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☆ Meta hit by record 1.2 bln euro fine by EU over U.S. data transfers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] A security guard stands watch by the Meta sign outside the headquarters of Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc in Mountain View, California, U.S. November 9, 2022. REUTERS/Peter DaSilvaDUBLIN, May 22 (Reuters) - Meta (META.O) was hit on Monday with a record 1.2 billion euro ($1.3 billion) fine by its lead privacy regulator in the European Union for its handling of user information and given five months to stop transferring users’ data to the United States. The fine imposed by Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) concerned Meta's continued transferring of personal data and topped the previous 746 million euro record EU privacy fine by Luxembourg on Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) in 2021, according to a DPC statement. Reporting by Padraic HalpinOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bill Gates says top AI agent will replace search, shopping sites
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAN FRANCISCO, May 22 (Reuters) - Bill Gates, Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) co-founder, on Monday said the technology race to win is the development of the top artificially intelligent agent, poised to disrupt search-engine, productivity and online shopping sites. "You’ll never go to a search site again," he said. Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google and Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Gates said Inflection AI, co-founded by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman, impressed him. "Whoever wins the personal agent, that’s a big thing," Gates said.

☆ Meta hit with record $1.3 bln fine over data transfers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Padraic Halpin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The fine, imposed by Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner (DPC), came after Meta continued to transfer data beyond a 2020 EU court ruling that invalidated an EU-U.S. data transfer pact. It tops the previous record EU privacy fine of 746 million euros handed by Luxembourg to Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) in 2021. "Without the ability to transfer data across borders, the internet risks being carved up into national and regional silos," Meta said. Europe's top court, the European Court of Justice, threw out the two previous pacts over concerns about U.S. surveillance. Unless U.S. surveillance laws gets fixed, Meta will likely have to keep EU data in the EU," he said in a statement.

☆ Amazon's cloud unit to invest $13 billion in India by 2030
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The latest investment will be used to build its cloud infrastructure in India and it will support over 100,000 full-time jobs annually, AWS said. AWS' total planned investment in India adds up to about $16.4 billion by 2030, the company said in a statement. The cloud platform offers more than 200 services, including storage, robotics and artificial intelligence. The country is currently in the process of drafting a cloud and data center policy to oversee the sector. A host of global companies, including Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google are ramping up cloud investments in India, betting on the rising digital consumption in one of the fastest-growing markets.

☆ Amazon's cloud unit to invest $12.7 billion in India by 2030
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

May 18 (Reuters) - Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud computing division of Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), said on Thursday it plans to invest $12.7 billion in India by 2030 to build its cloud infrastructure. Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: Amazon to Walmart, investors in India boost Modi ahead of vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMAZONAmazon Web Services said it planned to invest $13 billion in India by 2030 to build its cloud infrastructure and create thousands of jobs. APPLE (AAPL.O)The U.S. tech giant launched its first company-owned store in Mumbai last month and then another in New Delhi. CISCO SYSTEMS (CSCO.O)The U.S. networking equipment maker will begin manufacturing from India as it looks to diversify its global supply chain. It has set a target of $1 billion in production and exports from India over the next few years. WALMART (WMT.N)The retail giant's CEO met Modi this month and reiterated that the company planned exports from India worth $10 billion a year by 2027.

REUTERS/Dado RuvicMay 17 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) is set to face a record European Union privacy fine related to data transfer of Facebook's EU users to U.S. servers for failing to comply with a warning by a top EU court, two sources familiar with the matter said. The penalty will be higher than the previous record 746 million euros ($821.20 million) fine for Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), according to the sources. Meta declined to comment, while the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) and the European Commission did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. EU regulators led by Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon have been finalising a ban on the legal tool used by Facebook to transfer European user data because of concerns U.S. intelligence agencies could access the information. Europe's highest court ruled in 2020 that an EU-U.S. data transfer agreement was invalid, citing surveillance concerns.

☆ Amazon, Embracer strike deal to make 'Lord of the Rings' video game
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The Hobbiton Movie Set, a location for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogy, is pictured in Matamata, New Zealand, December 27, 2020. REUTERS/Praveen MenonMay 15 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and Swedish game developer Embracer Group have agreed to develop and publish a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game based on fantasy series "The Lord of the Rings", the companies said on Monday. The game, which is in the early stages of development, will be set in Middle-earth, featuring stories of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" literary trilogy written by J.R.R. Video game publisher Electronic Arts also launched its mobile game "The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth" earlier this month. Earlier in 2021, Amazon had canceled an online role-playing game based on "The Lord of the Rings", which was announced in 2019.

☆ Amazon optimizes delivery network for speedier delivery, lower costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 13 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) said it has optimized its delivery network coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing it to increase delivery speeds and lower costs, while also reducing the ecommerce giant's carbon emissions. At a time of slack consumer demand, Amazon and other online retailers have also been making efforts to slash costs for home delivery and returns. Amazon this week said it was offering U.S. customers $10 to pick up a purchase rather than have it shipped to a home address. As the company tightens its belt after a period of explosive growth, it has made numerous moves to reduce delivery-related costs across the company. The ecommerce company's move was first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Saturday.

Customers are applying Google's technology in ways both expected, such as a customer-service chatbot for Uber, and unusual, including AI to handle drive-thru orders at a Wendy's Co (WEN.O) fast-food restaurant in Ohio. Its cloud division posted its first-ever operating profit last quarter, and the AI technology that Google pioneered may help it narrow the gap with bigger players Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O). And it is exploring if Google's AI can craft research drawing from economic data, market reports and other content, to give the bank's customers and staff, said Leukert. Other companies using the technology include Adore Me, the Victoria's Secret unit drafting ad copy with AI in Google Docs, Kurian said. Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in Mountain View, California Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ LinkedIn cuts over 700 jobs, phases out China app as demand wavers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In the past six months, more than 270,000 tech jobs globally have been cut, according to Layoffs.fyi, which has been tracking the fallout. A LinkedIn spokesperson said the vendors were "external partners" who would take on new and existing work. The remaining China app, called InCareers, will be phased out by Aug. 9, LinkedIn said. LinkedIn will retain a presence in China to help companies operating there to hire and train employees outside the country, the company spokesperson said. Before LinkedIn's announcement, 5,000 technology jobs had been in eliminated in May alone, according to Layoffs.fyi.

May 5 (Reuters) - U.S. electric-vehicle startups are expected to report another quarter of dwindling cash reserves next week, piling pressure on a group of companies that are struggling to ramp up production and have few options for funding in a turbulent economy. Lucid Group (LCID.O) kicks off first-quarter earnings for the group on Monday, with the company expected to report a 36% sequential slide in cash reserves, according to Visible Alpha. Rivian Automotive (RIVN.O), meanwhile, will likely report on Tuesday that its cash balance fell by 6.8% to $10.78 billion from the preceding quarter, per a Visible Alpha estimate. Fisker Inc (FSR.N) and Nikola (NKLA.O), both of which report earnings on Tuesday, are expected to see their cash reserves decline by 5% and 15%, respectively, according to Visible Alpha. Its earnings in an unscheduled release on Thursday showed Lordstown's cash balance fell 11% sequentially.

☆ US retailers cut most number of jobs in April -report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 4 (Reuters) - U.S. retailers replaced technology firms in cutting the most number of jobs in April, as companies show little signs of easing their belt-tightening drive in an uncertain economy. Higher interest rates to counter the impact of inflation have muddied the outlook for the U.S. economy, forcing Corporate America to undertake stringent measures to protect itself from any fallout from a potential recession. So far this year, major retail and consumer companies including Gap Inc (GPS.N) and Walmart (WMT.N) have announced job cuts. The report also said job cuts last month fell 25% to about 67,000 - the lowest so far in the year, taking total layoffs to around 337,000 jobs since the start of the year. Reporting by Akash Sriram and Tanya Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Shopify divests logistics arm to Flexport in strategic reversal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Krystal Hu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 4 (Reuters) - Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) has divested the logistics arm it built over the past few years, in a reversal of its strategy of aggressively investing in fulfillment networks, the Canadian e-commerce platform said on Thursday. Flexport was last valued at $8 billion in a $935 million funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz and MSD Partners in February 2022. The move to expand into logistics services was part of Shopify's ambition to support merchants selling on its platform with one-stop service. Shopify President Harley Finkelstein said the shift in strategy was a result of prioritizing product acceleration. San Francisco-based Flexport will expand into fulfillment and last-mile delivery through the deal as the official logistics partner for merchants on Shopify.

☆ Joby Aviation to get investment from Tesla shareholder Baillie Gifford
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Signage is seen on the Joby Aviation Air Taxi outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., August 11, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo(Reuters) - British investment management firm Baillie Gifford will invest $180 million in electric aircraft maker Joby Aviation, they said on Wednesday. “It is important as long-term investors – even more so in a challenging environment – that we maintain our approach of backing transformational companies to build new growth industries,” a Baillie Gifford spokesperson said in a statement. The British investment firm are also investors in Elon Musk-led electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc and online retailer Amazon.com Inc. The investment is expected to close on May 5, Baillie Gifford and Joby said on Wednesday.

May 3 (Reuters) - CVS Health Corp (CVS.N) said on Wednesday it would pause its recent acquisition spree as it focuses on integrating purchases of healthcare service provider Signify Health and primary care provider Oak Street Health. CEO Karen Lynch said CVS will focus on integrating Signify and Oak Street with its other businesses in the near term. CVS cut its full-year profit forecast on Wednesday to account for transaction and integration costs related to the two deals, and its shares fell 3%. The earlier-than-expected closing of the Oak Street deal on Tuesday is likely to result in increased interest costs for the year, analysts said. Morningstar analyst Julie Utterback said investors might be disappointed that the company pushed down its profit forecast after completing the Oak Street acquisition this week.

☆ Factbox: Tech firms, Wall Street lead job cuts in Corporate America
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

read moreSpotify Technology SA (SPOT.N):Music streaming service Spotify is cutting 6% of its workforce, or roughly 600 roles. read moreMicrosoft Corp (MSFT.O):The U.S. tech giant said it would cut 10,000 jobs by the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2023. Workday Inc (WDAY.O):The software company will cut roughly 500 jobs, or 3% of its workforce, citing a challenging macroeconomic environment. Morgan Stanley (MS.N):The Wall Street powerhouse is planning to cut about 3,000 jobs in the second quarter, Reuters reported. MANUFACTURING SECTOR3M Co (MMM.N):The industrial conglomerate said it would cut 2,500 manufacturing jobs after reporting a lower profit.

☆ Measurement Messiness Complicates TV’s Annual Sales Season
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Megan Graham | Patrick Coffee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel hosted Disney’s annual presentation to ad buyers last May. Photo: Disney General EntertainmentMedia companies are preparing to spotlight their buzziest television shows at the TV industry’s annual advance-sales presentations to advertisers, but marketers may be more preoccupied with measuring how many people watch and how to translate that into deals. Veteran players like Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal and newer platforms such as Netflix Inc. will try to win over ad buyers during star-studded “upfront” pitches in mid-May at New York City venues including Radio City Music Hall and the Paris Theater. Before that, tech players including Amazon.com Inc., Snap Inc. and Roku Inc. will kick off the selling season with their so-called NewFronts events this week.

☆ Big Tech’s Rebound Plays to Individual Investors’ Growth-Stock Bets
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Hannah Miao | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Shares of large U.S. technology companies are powering the broader market higher again, vindicating many individual investors who bet big on growth stocks. Together, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Google parent Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., Microsoft Corp., Netflix Inc., Nvidia Corp. and Tesla Inc. comprise roughly a quarter of the S&P 500’s market cap, according to FactSet. That means they have an outsize influence on the direction of the major stock index.

But the benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) advanced for the week as well as the day and registered a second consecutive monthly gain. For the month the S&P rose 1.5% while the Dow added 2.5% and the Nasdaq was barely higher. For the week the S&P rose 0.9% in line with the Dow's weekly gain and the Nasdaq rose 1.3%. While the S&P 500 bank index closed up 1.1%, shares in First Republic tumbled in the regular session and after the close. The S&P 500 posted 25 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 66 new highs and 136 new lows.

☆ Wall St ends higher, posts weekly, monthly gains on solid earnings, Fed pause hopes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Stephen Culp | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

All three major U.S. stock indexes advanced, but a drop in Amazon.com (AMZN.O) shares capped the Nasdaq's gains. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) rose 0.56% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) gained 0.66%. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo 1 2 3Emerging market stocks rose 0.50%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) closed 0.52% higher, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225) rose 1.40%. The dollar index rose 0.13%, with the euro down 0.08% toat $1.1018.

☆ Wall Street gyrates, Treasury yields fall amid mixed data, earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Stephen Culp | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) rose 0.32% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) gained 0.17%. Emerging market stocks rose 0.41%. The dollar index rose 0.07%, with the euro up 0.07% at $1.1035. Oil prices rose but remained on track for a monthly decline amid signs of an economic slowdown. Gold prices were essentially flat after economic data cemented the likelihood of another rate hike from the Fed.

Chipmaker Intel Corp (INTC.O) gained 4.7% after it said gross margins will improve in the second half of the year. Analysts now expect first-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies to fall 1.9% from a year ago compared with a 5.1% fall expected at the start of April, according to Refinitiv data. The KBW Regional Banking index (.KRX) and the S&P 500 bank index (.SPXBK) gained over 1% each. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.90-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.07-to-1 ratio favored advancers. The S&P 500 posted 24 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 53 new highs and 107 new lows.

Chipmaker Intel Corp (INTC.O) gained 4.6% after it said gross margins will improve in the second half of the year. The benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) was set for a second consecutive monthly gain on better-than-expected earnings from megacap companies including Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Meta Platforms Inc (META.O). Analysts expect first-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies to now fall 1.9% year-over-year compared with a 5.1% fall expected at the start of April, according to latest Refinitiv data. The KBW Regional Banking index and the S&P 500 bank index (.SPXBK) gained over 1% each. The S&P index recorded 21 new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 42 new highs and 97 new lows.

[1/2] Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., April 10, 2023. Chipmaker Intel Corp (INTC.O) gained 6.1% after it said gross margins will improve in the second half of the year. Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) fell 3.5% as the company signaled its cloud growth would slow further, overshadowing its better-than-expected quarterly results. Analysts expect first-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies to fall 2.4% year-over-year compared with a 5.1% fall expected at the start of April. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.01-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 2.01-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

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