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☆ World of Warcraft to go offline in China as Activision Blizzard and NetEase end 14-year deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The booth of Blizzard Entertainment at the Chinajoy Expo in Shanghai, China, on Aug. 2, 2019. Activision Blizzard and Chinese gaming firm NetEase are ending their 14-year licensing agreement, a move that will result in hit game franchises like World of Warcraft and Overwatch shutting down in China. The deal, which was first struck back in August 2008, will now expire in January 2023 after the two firms were unable to agree on renewal terms. World of Warcraft, a massively multiplayer online game, is hugely popular in China. In a statement, NetEase CEO William Ding said Blizzard and NetEase had "material differences on key terms" in deal negotiations.

Nov 17 (Reuters) - Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O) said on Thursday it would suspend most Blizzard game services in mainland China once its current licensing agreements with NetEase (9999.HK) end in January. California-based Blizzard said new sales would be suspended in the coming days and players would receive further details. The absence of Blizzard games could cause a 6-8% drop in NetEase's revenue next year, analysts from Daiwa Capital Markets wrote in a research report on Nov. 9. The estimate is founded on the basis that licensed games account for around 10% of NetEase's total revenue and Blizzard accounts for 60-80% of licensed games. "We are looking for alternatives to bring our games back to players in the future," Blizzard President Mike Ybarra said in the statement.

☆ Morning Bid: Bear Hunt
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Long-term sovereign bond yields have been falling sharply all week in advance of finance minister Jeremy Hunt's new budget, dragged down largely by U.S. disinflation hopes. UK 10- and 30-year gilt yields outperformed, however, dropping to their lowest since early September before backing up slightly on Thursday. U.S. housing starts numbers out later will give another glimpse at the state of the ailing property sector. Reverberations continued around the world from this month's latest implosion in the crypto universe and the failure of the FTX exchange. Major crypto player Genesis Global Capital suspended customer redemptions in its lending business on Wednesday, citing the FTX collapse.

☆ Microsoft wants to create more competition among game publishers, CEO Satya Nadella says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

SeongJoon Cho | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesMicrosoft CEO Satya Nadella says the American tech giant wants to create more competition among game publishers, as it faces an anticompetition probe over its $69 billion offer to buy Activision Blizzard . Activision Blizzard, the American game publisher behind popular franchises such as Call of Duty, Warcraft, and Candy Crush, could boost Microsoft's mobile gaming presence where it is largely absent. Microsoft has largely been in the console and PC video game businesses, offering access to hundreds of games via their video game subscription services Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass. What can Microsoft uniquely do for gamers and game publishers? When asked about the next step if the Activision Blizzard deal doesn't happen, Nadella said: "We have been in gaming for decades.

Google, Activision and Riot did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the new filing. Epic last year mostly lost a similar case against Apple Inc (AAPL.O), the other leading app store provider. The deal with Activision was announced in January 2020, soon after it told Google it was considering launching its own app store. Google around the same time was forecasting billions of dollars in lost app store sales if developers fled to alternative systems. Epic's lawsuit alleged that Google knew signing with Activision "effectively ensured that (Activision) would abandon its plans to launch a competing app store, and Google intended this result."

☆ Microsoft brings casual games Minesweeper and Solitaire to Teams to spruce up virtual meetings
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Next time you're bored on a Microsoft Teams call, try joining your colleagues in a game of Minesweeper. Microsoft on Wednesday added a collection of casual games to its Teams chat and calling service as the company tries to get people to spend more time in the app. Teams is now available on most popular devices, and desktop software developers including Adobe and SAP have developed Teams integrations. By adding games, Microsoft is trying to sprinkle some fun into the equation and perhaps even strengthen bonds at work. The classic Klondike game, for example, is part of the Microsoft Solitaire Collection app for Windows.

☆ Here are Tuesday's biggest analyst calls: Tesla, Amazon, Netflix, First Solar, Carvana & more
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are Tuesday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Loop reiterates Apple as buy Loop said it sees macro headwinds building for Apple. Morgan Stanley reiterates Tesla as overweight Morgan Stanley said investors should buy the dip in shares of Tesla. Morgan Stanley names CBOE a top pick Morgan Stanley said the global markets company has a compelling entry point. Barclays reiterates Amazon as overweight Barclays said it sees a favorable risk/reward for Amazon shares right now. " AMZN shares remain out of favor heading into peak holiday season owing to its sub-seasonal revenue guide and AWS deceleration."

☆ Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway discloses $4 billion stake in Taiwan Semiconductor
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway built a sizable new stake in Taiwan Semiconductor in the third quarter, according to a quarterly regulatory filing. Berkshire increased its holding in Paramount Global to $1.7 billion at the end of the third quarter. As expected, the filing showed that Buffett continued to accumulate Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter. Berkshire's stake in the Houston-based oil-and-gas driller has reached 21.4% of the shares outstanding, worth $11.9 billion at the end of September. Apple remained Berkshire's biggest stock holding by far, with a position worth more than $123 billion.

☆ Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway reveals it built a $4 billion stake in Taiwan Semiconductor - and added Jefferies to its stock portfolio
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a new, $4 billion stake in Taiwan Semiconductor. Berkshire boosted its Chevron and Oxy bets, and slashed its wagers on US Bancorp and BNY Mellon. The total value of Berkshire's US stock portfolio, which excludes overseas holdings such as BYD, declined slightly to $296 billion. The report revealed it spent a net $3.7 billion on stocks in the period, and foreshadowed its enlarged Chevron stake. It also roughly quadrupled it stake in Chevron in the first quarter, and now counts the oil major among the five most-valuable holdings in its stock portfolio.

☆ Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Tesla, Meta, Alphabet, GM, Walmart, Coinbase & more
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Here are Thursday's biggest calls on Wall Street: JPMorgan downgrades Roblox to neutral from overweight JPMorgan downgraded the stock after Roblox's earnings report, noting it now sees "modest" sales growth. Bank of America downgrades Silvergate to neutral from buy Bank of America said that Silvergate is losing it's first mover advantage. Bank of America downgrades Upstart to underperform from neutral Bank of America downgraded the consumer lending company and cited a tough macro environment. JPMorgan downgrades Vacasa to neutral from overweight JPMorgan said in its downgrade of the vacation booking company that trends appear soft. Bank of America reiterates Meta as neutral Bank of America said it's encouraged by the new "cost focus" at Meta as the company cuts jobs.

☆ Cramer's lightning round: I no longer advocate that you should sell Activision Blizzard
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Loading chart...Advanced Micro Devices Inc : "We've cut the position back for my Charitable Trust. ... We're happy and content to leave the rest and let it run up $8 today." Loading chart...Activision Blizzard Inc : "I actually think that Activision Blizzard on its own right, at this point, could be worth what it's selling for. And therefore, I no longer advocate that you should sell it." Disclaimer: Cramer's Charitable Trust owns shares of AMD.

☆ Premarket stocks: Markets are in trouble. Election results won't change that
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN Business —The results of Tuesday’s midterm elections will set the agenda for the next Congress. But when it comes to the stock market, this election ranks fairly low on the list of things investors should worry about. But stocks have a bigger problem than who takes the House or Senate: The possibility of a recession ahead. Politics have taken a less central role in recent discussions with investors than they have in past election cycles, they added. The bottom line: When it comes to the next big market catalyst, investors should look to the Fed, not Congress.

☆ Activision Scores Some Downside Protection
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Dan Gallagher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Fantasy videogames can still inflict real-world wounds, but a 19-year-old franchise is also proving very hard to kill. Activision Blizzard’s latest “Call of Duty” iteration is selling strong, which marks a notable comeback after last year’s flop. The game publisher said Monday that “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II” surpassed $1 billion in global sell-through in 10 days from its Oct. 28 release, which is faster than any previous version of the game has crossed that threshold. Later in the day, the company reported stronger-than-expected net bookings for the third quarter and projected growth of at least 20% year over year for the fourth quarter. It also confirmed that it will make a new “Call of Duty” sequel in 2023, countering previous reports that it was planning to skip a year in what has historically been a steady annual release cadence.

☆ EU to Probe Microsoft’s $75 Billion Deal for Activision Blizzard More Deeply
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Sarah E. Needleman | Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The European Union’s competition watchdog said it would pursue an in-depth investigation into Microsoft Corp.’s planned $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc., adding to the global scrutiny of whether the deal could harm competition in the videogame industry. The European Commission, which opened its initial, formal probe of the deal in late September, said it is concerned that the deal may reduce competition in the markets for console and personal computer distribution, videogames and PC operating systems. It said it was concerned that Microsoft may block access to Activision Blizzard games to other game distributors, especially the publisher’s most successful franchises such as Call of Duty.

☆ EU opens deeper probe of Microsoft’s Activision deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Washington CNN Business —The European Union is taking a closer look at Microsoft’s proposed $68.7 billion purchase of video game giant Activision Blizzard, citing concerns the deal could hurt competition in the video game industry. A preliminary review of the deal found that Microsoft (MSFT) could try to withhold the games it’s acquiring from other distributors, according to an EU press release. And, according to an EU press release, authorities are concerned the deal may allow Microsoft to concentrate power in its own cloud gaming service and prevent rival cloud services from gaining access to Activision (ATVI) games. In September, the United Kingdom announced it had opened a second-stage investigation into the proposed deal. We want people to have more access to games, not less.”

☆ Microsoft's $69 bln Activision bid faces EU antitrust probe
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"The preliminary investigation suggests that Microsoft may have the ability, as well as a potential economic incentive, to engage in foreclosure strategies vis-à-vis Microsoft's rival distributors of console video games," it added. Microsoft said it would work with the EU antitrust watchdog to address valid marketplace concerns. The EU competition enforcer said it would decide by March 23, 2023 whether to clear or block the deal. Reuters reported on Oct. 31 that Microsoft would face an extensive EU probe after declining to offer remedies during the preliminary EU review of the deal. Britain's antitrust watchdog is also investigating the acquisition, with similar concerns to its EU peer.

☆ EU antitrust regulators to probe Microsoft's $69 billion Activision bid
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Activision games "Call of Duty" are pictured in a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., January 18, 2022. EU antitrust regulators on Tuesday opened a full-scale investigation into Microsoft's $69 billion bid for "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard, warning the deal may hurt competition. The U.S. software company, which announced the deal in January, is betting Activision's stable of games will help it compete better with leaders Tencent and Sony, with the latter being a critic of the deal. "The Commission's preliminary investigation shows that the transaction may significantly reduce competition on the markets for the distribution of console and PC video games, including multigame subscription services and/or cloud game streaming services, and for PC operating systems," the European Commission said in a statement. "In particular, the Commission is concerned that, by acquiring Activision Blizzard, Microsoft may foreclose access to Activision Blizzard's console and PC video games, especially to high-profile and highly successful games (so-called 'AAA' games) such as 'Call of Duty'," it said.

☆ TTWO misses on earnings and revenue, ATVI beats on revenue
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailTTWO misses on earnings and revenue, ATVI beats on revenueCNBC's Steve Kovach joins 'Closing Bell: Overtime' to report on Take-Two and Activision earnings.

☆ Eightfold.AI: 2022 Top Startups for the Enterprise
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Cnbc.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The six-year-old company uses deep learning and artificial intelligence to help companies find, recruit, and retain employees. Its talent acquisition platform enables customers to identify suitable candidates and import and filter through thousands of resumes. A candidate can upload a resume and Eightfold's system will identify the most relevant jobs for that candidate in real time. Customers include Bayer, Capital One, Activision, Booking.com, Vodafone, Mercado Libre and Akamai. The company has raised nearly $400 million to date from investors including SoftBank, General Catalyst, Capital One Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Foundation Capital.

☆ Morning Bid: Polls and prices
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan. Chinese stocks continued last week's tentative recovery, however, despite officials throwing cold water on any early end to draconian COVID lockdown policies. Some correction of the market's severe underperformance this year was about the only cogent reason given for the ongoing stock bounce. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and ECB board member Fabio Panetta both speak. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Investors, you can bet on midterms bringing in a market rally even as the Fed keeps hiking rates.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Let's start with a basic fact: Stocks have gained after every midterm election since World War II. But Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group, still thinks the stage is set for a substantial year-end market rally. How do you expect the stock market to react to the 2022 midterms? US stocks are ticking higher early Monday as election week begins. It's possible the stock market crashes 29% if a drop in corporate earnings happens at the same time as a recession.

☆ Russian TV vs. Real Life: How Propaganda Promotes Ukraine Mobilization
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Tech Live: Microsoft Talks Activision Blizzard Deal, Mobile GamingMicrosoft has been expanding where and how its customers engage with its game offerings, looking to acquire video game company Activision Blizzard as part of that plan. Microsoft’s gaming chief Phil Spencer spoke with Wall Street Journal reporter Sarah Needleman about the deal and more at The Wall Street Journal’s Tech Live conference. Photo: Nikki Ritcher for the Wall Street Journal

☆ Dow futures slide 200 points as investors await midterm elections and inflation report
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. stock futures fell on Sunday as investors looked ahead to a week packed with the Congressional midterm elections, as well as the latest consumer inflation report. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.7% and 0.8% respectively. The S&P 500 rose 1.36%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 1.28% higher. A hot inflation report could signal to investors that a pivot from higher interest rates, for longer, could be further away than expected. Corporate earnings season is winding down with a majority of companies in the S&P 500 having reported results.

☆ Midterms could be a positive catalyst for stocks as investors await next big inflation report
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Patti Domm | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

There are two big hurdles for markets in the week ahead - another potentially hot consumer inflation report and the Congressional midterm elections. "100% of the time, the S & P 500 has been up 12 months after the midterm election." Midterm rallies Stocks tend to gain in the final months of midterm election years, and strategists have been expecting the market to move higher. CFRA Chief Market Strategist Sam Stovall said even when interest rates are climbing, the midterm election has been a catalyst for stocks. He examined market performance in other midterm election years when interest rates were going up.

☆ The Fed, earnings, jobs and China: How we think about this week's deluge of data
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

It is very premature, in my view, to think about or be talking about pausing our rate hikes. The news sent those stocks reliant on China for growth — Starbucks, Estee Lauder and Wynn Resorts, among many others — higher. Or bad news could just be bad news if weak data signals a recession ahead. And good news could be good news: for example, if China reopens and U.S. companies exposed to the region see a boost in demand. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

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