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☆ Musk's Twitter sues four Texas entities for data scraping, seeks damages
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 13 (Reuters) - Twitter has filed a lawsuit against four unnamed entities in Texas for data scraping last week, a move that showed why the Elon Musk-owned social network recently placed daily limits on the number of tweets a user could read. The complaint by Musk's X Corp, which owns Twitter, alleged that the entities indulged in "unlawfully scraping data" and sought monetary relief of more than $1 million, the lawsuit said. Musk, meanwhile, reiterated the reason for data limits in a reply to a tweet that referenced the data-scraping lawsuit. The case is X Corp Vs John Does 1-4, in the district court of Dallas County, Texas, no. Reporting by Shubham Kalia and Juby Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Elon, Musk, John, Shubham Kalia, Juby Babu, Savio D'Souza, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Twitter, Elon Musk, Musk's X Corp, Meta, X Corp, Thomson Locations: Texas, Dallas County , Texas, Bengaluru

☆ Amazon gets labor board complaint on failure to bargain with NY union
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Chandni Shah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 13 (Reuters) - Amazon.com (AMZN.O) was hit with a complaint on Wednesday for refusing to bargain with a New York workers' union, a spokesperson for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) said. Workers at the facility, located in the New York City borough of Staten Island, voted to join the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) last year, a first for the company in the United States. However, the e-commerce giant has challenged the results before the labor board, delaying any discussions with the union until the matter is resolved. The company's challenge has already been struck down once by the labor board in January. Amazon has faced dozens of complaints from workers and the ALU as the union attempts to organize warehouses across the country.

Persons: Chris Smalls, Shubham Kalia, Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Sohini Organizations: National Labor Relations Board, NLRB, Workers, New, Amazon Labor Union, Thomson Locations: New York, New York City, Staten Island, United States

☆ Amazon faces labor complaint over failure to bargain with union
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 12 (Reuters) - Amazon.com (AMZN.O) was hit with a complaint on Wednesday over allegedly refusing to bargain with a New York workers union, a spokesperson for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) said. Amazon and the union did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Workers at Amazon's JFK8 fulfillment center in Staten Island voted to join the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) last year, a first for the company in the United States. Amazon is still challenging the results before a U.S. labor board and has yet to engage in bargaining with the union. The NLRB complaint comes as dozens of Amazon warehouse workers in New York sued the union on Monday, alleging that top union officials were refusing to hold democratic elections to fill leadership posts.

Persons: Chandni Shah, Shubham, Urvi Dugar, Nivedita Organizations: National Labor Relations Board, NLRB, Amazon, New, Amazon Labor Union, Thomson Locations: New York, New York City, Staten Island, United States, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Musk reaffirms tweet-reading limits put due to data scraping
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 13 (Reuters) - Twitter introduced tweet-reading rate limits to address extreme levels of data scraping, Elon Musk reaffirmed on Thursday, in reply to a tweet that said the social media company has filed a lawsuit against four entities in Texas for data scraping. That is why we had to put rate limits in place," Musk said. However, the Twitter owner did not confirm or deny that a lawsuit had been filed. Musk has previously blamed data scraping for his move to limit how many tweets per day various accounts can read. Twitter has said only a small percentage of people using the platform have been affected by the limits.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Twitter, Shubham, Savio D'Souza Organizations: Reuters, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Texas, Bengaluru

May 18 (Reuters) - A Florida judge ruled in favor of Tiger Woods on Wednesday, rejecting his former girlfriend Erica Herman's request to nullify a non-disclosure agreement she signed when they began dating in 2017, U.S. media reported, citing court documents. Herman had asked a judge to void the agreement, citing a recent law that limits enforcing such agreements in sexual harassment and assault cases. Herman had not accused Woods of harassment or assault in court papers. In Wednesday's ruling, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Metzger said that Herman's claims had been “implausibly pled," granting Woods' requests to compel arbitration, the New York Times reported. The judge wrote that Herman could have provided factual specificity for any claim relating to sexual assault or sexual harassment, but "she has not done so,” according to the newspaper.

☆ Virgin Orbit enters $17 million 'stalking horse' bid to sell aircraft assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 16 (Reuters) - Bankrupt satellite launch company Virgin Orbit said on Tuesday it entered into a "stalking horse" agreement with Stratolaunch to sell mainly its aircraft assets, including the "Cosmic Girl" carrier aircraft, for $17 million in cash. A stalking horse bid is used as a starting bid or minimally accepted offer that other interested bidders must surpass if they want to buy the asset or company. In a court filing, Virgin Orbit said the bid does not prevent going concern bidders from making bids for all its assets, including the ones Stratolaunch is bidding for. The company said the bankruptcy marketing process has also generated considerable interest in its assets other than carrier aircraft. Virgin Orbit, founded by billionaire Richard Branson, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April after the company struggled to secure long-term funding following a failed satellite launch in January.

☆ Virgin Orbit enters "stalking horse" bid to sell aircraft assets for $17 mln
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

May 16 (Reuters) - Bankrupt satellite launch company Virgin Orbit said on Tuesday it has entered into a "stalking horse" agreement with Stratolaunch to sell mainly its aircraft assets, including the "Cosmic Girl" carrier aircraft, for $17 million in cash. A stalking horse bid is used as a starting bid or minimally accepted offer that other interested bidders must surpass if they want to buy the company. In a court filing, Virgin Orbit said the bid does not prevent going concern bidders from making bids for all its assets, including the ones which Stratolaunch is bidding for. Reporting by Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Qualcomm to acquire Israeli auto-chip maker Autotalks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Autotalks makes dedicated chips used in the vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications technology for manned and driverless vehicles to improve road safety. The company had credited the jump to its Snapdragon Digital Chassis product used by car makers and their suppliers. The Snapdragon Digital Chassis can provide assisted and autonomous driving technology, as well as in-car infotainment and cloud connectivity. Qualcomm on Monday said it would incorporate Autotalks' solutions into Snapdragon Digital Chassis product portfolio, but did not elaborate on the financials of the deal. The acquisition will be made through its unit Qualcomm Technologies, Qualcomm added.

☆ India's Modi raises embassy security with UK's Sunak after vandalism
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 13 (Reuters) - Britain should take action after a violent incident during protests outside India's embassy in London last month, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi told British counterpart Rishi Sunak on Thursday. New Delhi has been upset about protests and vandalism by Sikh separatists - who seek an independent Sikh homeland called Khalistan - outside the Indian High Commission in London and elsewhere in the U.S. and Canada. In a telephone conversation with Sunak, Modi called for "strong action against anti-India elements" by the British government following the incident, Modi's office said in a statement. "He stressed that extremism had no place in the UK and updated on the steps being taken to ensure the security of Indian High Commission staff," Sunak's office added. The demonstration outside the Indian High Commission was staged to denounce recent police action in the Sikh-majority Indian state of Punjab against a pro-Khalistan Sikh preacher.

☆ UK to review security at Indian High Commission in London after protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 22 (Reuters) - British foreign minister James Cleverly on Wednesday said the country will review security at the Indian High Commission in London following "unacceptable acts of violence" towards the mission's staff. According to the BBC, crowds had gathered outside the high commission's building on Sunday and windows were broken, after which India demanded an explanation for the "complete absence of the British security" around the premises. On Wednesday, Indian daily The Hindu reported that at least a hundred police officers were standing guard on both sides of the road outside the High Commission in London on Wednesday. Cleverly said that police investigation was ongoing after the acts of violence and that the country will make the necessary changes to ensure the safety of the Indian mission's staff as it did for demonstrations on Wednesday. Reporting by Anirudh Saligrama and Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

ZURICH, March 21 (Reuters) - Swiss authorities imposed curbs on bonus payments for Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) employees, a move that will penalise bankers after a multi-billion-franc state rescue of the bank. Credit Suisse declined to comment. Battered by years of scandals and losses, Credit Suisse for months had been battling a crisis of confidence. The bank's bonus pool shrank by 50% in 2022 to 1 billion Swiss francs, according to its annual report. The Swiss government also instructed its finance ministry to propose further measures on variable remuneration for Credit Suisse.

☆ UBS agrees to buy Credit Suisse for more than $2 billion, Financial Times reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

March 19 (Reuters) - UBS (UBSG.S) has agreed to buy Credit Suisse after increasing its offer to more than $2 billion, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. UBS will pay more than 0.50 francs ($0.5401) a share in its own stock, far below Credit Suisse’s closing price of 1.86 francs on Friday, FT reported, citing sources. The Swiss National Bank has agreed to offer a $100 billion liquidity line to Credit Suisse as part of the deal, the FT added, citing two people familiar with the matter. According to the report, UBS has agreed to a softening of a material adverse change clause that would void the deal if its credit default spreads jump. Credit Suisse and UBS declined to comment.

☆ YouTube restores Donald Trump's channel
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

March 17 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) YouTube said on Friday it has lifted its restrictions on former U.S. President Donald Trump's channel. The video streaming platform banned Trump on Jan. 12 in 2021 for violating its policy of inciting violence after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol when Congress began to certify Joe Biden's victory in the presidential election a week earlier. Reporting by Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ S&P says not seen rampant deposit outflows to merit rating action
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 15 (Reuters) - S&P has not placed other U.S. banks on CreditWatch negative since First Republic Bank as it has not seen widespread deposit outflows, the ratings agency said on Tuesday, hours after Moody's cut its outlook on the U.S. banking system to negative. read more read moreEarlier on Tuesday, S&P Global Ratings placed First Republic Bank (FRC.N) on CreditWatch negative, reflecting lower confidence in the lender's financial strength. However, later in the day, S&P said it had not seen evidence that the unmanageable deposit outflows seen at a few banks had widely spread across the banks it covers. Moody's Investors Service revised its outlook on the U.S. banking system to "negative" from "stable" earlier on Tuesday to reflect the rapid deterioration in the operating environment. Reporting by Lavanya Ahire and Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bitcoin, USDC stablecoin rally after U.S. intervenes on SVB
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SINGAPORE, March 13 (Reuters) - Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies rallied on Monday after U.S. authorities announced plans to limit the fallout from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and as cryptocurrency firm Circle assured investors its peg was secure. The moves came as authorities took possession of New York-based Signature Bank (SBNY.O), the second bank failure in a matter of days. Stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) recovered to $0.9917, closer to its par and up from last week's lows around $0.88. Over the weekend, USDC had lost its 1:1 dollar peg and hit a record low on Saturday on concerns over the exposure of Circle — the firm behind USDC — to Silicon Valley Bank. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said in a tweet its $3.3 billion USDC reserve deposit held at the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB.O) will be fully available when U.S. banks open Monday.

☆ Circle says $3.3 bln USDC reserves to be fully available on Monday
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 12 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency firm Circle said on Sunday all its depositors with the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB.O) and Signature Bank (SBNY.O) will be made whole and the $3.3 billion USDC reserve deposit held at Silicon Valley Bank will be fully available when banks open Monday. Circle said it did not have any Stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) cash reserves at Signature Bank and that the token remained redeemable at 1:1 U.S. dollar peg. Further, the crypto firm announced an automated USDC minting and redemption through Cross River Bank, effective Monday, and said its expanded relationships also include USDC redemptions via BNY Mellon (BK.N). "Circle's USDC operations will open for business, including with new automated settlement via our new partnership with Cross River Bank," Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Allaire said in a tweet. USDC lost its dollar peg and slumped to an all-time low on Saturday before recovering most of its losses when Circle assured investors it would honor the peg despite exposure to failed Silicon Valley Bank.

☆ Goldman analysts no longer expect Fed rate hike in March after SVB failure
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 12 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs' analysts on Sunday said they no longer expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to deliver a rate hike at its March 22 meeting with considerable uncertainty about the path beyond March, in light of the recent stress in the banking sector. Goldman previously expected a 25-basis-point hike in March. The Federal Reserve also made it easier for banks to borrow from it in emergencies. Goldman analysts said they expected the measures taken by the regulators to provide substantial liquidity to banks facing deposit outflows and to improve confidence among depositors. Goldman left unchanged its expectations for 25-basis-point hikes in May, June, and July, but said it saw considerable uncertainty about the rate hike path beyond March.

☆ Meta explores decentralized social network app for text updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 10 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) is exploring a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates, a company spokesperson said on Friday, in what could be a direct competitor to billionaire Elon Musk's Twitter Inc."We're exploring a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates. We believe there's an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests," a Meta spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement. The report said Meta's new content app would support ActivityPub, the decentralized social networking protocol that powers Twitter-rival Mastodon and other federated apps. Meta's new app would be Instagram-branded and will allow users to register or login through their Instagram credentials, according to the Moneycontrol report. Reporting by Shubham Kalia and Shubhendu Deshmukh in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Meta exploring plans for Twitter rival
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 10 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) is exploring plans to launch a new social media app in its bid to displace Twitter as the world's "digital town square". "We're exploring a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates. A Twitter-like app would allow Meta to take advantage of the current chaos at the Elon Musk-led company, where cost-cutting has been rampant. Twitter has been struggling to hold on to its advertising base since Musk's takeover of the platform late last year. "They're just trying everything... at least with a mini blogging site like Twitter, there's some expectation that it could start to make money out of much quicker timeline than the metaverse investment."

☆ Tesla cuts U.S. Model S and Model X prices between 4% and 9%
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Model S and Model X, which come in base all-wheel drive (AWD) and performance "Plaid" editions, represented about 4% of Tesla's global deliveries in 2022. Tesla's website showed it had cut prices on both versions of its Model S by $5,000. The basic version of Model S was cut by 5% to $89,990, while the price of the performance, Plaid variant was cut by 4% to $109,990. Prices of both the performance and basic variants of Model X cars were cut by $10,000, the electric vehicle maker's website showed. The price of the basic, AWD version of the Model X was cut by 9% to $99,990 while its performance Plaid version was cut by 8% to $109,990.

Feb 14 (Reuters) - Christine Wilson, the sole Republican on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), said on Tuesday she will resign soon, blaming the move on the agency's top official, Lina Khan. "Much ink has been spilled about Lina Khan's attempts to remake federal antitrust law as chairman of the Federal Trade Commission," Wilson wrote in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal. Wilson said in the piece that she would resign "soon" but gave no date. "I dissented on due-process grounds, which require those sitting in a judicial capacity to avoid even the appearance of unfairness," wrote Wilson. Wilson accused the Biden administration FTC of overstepping by being too aggressive in stopping mergers and banning most noncompete clauses.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan imposed the VPN ban through Thursday, when he will hold a hearing to consider additional restrictions to Bankman-Fried's $250 million bail package. The judge on Tuesday extended that ban by three days, to Feb. 24. Prosecutors said Bankman-Fried cheated customers and improperly diverted assets, causing billions of dollars in losses. In a Monday night filing, prosecutors said Bankman-Fried used a VPN to access the internet on Jan. 29 and Feb. 12. Defense lawyers responded that Bankman-Fried used a VPN to watch National Football League playoff games on Jan. 29 and the Super Bowl on Feb. 12.

☆ Apple indefinitely postpones launch of AR glasses - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 17 (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) has postponed the launch of its lightweight augmented-reality glasses indefinitely due to technical challenges, but is still planning to unveil its first mixed-reality headset this year, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday. The iPhone maker's mixed-reality headset - which combines both augmented and virtual reality - is set to launch in this year's spring event, Bloomberg said, adding that the device will cost around $3,000. Apple's mixed-reality device would compete with the likes of Meta Platforms' (META.O) Quest Pro virtual and mixed-reality headset, which it launched late last year for $1,500, half of the Apple device's reported price. The Cupertino, California-based company now plans to focus on lowering the price of the follow-up version of its mixed-reality device, expected as soon as 2024 or early 2025, instead of working on the AR glasses, according to the report. The Information website first reported Apple's plans to unveil a cheaper mixed-reality headset on Tuesday.

☆ Whirlpool to divest most of EMEA ops, form new entity with Turkey's Arcelik
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The home appliance maker launched a review of the EMEA business in April 2022, acknowledging that it would take the company a longer time to achieve attractive EBIT margin levels amid geopolitical tensions in Europe. Whirlpool will form a new Europe-focused entity with Turkish household appliances manufacturer Arcelik (ARCLK.IS) by divesting its major domestic appliance business in the region, it said in a statement. The new entity will include Arcelik's European units such as major domestic appliance, small domestic appliance and consumer electronics. Whirlpool will own 25% of this new entity, while Arcelik will have the rest, the U.S.-based company added. The entirety of Whirlpool's EMEA business reported sales of $5.01 billion last year.

☆ Whirlpool partners Arcelik in Europe, quits MidEast and Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Whirlpool also said it had agreed to sell its Middle Eastern and African businesses to Arcelik, which the Turkish firm said was for 20 million euros ($21.65 million) in cash. The moves come after Whirlpool launched a review of its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) operations in April 2022 and said it planned to focus on higher margin businesses. The U.S. firm said the Middle Eastern and African businesses being sold to Arcelik had sales of around $4.2 billion in 2021. The entirety of Whirlpool's EMEA business reported sales of $5.01 billion last year. The deals are expected to be completed in the second half of the 2023, subject to regulatory approval, Arcelik said.

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