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☆ 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.

☆ No Microsoft remedies in first EU antitrust review of Activision deal - source
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) has not offered any remedies to EU antitrust regulators reviewing its proposed $69 billion bid for "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O) ahead of an expected full-scale EU probe, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday. The European Commission, which is scheduled to finish its preliminary assessment of the deal by Nov. 8, said its website was up to date. Microsoft said it continues to work with the Commission on the next steps and to address any valid marketplace concerns, such as those voiced by Sony. Companies typically do not offer remedies during the EU preliminary review when they know regulators subsequently intend to open a four-month long investigation. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by David EvansOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EA to develop three Marvel games, beginning with Iron Man
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] A life size "Iron Man" is on display in the Marvel booth at the 39th annual Comic Con Convention in San Diego July 24, 2008. REUTERS/Mike BlakeOct 31 (Reuters) - Electronic Arts Inc (EA.O) will launch an Iron Man game and at least two other action-adventure titles revolving around characters from the Marvel universe, under a deal announced by the videogame publisher on Monday. EA has previously partnered with Marvel owner Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) to develop games based on the Star Wars movie franchise for mobile devices, PCs and consoles. Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O) has launched games on Spider-Man, while Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment developed games based on DC's Batman. EA's bet on its new games comes as the videogame publisher struggles with a slowdown in demand from peaks touched during the pandemic.

☆ Tech stocks are tumbling but one fund manager still loves Microsoft. Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Tech stocks have tumbled this week, as investor optimism fades following disappointing results from some of the sector's biggest names. Despite the gloomy outlook for the sector, fund manager Brian Arcese is still bullish on selected stocks within the sector — including Microsoft. The portfolio manager at Foord Asset Management co-manages the Foord International Fund and the Foord Global Equity Fund. Read more These 'all-weather' stocks can protect your portfolio in a recession: Outperforming fund manager Stocks and bonds are struggling. The Foord Global Equity fund has fared less well, although did manage to just outperform the market this year, down 23.3% as of the end for September, the fund's latest factsheet showed.

☆ Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Wants to Sever Apple-Google ‘Duopoly’ in Mobile Games
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Sebastian Herrera | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif.— Microsoft top videogame executive said the company is betting heavily on the future of mobile games and hopes that it will be able to overcome the power that Apple Inc. and Google have over how people play on smartphones. Phil Spencer , Microsoft’s chief executive of videogames, said the company’s ambition in mobile games is the main driver of its planned $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard which is being reviewed by competition regulators.

☆ Microsoft exec says gaming is 'somewhat resilient' to economic weakness
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Microsoft's head of gaming said Wednesday that video games can stand up to economic weakness, even as the software maker expects slower pickup in other parts of its business targeting consumers. Gaming remains a high priority for Microsoft, with the company working to close its $68.7 billion acquisition of publisher Activision Blizzard . Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, sounded optimistic about the prospects of the unit. "The video game industry has never been 'recession-proof,' but that line gets brought out every time the r-word is mentioned," Mat Piscatella, executive director and video game industry advisor at market researcher NPD Group, wrote in a July tweet. "People can play video games for hundreds of hours," he said.

☆ Microsoft's drop on a weaker guide doesn't reflect the long-term potential of the stock
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Despite strong headline results, shares fell roughly 6.5% in extended trading on lighter Azure cloud growth and weaker forward guidance. Note: Constant currency growth rates, which is what we will cite in this report, help strip out fluctuations in foreign currency, namely a strong U.S. dollar, to provide a clearer financial picture. Xbox Content and Services revenue ticked up 1% in constant currency, while Xbox hardware sales jumped 19% in constant currency. Management expects Azure revenue growth to be lower sequentially by roughly five percentage points on a constant currency basis. Despite coming up a bit short versus estimates, Microsoft is still generating a ton of cash.

☆ Microsoft powers up search for Chinese gaming hits in race against Sony
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterGrowing Western interest in Chinese games reflects a maturing of China's game development industry, analysts said. Chinese games are now on a par with big-budget Western games, said Daniel Ahmad, senior analyst at researcher Niko Partners. "Chinese game developers are trying to standardise their development tools, create advanced production processes, invest in really large-scale teams," Ahmad said. Microsoft has been building a team to scout for Chinese games, two industry sources said. Gaming executives now point to "Genshin Impact" as a global industry milestone, lauding its production value and seamless cross-platform game play.

☆ Microsoft says UK influenced by Sony in probing Activision Blizzard deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft could use its control over popular games to harm rivals, including those operating in multi-game subscription services and cloud gaming, it said. Microsoft said the CMA had adopted Sony's complaints without the "appropriate level of critical review". The Phase 1 decision identified three areas where the deal could cause harm: gaming consoles, multi-game subscription services and cloud gaming services," a CMA spokesperson said in a statement. A spokesperson for Microsoft said: "This deal will benefit gamers, developers, and the industry as we seek to bring more games to more people." A spokesperson for Sony PlayStation reiterated its view that the deal was "bad for competition, bad for the gaming industry and bad for gamers themselves".

☆ These 15 top Microsoft Advertising execs are behind the company's plan to double its ad revenue to $20 billion
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Ryan Joe | Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Microsoft posted $10 billion in ad revenue last year and it's positioning itself to double that to $20 billion. It's signed a deal to sell ads for Netflix and is building out its Xbox ads division. But recently, Microsoft has shown signs it's regaining its advertising mojo. Microsoft posted $10 billion in ad revenue last year, and Wilk recently told Insider he plans to double that number to $20 billion, though he didn't say when. And ads are a feature in Microsoft's pending $68.7 billion deal to acquire "Call of Duty" games publisher Activision.

☆ Saudi wealth fund's Savvy Games Group to invest $37.8 billion
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sept 29 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's Savvy Games Group, owned by sovereign wealth fund PIF, will invest 142 billion riyals ($37.8 billion) in initiatives aimed at making the kingdom a global hub for gaming, state news agency SPA said on Thursday. The investments will include 70 billion riyals to take several minority stakes in companies that support Savvy's game development agenda and 50 billion riyals to acquire "a leading game publisher to become a strategic development partner". Another 20 billion riyals will be invested in mature industry partners who bring expertise to Savvy's portfolio and 2 billion riyals will target industry disruptors "to grow early-stage games and esports companies." The company's strategy is to invest in the electronic games industry and esports over a long timeline, including local and international programmes and infrastructure. It aims to set up 250 games companies in Saudi Arabia, which will create 39,000 jobs, and raise the sector's contribution to Saudi GDP to 50 billion riyals by 2030, SPA added.

☆ EXCLUSIVE: Microsoft's venture arm led this Web3 startup's $20 million funding round. Check out the 14-slide pitch deck the company used to raise.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Space and Time, a Web3 startup, announced a $20 million funding round on Tuesday. Check out the 14-slide pitch deck the startup used to raise in this Insider exclusive. Space and Time, a decentralized data platform, secured a $20 million raise, led by Microsoft's venture arm. Check out the 14-slide pitch deck the startup used to raise in this Insider exclusive. Space and TimeSpace and TimeSpace and TimeSpace and TimeSpace and TimeSpace and TimeSpace and TimeSpace and TimeSpace and TimeSpace and TimeSpace and TimeSpace and Time

☆ Microsoft’s Real Game With Activision
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Dan Gallagher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

If Microsoft wants to make investors some real money, here’s an idea: It should openly promise to keep “Call of Duty” on the PlayStation forever. Concern about what will Microsoft ultimately do with the blockbuster videogame franchise continues to hang over the software giant’s proposed bid to acquire Activision Blizzard . Last week, the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority said it is escalating its investigation into the $75 billion deal on the concern that combining the Xbox maker with the world’s largest third-party videogame publisher by annual revenue will stifle competition. Chief among its worries, according to a statement by the agency earlier in the month, is that Microsoft could harm rivals “by refusing them access to Activision Blizzard games or providing access on much worse terms.”

☆ How to invest in communications stocks, a sector that's huge, highly diversified, and growing — offering something for almost every type of investor
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Amy Fontinelle | Read More | Read Less | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Here's what you should know about how to invest in communications stocks, what the risks are, and what rewards you might anticipate. Companies in the media, entertainment, interactive gaming, information creation, and information distribution businesses also belong to the communications sector. Basically, it expanded the existing telecommunications sector to become a broader communications services sector. The advantages of communications stocksThere are a variety of reasons for investors to consider communications companies. And the COVID-19 lifestyle shifts might make us permanently more reliant on communications companies, even once the pandemic is behind us.

☆ 8 companies Amazon, Microsoft, or Google might buy as they shop for deals amid the market downturn, including Workday, Unity, and Roku
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-15 | by ( Belle Lin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

That means Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud could be poised for a merger-and-acquisition spree. As for cloud acquisitions, analysts said Amazon's cloud unit didn't often buy companies. Cybersecurity has been a greater focus for Microsoft, AWS, and Google Cloud after the hack of the IT-software company SolarWinds in 2020. In 2019, Google purchased the data-analytics company Looker for $2.6 billion in cash under Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian. With Kurian at the helm, bringing with him the Oracle acquisition playbook, Google Cloud may now have a bigger M&A appetite.

☆ 14 influential Microsoft execs powering its advertising business as it prepares to make a splash with Netflix and Xbox ads
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-31 | by ( Ryan Joe | Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Microsoft posted $10 billion in ad revenue last year and it's poised to grab a bigger share of the ad market. It's signed a deal to sell ads for Netflix and is building out its Xbox ads division. Insider identified 14 of the most influential ad execs at Microsoft that marketers should know. Microsoft is also working on a plan to place ads inside free-to-play Xbox games. And ads are a feature in Microsoft's pending $68.7 billion deal to acquire "Call of Duty" games publisher Activision.

☆ Electronic Arts won’t be a multiplayer M&A game
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, Aug 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Electronic Arts (EA.O) is a tempting target but finding the right players might be harder to master. On Friday, CNBC reported that Amazon.com (AMZN.O) is not expected to make a bid for the video-game maker read more , knocking down an earlier report about a potential deal. Still, it’s not hard to see why the publisher behind the FIFA franchise could be in play. Microsoft’s $69 billion move for Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O) bodes well for EA read more . On the same multiple applying estimated EBITDA for the fiscal year ending March, it would imply that EA is worth over $50 billion.

[1/2] A man walks towards the Tesla factory in Fremont, California, U.S. June 22, 2018. Tesla in a filing in state court in Oakland on Monday also revealed that it is separately being investigated by the U.S. The state agency last month lost a bid to block an $18 million settlement between the EEOC and Activision Blizzard Inc (ATVI.O) in a sex discrimination case. The state agency in its lawsuit accused Tesla of fostering a "racially segregated workplace" at its Fremont, California plant where Black workers were subjected to racial slurs and discriminated against in job assignments, discipline and pay. read moreA federal judge in California last week awarded $15 million to a former Tesla elevator operator in a race bias case.

☆ Activision Blizzard influencers are turning their backs on the video game giant after a lawsuit claimed that female employees dealt with harassment and discrimination
▼ + stars: | 2021-07-26 | by ( Steven Asarch | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

After a bombshell lawsuit was filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing against video game company Activision Blizzard on Tuesday, influencer partners are reeling. Blizzard was founded in 1991 and has created some of the most popular franchises in video game lore, like "Warcraft," "Starcraft," and "Diablo." The company and its work have attained legendary status in the video game world. Twitch streamer Asmongold, who has 2.3 million followers, commented in a Twitter video that many Blizzard streamers specialize in a single video game. Sexism in the video game industry isn't unique to Activision BlizzardThough the Anaheim-based developer is receiving a lion's share of the current internet discourse and criticism, it isn't unique in the video game industry.

☆ Фондовый рынок США открылся рекордным ростом на новостях о вакцине от COVID-19
▼ + stars: | 2020-11-10 | by ( ) ru.diez.md time to read: +1 min

Фондовый рынок США открылся рекордным ростом на новостях о вакцине от COVID-19Американские фондовые индексы на открытии торгов 9 ноября выросли до рекордных дневных значений после новостей о вакцине от COVID-19, разработанной Pfizer, пишет Meduza со ссылкой на Business Insider. Так, S&P 500 (в него входят 505 крупнейших по капитализации компаний, акции которых торгуются на биржах США) через 15 минут после открытия торгов вырос до 3634 пунктов (+3,6%). Dow Jones industrial average (охватывает 30 крупнейших американских компаний) — до 29 757 пунктов (+5,1%). Nasdaq (акции высокотехнологичных компаний) вырос на 0,8% до 11 989 пунктов. Так, акции Zoom на новостях о вакцине обвалились на 20%, бумаги Netflix дешевели на 4,6%.

Persons: Dow Jones Organizations: Pfizer, Meduza, Nasdaq, Business, Netflix, Communications, Activision, Фармацевтическая компания Locations: США, Американские

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