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☆ Core Scientific files for bankruptcy as crypto winter bites
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Core Scientific said in a statement the bankruptcy filing was necessitated by a decline in the company's operating performance and liquidity amid the prolonged decrease in the price of bitcoin. Core Scientific said its creditors have also agreed to provide up to $56 million in debtor-in-possession financing. One of the largest creditors of Core Scientific, B. Riley Financial Inc (RILY.O), had offered $72 million last week to avoid the bitcoin miner's bankruptcy. In its bankruptcy petition, Core Scientific said it has $1 billion to $10 billion in assets and liabilities, and creditors between 1,000 and 5,000. Core Scientific went public in 2021 through a merger with a blank-check company in a deal that at the time valued the miner at $4.3 billion.

☆ Elon Musk plans to restrict policy polls to Twitter Blue users
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 20 (Reuters) - Elon Musk said on Monday Twitter Inc will restrict voting on policy-related polls to paying Twitter Blue subscribers, on the same day that users voted decisively in a poll for Musk to step down as chief executive of the social media platform. Musk responded to a suggestion from a Twitter Blue subscriber, who said only subscribers should get a vote on policy polls, with "Good point. Twitter will make that change", without specifying when the change would come into effect. Twitter re-enabled Twitter Blue sign ups earlier this month, with accounts for individuals getting a blue check, while gold and gray check marks will denote business and government accounts. Reporting by Siddharth Jindal and Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak DasguptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 16 (Reuters) - PepsiCo plans to roll out 100 heavy-duty Tesla Semis in 2023, when it will start using the electric trucks to make deliveries to customers like Walmart and Kroger, the soda maker's top fleet official told Reuters on Friday. PepsiCo is the first company to experiment with the battery-powered Tesla Semis as a way of cutting its environmental impact. When Tesla starts building them, PepsiCo "will rotate those up" into its fleet, he said. PepsiCo declined to share details on the price of the trucks, a figure that Tesla has kept quiet. O'Connell said that a 425-mile (684-km) trip carrying Frito-Lay products brings the Semi's battery down to roughly 20%, and recharging it takes around 35 to 45 minutes.

☆ Ford, China's CATL considering building U.S. battery plant -Bloomberg
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 14 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) and China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) (300750.SZ) are considering building a battery plant in Michigan or Virginia to reap tax benefits without treading on Sino-U.S. political sensitivities, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. The multibillion-dollar facility will make lithium iron phosphate batteries for Ford's electric models, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. That would let the facility qualify for production tax credits under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act without needing direct financial investment from CATL, Bloomberg reported. In October, Reuters reported CATL had slowed plans to invest in battery plants in North America over concerns that new U.S. rules on sourcing required materials would drive up costs. Ford and CATL did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

[1/3] Customers are seen inside the Express store in Broomfield, Colorado August 28, 2013. At risk are retailers' margins during the critical holiday shopping season and their efforts to be the go-to location for trendy fashions. Shopper demand has put a strain on apparel retailers throughout the year, boosting inventories and forcing retailers including Gap, Victoria's Secret and Kohl's, to slash prices. Deals since October and over Thanksgiving weekend were up in both frequency and discounting depth, including from clothing retailers, according to research from Jane Hali & Associates. Express' third-quarter margins are expected to fall to 29.7% from 33.22% a year earlier, according to analysts' estimates on Refinitiv.

☆ Explainer: ChatGPT: What is OpenAI’s chatbot and what is it used for?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Siddharth K | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

San Francisco-based OpenAI made its latest creation, the ChatGPT chatbot, available for free public testing on Nov. 30. A chatbot is a software application designed to mimic human-like conversation based on user prompts. Within a week of ChatGPT being unveiled, over a million users had tried to make the tool talk, according to Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI. loadingMusk later tweeted that he was pausing OpenAI’s access to Twitter’s database after learning that the firm was using it to "train" the tool. Initial development involved human AI trainers providing the model with conversations in which they played both sides – the user and an AI assistant.

☆ World Cup 2022 top goal scorer: who could win Golden Boot?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Dec 1 (Reuters) - The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar is nearing its knockout phase. England's captain Harry Kane bagged the prize in the 2018 edition of the World Cup in Russia, where he scored six goals and led his team to the semi-finals. MARCUS RASHFORDSoccer Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Group B - Wales v England - Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar - November 29, 2022 England's Marcus Rashford with manager Gareth Southgate after being substituted REUTERS/Hannah MckayThe England striker has enjoyed a dream start to his World Cup campaign in Qatar. BRUNO FERNANDESSoccer Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Group H - Portugal v Uruguay - Lusail Stadium, Lusail, Qatar - November 28, 2022 Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes celebrate after the match REUTERS/Kai PfaffenbachPortugal's run in the World Cup in Qatar so far has been overshadowed by controversy surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo and his acrimonious departure from Manchester United. WORLD CUP TOP GOAL SCORER 2022: GOLDEN BOOT STANDINGS** Stats as of Nov. 30Compiled by Siddharth K in Bengaluru; Editing by Milla NissiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

U.S. shoppers spent $35.27 billion online overall during Cyber Week, the period from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday. But the modest pickup trounced the paltry 2.9% increase in sales during China's Singles Day, an 11-day shopping festival ending November 11, hosted by Alibaba and other Chinese e-commerce firms. Originally, Singles Day was an unofficial Chinese holiday on Nov. 11 (11/11) to celebrate people who were not in relationships. These days, brands use Singles Day to clear inventory and experiment with new products. With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging in China, "it wont be fair to can compare" Singles Day with Cyber Week, Chernev said, as Americans are shopping with fewer restrictions.

Interest in this niche breed of cryptocurrencies, typically linked to sports teams like Barcelona or Brazil, has been charged up by the soccer World Cup which began on Nov. 20. The token of Lionel Messi's Argentina side slumped 25% to $5.26 following the team's shock defeat by Saudi Arabia in their opening World Cup game. The broader crypto market malaise is partly to blame for price drops, according to researchers who said the flighty assets were wilting as investors shunned risk. "But the first perception should never be that you're buying the fan token from a profit-generating standpoint." It facilitates trading of most fan coins, describing buying such tokens as joining a loyalty scheme with exclusive benefits and prizes.

The estimate from Adobe Analytics predicts an increase of up to 8.5% from a year earlier. Adobe Analytics measures e-commerce performance by analyzing purchases at 85% of the top 100 internet retailers in the United States. Both Adobe and MasterCard Spending Pulse are expected to release their updated Cyber Monday spending estimates on Tuesday. Americans have put off holiday shopping for weeks in the hopes of finding deeper post-Thanksgiving markdowns. Last year, Cyber Monday sales fell 1.4%, according to Adobe Analytics, as retailers kicked off holiday promotions early to avoid product shortages amid a global shipping crisis.

[1/2] The Apple iPhone 14, The Apple iPhone 14 Pro and the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max are seen at the Apple Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., September 16, 2022. Similarly, Abisha Luitel wanted to get an iPhone 14 Pro for her 21-year old cousin. In a statement on Nov. 7, it said it expected lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments than previously anticipated. Foxconn's plant in China makes Apple's premium models including the latest iPhone 14 Pro, a source told Reuters. At an Apple store in a Bethesda, Maryland mall, an employee said there were almost no 14 Pro and Pro Max in stock.

After weeks of passing up early Black Friday deals from Walmart, Target and Amazon, Uribe is on the hunt for a Nintendo Switch and video games for her daughter, Tupperware for her kitchen and a vacuum cleaner. Checking off items from the holiday list is "just cheaper" on Black Friday, plus, "it's our favorite day of the year, so we just wait," Uribe said. Uribe joins millions of shoppers who waited for what they hope might be the deepest discounts of the holiday season on Black Friday, despite an industry-wide push by retailers to get shoppers to buy holiday items starting in October. The waiting game by shoppers has forced retailers to offer steep discounts on items, which may pinch profit margins in the fourth quarter. Americans, especially from low-income households, are expected to pull back on their holiday shopping this year as inflation and higher energy prices pinch their spending power.

Others, like Target (TGT.N) and Barnes & Noble, sealed merchandise behind plexiglass or tethered it with steel cables to store shelves. One survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF) cited a 26.5% jump last year in "organized retail crime" carried out by groups of people. But it is unclear whether overall U.S. retail crime is on the rise, with little data available on the problem. Retailers rarely openly acknowledge the threat of theft or crime because they generally don't want to spook shoppers. "Along with other retailers, we've seen a significant increase in theft and organized retail crime across our business," Target CEO Brian Cornell told investors on a November 16 conference call.

The gunman, identified as Andre Bing, 31, of Chesapeake, Virginia, said nothing as he began firing on workers gathered late on Tuesday ahead of their overnight shift, according to two employees who were in the break room. Another Walmart employee, Briana Tyler, told ABC's "Good Morning America": "I looked up and my manager just opened the door and he just opened fire." [1/6] FBI agents stand in the parking lot after a mass shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, U.S. November 23, 2022. He told her that during the nightly meeting his manager was acting "strange" and "then started shooting," she told the news station. This was not the first mass shooting at a Walmart, which has thousands of stores across the country.

Reuters GraphicsMelissa Benhaim, a 32-year old publicist in Miami, started her holiday shopping slightly later than usual this year. A Saturday shopping day between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year gives shoppers extra time to hold out for better bargains. Holiday shopping is expected to slow broadly. Reuters GraphicsBut toy prices, even with discounts, are up about 2.4%, DataWeave found. Shoppers are paying $16.99 for the toy this year at Kohl's, after discounts, compared to $11.54 last year, according to DataWeave.

Amid persistent inflation, investors have been nervously eyeing how consumer spending pans out during the crucial holiday season, when retailers make more than a third of their annual profits. The world's largest retailer by sales forecast holiday quarter U.S. same-store sales, excluding fuel, to increase about 3%, below estimates of a 3.4% increase. The company's comments follow those of FedEx and Amazon, which have also warned of muted holiday season demand in recent weeks. Home improvement chain Home Depot (HD.N) on Tuesday left its annual forecasts unchanged, adding to holiday season concerns amid a slowing housing market. read moreFor the full-year, Walmart forecast net sales to rise 5.5%, above its previous forecast of a 4.5% increase.

☆ Walmart expects smaller drop in annual profit, announces $20 bln share buyback
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The company also raised its full-year net sales expectations and announced a new $20 billion share buyback plan, pushing its shares up 5% in premarket trading. Walmart said it expects fiscal 2023 net sales to increase 5.5%, compared to its previous forecast of a 4.5% increase. Walmart enters the holiday quarter with inventories valued at nearly $65 billion, up from about $60 billion three months ago. However, Walmart forecast holiday quarter U.S. same-store sales, excluding fuel, to increase about 3%, below estimates of a 3.4% increase. Fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share are expected to decline 3% to 5%, compared to analysts' estimates of a 4.5% fall.

[The stream is slated to start at 6 a.m. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.] Watch CNBC's Sustainable Future Forum, taking place on Friday, Nov. 4, from 10 a.m. London time. The special live event is taking place ahead of the all-important COP27, or 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference. It will focus on three crucial pillars: Regulation & Responsibility, Future Power, and Industry Response.

The COP27 climate summit gets underway in Egypt from Nov. 6. Climate Change Conference will see more than 30,000 delegates convene in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss collective action on the climate emergency. Loss and damage funding, meanwhile, is recognized by many as the third pillar of international climate policy. Kerry's openness to talks on loss and damage funding marked an abrupt change in tone from just one month earlier. Singh said political mobilization over loss and damage funding makes COP27 the most important COP yet.

☆ Op-ed: The U.S. and China should not miss a historic opportunity to save the world
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Siddharth Chatterjee | The United Nations Resident Coordinator To China | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Climate Change Conference (COP 27) in Egypt approaches, the countries of the world face a stark choice between two paths. Such exploitation leads to more climate change, more floods, more fires, more hunger, more diseases, more forced migration and more war. Anyone who accepts the scientific facts of climate change understands that this must be our choice. The U.S. and China can each take dramatic climate action on their own, but they must also rise above current tensions to collaborate. Over a decade ago, cooperation between the U.S. and China laid the foundation for global action on climate change and paved the way for the 2015 Paris Agreement.

☆ Kroger, Albertsons unions, antitrust experts urge FTC to block merger -letter
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Siddharth Cavale | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"The merger should be blocked, as it would harm workers, consumers and communities," said the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400, who authored the letter. Twenty-six organizations undersigned the message, including the American Economic Liberties Project, Center for Economic and Policy Research, along with seven UFCW local chapters representing more than 100,000 Kroger and Albertsons' workers. The letter, first seen by Reuters, also urged the FTC to immediately investigate Albertsons' "unusual" $4 billion dividend to shareholders on Nov. 7, which it said would leave the company "largely depleted of liquid assets" and "unsustainable as an ongoing concern." read more"The allegation that this dividend will somehow hinder our ability to compete in the marketplace is meritless," an Albertsons spokesperson said in an emailed response to the letter. Reporting by Siddharth Cavale in New York; Editing by Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EXCLUSIVE Three attorneys general to file lawsuit blocking Albertsons $4 billion payout- source
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Siddharth Cavale | Makiko Yamazaki | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

NEW YORK, Nov 2 (Reuters) - The attorneys general of Washington D.C., California and Illinois will file a lawsuit in a federal court seeking to block grocer Albertsons (ACI.N) $4 billion dividend payout to shareholders on Wednesday, a source familiar with the matter said. Reporting by Siddharth Cavale in New YorkOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

More than three-quarters of the deliveries list the supplier as Gap Europe Ltd, a London-based unit of Gap Inc. The Russian customs records are drawn from several commercial providers of trade data and go through Sept. 30. The Gap shipments included everything from "knitted children’s socks" and "children’s pajamas" to "textile blouses for women" and "textile shorts for men." Some items are missing.”Russian customs records show more than 1,200 shipments of Gap clothing to Russia between March 11 – the day after Gap Inc’s announcement that it was halting shipments – and June 21. After July 16, the customs records show no shipments to Gap Retail in Moscow, indicating that the apparel flow to Russia had stopped.

Four local chapters of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International told Reuters they are assessing their options for lobbying and coordinated action against the deal, including potential strikes. Bryan Doherty, a spokesperson for the UFCW International, told Reuters it plans to request more information from the retailers about possible store closures and layoffs. On Monday afternoon, representatives of UFCW International met with nearly 100 local UFCW chapters on Zoom to discuss the merger and their collective response to it. Workers told Reuters that Kroger has not yet held conversations with the union to discuss the merger. Albertsons reached out to the union, offering to "keep lines of communication open," Mark Federici, president of UFCW local 400, told Reuters.

☆ Walmart doubles down on Africa despite a decade of frustration
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Nqobile Dludla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

A shopper pushes a trolley as she leaves a Builders Warehouse store owned by Walmart-led Massmart Holdings in South Africa, at Gleneagles, in the south of Johannesburg, South Africa, October 20, 2022. Instead, Massmart's units outside South Africa struggled with foreign exchange risk, tricky regulatory environments and macroeconomic volatility. Earlier this year, an internal Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) memo detailing its expansion plans, including a maiden foray onto the continent via South Africa, leaked to media. The pending battle with its global rival looms over Walmart's e-commerce strategy for Massmart, several shareholders told Reuters. While Walmart can now firmly set the direction at its South African unit, its track record outside the United States is spotty.

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