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☆ U.S. House overwhelmingly approves bill backing record military spending
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"This bill is Congress exercising its authority to authorize and do oversight," said Representative Adam Smith, the Democratic chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, in a speech urging support for the measure. This year's bill - the result of months of negotiations between Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate - needed a two-thirds majority in the House after disagreement from some House members over whether it should include an amendment on voting rights. The Senate is expected to pass the NDAA next week, sending it to the White House for President Joe Biden to sign into law. Authorization bills create programs but Congress must pass appropriations bills to give the government legal authority to spend federal money. Congressional leaders have not yet agreed on an appropriations bill for next year.

☆ Minnesota nurses reach tentative deal with hospitals to avoid strike
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Dan Whitcomb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 6 (Reuters) - The union representing thousands of Minnesota nurses said on Tuesday it had reached a tentative agreement with hospitals on a new contract that, if approved by members, would resolve a labor dispute without a threatened strike. "This tentative agreement is a historic win for nurses and patients at the bedside," Mary Turner, president of the Minnesota Nurses Association, said in a statement. Employment in healthcare across the United States remains below pre-pandemic levels, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The agency reported in September that the healthcare industry employed about 37,000 fewer people than it did in February 2020. Affected hospital systems include University of Minnesota-backed M Health Fairview and Allina Health, among others.

☆ Redis Names Former Five9 CEO to Head Database Startup
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Belle Lin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Database startup Redis Ltd. has named Rowan Trollope its new chief executive officer, effective Feb. 1. Mr. Trollope was CEO of the cloud-based customer-service software firm Five9 Inc. until Nov. 28, and had served in the role since 2018. After Mr. Trollope’s departure, former Five9 CEO Mike Burkland returned to his previous post. At Redis, Mr. Trollope will succeed Ofer Bengal, who co-founded the startup with Yiftach Shoolman in 2011 and has served as CEO since its founding. Mr. Trollope led Five9 through its plans to merge with Zoom Video Communications Inc. in September of last year.

The justices turned away Reston, Virginia-based cybersecurity company Centripetal's appeal of a lower court's decision to negate the award after the judge who presided over the trial disclosed that his wife owned Cisco stock worth $4,688. Centripetal sued Cisco in federal court in Virginia in 2018, accusing it of infringing patents related to Centripetal's network-security technology. The judge awarded Centripetal $1.9 billion in damages plus royalties that Cisco said increased the total to more than $2.7 billion. Morgan told the companies before issuing his ruling that his wife owned 100 shares of Cisco stock, though he was unaware of it during the trial. Centripetal told the Supreme Court that Morgan had complied with the law, and that selling the shares just before ruling for Cisco would "solve one appearance-of-impropriety problem by creating another."

☆ Alex Jones files for bankruptcy protection, lists Sandy Hook families as creditors
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Alex Jones arrives at the court house as he faces a second defamation trial over Sandy Hook claims in Waterbury, Connecticut, September 22, 2022. Jones filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, court records show. An attorney for the Sandy Hook families told CNBC in an email, "Like every other cowardly move Alex Jones has made, this bankruptcy will not work." A Connecticut jury in October ordered Jones to pay nearly $1 billion in damages to Sandy Hook relatives. Relatives of Sandy Hook victims have said the harassment they received on the heels of the shooting by people who believed the massacre was a hoax has continued until this year.

☆ New CIO Wants Cisco to Be a Model for Hybrid Work
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Belle Lin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Fletcher Previn, Cisco Systems Inc.’s new chief information officer, said he is working to help position the networking-equipment maker as a leader in hybrid work. Mr. Previn joined Cisco in 2021 as chief digital officer from International Business Machines Corp., where he was CIO. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CIO Journal The Morning Download delivers daily insights and news on business technology from the CIO Journal team. Cisco CIO Fletcher Previn Photo: Cisco Systems Inc.An IBM veteran of more than a decade, Mr. Previn was named that company’s CIO in 2017. Enabling hybrid work should be a priority for CIOs because it can cut office costs while improving employee productivity, said Bobby Cameron, a principal analyst at Forrester Research Inc.“Priorities for the hybrid work environment continue to be digital tools for meetings and active collaboration,” Mr. Cameron said.

☆ HP to cut about 12% jobs by end of fiscal 2025
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 22 (Reuters) - HP Inc (HPQ.N) said on Tuesday it expects to cut up to 6,000 jobs by the end of fiscal 2025, or about 12% of its global workforce, at a time when sales of personal computers and laptops are sliding as shoppers tighten budgets. The PC maker also forecast a lower-than-expected profit for the first quarter as it expects softness in both consumer and commercial demand. The company, which employs nearly 50,000 people, said it expects to reduce headcount between 4,000 and 6,000. HP forecast current-quarter profit between 70 cents and 80 cents. Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Warehouse workers pick items up, sort them and put them down millions of times a day. Warehouse workers at Amazon and other companies are at risk of developing repetitive-stress injuries and musculoskeletal disorders. The Sparrow is “a major leap in technology challenge and technology development,” said Joseph Quinlivan, Amazon’s vice president of global robotics and technology. Amazon workers at the robotics facility in Westborough, Mass. New robots aren’t expected to replace warehouse employees but will lead to more roles to work with the robots, Amazon said.

☆ Cisco raises full-year outlook; announces restructuring
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The logo of U.S. networks giant Cisco Systems is seen in front of their headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris, France August 6, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File PhotoNov 16 (Reuters) - Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O) raised its full-year revenue and profit forecast amid easing supply chain hurdles and announced $600 million in severance and other charges related to a new restructuring, which could impact roughly 5% of its workforce. The company said the restructuring plan will begin in the second quarter of fiscal year 2023. The company will talk to its employees on Thursday about the restructuring plan, Chief Executive Chuck Robbins said in a post-earnings call. Cisco said it expects an annual revenue growth of 4.5% to 6.5%, and adjusted earnings between $3.51 and $3.58.

Over recent years, NATO allies and Russia have scaled up military exercises in the region; Chinese and Russian warships conducted a joint exercise in the Bering Sea in September. Four Arctic experts say it would take the West at least 10 years to catch up with Russia's military in the region, if it chose to do so. "NATO is increasing its presence in the Arctic with more modern capabilities," NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg told Reuters. Now NATO and Arctic allies are changing their stance. Sweden and Finland have begun investing in surveillance and deterrence capabilities and military hardware including jets so their air forces can fight alongside Arctic NATO allies.

☆ Cisco beats quarterly revenue estimates as supply chain constraints ease
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 16 (Reuters) - Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O) beat first-quarter revenue estimates on Wednesday, as easing supply chain constraints and a COVID-19 recovery in China helped meet demand for its broad networking products portfolio, sending the company's shares 5% higher in extended trading. Easing supply chain snags and Cisco's recent investments in cloud offerings and targeted price hikes have helped the company improve its business and attract customers amid an economic slowdown. Cisco forecast current-quarter revenue to grow between 4.5% and 6.5%, while expecting adjusted earnings between 84 cents and 86 cents per share. The company's revenue was $13.63 billion in the first quarter, above analysts' estimates of $13.31 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Excluding items, Cisco earned 86 cents per share.

☆ Cisco shares pop on earnings beat and increased 2023 forecast
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Cisco reported fiscal first-quarter results on Wednesday that beat analysts' estimates and boosted its guidance for fiscal 2023. Here's how the company did:Earnings per share: 86 cents vs. 84 cents expected , according to Refinitiv86 cents vs. 84 cents expected according to Refinitiv Revenue: $13.6 billion vs. $13.3 billion expected by analysts, according to RefinitivRevenue increased 6% year over year, while net income slid 10% to $2.7 billion. The company now expects sales growth in fiscal 2023 of 4.5% to 6.5%, up from a prior forecast that called for growth of 4% to 6%. Cisco's top business segment, which includes data-center networking switches, delivered $6.68 billion in revenue, up 12% from a year earlier. Sales in the Collaboration segment, which features Webex, contributed $1.1 billion in revenue, down 2% year over year.

☆ JPMorgan Dodges a Buyout-Loan Bullet
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Matt Wirz | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon is pleased about the bank’s level of exposure to bad buyout loans. Sometimes in investment banking, it is the deals you don’t do. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has avoided most of 2022’s so-called hung deals that have cost competitors billions of dollars in paper losses. Whether by luck or by design, the biggest U.S. bank didn’t make loans backing takeovers of companies such as Twitter Inc., Citrix Systems Inc. and Nielsen Holdings PLC, which fell in value as markets turned choppy.

☆ Omicron BQ variants resistant to antibody treatments are quickly becoming dominant in U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Omicron subvariants resistant to key antibody treatments will soon make up a majority of new Covid infections in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many people with moderate or severely compromised immune systems take an antibody cocktail called Evusheld to protect them from severe disease. This leaves people with compromised immune systems increasingly vulnerable as these subvariants become dominant. White House Covid response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha has blamed Congress for failing to pass additional funding for the nation's pandemic response. President Joe Biden last month altered people with compromised immune systems that they face a special threat from Covid this winter.

☆ IBM Unveils New Chip in Push to Realize Quantum Computing’s Promise
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Isabelle Bousquette | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Quantum computers use quantum bits, or qubits, which represent and store information in a quantum state that is a complex mix of zero and one. Jerry Chow, IBM fellow and director of infrastructure for IBM Quantum, at the Watson Research Center. Since 2016, IBM has been putting their quantum computers on the cloud to enable companies, universities and individuals to experiment with the technology. Jerry Chow, IBM fellow and director of infrastructure for IBM Quantum, said the companies would be able to start using the Osprey chip in the first quarter of next year. Boeing Co. said it is using IBM’s quantum computers via the cloud to experiment with modeling chemical reactions related to corrosion on its aircraft.

☆ U.S. CFOs Ask Congress to Repeal Change to R&D Tax Rules
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | In A Letter Finance Chiefs On The Change To R D Deductibility Tax Rules. | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

For decades, businesses were allowed to deduct certain R&D expenses straight away to reduce their taxable income. Tax deductions are subtractions from taxable income while tax credits get subtracted from the amount of tax owed. Over the course of this year, companies have been making estimated tax payments that incorporate the R&D change, tax attorneys said. On the agenda: Agreeing on funding the government to avoid a shutdown, aid for Ukraine, alongside potential changes to the treatment of R&D expenses. When it comes to a potential repeal or deferral related to R&D deductibility, timing is crucial, said Shelby Ford, a tax partner at Crowe LLP, a public accounting, consulting and technology firm.

☆ Factbox: Corporate America lays off thousands as recession worries mount
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

DoorDash Inc (DASH.N):The food delivery firm, which enjoyed a growth surge during the pandemic, said it was reducing its corporate headcount by about 1,250 employees. Twitter Inc:The social media company laid off half its workforce across teams ranging from communications and content curation to product and engineering following Elon Musk's $44 billion takeover. Chime Financial Inc:The online banking firm has laid off 12% of its employees, or about 160 jobs, a spokesperson said. Coinbase Global (COIN.O):The cryptocurrency exchange said it planned to cut over 60 jobs, in its recruiting and institutional onboarding teams. CNN:Warner Bros Discovery-owned (WBD.O) CNN's top boss Chris Licht informed employees in an all-staff memo that job cuts were underway.

☆ Net Zero Hinges on Lower-Emission, Circular Technology, Cisco’s First Sustainability Chief Says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Cisco Systems Inc.’s first sustainability chief is charting the technology company’s course to net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2040, a goal that will require big changes to its products and how customers power them. Mary de Wysocki was named to the new role in August following more than a decade at the helm of the company’s corporate social responsibility program, including its philanthropic arm.

☆ Logistics Operators Find Robots Are Helping Recruit Tech-Savvy Workers
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Liz Young | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

The impact of robots on logistics operations is growing more complicated as companies weigh how automation affects recruiting both management leaders and staffers for the warehouse floor. Manufacturers and retailers such as snack-food giant Mondelez International Inc. and department store chain Nordstrom Inc. say the investments are also changing their supply-chain workforces. Newsletter Sign-up The Logistics Report Top news and in-depth analysis on the world of logistics, from supply chain to transport and technology. The buy jump-started the company’s rollout of greater automation in its growing logistics network and expanded the pipeline of engineers and other technology workers into the business. Lee Beard, senior vice president of transportation at Seattle-based Nordstrom, said the retailer has been highlighting its technology investments to job recruits.

☆ Omicron subvariants are resistant to key antibody treatments, putting people with weak immune systems at risk of Covid
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Emerging omicron subvariants are resistant to key antibody treatments for HIV patients, kidney transplant recipients and other immunocompromised people, making them particularly vulnerable to Covid this winter, the White House warned this week. While this may be true for the general population, it is not the case for people with weak immune systems. Evusheld is an antibody cocktail authorized by the Food and Drug Administration to prevent Covid in people ages 12 and older who have moderately or severely compromised immune systems. Evusheld, made by AstraZeneca , has helped fill a gap in protection for those with weak immune systems who cannot mount a strong response to the vaccines. Jha acknowledged at the White House on Tuesday that the U.S. has dwindling treatment and prevention options for people with weak immune systems as Covid evolves.

☆ Ford to exit Russia after JV stake sale
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Oct 26 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) said on Wednesday it would exit Russia, after the U.S. automaker finalized a deal to sell its 49% stake in the Sollers Ford joint venture. "Ford shares will be transferred to the Joint Venture for a nominal value," the company said, adding that it retains the option to buy them back within a 5-year period "should the global situation change". The company had announced a full suspension of its operations in Russia in March. Ford follows U.S. firms including Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O) and Nike Inc (NKE.N) in announcing an exit from Russia, after Western countries imposed sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, making it nearly impossible for manufacturers to do business there. Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Dassault Systemes raises FY outlook, boosted by strong U.S. dollar
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GDANSK, Oct 26 (Reuters) - French software maker Dassault Systemes (DAST.PA) on Wednesday raised its full-year earnings and revenue forecast, due in part to the stronger dollar, after reporting higher-than-expected quarterly results. Revenue was driven by strong subscription and support growth. Dassault Systems increased its non-IFRS diluted earnings per share target for 2022 to between 1.12 and 1.14 euro from its earlier estimate of 1.08 euro and 1.10 euro. The company also said it was increasing its full-year revenue target to between 5.61 billion and 5.65 billion euros from a range of 5.49 billion to 5.54 billion euros previously boosted by a strong dollar. ($1 = 1.0047 euros)Reporting by Karol Badohal; editing by Josephine MasonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Generative AI Startups Attract Business Customers, Investor Funding
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Angus Loten | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Based on keyword prompts, generative AI platforms can then mimic these sources to produce fanciful stories and pictures of their own. Other generative AI startups offering enterprise applications include Replikr, a New Zealand startup that uses generative AI to create customer-service avatars, and Dutch startup Musico Ltd., which can be used to create original copyright-free advertising jingles. GoCharlie.AI, an early-stage startup based in San Francisco, in May launched a generative AI marketing assistant designed to create promotional social-media posts. By promising to save workers hours of productive time creating promotional materials, the commercial value proposition around generative AI has always been clear, he said. Rowan Curran, an AI and data science analyst at IT research firm Forrester Research Inc., said he expects generative AI to impact enterprises from top to bottom.

Elon Musk photo, Twitter logos and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration, August 10, 2022. The banks, which include Morgan Stanley and Barclays Plc (BARC.L), did not respond to requests for comment. Representatives for Musk and Twitter did not immediately respond to requests for comment. He has not revealed details on Twitter's new leadership and business plan, and many debt investors are holding back until they get more details on that front, the sources said. The debt package for the Twitter deal is comprised of junk-rated loans, which are risky because of the amount of debt the company is taking on, as well as secured and unsecured bonds.

☆ These artists found out their work was used to train AI. Now they’re furious
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Rachel Metz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

AI Image/Stable DiffusionHanson, who’s based in McMinnville, Oregon, is one of many professional artists whose work was included in the data set used to train Stable Diffusion, which was released in August by London-based Stability AI. Once available only to a select group of tech insiders, text-to-image AI systems are becoming increasingly popular and powerful. A piece by illustrator Daniel Danger that was included in the training data behind the Stable Diffusion AI image generator. But removing pictures of an artist’s work from a dataset wouldn’t stop Stable Diffusion from being able to generate images in that artist’s style. Hanson, for her part, has no problem with her art being used for training AI, but she wants to be paid.

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