buyback index fell 12.7% in 2022 versus a 19.4% drop for the overall S&P 500.

☆ Big Tech not doing enough to remove fake news, activist NGO Avaaz says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Twitter, Google's (GOOGL.O) YouTube, Meta Platform's (META.O) Facebook, Microsoft's (MSFT.O) LinkedIn and TikTok are not doing enough to remove fake news from their platforms, raising doubts about their ability to comply with new EU online content rules, activist NGO Avaaz said on Tuesday. "Overall, just 22% of disinformation content we analysed was either labelled or removed by the six major platforms," Avaaz said. It said the companies did not do enough to tackle disinformation in languages other than English. "Despite explicit platform commitments in the code to improve their services in all EU languages, our research found that in certain EU languages - Italian, German, Hungarian, Danish, Spanish and Estonian - no platform took any action against violating posts," Avaaz said. Meta, Alphabet, Twitter and Microsoft last year vowed to take a tougher line against disinformation after committing to the updated EU code.

Meta and Dfinity asked the court Monday to dismiss the case with prejudice, which means it cannot be revived. Dfinity sued Meta last year, alleging the logo Meta adopted after changing its name from Facebook would cause confusion with Dfinity's infinity-symbol trademarks. Meta is still facing trademark lawsuits from virtual-reality company MetaX and investment firm Metacapital over its name change. The case is Dfinity Foundation v. Meta Platforms Inc, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No. For Dfinity: Dennis Ellis, Keith Wesley and Katherine Murray of Ellis George Cipollone O'Brien AnnagueyFor Meta: Bobby Ghajar and Angela Dunning of CooleyRead more:Meta hit with trademark lawsuit over new infinity-symbol logoMeta defeats trademark lawsuit over infinity-symbol logoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Part of the clash included a Hagens Berman partner accusing Quinn Emanuel of discounting her views based on her gender. Quinn Emanuel denied the allegation, calling it a "mystery." The two law firms on Friday night submitted their pitches to Donato about why he should appoint them solely rather than jointly to lead the consumer class. A representative from Hagens Berman did not immediately comment, and a Quinn Emanuel spokesperson declined to comment. Hagens Berman and Quinn Emanuel have been on opposite sides in other cases.

☆ Pinterest misses quarterly revenue estimates on lower ad spends
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 6 (Reuters) - Pinterest Inc (PINS.N) shares fell about 10% in aftermarket trade on Monday after the company missed quarterly revenue estimates as user growth slowed on the image-sharing platform and businesses cut advertising spending in a turbulent economy. The company announced chief financial officer and head of business operations Todd Morgenfeld would be leaving Pinterest on July 1, 2023. The image-sharing platform said it expected revenue to grow in low single digits year-over-year in the current quarter, compared with Wall Street estimates of 6.95% growth. The company's global monthly active users (MAUs) grew 4% to 450 million, below estimates of 452.3 million. The company's revenue in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 grew 4% to $877 million.

☆ Judge Releases Decision Approving Meta’s Virtual-Reality Deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Jan Wolfe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—A judge has made public his decision that allowed Meta Platforms Inc. to acquire a virtual-reality startup, providing new details on why he ruled against the Federal Trade Commission in its high-profile antitrust case against the Facebook parent company. The ruling, which was initially sealed and was released late Friday, rejected the FTC’s arguments for why Meta’s acquisition of Within Unlimited was anticompetitive. But the judge sided with the FTC on some legal and factual arguments, bolstering the agency’s ability to bring similar cases in the future, some antitrust lawyers said.

☆ What CEOs Are Saying: 2023 ‘Is the Year of Efficiency’
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( George Stahl | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Here is what some of the world’s corporate leaders said this week about business and consumer spending, the supply chain and other topics. Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg:“I want to discuss my management theme for 2023, which is the year of efficiency. We closed last year with some difficult layoffs and restructuring some teams, and when we did this, I said clearly that this was the beginning of our focus on efficiency and not the end. And since then, we’ve taken some additional steps.” (Feb. 1)

☆ U.S. judge denies FTC request to stop Meta from acquiring VR firm Within
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - A judge on Friday released a ruling denying the Federal Trade Commission's request to stop Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) from buying virtual reality content maker Within Unlimited, rejecting the regulator's concerns the deal would reduce competition in a new market. A Meta spokesperson said the Facebook and Instagram owner was "pleased that the Court has denied the FTC’s motion to block our acquisition of Within." "Though Meta boasts considerable financial and VR engineering resources, it did not possess the capabilities unique to VR dedicated fitness apps, specifically fitness content creation and studio production facilities," the judge wrote. The decision is good news for Meta boss and founder Mark Zuckerberg, who defended the acquisition in testimony in December, arguing that his company was helping to build but not dominate the virtual reality industry. The FTC sued Meta in July to stop the Within deal, asking the judge to order a preliminary injunction, saying Meta's "campaign to conquer VR" began in 2014 when it acquired Oculus, a VR headset manufacturer.

☆ Analysis: From Meta to Microsoft, AI's big moment is here
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Jeffrey Dastin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] A Microsoft logo is seen a day after Microsoft Corp's $26.2 billion purchase of LinkedIn Corp, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File PhotoFeb 3 (Reuters) - Big Tech companies have a new obsession: artificial intelligence. Executives from Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), behind the latest big rivalry in tech, took their battle to the conference-call front lines. We can bring those to life using generative (AI) art, which I think is really exciting," he said. "One of my goals for Meta is to build on our research to become a leader in generative AI," said Zuckerberg.

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