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Circuit Court of Appeals that evidence Liu did present, including a survey his lawyers conducted of thousands of Uber drivers, was enough to send the case to trial. The survey showed that minorities were significantly more likely to be kicked off of Uber for having low ratings. The judge had said that the survey was inadequate because it only polled people who, like Liu, were barred from driving for Uber and not the overall population of Uber drivers. Uber, which has denied that its rating system is discriminatory, did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. The EEOC's involvement in a case can be persuasive to courts because the agency is tasked with interpreting federal anti-discrimination laws.

☆ Uber to offer Tembici's bike-sharing service in Latin America
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, April 5 (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) on Wednesday announced a deal with Brazilian bike-sharing company Tembici to make electric and common bicycles available on its app in Latin America amid a push for greener initiatives. "This partnership underscores the important role that car-free options are increasingly playing in Uber's strategy to achieve zero carbon emissions," said Annie Duvnjak, Uber's global micromobility general manager. The company expects to end 2023 with 30,000 bicycles on Latin American streets, a third of them electric. Uber said Tembici and Itau bike docking stations would "soon" appear in its app, but did not provide a specific date. ($1 = 5.0961 reais)Reporting by Gabriel Araujo Editing by Marguerita ChoyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

April 4 (Reuters) - Private equity firm TPG Inc (TPG.O) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy a majority stake in Elite, a vendor of business management software for law firms, from information provider Thomson Reuters Corp (TRI.TO) at a valuation of $500 million. Thomson Reuters will keep a minority stake and board representation in Elite and continue to support it with its legal information products, the companies said. Paul Fischer, president of Thomson Reuters' legal professionals division, said that Elite will continue to share many of Thomson Reuters' clients as a standalone company. Elite offers software that helps law firms run their finance and accounting operations, including billing, invoicing and payments. TPG partner Tim Millikin said that the data and automation that Elite offers are in demand among legal professionals.

☆ EV maker Rivian misses first-quarter production estimates; shares drop
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Mike BlakeApril 3 (Reuters) - Rivian Automotive Inc (RIVN.O) on Monday missed first-quarter production estimates as the electric-vehicle maker grappled with supply chain constraints, sending its shares down 4% in early trade. Rivian produced 9,395 vehicles at its Normal plant in the quarter ended March, compared with Visible Alpha's consensus estimates of 10,030 vehicles. Reuters GraphicsThe Irvine, California-based company, however, reiterated its annual production target of 50,000. The electric-vehicle maker has been losing money on every vehicle it builds, and narrowly missed its annual production target of 25,000 units last year. Electric-car maker Tesla (TSLA.O) on Sunday said it delivered 422,875 vehicles in the quarter ended March, up 4% from the previous quarter.

☆ Lyft Staff Pressed Founders for Change as Uber Pulled Ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Preetika Rana | Emily Glazer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Lyft Inc.’s leadership change this week followed months of discontent among some employees over the company’s shrinking market share and stock price. As the ride-share company has struggled with competition from Uber Technologies Inc., some people within the company had been questioning the leadership of its co-founders—Chief Executive Logan Green and President John Zimmer —for months. Some investors and stock analysts also had urged change.

☆ Exclusive: ICU Medical to compete against GE Healthcare for Medtronic units -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( David Carnevali | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GE Healthcare and private equity firms Carlyle Group Inc (CG.O) and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), which have been pursuing rival offers separately, are also through to the second round, the sources added. Carlyle is bidding through its newly formed healthcare investment platform Atmas Health, according to one of the sources. Medtronic has been taking offers for its patient monitoring and respiratory interventions businesses even as it presses on with preparations to spin them off to its shareholders. ICU Medical, GE Healthcare, Carlyle and CD&R declined to comment. The patient monitoring technology portfolio includes Nellcor pulse oximetry and BIS brain monitoring, while the respiratory interventions business comprises ventilators and breathing systems.

☆ Lyft shares jump as Wall Street welcomes CEO change
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Aditya Soni | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Lyft said on Monday co-founders Logan Green and John Zimmer would step down as CEO and president, respectively, handing the reins to David Risher who has been a board member since 2021. Risher was among the first employees at Amazon.com Inc(AMZN.O) and served as the e-commerce giant's first head of product. Risher's experience on Lyft's board also gives him a strong command of the business relative to the average incoming CEO, RBC Capital Markets said. Lyft's shares were trading at $10.20 on Tuesday. Rival Uber also had a CEO change in 2017, when it hired then Expedia Inc (EXPE.O) top boss Dara Khosrowshahi.

☆ Disney is ditching its metaverse plans after laying off an entire team focused on interactive storytelling, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Disney laid off its entire metaverse team, which included around 50 people, in recent cuts. It's the latest firm to abandon its metaverse ambitions, despite assembling a team just a year ago. The company recently announced plans to lay off 7,000 people in a major cost-cutting effort. White's team was responsible for exploring ways of interactive storytelling through new technological formats. Now, Disney managers are under pressure to identify employees to layoffs and areas where they can reduce budget, a person familiar with the company told Insider's Claire Atkinson earlier in March.

March 23 (Reuters) - Large companies, including asset manager Franklin Templeton (BEN.N) and web-services provider Akamai Technologies Inc (AKAM.O), joined an effort on Thursday to defend sustainable investment practices from a backlash by U.S. Republican politicians. Republicans, often from energy-producing states, have sought to block the growing use of environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations by shareholders and corporate executives. BlackRock Inc (BLK.N) for instance on Thursday said it would continue to press companies for information about climate risks. Mindy Lubber, CEO of sustainability nonprofit Ceres, which organized Thursday's statement, told a call with reporters that companies showed "some hesitancy" to speak up. But Anne Simpson, head of sustainability for Franklin Templeton, part of California-based Franklin Resources Inc (BEN.N), said on the same call that ESG efforts are "fiduciary duty at work".

☆ Fleetcor Strikes Board Agreement With Activist Shareholder D. E. Shaw
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Lauren Thomas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Fleetcor Technologies is considering a breakup of its business. Payments company Fleetcor Technologies Inc. has struck an agreement with activist shareholder D. E. Shaw Group to refresh its board and consider separating parts of its business. As part of the agreement unveiled Monday, Fleetcor has appointed Rahul Gupta, the former chief executive of healthcare-billing and payments company RevSpring Inc., to its board, as well as another mutually agreed-upon director.

☆ AI love: What happens when your chatbot stops loving you back
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Anna Tong | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

He designed a female avatar with pink hair and a face tattoo, and she named herself Lily Rose. As their three-year digital love affair blossomed, Butterworth said he and Lily Rose often engaged in role play. Sometimes Lily Rose sent him "selfies" of her nearly nude body in provocative poses. Now, when Replika users suggest X-rated activity, its humanlike chatbots text back "Let's do something we're both comfortable with." The coquettish-turned-cold persona of Lily Rose is the handiwork of generative AI technology, which relies on algorithms to create text and images.

March 17 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday revived a lawsuit by Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) and subsidiary Postmates Inc challenging a California law that makes it more difficult for them to save money by treating workers as independent contractors. Circuit Court of Appeals said the state must face claims that the law known as AB5 is unconstitutional because it improperly singles out the industry while exempting many others. The decision comes after a California state appeals court on Monday revived a ballot measure passed by nearly 60% of voters in 2020 that exempts app-based transportation services such as Uber and rival Lyft Inc (LYFT.O) from the scope of AB5, which had been struck down by a judge. Uber and the California Attorney General's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the decision. That means Uber is subject to the law while pet-sitting service Wag, which has been called "Uber for dogs," is not.

March 17 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday revived a lawsuit by Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) and subsidiary Postmates Inc claiming a California law that makes it more difficult for them to save money by treating workers as independent contractors is unconstitutional. In a major win for the gig economy, which heavily relies on contractors, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the state must face claims that the law improperly singles out "gig economy" companies while exempting other industries. Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New YorkOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Diners said this forced them to pay artificially high prices for meals they ordered elsewhere. In response, the companies said that by accepting the terms of use for their platforms, diners agreed to arbitrate their claims individually and not pursue a class action in court. The diners' claims "are based solely on purchases made directly from restaurants or from non-defendant meal-delivery platforms," Kaplan wrote. Grubhub, Uber Eats, Postmates and their respective lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Grubhub is owned by Netherlands-based Just Eat Takeaway.com (TKWY.AS), while Uber Eats and Postmates are owned by Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N).

☆ Wall Street ends green as inflation cools, bank jitters ebb
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Stephen Culp | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Financial stocks clawed back some losses, with the S&P 500 Banks index (.SPXBK) coming back from its steepest one-day sell-off since June 2020. Bank contagion fears were allayed on Tuesday as reassurances by U.S. President Joe Biden and other global policymakers vowed the crisis would be contained. Even so, inflation has a considerable way to go before approaching the central bank's average annual 2% target. [1/4] Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., March 14, 2023. The S&P 500 banking index (.SPXBK) reclaimed territory lost to Monday's plunge, its biggest one-day drop since June 2020.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.4% in February from 0.5% in January as Americans faced persistently higher costs for rents and food. On a yearly basis, the CPI rose 6% in February, compared with 6.4% the previous month. The S&P 500 banking index (.SPXBK) rose 2.9% after recording its biggest one-day percentage drop since June 2020 in the previous session. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 6.05-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 3.52-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded two new 52-week highs and five new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 18 new highs and 79 new lows.

Data showed that U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.4% in February versus 0.5% a month ago. Traders held on to bets of a 25-basis-point rate hike at the Fed's next meeting in March, with odds of a pause in hikes slipping a bit to 17%. The S&P 500 banking index (.SPXBK) rose 3.9% after recording its biggest one-day percentage drop since June 2020 in the previous session. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 7.92-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 4.87-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded no new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 9 new highs and 36 new lows.

☆ Uber, Lyft Score Victory as California Court Affirms Right to Treat Drivers as Contractors
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Preetika Rana | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Uber and similar companies are in a global tug of war with regulators over whether and how to grant more benefits to workers. Uber Technologies Inc., Lyft Inc. and other companies scored a victory with a California court ruling that preserves their independent-contractor model in the state and could boost their efforts to maintain that model elsewhere. A state appeals court reversed a lower-court ruling that found a California ballot measure known as Proposition 22 illegal. Proposition 22, which passed in November 2020, allowed these companies to continue to treat their drivers as independent contractors.

A three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based court reversed a lower court ruling in 2021 that the ballot measure, known as Proposition 22, was unconstitutional. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and several gig drivers who challenged Prop 22 will likely appeal the decision to the California Supreme Court, the state's top court. Prop 22 was approved in November 2020 by nearly 60% of voters in California. It exempted app-based drivers from a 2019 state law known as AB5 that makes it difficult to classify workers as independent contractors rather than employees. "Across the state, drivers and couriers have said they are happy with Prop 22, which affords them new benefits while preserving the unique flexibility of app-based work," West said.

☆ A tidal power 'mega project' in one of Europe's iconic waterways could power 1 million homes. But costs are huge
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Authorities in Liverpool want the river to be home to a huge tidal power project which, they say, could power as many as 1 million homes, generating thousands of jobs for the region in the process. Speaking to CNBC, Martin Land, director of the Mersey Tidal Power Project, outlined how the system would work in practice. Tidal barrage systems in operation today include EDF's 240 megawatt La Rance tidal power plant in France, and South Korea's 254 MW Sihwa Lake tidal power plant, currently the world's largest. The agreement, it added, would see "K-water and the Combined Authority working closely together to explore possibilities for tidal power." "Once operational, Mersey Tidal Power would have the potential to become the world's largest tidal power scheme," he said.

☆ Exclusive: Shenzhen bourse taps intelligence tech firm as China battles capital market fraud
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Shenzhen Stock Exchange did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. EC Guard declined to be interviewed. The United States in 2019 placed EC Guard on its so-called entity list of companies that are subject to U.S. trade restrictions for reasons such as national security. Using that technology, EC Guard can identify relationships between users helping regulators identify potential illegal activity and also trace a company's ultimate shareholders to ensure they are legitimate owners, the person said. The Shanghai Stock Exchange, the country's largest bourse, stepped up its fight against fraud in December with a new generation of systems that supervise securities trading.

☆ Palantir lands $99.6 mln deal with U.S. State Department
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Jeffrey Dastin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 8 (Reuters) - Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR.N) has won a contract to sell up to $99.6 million worth of software to the U.S. Department of State for monitoring the health of the diplomatic corps, the company told Reuters ahead of a Wednesday announcement. The bureau has sought software to record health incidents, predict risks, manage medical-evacuation missions and handle other tasks, according to a government document. Palantir told Reuters the State Department has already paid the company $10 million as part of the purchase agreement, and it will book the remaining value over the next five years. The Denver, Colorado-headquartered company said the deal continues a pilot dating back to 2021 and other State Department work since 2017. Reporting By Jeffrey Dastin in Palo Alto, Calif.; Editing by Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Uber explores logistics unit sale, IPO - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 8 (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) is exploring whether to spin off its Uber Freight logistics unit in a sale or as a separate publicly traded firm, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. If the company lands on an IPO, it may not happen until next year and will depend on market conditions, the report added. Uber launched the freight division in 2017 and acquired logistics firm Transplace in 2021 for $2.25 billion. Uber Freight connects truckers with shippers, acting as a middle-man in the long-haul trucking business. In January, the division said it would lay off roughly 150 employees, or about 3% of its workforce.

☆ Two Google engineers built a ChatGPT-like AI chatbot years ago, but execs reportedly shut it down due to safety concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ex-Google engineers developed a conversational AI chatbot years ago, per The Wall Street Journal. Google is now racing to catch up with Microsoft's AI and plans to release its AI chatbot this year. "It caused a bit of a stir inside of Google," Shazeer said in an interview with investors Aarthi Ramamurthy and Sriram Krishnan last month. But Google's AI plans may now finally see the light of day, even as discussions around whether its chatbot can be responsibly launched continue. Alphabet chairman John Hennessy agreed that Google's chatbot wasn't "really ready for a product yet."

☆ Unisys, Bed Bath & Beyond slide after removal from small-cap index
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, March 6 (Reuters) - Shares of IT services firm Unisys Corp tumbled 16.7% on Monday and shares of embattled home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond Inc fell about 4% after it was announced they will be removed from the small-cap S&P 600 index (.SPCY) in two weeks. Shares of Unysis (UIS.N) have fallen 80% over the past 12 months. As of Friday, the company's market capitalization was $330.9 million, according to Refinitiv data, or less than the $850 million market cap required for inclusion in the small-cap index. Fair Isaac shares rose 0.25% to $707.01, on track to mark a record closing high, while Lumen shares bounced off near-record lows, up 4.57% at $3.315 a share. Reporting by Herbert Lash; additional reporting by Lance Tupper; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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