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☆ Disney finance chief Christine McCarthy to step down
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

June 15 (Reuters) - Walt Disney (DIS.N) said on Thursday Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy would be stepping down. Kevin Lansberry, Executive Vice President of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products will serve as the company's interim CFO effective July 1. McCarthy is taking family medical leave of absence and will continue to serve as a strategic advisor to ensure a successful transition, the company said. Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Walt Disney, Christine McCarthy, Kevin Lansberry, McCarthy, Chavi Mehta, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Disney Parks, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Harper Collins, KKR bidding for Simon & Schuster, Wall Street Journal reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 15 (Reuters) - HarperCollins Publishers and KKR & Co (KKR.N) are among the bidders for book publisher Simon & Schuster as it pursues a sale for the second time in less than three years, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters had in February reported that Paramount Global (PARA.O), the owner of Simon & Schuster, was again seeking to sell the publisher, months after the media company's $2.2 billion deal to sell the book publisher to Penguin Random House collapsed. Last year, the U.S. Justice Department sued to stop the tie-up of Penguin and Simon & Schuster, as a combined group would have accounted for nearly half of the market for publishing rights to blockbuster books. HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment, while KKR declined to comment. Paramount is exploring a sale that could value Simon & Schuster between $2 billion and $2.5 billion and was also courting private equity buyers, Reuters reported in February, citing sources.

Persons: Simon, Schuster, Simon & Schuster, Chavi Mehta, Pooja Desai Organizations: HarperCollins Publishers, KKR, Co, Wall Street, Reuters, Paramount, Simon &, Penguin Random, U.S . Justice Department, HarperCollins, News Corp, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

During the streak, Tesla shares rose by more than 40%, boosting its market value to roughly $814 billion. The rally was kicked off by news of the adoption of Tesla's charging system by legacy U.S. automakers Ford (F.N) and General Motors (GM.N). Wedbush compared Tesla's share gains to Amazon, which for years defied many investor expectations that its stock would eventually fall. Tesla shares slumped in 2022, losing 65% of their value, and helping the shorts make a mint. The 13-day rally cost short sellers more than $7 billion in mark-to-market losses, taking year-to-date losses to nearly $12.7 billion, according to S3 Partners.

Persons: Tesla, Chavi Mehta, Aditya Soni, David Gaffen, Maju Samuel Organizations: Toyota, U.S, Ford, General Motors, America, Wall Street, Wedbush Securities, Amazon.com, GM, S3 Partners, Thomson Locations: U.S, Bengaluru

She spoke following a keynote presentation in San Francisco during which Su showed an AI system on the MI300X chip writing a poem about the city. "The more memory that you have, the larger the set of models" the chip can handle, Su said. But unlike past presentations where AMD has talked up a major customer for a new chip, AMD did not say who will adopt the MI300X or a smaller version called the MI300A. Nvidia, whose shares have surged 170% so far this year, dominates the AI computing market with a market share of 80% to 95%, according to analysts. Aside from the AI market, AMD said it has started shipping high volumes of a general purpose central processor chip called "Bergamo" to companies such as Meta Platforms (META.O).

Persons: Lisa Su, Dave Brown, Stephen Nellis, Su, We've, Kevin Krewell, Alexis Black Bjorlin, Nvidia's, Chintala, Sag, Leslie Adler, David Gregorio, Nick Zieminski, Mark Porter Organizations: AMD, Amazon Web, REUTERS, Devices Inc, Nvidia Corp, Reuters, Nvidia, TIRIAS Research, Intel Corp, Systems, SambaNova Systems, Google, Facebook, Nvidia's, Meta, Moor, Thomson Locations: San Francisco , U.S, Santa Clara , California, San Francisco, Bergamo

☆ Amazon cloud services back up after big outage hits thousands of users
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Samrhitha A | Chavi Mehta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

(Reuters) - Amazon.com said cloud services offered by its unit, Amazon Web Services (AWS), were restored after a big disruption on Tuesday affected websites of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Boston Globe among others. FILE PHOTO: 3D printed clouds and figurines are seen in front of the AWS (Amazon Web Service) cloud service logo in this illustration taken February 8, 2022. The outage also affected services at the U.S. securities regulator’s EDGAR system, Southwest Airlines, the Verge and AP for Students. United Airlines said that its operations were minimally affected, adding “we’re out of impact.”Other Amazon services like Amazon Music and Alexa were also impacted, according to Downdetector. Amazon had its last major outage in December 2021, when disruptions to its cloud services temporarily knocked out streaming platforms Netflix and Disney+, Robinhood, and Amazon’s e-commerce website ahead of Christmas.

Persons: Dado, Downdetector.com, Downdetector, EDGAR, Alexa won’t Organizations: Reuters, Amazon Web Services, New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Boston Globe, REUTERS, Services, Lambda, AWS Lambda, Southwest Airlines, Twitter, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Amazon Music, Alexa, Netflix, Disney

☆ Ryan Cohen scoops up GameStop stock worth $10 mln, shares rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 13 (Reuters) - Ryan Cohen has bought GameStop (GME.N) stock worth $10 million, a securities filing showed on Tuesday, in a sign that the activist investor was trying to boost shareholder morale after the company lost its fifth CEO in five years last week. Shares of the company jumped 7.7% in early trading. They are down nearly 80% from their peak of $120.75 hit during the meme-stock frenzy of 2021. Cohen promised investors a digital pivot, with a focus on e-commerce, but the company has struggled to realize the goal. Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ryan Cohen, Matt Furlong, Cohen, Chavi Mehta, Anil D'Silva Organizations: GameStop, RC Ventures, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Verizon searching for new finance chief and potential CEO successor - WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 12 (Reuters) - Verizon Communications (VZ.N) is searching for a new finance chief and looking for potential candidates to later succeed CEO Hans Vestberg, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday citing people familiar with the matter. The company had reshuffled its senior leadership roles in March and appointed Tony Skiadas to replace former Chief Financial Officer Matt Ellis while naming Sowmyanarayan Sampath as the CEO of Verizon Consumer Group. Verizon did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The company is working with executive recruiting and advisory firm Spencer Stuart, the report added. Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Hans Vestberg, Tony Skiadas, Matt Ellis, Sampath, Vestberg, Spencer Stuart, Chavi Mehta, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Verizon Communications, Wall Street, Verizon Consumer Group, Verizon, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

June 9 (Reuters) - The White House on Friday said electric-vehicle charging stations using Tesla (TSLA.O) standard plugs would be eligible for billions of dollars in federal subsidies as long as they included the U.S. charging standard connection, CCS, as well. The statement follows separate announcements by U.S. automakers Ford Motor (F.N) and General Motors (GM.N) that they were adopting the Tesla model of charging, known as the North American Charging Standard (NACS). Tesla shares rose 4.1%. Some of them said on Friday that they would work to adapt to the Tesla standard. [1/2] Tesla charging stations are pictured in a parking lot in Shanghai, China March 13, 2021.

Persons: Biden, Tesla, Robyn Patterson, Patterson, Tesla's, Oleg Logvinov, Aly, Logvinov, Sam Houston, Danni Hewson, AJ Bell, Blink, Jonathan Levy, We've, They've, Asaf Nagler, ChargePoint, Jarrett Renshaw, Abhirup Roy, Hyunjoo Jin, Chavi Mehta, Bhanvi, Sayantani Ghosh, David Gaffen, Peter Henderson, Matthew Lewis Organizations: U.S, Ford Motor, General Motors, American, CCS, Analysts, Ford, GM, EV, Reuters, Volkswagen, Hyundai Motor, Kia, IoTecha, REUTERS, CharIN, Union of Concerned, Tesla, ABB, America, Thomson Locations: United States, Shanghai, China, CharIN North America, Swiss, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Bengaluru

☆ White House welcomes Tesla to take advantage of federal dollars
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Jarrett Renshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

June 9 (Reuters) - The White House on Friday said electric-vehicle charging stations using Tesla (TSLA.O) standard plugs would be eligible for billions of dollars in federal subsidies as long as they included the U.S. charging standard connection, CCS, as well. Tesla shares rose as much as 7.5% on Friday but pared gains to close 4.1% higher at $244.40. Analysts said the Ford and GM news was a big win that could make Tesla Superchargers an industry standard in the United States. GM and Ford shares closed up 1.1% and 1.3%, respectively. Musk on Friday said in a tweet it would be "ideal" for Tesla chargers to need only CCS adapters to meet federal charging standards.

Persons: Biden, Tesla, Robyn Patterson, Patterson, Tesla's, Sam Houston, Danni Hewson, AJ Bell, Blink, Jonathan Levy, ChargePoint, Musk, Jarrett Renshaw, Hyunjoo Jin, Abhirup Roy, Chavi Mehta, Bhanvi, Sayantani Ghosh, David Gaffen, Peter Henderson, Matthew Lewis Organizations: U.S, Ford Motor, General Motors, American, CCS, Ford, GM, EV, Reuters, Volkswagen, Hyundai Motor, Kia, Union of Concerned, Tesla, Elon, Thomson Locations: United States, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Bengaluru

☆ Netflix sign-ups jump as U.S. password sharing crackdown kicks off - data
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 9 (Reuters) - Daily U.S. sign-ups for Netflix (NFLX.O) have jumped in the first few days after the streaming giant's password-sharing crackdown came into effect on May 23, data from research firm Antenna showed. Netflix had estimated that more than a 100 million households had supplied their log-in credentials to people outside their homes. Under the new rules, U.S. users can add a member outside of their homes for an additional fee of $8 per month. Its calculations seem to have paid off as the company recorded nearly 100,000 daily sign-ups on both May 26 and May 27, according to Antenna. Netflix, which has expanded its crackdown to more than 100 other countries, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Persons: Chavi Mehta, Devika Organizations: Netflix, Thomson Locations: Daily U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Factbox: Apple spruces up products with AI but avoids the buzz word
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 6 (Reuters) - Apple (AAPL.O) did not once mention the word AI at its developers conference on Monday, but the iPhone-maker quietly added the technology that has taken Wall Street by storm to many of the features and updates it unveiled. The omission was in contrast to how other tech giants such as Alphabet-owned (GOOGL.O) Google and Microsoft (MSFT.O) have approached the hype recently, including talking about AI during earnings calls and at events on how they are embracing the technology. Instead, Apple used words such as "transformer language model", "machine learning" and "ML", when talking about the company's AI efforts. The company unveiled a costly augmented-reality headset called the Vision Pro, which uses AI, while also adding AI for smaller, incremental upgrades to some of its products and apps. Here are some of the products that received AI upgrades:Reporting by Yuvraj Malik, Chavi Mehta and Jaspreet Singh in BengaluruOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Apple, Yuvraj Malik, Chavi Mehta, Jaspreet Singh Organizations: Google, Microsoft, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Broadcom forecasts third-quarter revenue above estimates
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

June 1 (Reuters) - Broadcom Inc (AVGO.O) forecast third-quarter revenue above market estimates on Thursday, as it became the latest chip firm to benefit from a demand boost from corporate spending on AI-related technologies. The viral success of ChatGPT has sparked a surge in orders for chips that power data center and underpin AI. The company forecast current-quarter revenue of about $8.85 billion, while analysts polled by Refinitiv are expecting revenue of $8.72 billion. Revenue in the second quarter rose 8% to $8.73 billion, compared with the estimates of $8.71 billion. Reporting by Chavi Mehta and Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: ChatGPT, Refinitiv, Chavi Mehta, Tiyashi Datta, Anil D'Silva Organizations: Broadcom Inc, Revenue, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Broadcom forecasts third-quarter revenue above estimates on AI boost
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Tiyashi Datta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 1 (Reuters) - Broadcom Inc (AVGO.O) forecast third-quarter revenue above market estimates on Thursday, as it benefits from massive corporate investments in AI-related technologies. Broadcom Chief Executive Hock Tan said generative AI could account for more than 25% of the company's semiconductor revenue in 2024. Broadcom supplies chips used in data centers for networking and specialized chips that speed up AI work. It released a new chip for wiring together supercomputers for AI work using networking technology in April. Broadcom forecast current-quarter revenue of about $8.85 billion, while analysts polled by Refinitiv are expecting revenue of $8.72 billion.

Persons: ChatGPT, Hock Tan, Tan, Kinngai Chan, Refinitiv, Chavi Mehta, Tiyashi Datta, Anil D'Silva Organizations: Broadcom Inc, Broadcom, Nvidia, Nvidia Corp, Revenue, Thomson Locations: San Jose , California, Bengaluru

☆ Explainer: Why are Nvidia's shares soaring and what is its role in the AI boom?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

FROM GAMING TO AI: NVIDIA'S FOCUS SHIFTNvidia, known for its chips used in videogames, pivoted to the data center market over the last few years. WHY IS GENERATIVE AI A HOT TOPIC? Viral chatbot ChatGPT has made generative AI a buzzword this year. More recently, chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O) released details on its new AI chip to try to challenge Nvidia's market share. Nvidia's main competitors include Advanced Micro Devices and AI chips made in-house by companies such as Amazon.com, Google and Meta Platforms.

Persons: Nvidia, ChatGPT, Goldman Sachs, Elon Musk, Chavi Mehta, Sriraj Kalluvila, David Gaffen Organizations: Nvidia, NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, Handout, REUTERS, Microsoft Corp, Inc, Google, Devices, Intel, Tesla, Financial Times, WHO, Thomson Locations: U.S, Santa Clara , California, Bengaluru

☆ Alibaba misses revenue estimate, approves cloud unit spinoff
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"We would love nothing more than to see one of these little Alibabas...becoming another big Alibaba, as big as the group company is right now," said Alibaba Group chairman Daniel Zhang on an earnings call. Alibaba logged revenue of 208.20 billion yuan ($30.12 billion) for the three months ended in March, compared with a Refinitiv consensus estimate of 210.3 billion yuan. Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders was 23.52 billion yuan for the quarter, reversing a year earlier loss of 16.24 billion yuan. Revenue for Alibaba's cloud division in the recent quarter was 18.6 billion yuan, down 2% year-on-year. The company has opened up registration to test the technology to enterprise customers of Alibaba Cloud.

☆ Alibaba fourth-quarter revenue rises 2%
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 18 (Reuters) - China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK), said on Thursday that fourth-quarter revenue climbed 2%, missing expectations. The 208.20 billion yuan ($30.12 billion) logged for the three months ended in March compares with a Refinitiv consensus estimate of 210.3 billion yuan drawn from 26 analysts. Chinese consumer spending has gained some momentum since the country abandoned draconian zero-COVID policies late last year, but still remains relatively muted amid a wobbly economic recovery. Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders was 23.52 billion yuan, compared with a loss of 16.24 billion yuan. Revenue for the full year climbed 2% to 868.69 billion yuan, marking its slowest rate of growth since the company went public in 2014.

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.

☆ Synopsys sees Q3 revenue above estimates as AI drives upbeat results
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 17 (Reuters) - Synopsys Inc (SNPS.O) on Wednesday forecast third-quarter profit above Wall Street estimates after posting upbeat second-quarter results as increased use of artificial intelligence and automation boosts the chip-design software firm's business. Semiconductor firms rely on software from companies such as Synopsys to help them design faster and smaller chips. It expects third-quarter revenue between $1.47 billion and $1.50 billion. Revenue in the second quarter ended April 30 came in at $1.4 billion, beating estimates of $1.38 billion. Revenue from Design Automation, its largest segment, rose 13.4% to $927.6 million from $817.8 million, a year ago.

☆ Singaporean tech firm Sea's profit miss sparks share selloff
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 16 (Reuters) - Singaporean tech firm Sea Ltd (SE.N) missed first-quarter profit estimates on Tuesday, as its digital entertainment revenue halved and it took a one-time charge of more than $100 million. Sea shares dropped 12.5% to $77.05 and headed for their worst day in six months, dulling this year's strong gains booked on a cost-cutting plan involving thousands of job cuts, the closure of some operations and a lower marketing budget. The company's operating expenses fell by more than a fifth in the quarter ended March 31, with marketing spends down 60.2%. It helped Singapore-based Sea report a profit of $87.3 million, compared with a loss of $580.1 million a year ago. It also missed estimates of $3.07 billion.

☆ Factbox: Linda Yaccarino: the advertising executive Musk picked as new Twitter CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 12 (Reuters) - Elon Musk has named former NBCUniversal advertising chief Linda Yaccarino as Twitter's new CEO, as the company tries to reverse a plunge in ad revenue at the social media platform. Yaccarino has been a key figure in modernizing the advertising business at NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O). NEARLY 20 YEARS AT TURNER ENTERTAINMENTBefore NBCU, Yaccarino was at Turner Entertainment for about two decades in the roles of chief operating officer and executive vice president across its advertising sales, marketing and acquisitions divisions. Turner Entertainment operates CNN and is owned by Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O). INTERVIEW WITH MUSKYaccarino interviewed Musk at an advertising conference in Miami last month, where she lauded his work ethic.

[1/3] A man looks at his phone as he passes by a screen advertising Walt Disney's streaming service Disney+ in New York City, U.S., November 12, 2019. The division ended the quarter with an operating loss of $659 million, compared with $1.1 billion in the prior quarter. At the same time, total subscribers to the flagship Disney+ service dropped by 4 million to 157.8 million. Inge Heydorn, a fund manager at GP Bullhound, said a question for investors is: "are the trade offs from lower marketing costs leading to lower subscribers?" "We've only just begun to scratch the surface of what we can do with advertising on Disney+," Iger said on a conference call with analysts.

The company plans to expand its streaming offerings by the end of the year with a new app that combines Disney+ and Hulu, Chief Executive Bob Iger said. Total subscribers to the flagship Disney+ service dropped by 4 million from the previous quarter to 157.8 million. Most of the defections came from the Disney+ Hotstar offering in India after it lost streaming rights to Indian Premier League cricket matches. "Striking a fine balance between customer acquisition versus financial performance is no easy feat." As Disney tries to build streaming, its traditional television business faces hurdles.

☆ Microsoft will not give employees salary raise this year - Insider
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 10 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) will not raise salaries for full-time employees this year and is reducing budget for bonuses and stock awards, Insider reported on Wednesday, citing an internal email by CEO Satya Nadella. The tech giant did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Microsoft has now squarely placed its focus on generative AI, an area the industry sees as a bright spot. In collaboration with ChatGPT maker OpenAI, which also has received billions of dollars in funding from Microsoft, the tech giant has been infusing the AI tech into its Office products as well as search engine Bing. Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Microsoft skips pay hikes this year amid sharp focus on AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The company, which is now squarely focused on the lucrative generative AI, had in January decided to let go 10,000 employees, joining other technology companies in preparing for a turbulent year ahead. "We recognize that navigating both a dynamic economic environment and a major platform shift requires us to make critical decisions in how we invest in our people, our business and our future," a spokesperson for the tech giant said. Along with ChatGPT maker OpenAI, which has received billions of dollars in funding from Microsoft, the tech giant has been infusing the AI tech into its Office products and search engine Bing. Earlier in the day, Insider cited an internal email by CEO Satya Nadella that said Microsoft was helping drive a major platform shift in the new era of Al against the backdrop of rising competition and global macroeconomic uncertainties. Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EA's quarterly bookings beat estimates on 'FIFA' strength
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 9 (Reuters) - Videogame publisher Electronic Arts Inc (EA.O) beat fourth-quarter booking estimates on Tuesday as the latest installments in its "FIFA" and "Madden NFL" series kept gamer interest strong, sending the company's shares up 3.3% after the bell. EA reported net bookings of $1.95 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with Refinitiv estimates of $1.76 billion. "Record live services performance and increased engagement, particularly from our EA Sports FIFA franchise, drove better-than-expected Q4 net bookings," Chief Financial Officer Chris Suh said. EA also said it expects fiscal 2024 net bookings between $7.30 billion and $7.70 billion, compared with estimates of $7.52 billion. Bookings outlook for the current quarter was in line with expectations.

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