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NEW YORK/LONDON, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Lean times faced by many U.S. and European companies may last longer than expected as they try to sell off their bulging inventories in an economic climate where demand is stalling. Full-to-bursting warehouses means fewer orders for manufacturers, which translates into lower levels of business activity and, ultimately, weaker growth. Now, global demand is falling as borrowing costs have risen, so companies have started running down stocks. Maersk controls about one-sixth of global container trade, transporting goods for a host of major retailers and consumer goods companies. Refinitiv I/B/E/S data shows U.S. and European companies are expected to report their worst quarterly results in years.

Persons: Vincent Clerc, Hugo Boss, Moller, Stanley Black, Decker, destocking, Levi Strauss, Rajiv Sharma, Arun Sundaram, Guillermo Novo, Cyrus de la Rubia, Siddharth Cavale, David Gaffen, Josephine Mason, Mark John, Jonathan Cable, Helen Reid, Jane Merriman Organizations: U.S, Maersk, Heineken, 3M, . Bureau of Labor Statistics, CFRA Research, Retailers, BASF, London, Rutgers University, Hamburg Commercial Bank, doesn't, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, U.S, United States, Ashland, Hamburg, New York, London

International travel reached around 90% of pre-pandemic levels this year, according to the International Air Transport Association. Those trends lifted quarterly earnings of travel companies, with cruise operators like Royal Caribbean (RCL.N) reporting record results in recent weeks. Ticket prices, which in some cases have increased by double-digit percentages since the pandemic, are unlikely to plummet. She expects air fares on long-haul international routes to remain high until supply outpaces pre-pandemic levels, demand normalizes and jet fuel prices decline further. International inbound vs outbound in the U.S this yearAverage domestic airfare is currently $246 round-trip, down 8% from 2022, according to travel booking app Hopper.

Persons: Dan McKone, Amadeus, Jozsef Varadi, Hayley Berg, Hopper, that's, Glenn Fogel, Kathleen Oberg, Joanna Plucinska, Rajesh Kumar Singh, Doyinsola, David Gaffen, Matthew Lewis Organizations: International Air Transport Association, Consulting, Royal, Booking Holdings, Marriott, Lufthansa LHAG.DE, United Airlines, Wizz, Reuters, Holdings, International, U.S . National Travel, Tourism Office, British Airways, IAG, Thomson Locations: CHICAGO, Southern Europe, Britain, France, United States, Germany, Singapore, Royal Caribbean, Manila, Hong Kong, Taipei, Tokyo, Europe, Asia, COVID, U.S, Canada, London, Chicago, New York, Bengaluru

☆ Sluggish return of business travelers forces US airlines to rejig their networks
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Rajesh Kumar Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Before the pandemic hit in 2020, corporate travel was the travel industry's cash cow. Investors in travel companies are concerned that the spending from vacationers cannot make up the shortfall. For months, Alaska Air's (ALK.N) business bookings have been 25% below pre-pandemic levels. JetBlue Airways (JBLU.O) said on Tuesday it will redeploy capacity away from New York to high-margin leisure destinations with business travel demand 20% below pre-pandemic levels. Recent passenger screening and fare data shows U.S. travel demand has peaked, hurting the carriers' pricing power.

Persons: Ronald Reagan, Kevin Lamarque, Shane Tackett, Bob Jordan, Kevin Kopelman, Luis Gallego, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Rajesh Kumar Singh, Doyinsola Oladipo, Sarah Young, Joanna Plucinska, David Gaffen, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, REUTERS, U.S, Investors, Airlines for America, Reuters, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Marriott, MasterCard, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, NYSE, Cowen, British Airways, IAG, Google, JPMorgan, Thomson Locations: Ronald Reagan Washington, Arlington , Virginia, U.S, Alaska, Seattle, Mexico, Costa Rica, California, New York, Asia, Pacific, Europe, Chicago, London

☆ China's sagging economy looms over quarterly results around the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Noel Randewich | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

July 20 (Reuters) - China's frail growth could weigh on companies with exposure to the world's second-largest economy, including Apple (AAPL.O), big chipmakers and luxury retailers as they report quarterly results in the next few weeks. China accounted for 36% of NXP's revenue last year and half of Texas Instruments' revenue. Analysts estimate NXP reporting a 3.2% drop in quarterly revenue, with Texas Instruments' revenue tumbling 16%, which would be its steepest drop since 2009, according to Refinitiv. The specialty glass maker blamed "anticipated recession-level demand" for weak results in its previous quarterly report last April. Coffee maker Starbucks (SBUX.O) in May reported quarterly results that beat estimates, powered by recovering demand in China.

Persons: Ross Mayfield, Baird, Cartier, Richemont, Bernstein, Tesla, Jonathan Golub, hobble, David Klink, Noel Randewich, Chavi Mehta, Caroline Valetkovitch, Mimosa Spencer, David Gaffen, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Apple, U.S, Shanghai, ABB, HK, NXP Semiconductors, Texas, Texas Instruments, . Credit Suisse Chief, Equity, Corning Inc, Samsung Electronics, Huntington Private Bank, Reuters, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, Swiss, Asia, ., China . U.S, Washington, Beijing, Oakland , California, Bangalore, New York, Paris

That followed the U.S. decision to impose export restrictions to curb China's access to key technologies used for artificial intelligence (AI). China has been the go-to for companies because it is able to export processed minerals at a lower cost than other countries. In Taiwan, a senior government official said China's restrictions on exports of gallium and germanium marked "a new wave of retaliation" in a "tit-for-tat approach." Some industry watchers believed China's metals restrictions could trigger short-term supply snags and higher prices. But Navitas Semiconductor Corp (NVTS.O), which makes chips that use a substance called gallium nitride, on Wednesday said it expects no adverse effects to its business from China's export controls.

Persons: China's, Stewart Randall, Janet Yellen, Roy Lee, John Strand, Supantha Mukherjee, Hakan Ersen, Ben Blanchard, Brenda Goh, Kanishka Singh, Anne Marie Roantree, David Gaffen, David Gregorio Our Organizations: U.S . Department of Commerce, EV, Sweden's Ericsson, Ericsson, U.S, Treasury, Navitas Semiconductor Corp, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, STOCKHOLM, WASHINGTON, Beijing, U.S, China, United States, Shanghai, Intralink, Netherlands, Australia, Europe, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Korea, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Berlin, Taipei, Washington

The cost of certain goods is retreating in some places, but that doesn't include live music. Concert tickets have surged in price, to the point where economists are noticing. While ticket prices have increased, he said, mid-year figures haven't shown an appreciable rise since May 2022, when U.S. inflation was 8.6%. In India, fans are happy to pay a premium for quality entertainment, according to Owen Roncon, chief of business for Live Entertainment at BookMyShow. In Britain, about 150,000 music fans paid 340 pounds ($431)for a ticket to June's Glastonbury festival to see Elton John and hundreds of other acts.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, haven't, Mario Ihieme, Paul Donovan, Harry Styles, Joel Barrios, Carolina Candelas, Andy Gensler, Pollstar, TD Cowen, Stephen Glagola, Elton John, Jason Cairnduff, Bruno Mars, Coldplay, Fairuz Zahari, Ed Sheeran, Owen Roncon, Eventbrite, Michael Rapino, Beth Cook, Dawn Chmielewski, Danielle Broadway, Sachin Ravikumar, David Milliken, Sharon Kimathi, Rozanna, Radhika Anilkumar, David Gaffen, Catherine Evans Organizations: LOS ANGELES, National Statistics, UBS Global Wealth Management, Stubhub, Ticketmaster, REUTERS, U.S . Labor Department, Backstreet, Live Entertainment, Backstreet Boys, Entertainment, Thomson Locations: Asia, U.S, GLASTONBURY, England, London, Seattle, Mexico City, Los Angeles, Europe, Barcelona, Glastonbury, Somerset, Britain, Malaysia, Australia, India, Leeds, Kuala Lumpur, Bangalore

The cost of certain goods is retreating in some places, but that doesn't include live music. Concert tickets have surged in price, to the point where economists are noticing. Event prices in UK inflation data are based on when shows take place, not when tickets are bought. While ticket prices have increased, he said, mid-year figures haven't shown an appreciable rise since May 2022, when U.S. inflation was 8.6%. The U.S. Labor Department does not specifically measure inflation for concert prices, but the inflation rate for live performing admission events is currently 2.6 percentage points more than U.S. headline inflation.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, haven't, Mario Ihieme, Paul Donovan, Harry Styles, Joel Barrios, Carolina Candelas, Andy Gensler, Pollstar, TD Cowen, Stephen Glagola, Bruno Mars, Coldplay, Fairuz Zahari, Ed Sheeran, Owen Roncon, Eventbrite, Michael Rapino, Elton John, Beth Cook, Dawn Chmielewski, Danielle Broadway, Sachin Ravikumar, David Milliken, Sharon Kimathi, Rozanna, Radhika Anilkumar, David Gaffen, Catherine Evans Organizations: LOS ANGELES, National Statistics, UBS Global Wealth Management, Stubhub, Ticketmaster, U.S . Labor Department, Backstreet, Live Entertainment, Backstreet Boys, Entertainment, Thomson Locations: Asia, U.S, GLASTONBURY, England, London, Seattle, Mexico City, Los Angeles, Europe, Barcelona, Malaysia, Australia, India, Britain, Leeds, Glastonbury, Kuala Lumpur, Bangalore

In recent days, Twitter owner Musk and Facebook parent Meta (META.O) CEO Zuckerberg - whose social media platforms duke it out daily for advertising dollars - have been trading bluster about going mano a mano. The brouhaha began Tuesday when Musk tweeted he was "up for a cage match" with Zuckerberg, who's trained in jiujitsu. “Vegas Octagon,” Musk tweeted, referring to an events center where mixed martial arts (MMA) championship bouts are held. Musk in recent months has stepped up criticism of Zuckerberg and his companies, and has mocked reported plans by Meta for a platform to rival Twitter. SportsBetting.ag gives better odds for Zuckerberg, who is 12 years younger than Musk.

Persons: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Musk, Zuckerberg, mano, who's, he's, ” Musk, Porte, Gonzalo Fuentes, Vegas . SportsBetting.ag, Owain Flanders, Flanders, Hyunjoo Jin, Greg Bensinger, David Gaffen, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: FRANCISCO, Facebook, Twitter, Elon, SpaceX, Tesla, Viva Technology, Porte de, REUTERS, Meta, Thomson Locations: Manila, Las Vegas, Paris, France, Vegas .

☆ Spirit Aerosystems, workers reach tentative four-year labor pact
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Valerie Insinna | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 16 (Reuters) - Spirit Aerosystems (SPR.N) has reached a tentative four-year contract agreement with the 6,000-member machinists union employed at its Wichita, Kansas plant, the union said Friday in a statement. "This fair and competitive contract recognizes the important contributions of our factory employees and ensures that Spirit can successfully meet increasing demand for aircraft from customers," Spirit Aerosystems said in an emailed statement. A slowdown could have impeded Boeing as it tries to recover from ongoing 737 and 787 production glitches. A stoppage could have also had a detrimental effect on already-fragile Spirit AeroSystems, which has been responsible for several recent production flaws affecting Boeing jets, including a 737 bracket installation problem. In May, Spirit said it expects cash burn of about $100 million to $150 million in 2023.

Persons: Aerosystems, ”, Spirit, Valerie Insinna, Kannaki, David Gaffen, Deepa Babington, Maju Samuel Organizations: Boeing, International Association of Machinists, Aerospace Workers, Thomson Locations: Wichita , Kansas, Wichita

During the streak, Tesla shares rose by more than 40%, boosting its market value to roughly $814 billion. The rally was kicked off by news of the adoption of Tesla's charging system by legacy U.S. automakers Ford (F.N) and General Motors (GM.N). Wedbush compared Tesla's share gains to Amazon, which for years defied many investor expectations that its stock would eventually fall. Tesla shares slumped in 2022, losing 65% of their value, and helping the shorts make a mint. The 13-day rally cost short sellers more than $7 billion in mark-to-market losses, taking year-to-date losses to nearly $12.7 billion, according to S3 Partners.

Persons: Tesla, Chavi Mehta, Aditya Soni, David Gaffen, Maju Samuel Organizations: Toyota, U.S, Ford, General Motors, America, Wall Street, Wedbush Securities, Amazon.com, GM, S3 Partners, Thomson Locations: U.S, Bengaluru

June 9 (Reuters) - The White House on Friday said electric-vehicle charging stations using Tesla (TSLA.O) standard plugs would be eligible for billions of dollars in federal subsidies as long as they included the U.S. charging standard connection, CCS, as well. The statement follows separate announcements by U.S. automakers Ford Motor (F.N) and General Motors (GM.N) that they were adopting the Tesla model of charging, known as the North American Charging Standard (NACS). Tesla shares rose 4.1%. Some of them said on Friday that they would work to adapt to the Tesla standard. [1/2] Tesla charging stations are pictured in a parking lot in Shanghai, China March 13, 2021.

Persons: Biden, Tesla, Robyn Patterson, Patterson, Tesla's, Oleg Logvinov, Aly, Logvinov, Sam Houston, Danni Hewson, AJ Bell, Blink, Jonathan Levy, We've, They've, Asaf Nagler, ChargePoint, Jarrett Renshaw, Abhirup Roy, Hyunjoo Jin, Chavi Mehta, Bhanvi, Sayantani Ghosh, David Gaffen, Peter Henderson, Matthew Lewis Organizations: U.S, Ford Motor, General Motors, American, CCS, Analysts, Ford, GM, EV, Reuters, Volkswagen, Hyundai Motor, Kia, IoTecha, REUTERS, CharIN, Union of Concerned, Tesla, ABB, America, Thomson Locations: United States, Shanghai, China, CharIN North America, Swiss, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Bengaluru

☆ White House welcomes Tesla to take advantage of federal dollars
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Jarrett Renshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

June 9 (Reuters) - The White House on Friday said electric-vehicle charging stations using Tesla (TSLA.O) standard plugs would be eligible for billions of dollars in federal subsidies as long as they included the U.S. charging standard connection, CCS, as well. Tesla shares rose as much as 7.5% on Friday but pared gains to close 4.1% higher at $244.40. Analysts said the Ford and GM news was a big win that could make Tesla Superchargers an industry standard in the United States. GM and Ford shares closed up 1.1% and 1.3%, respectively. Musk on Friday said in a tweet it would be "ideal" for Tesla chargers to need only CCS adapters to meet federal charging standards.

Persons: Biden, Tesla, Robyn Patterson, Patterson, Tesla's, Sam Houston, Danni Hewson, AJ Bell, Blink, Jonathan Levy, ChargePoint, Musk, Jarrett Renshaw, Hyunjoo Jin, Abhirup Roy, Chavi Mehta, Bhanvi, Sayantani Ghosh, David Gaffen, Peter Henderson, Matthew Lewis Organizations: U.S, Ford Motor, General Motors, American, CCS, Ford, GM, EV, Reuters, Volkswagen, Hyundai Motor, Kia, Union of Concerned, Tesla, Elon, Thomson Locations: United States, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Bengaluru

☆ About ducking time: Apple to tweak iPhone autocorrect function
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 5 (Reuters) - One of the most notable happenings at Apple's event for developers on Monday is likely the iPhone maker's tweak that will keep its autocorrect feature from annoyingly correcting one of the most common expletives to "ducking." "In those moments where you just want to type a ducking word, well, the keyboard will learn it, too," said Craig Federighi, Apple's software chief. Apart from the texting tweak, the company had a lot on its agenda - an expensive new mixed-reality headset, details on a revamping of its desktop and a laptop revamp. Apple shares hit an all-time record Monday, putting the company's market valuation just shy of $3 trillion, which would also be a record. Of course, iPhone users have always had the option to turn off the autocorrect feature on their phones, which would allow its foul-mouthed users to be as profane as they want.

Persons: Craig Federighi, Stephen Nellis, David Gaffen, Anna Driver Organizations: Apple, Thomson

☆ Explainer: Why are Nvidia's shares soaring and what is its role in the AI boom?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

FROM GAMING TO AI: NVIDIA'S FOCUS SHIFTNvidia, known for its chips used in videogames, pivoted to the data center market over the last few years. WHY IS GENERATIVE AI A HOT TOPIC? Viral chatbot ChatGPT has made generative AI a buzzword this year. More recently, chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O) released details on its new AI chip to try to challenge Nvidia's market share. Nvidia's main competitors include Advanced Micro Devices and AI chips made in-house by companies such as Amazon.com, Google and Meta Platforms.

Persons: Nvidia, ChatGPT, Goldman Sachs, Elon Musk, Chavi Mehta, Sriraj Kalluvila, David Gaffen Organizations: Nvidia, NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, Handout, REUTERS, Microsoft Corp, Inc, Google, Devices, Intel, Tesla, Financial Times, WHO, Thomson Locations: U.S, Santa Clara , California, Bengaluru

☆ Explainer: How did the battle between Ron DeSantis and Disney escalate?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

April 26 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) sued Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday, asking a federal court to overturn state efforts to exert greater control over the Walt Disney World theme parks. DeSantis responded by urging the legislature to abolish a special district that gave Disney virtual autonomy over the development of its theme parks in central Florida. The Florida State legislature created the Reedy Creek Improvement District in 1967 to promote the development of Walt Disney World on a 38.5-square miles of land. HOW DO VOTERS FEEL ABOUT THE DESANTIS VS. DISNEY BATTLE? Forty-four percent of Republican respondents in an April Reuters/Ipsos poll said they had a more favorable view of DeSantis because of the fight with Disney.

REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueMarch 29 (Reuters) - The scope of blame for Silicon Valley Bank's failure stretches across bank executives, Federal Reserve supervisors and other regulators, the banking system's top cop on Wednesday told U.S. lawmakers demanding answers for the lender's swift collapse. "I think that any time you have a bank failure like this, bank management clearly failed, supervisors failed and our regulatory system failed," Michael Barr, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision, told Congress. 'SOME REAL FLAWS'Barr told the House Financial Services Committee that he first became aware of stress at Silicon Valley Bank on the afternoon of March 9, but that the bank reported to supervisors that morning that deposits were stable. The Fed was in discussions with Silicon Valley Bank the day before its collapse to move pledgable collateral to the discount window, a key facility long associated with providing emergency loans to banks, Barr said on Wednesday. "(Fed) staff were working with Silicon Valley Bank basically all afternoon and evening and through the morning the next day to pledge as much collateral as humanly possible to the discount (window) on Friday," Barr said.

"I think that any time you have a bank failure like this, bank management clearly failed, supervisors failed and our regulatory system failed," Michael Barr, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision, told Congress. REPORTS DUE MAY 1Both the Fed and FDIC are is expected to produce reports on the failure of Silicon Valley Bank by May 1. Barr told the House Financial Services Committee that he first became aware of stress at Silicon Valley Bank on the afternoon of March 9, but that the bank reported to supervisors that morning that deposits were stable. Gruenberg of the FDIC told lawmakers he also became aware of SVB's stress that Thursday evening. "(Fed) staff were working with Silicon Valley Bank basically all afternoon and evening and through the morning the next day to pledge as much collateral as humanly possible to the discount (window) on Friday," Barr said.

☆ Factbox: The biggest financial crises of the last four decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Fears of banking contagion remain, and investors are worried that global economies will suffer if the effects of higher interest rates torpedo more lenders. Michael Milken had helped popularize the financial instrument, with many using it as a way of funding leveraged buyouts. The country ended up getting external financial support from the International Monetary Fund and a $50 billion bailout from the United States. GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS OF 2008The biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression was rooted in risky loans to shaky borrowers, which started to lose value after central banks raised interest rates in the period leading up to the crisis. EUROPEAN DEBT CRISISSpurred by the 2008 financial crisis, surging debt at some of the major European economies led to a loss of confidence in the region's businesses.

Discussions between the SEC and Coinbase broke down in recent weeks, with one source saying the two sides had moved "further apart." The crypto industry believes it operates in a regulatory gray area not governed by existing U.S. securities laws - and that new legislation is needed to regulate the industry. "But if necessary, we welcome the opportunity for Coinbase and the broader crypto community to get clarity in court." Prior to Gensler's arrival, the SEC engaged in targeted enforcement, but the Democratic chair has ratcheted up focus on crypto platforms themselves. "There couldn't be a more significant development for crypto markets and crypto investors," said Philip Moustakis, former SEC enforcement lawyer and partner with Seward and Kissel LLP in New York.

[1/4] The Amazon.com logo and stock price information is seen on screens at the Nasdaq Market Site in New York City, New York, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File PhotoMarch 20 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) on Monday said it would axe another 9,000 roles, piling on to a wave of layoffs that has swept the technology sector as an uncertain economy forces companies to get leaner. The layoffs will affect Amazon's streaming unit Twitch as well, following cuts that began in November focused on the company's devices, e-commerce and human-resources organizations. Amazon's stock fell 2%. The company has scaled back or shut down entire services like its virtual primary care offering for employers in recent months.

☆ Amazon to cut 9,000 jobs in second round of layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Lauwin-Planque, northern France, November 15, 2022. Whereas prior cuts had focused on the company's e-commerce and devices business as well as human-resources staff, now the company would eliminate roles from Amazon Web Services, its advertising and Twitch streaming units. Amazon follows Facebook-parent Meta in becoming the second bellwether to announce a second round of cuts. Amazon has scaled back or shut down entire services like its virtual primary care offering for employers. Facebook-parent Meta Platforms said it would cut 10,000 jobs this year, following the first mass layoff in the fall, which eliminated more than 11,000 jobs.

Musk on Wednesday announced the news with the state's governor, Gavin Newsom, and the Tesla CEO later told CNBC that putting the engineering hub in California means it is "effectively a headquarters of Tesla." Democratic-controlled California, the most populous U.S. state, has more electric vehicles than any other and provided Tesla with tax incentives as it grew. "Given that the Bay Area in California is home to many leading tech companies, it makes sense for Tesla’s engineering headquarters to be located there as a way to attract top talent," said Seth Goldstein, an analyst at Morningstar. The new Tesla engineering headquarters will be in a former Hewlett Packard building in Palo Alto. "This is a poetic transition from the company that founded Silicon Valley to Tesla," Musk said.

☆ Salesforce, activist investor Elliott may soon reach deal - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 17 (Reuters) - Cloud-based software firm Salesforce Inc (CRM.N) and activist investor Elliott Management Corp are in discussions to reach an agreement that may end a possible board challenge, according to two people familiar with the matter. The battle at Salesforce has pitted Elliott as well as other activist investors against Marc Benioff, one of Silicon Valley's most iconic chief executives. Salesforce's growth has slowed dramatically in recent quarters and last month the company said it would cut 10% of jobs to address its performance. Representatives for Salesforce and Elliott declined to comment. Elliott too has long invested in technology companies and in the past reached settlements for board seats with companies including Pinterest (PINS.N), Twitter and eBay (EBAY.O).

☆ Microsoft packs Bing search engine, Edge browser with AI in big challenge to Google
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Jeffrey Dastin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Microsoft is staking its future on AI through billions of dollars of investment as it directly challenges Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google. “This technology is going to reshape pretty much every software category," Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella told reporters in a briefing at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington. On Monday it unveiled a chatbot of its own called Bard, while it is planning to release AI for its search engine that can synthesize material when no simple answer exists online. PRACTICAL USESAt the event, Mehdi demonstrated how the AI-enhanced search engine will make shopping and creating emails much easier. For the quarter ending Dec. 31, Alphabet reported $42.6 billion in Google Search and other revenue, while Microsoft posted $3.2 billion from search and news advertising.

The reports renewed questions about global economic demand, the effect of higher interest rates and whether the market's January rally got ahead of itself. Apple, the world's largest publicly traded company, fell short of expectations, hurt by lower iPhone sales and production disruptions in China. Amazon said operating profits could fall this quarter due to lower demand, and Alphabet's online advertisers cut back their spend as well. Shares of the three companies dropped after the results were released and were expected to drag the market lower Friday following a euphoric rally Thursday. These three firms and Microsoft (MSFT.O), the four U.S. companies with trillion-dollar market values, have led the broad-market S&P 500 in 2023.

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