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☆ Tencent to distribute $20.3 bln in Meituan shares as Q3 sales drop
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Tencent, the world's largest video game company and the operator of the WeChat messaging platform, said it will transfer 958.12 million shares in Meituan, representing approximately 90.9% of the Class B ordinary shares it held in Meituan. On Wednesday, Tencent said revenue fell 2% to 140 billion yuan ($19.8 billion) for the three months ended Sept. 31, from 142.3 billion yuan a year earlier. Analysts on an average expected 141.6 billion yuan in revenue, according to Refinitiv. Domestic gaming revenue shrank 7% to 31.2 billion yuan, while international gaming revenue rose 3% to 11.7 billion. Online ads sales also declined by more than 5% to 21.5 billion yuan, as advertisers tightened budgets in a weak economy.

☆ Chinese authorities call on retired soldiers to help Foxconn iPhone plant -SSN
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Local authorities in China's Henan province are urging retired soldiers and government workers to take on stints at Foxconn's (2317.TW) iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, the official Shanghai Securities News reported on Tuesday. Foxconn declined to comment on the hiring schemes, and also declined to give further updates on the Zhengzhou plant's manufacturing status. Apple last week lowered its forecast for shipments of the premium iPhone 14 model due to the situation. Reuters last month reported that Foxconn's production of Apple's iPhones at the Zhengzhou factory could slump by as much as 30% in November. On Tuesday, the Henan Daily reported that the factory received its first batch of new workers on Nov. 13.

☆ Haizhu district in China's Guangzhou city extends COVID-19 restrictions in some areas
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Haizhu district in China's southern city of Guangzhou, where most of the city's COVID-19 cases have been reported, extended its anti-COVID measures in some areas to Nov. 19, local authorities said on Wednesday in a notice on their WeChat account. Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. FBI director says TikTok poses national security concerns
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. operations of Chinese-owned TikTok raise national security concerns, FBI Director Chris Wray said on Tuesday, flagging the risk that the Chinese government could harness the video-sharing app to influence users or control their devices. CFIUS and TikTok have been in talks for months aiming to reach a national security agreement to protect the data of TikTok's more than 100 million users. TikTok executive Vanessa Pappas told U.S. Congress in September that TikTok was making "progress toward a final agreement with the U.S. government to further safeguard U.S user data and fully address U.S. national security interests." While we can't comment on the specifics of those confidential discussions, we are confident that we are on a path to fully satisfy all reasonable U.S. national security concerns." Any security agreement with TikTok is expected to include data security requirements.

☆ After huge Meta layoffs, Mark Zuckerberg tells employees that he cut jobs more thoughtfully than Elon Musk at Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Sydney Bradley | Rob Price | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

After a terrible week for thousands of Meta employees, Mark Zuckerberg shared some heartening thoughts at a companywide meeting on Friday: At least we didn't mess up as much as Elon Musk did at Twitter. Musk cut roughly 3,700 workers via an unsigned email, after making many staff work most of the prior weekend. On Friday, the Meta CEO and other executives hosted a town hall meeting for remaining employees and answered their questions. The Q&A touched on Twitter, and Zuckerberg weighed in, according to people who attended. Contact Rob Price via encrypted messaging app Signal (+1 650-636-6268), encrypted email (robaeprice@protonmail.com), standard email (rprice@insider.com), Telegram/Wickr/WeChat (robaeprice), or Twitter DM (@robaeprice).

☆ Inside the week that changed Facebook forever: Record Meta layoffs have sowed confusion and rising anger among employees who are beginning to lash out at CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Kali Hays | Rob Price | Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Meta let go of 11,000 employees, and it's not clear which divisions and roles were most affected. After a harrowing week of record layoffs at Meta, CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives convened a town hall meeting on Friday for everyone who survived the cull. During the Q&A part of the call, an employee asked a question referring to Twitter's job cuts, and Zuckerberg weighed in, according to people who attended. Roughly 11,000 staff were let go, the first major job cuts in the company's 18-year history. Analysts at Jefferies called it a "Zuck U-Turn" in a research note to clients, saying the job cuts will boost profits while not impacting Meta's growth trajectory.

☆ Look past the Musk mayhem, and you'll see the beginnings of his master plan for Twitter taking shape
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk's plans to turn Twitter into a super-app appear to be taking shape. The billionaire discussed plans for longer videos and a payment system on Wednesday. One expert said Musk is likely operating off a "master plan" and his chaotic tweets are a distraction. On Wednesday, the billionaire appeared to take his first step toward turning Twitter into a super-app — an idea Musk has continually promoted in public and private discussions. On Wednesday, Musk said Twitter would start hosting longer videos and provide a space for creators to monetize content.

☆ Asian Americans favored Democratic candidates in midterms, exit polls say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

She’s among the many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who showed up at the ballot box on Tuesday. Surveys show that Asian Americans favored Democrats during the midterm elections, according to election night exit polls. According to that poll, 64% of Asian Americans voted Democrat in House races, while 32% voted Republican. Roughly three-quarters of Asian American voters in Pennsylvania, for example, favored Democratic candidates for governor, Senate and House. Roughly two-thirds of Asian Americans also favored the Democratic candidate in the House and Senate races.

☆ Meta employees are shell-shocked and angry after Mark Zuckerberg laid off 11,000 workers. Remaining staff are still unsure exactly who got fired.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Kali Hays | Rob Price | Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Meta let go of 11,000 employees, and it's not clear which divisions and roles were most affected. Shortly before a somber video call with tens of thousands of employees on Wednesday, Mark Zuckerberg hosted a smaller call with managers at Meta. Zuckerberg fielded questions from managers asking how laid-off employees were chosen and how long the plan had been in the works. "Class act as always," one departing employee said sarcastically of Zuckerberg's call for laid-off workers. "This will add up to a meaningful cultural shift in how we operate," Zuckerberg told remaining employees.

☆ Elon Musk took over a struggling business with Twitter and has quickly made it worse
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

In this article TWTR Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTThe Twitter profile page belonging to Elon Musk is seen on an Apple iPhone mobile phone. watch nowCompared to larger rivals Facebook and Google , Twitter never managed to develop an online ad business that matched the scale of its influence in popular culture and society at large. Twitter's revenue in the second quarter declined from a year earlier. Other opportunities are emerging, such as connected TVs and streaming services as well as Amazon's growing online ad business for retail-oriented companies, Tipograph said. González said she was willing to give Musk "the benefit of the doubt" when he told the group that Twitter was aligned with them.

☆ Foxconn persists with COVID curbs at Zhengzhou plant as district lifts lockdown
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Apple supplier Foxconn (2317.TW) said it would continue to maintain closed-loop operations at its iPhone plant in central China, even as the economic zone that housed the factory lifted a 7-day lockdown on Wednesday as planned. Foxconn said on Wednesday it would continue to implement the system. The company has declined to disclose the number of infections or comment on the conditions of those infected. The issues at the plant where Foxconn makes most iPhones caused several workers to flee the plant and have hit production, prompting Apple on Monday to say that it expects lower shipments of premium iPhone 14 models. Reporting by Beijing newsroom and Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Writing by Brenda Goh; editing by Christian Schmollinger and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ CanSino's inhalable COVID-19 vaccines to be available in Tianjin from Nov 10
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Chinese pharmaceutical company CanSino Biologics (6185.HK) said on Wednesday its inhalable COVID-19 vaccines will be available in China's northern city of Tianjin from Nov 10, a statement on its Wechat account said. Last week, the Tianjin-based company said it did not expect its inhaled COVID vaccine to significantly boost financial results, based on current immunity strategy and domestic booster vaccination rates. China's financial hub Shanghai and 13 cities in eastern Jiangsu province have already introduced CanSino's inhalable vaccines as a booster for their citizens, CanSino said. Reporting by Ella Cao and Twinnie Siu. Editing by Jane MerrimanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

New Delhi CNN Business —One of Apple’s largest suppliers is trying to strike a delicate balance in China. Foxconn’s statement came just a day after Apple said it expects iPhone 14 shipments to be hit by China’s Covid curbs, which have “significantly reduced capacity” at the Zhengzhou facility, the world’s biggest iPhone factory. “The epidemic has disrupted our work and life, but… the company has achieved milestone results in the current epidemic prevention measures,” Foxconn said on its Zhengzhou recruitment WeChat account on Monday. New workers will be offered a salary of 30 yuan ($4) per hour, according to the post. Last Wednesday, Chinese authorities imposed a seven-day lockdown on the manufacturing zone that houses the Foxconn plant.

☆ Foxconn Zhengzhou plant offers bonuses to encourage workers to return
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SHANGHAI, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Apple supplier Foxconn's (2317.TW) Zhengzhou plant on Monday kicked off a fresh recruitment drive seeking workers, saying that it would offer staff who had left in recent weeks a one-off bonus of 500 yuan ($69.28) should they return. New workers will be offered a salary of 30 yuan ($4.16) per hour, according to a statement posted on Foxconn's Zhengzhou iDPBG recruitment WeChat account. Foxconn's Integrated Digital Product Business Group is a unit responsible for making electronics including smartphones. ($1 = 7.2174 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Christian SchmollingerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Foxconn implements new curbs at Zhengzhou plant to stem COVID-19 spread
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Apple supplier Foxconn (2317.TW) said it would implement new measures at its Zhengzhou plant to curb the spread of COVID-19, including implementing a system which would involve moving all working employees into three dormitories. The curbs were being implemented at the request of the government "to provide a safe and sanitary dormitory area for Foxconn comrades, and effectively control the risks of COVID-19 spreading," it said. Foxconn has been working to retain staff and smooth over tensions in the factory, after workers complained about their treatment and provisions under COVID-19 prevention measures. Several employees also fled the factory, prompting Foxconn to offer generous bonuses to retain staff. read moreReporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Billionaire IAC chairman Barry Diller says Elon Musk bought Twitter as a toy: 'How long he will use it, like toys, we don't really know'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Billionaire IAC chairman Barry Diller has mixed feelings about Elon Musk's Twitter acquisition. On CNBC's Squawk Box, Diller said Musk "bought a toy, and how long he will use it, like toys, we don't really know." "You've got this extraordinarily wealthy person, and he bought a toy," Diller said. "He bought a toy, and how long he will use it, like toys, we don't really know, but he's not going to walk away, I don't think." By headcount, however, Twitter is already much smaller in the days since Musk bought it.

☆ Expect fewer iPhones in your Christmas stockings: Apple just warned of fewer iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max shipments due to supply disruptions in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Apple told customers that iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max deliveries may take longer than expected. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyCustomers who ordered the iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max should expect "longer wait times" for their new phones, Apple warned on Sunday. On Sunday, Apple said demand for both the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max is still strong. Preorders for the iPhone 14 Plus and basic iPhone 14 were "significantly lower than expected," Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in September. The closed-loop system could impact iPhone production at the plant by as much as 30%, Reuters reported on October 31.

☆ C919 narrowbody jet to make its first public appearance at China air show
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The fifth prototype of China's home-built C919 passenger plane takes off for its first test flight from Shanghai Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China October 24, 2019. REUTERS/StringerSHENZHEN, China, Nov 5 (Reuters) - The C919 narrowbody jet will join the opening flight display in China's biggest air show in the southern city of Zhuhai on Tuesday, according to a schedule posted by the organisers, in what will be its first public flight or display. The C919, made by Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) (CMAFC.UL), is designed to rival single-aisle jets made by Airbus SE (AIR.PA) and Boeing Co (BA.N) has never been displayed or publicly flown. China will show off its home-grown civil and military aviation technology at the air show, where 740 businesses are expected to take part both online and offline. The C919's presence was confirmed on the schedule on the organiser's official WeChat social media account.

☆ Op-ed: What Elon Musk really gets out of owning Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Matt Rosoff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

As the owner of Twitter, Musk now controls a platform that has mounds of data about the connections among its users, their interactions, their interests and so on. Most important, by owning Twitter, Musk expands his reach far beyond his own fanbase. Musk has hinted at this in his statements about Twitter as a bastion of free speech. But so far, Musk seems to equate "free speech" on Twitter with "looser moderation." During his first weekend owning the service, Musk responded to Hillary Clinton by tweeting an unfounded, anti-LGBTQ conspiracy theory about the attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband.

☆ Ark's Cathie Wood is betting Elon Musk will turn Twitter into a 'super app'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

LISBON, Portugal — Ark Invest founder Cathie Wood thinks Elon Musk might be onto something with his vision for Twitter. "He's thinking about a super app like WeChat Pay," Wood said at the Web Summit technology conference in Lisbon, Portugal, Wednesday. Wood was referring to the digital payments service of Chinese messaging app WeChat. Tesla CEO Musk has already hinted at plans to make Twitter a super app. "He and [Twitter co-founder] Jack Dorsey working together, I think, could turn this into a super app."

☆ China is caught in a zero-Covid trap of its own making
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“The new political ecology also provided more incentive for local governments to impose more draconian Covid control measures,” Huang said. Chinese health officials maintain that changing tack now would risk a huge surge in infections and deaths that could overwhelm the country’s fragile health care system. Zhengzhou, a city of 12 million, imposed sweeping lockdown measures last month after identifying dozens of Covid-19 cases. On Wednesday, the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone, where the Foxconn plant is located, announced new lockdown measures. As the winter approaches, experts warn that China could be hit by a new wave of infections – and a new cycle of draconian lockdowns.

☆ Behind the vocal Asian American minority railing against affirmative action
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

As the Supreme Court weighs two high-profile cases challenging affirmative action, a vocal minority of Asian Americans continues to impact public debate. Among Chinese Americans, support for affirmative action is at 59%, the lowest within the Asian American community. This also means that they themselves haven’t experienced the benefits of affirmative action or education equity policies, Niu said. Top American universities, however, use a “holistic” admissions process in which affirmative action policies allow them to take race into account. Asian Americans do face discrimination in our society, in our education systems, but they’re not the result of race-conscious policies like affirmative action,” Chen said.

☆ Apple supplier Foxconn quadruples bonuses to staff hit by China COVID lockdown
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The original bonus scheme was initially outlined in an article on Monday by the government backed Henan Daily newspaper citing a senior unnamed Foxconn executive. CLOSED LOOP TOLLVideos circulating on social media appear to show departing Foxconn workers laden with luggage and walking along village roads towards their home towns. Many people who said they were Foxconn workers turned to social media to complain about receiving insufficient food or about the uncertainty of the situation. Foxconn did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Henan Daily article. The Henan Daily is the official newspaper of Henan province, of which Zhengzhou is the capital.

☆ Industry insiders place their bets on the companies best placed to launch a 'super app' in the US
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Asia Martin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Industry insiders shared their views on what tech companies could reach super app status in the US. Cornerstone Advisors' Ron Shevlin doesn't think the US will have a single super app. The race to build a so-called financial super app is well underway, and some industry insiders are already placing their bets. A super app is essentially a one-stop shop for users' financial needs and beyond, providing multiple services and products — including savings, investing, and shopping tools — all in one place. It is an opportunity, I think, for them to become a super app.

☆ A pair of iPhone factory workers in China walked 25 miles to escape severe COVID restrictions at Foxconn's giant compound
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Two workers at the world's largest iPhone factory walked 25 miles to get home after breaking lockdown. Bloomberg reported the story of Dong Wanwan and her brother, who left the factory amid strict COVID controls. Foxconn's Zhengzhou facility is under a closed loop COVID lockdown after an outbreak of the virus. On Monday, Foxconn raised wages to $5.20 an hour – a 36% increase – to try and stop more workers leaving the factory which produces around half the world's iPhones. They hitched a ride on the back of a truck for part of the way, before finally reaching an assembly area set up by officials to transport Foxconn workers.

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