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☆ Microsoft could bring back Clippy, but make him smart
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —This week, Microsoft confirmed it’s planning to invest billions in OpenAI, the company behind the viral new chatbot tool ChatGPT. The prospect of Microsoft, maker of software that people mostly hate, getting involved with ChatGPT, a product people generally like, is raising a lot of eyebrows. Almost immediately, people began joking on social media that ChatGPT could be used to revive the broadly maligned, big-eyed goon known as Clippy. “There is a kernel of truth to the Clippy comparison,” David Lobina, an artificial intelligence analyst at ABI Research, told Sam. All of the above suggestions were generated by asking ChatGPT various forms of the question, “How could Microsoft integrate ChatGPT into its products?”Argh, Samantha, you scamp!

☆ How Microsoft could use ChatGPT to supercharge its products
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

For Microsoft, integrating the chatbot tool could make its core software products more powerful. All of the above suggestions were generated by asking ChatGPT various forms of the question, “How could Microsoft integrate ChatGPT into its products?” Microsoft, for is part, has said little on possible integrations beyond recently announcing plans to add ChatGPT features to its cloud computing service. “Microsoft will deploy OpenAI’s models across our consumer and enterprise products and introduce new categories of digital experiences built on OpenAI’s technology,” Microsoft said in a press release this week, announcing the expanded partnership. For Microsoft, that could make integrating the tool into specific products problematic. Integrating ChatGPT too quickly into Microsoft’s products could run the risk of schools rethinking their use of that software.

☆ Tesla invests $3.6 bln to expand Nevada complex with two factories
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 24 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) said on Tuesday it would invest more than $3.6 billion to expand its Nevada manufacturing complex with two new factories, including the first facility to mass produce its long-delayed Semi electric truck. The 18-wheeler truck has a range of 500 miles on a single charge and can carry 81,000 pounds including the cargo. Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm said in November that Tesla might produce 100 Semis in 2022, but the company did not disclose any figure in its fourth-quarter production report. The EV maker aims to produce 50,000 of the trucks in 2024, Musk had said on a post-earnings call in October. Reporting by Akash Sriram and Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika SyamnathOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Americanas' billionaire shareholders say they were unaware of accounting problems
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Tatiana Bautzer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Americanas SA (AMER3.SA) three largest shareholders, the billionaire founders of 3G Capital, said on Sunday they had not known of $4 billion in accounting 'inconsistencies' at the Brazilian retailer. "We didn't know of and would never allow any accounting manipulation in the company", the statement said. It said Americanas had been audited by PwC and that the retailer's "banks and auditors never reported any problems". Securities industry regulator CVM has also launched probes into Americanas, which has seen its stock lose more than 90% of its value since the news of the accounting problems emerged. 3G Capital itself has no stake in Americanas.

☆ Microsoft confirms it’s investing billions in ChatGPT creator OpenAI
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Microsoft on Monday confirmed it is making a “multibillion dollar” investment in OpenAI, the company behind the viral new AI chatbot tool called ChatGPT. As a result of its existing exclusive deal with OpenAI, Microsoft recently said it would soon add ChatGPT features to to its cloud computing service, Azure. But there are some risks for Microsoft and OpenAI here. That could potentially create “much negative publicity” for the companies associated with these tools, said David Lobina, an artificial intelligence analyst at ABI Research. The opportunity is immense, however, and could boost Microsoft’s position in the growing arms race over artificial intelligence, and provide a helpful boost to OpenAI in the process.

SAO PAULO/MEXICO CITY, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Brazilian retailer Americanas SA (AMER3.SA) said on Wednesday its chief executive and chief financial officer resigned after the discovery of around 20 billion reais ($3.88 billion) in accounting "inconsistencies." Lojas Americanas CEO Sergio Rial departed less than two weeks after taking the job, when he replaced Miguel Gutierrez. Joao Guerra, a long-time Americanas executive not involved with accounting or financial management, will take over as CEO on an interim basis. The amount of accounting inconsistencies is larger than the company´s net equity, 15 billion reais, said Fabrício Gonçalvez, CEO at Box Asset Management. The amount is also almost twice Americanas' 10.7 billion reais market capitalization, according to Refinitiv data.

☆ Why Apple may finally be embracing touchscreen laptops
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported Apple engineers are developing a touchscreen for the MacBook Pro with an expected launch date of 2025, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. While it’s unclear if the touchscreen laptop will see the light of day, introducing the product could accomplish two important things for Apple: adapting to shifting consumer expectations and supercharging sales for its Mac product line. Apple has previously kept the touchscreen away from its Mac lineup to prevent it from cannibalizing iPad sales. Now, however, Apple could use a Mac touchscreen to incentivize consumers to upgrade their computers and keep Mac sales momentum growing. When asked at a conference last fall if Apple will add a touchscreen to Macs, Federighi responded: “Who’s to say?”

☆ Listen up: Headphones are getting really weird
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Bone conduction headphones, which rely on sound being transmitted through vibrations on the user’s skull, are gaining popularity. Bone conduction headphones ‘having a moment’Bone conduction headphones, in particular, are “having a moment,” Konig said. Rather than sitting inside or on top of the ear canal, bone conduction headphones rest in front of the ear, leaving it uncovered. Beyond consumer appeal, Cozza believes bone conduction headphones could be used by frontline workers who could listen to communications and instruction and at the same time be aware of sounds around them. But some audiophiles say the sound quality on bone conduction headphones and open earbuds is less than stellar.

☆ Microsoft says it has reached a 10-year deal to bring ‘Call of Duty’ to Nintendo
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft said late Tuesday it has reached a 10-year deal to bring the 19-year-old game franchise to Nintendo after its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which makes the game, is completed. The Nintendo deal is the latest attempt by Microsoft to ease concerns that its blockbuster acquisition of the gaming giant could harm competition in the industry. Microsoft head of gaming Phil Spencer announced the commitment with Nintendo in a tweet and said it will continue to offer “Call of Duty” on gaming platform Steam if the deal is completed. The company’s decision to bring “Call of Duty” to Nintendo comes as Microsoft’s Activision deal faces regulatory scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic. “Nintendo is not a high priority for ‘Call of Duty,’ all things considered – it has done perfectly fine without being on Nintendo recently,” Abbruzzese added.

☆ What is ChatGPT? The AI chatbot dominating social media with its frighteningly good essays
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

OpenAI last week opened up access to ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot that interacts with users in an eerily convincing and conversational way. On Monday, Open AI’s co-founder Sam Altman, a prominent Silicon Valley investor, said on Twitter that ChatGPT crossed one million users. It comes from the same company behind DALL-E, which generates a seemingly limitless range of images in response to prompts from users. If you plan to be outside, you should wear a light jacket or sweater, long pants, and closed-toe shoes,” ChatGPT responded. Possible issuesWhile ChatGPT successfully fielded a variety of questions submitted by CNN, some responses were noticeably off.

☆ JPMorgan double-upgrades AB InBev, says shares are cheap and will benefit from light beer sales recovery
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Slowing demand for hard seltzer opens up an opportunity for beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev, according to JPMorgan. Analyst Jared Dinges double-upgraded shares of the beer manufacturer to overweight from underweight, saying the stock is trading at a 23% discount to the broader sector and should benefit from improving demand for domestic light beer in the United States. A resurgence in demand for domestic light beer — Anheuser-Busch's "bread and butter" — and the decline in hard seltzer demand in the U.S. should also bode well for the company going forward, Dinges said. "It's commonly believed that Hard Seltzer sales are primarily being replaced by [ready-to-drink beverages], however, we believe a bigger benefactor from the seltzer slowdown is domestic light beer - domestic light beer has improved its share trajectory by 120bps in 2022 alone," he wrote. Demand for beer in the region correlates strongly with the global commodities cycle and should remain strong even as commodities prices remain elevated.

Prince Mohammed was not seen at the match but had been front and centre at the tournament opening on Sunday. It was also a sweet moment for host Qatar, facing intense criticism over human rights in the conservative Muslim country. "The fact that the World Cup is in Qatar and we're Arabs - it gives us a lot of energy and excitement." TOLERANCEBefore the match kicked off, the issue of tolerance arose at a news conference between Qatar's foreign minister and his American counterpart. The Gulf Arab state, which denies discrimination and points to labour reforms enacted, welcomes everyone, its Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said.

☆ Morning Bid: Bulls take cover
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Yantoultra Ngui | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

We have seen this story before of markets getting ahead of themselves, but the latest China worries are resurfacing just as global investors dial back hopes of an imminent Fed pivot on interest rates. In Europe, ECB policymakers are seen taking an even tougher stance. Three top officials said on Friday that the European Central Bank must raise interest rates high enough to dampen growth as it fights record inflation and it could soon start running down its 5 trillion euro ($5.2 trillion) debt pile. Minutes from the ECB meeting and the Fed this week will provide markets more direction on the outlook for interest rates, while manufacturing and consumer confidence data will give a snapshot of the health of economies. Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden is proving that age is just a number as he turned 80 on Sunday, making him the first octogenarian president in U.S. history.

☆ Italy’s bank lobby warns ECB of risk of attending board meetings
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Head of Italian Banking Association (ABI) Antonio Patuelli is seen during a meeting in Rome, Italy, October 31, 2017. REUTERS/Remo CasilliFLORENCE, Italy, Nov 21 (Reuters) - The head of Italy's banking lobby urged the European Central Bank (ECB) to consider whether its representatives could find themselves sharing responsibility for lenders’ mistakes if they attend banks’ board meetings. Speaking at a banking seminar, Italian Banking Association President Antonio Patuelli weighed in on the tensions brewing between euro zone banks and ECB supervisors. Patuelli said it should not come at a surprise if Italian banks bought fewer domestic government bonds following the ECB's decision. Touching on the issue of ECB representatives' presence at banks' board meetings, Patuelli said this could get them in trouble if they proved unable to stop what later emerged as misdeeds.

Now, with mass protests, many would prefer it withdrew from the World Cup being held just across the Gulf from their homeland. Some Iranian fans who went to Qatar for the World Cup made no secret of their solidarity with the unrest. In the Iranian capital Tehran, some banners of the national team have been burned by angry protesters. Pejman Zarji, a 38-year-old sports coach who was in Qatar for the World Cup, said the Iranian team belonged to the people not the government. There’s something really important to understand (now) - 'Team Melli' is what we call the Iran team, it's the team of the people before being the team of the government," he said.

☆ Kindle’s 15-year anniversary is a reminder simplicity is king
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

It’s like holding nothing but the words.”Amazon (AMZN) launched the original Kindle on November 19 2007, pushing the publishing industry to further embrace digital books and also kickstarting the e-commerce giant’s hardware efforts. Amazon can keep Kindle prices relatively low because the business model is all about selling books, not selling hardware, McQueen said. Likewise, the original Kindle had access to 90,000 books in the Kindle Store compared to 13 million books now in the Kindle Store. Amazon’s current lineup of hardware devices includes the Fire tablet, the Firestick media streaming gadget and the Echo smart speaker. “The more interesting question is will Kindle be broadly considered retro tech like vinyl record players or arcade cabinets of today?”

☆ Budweiser World Cup campaign curbed, not crashed, by Qatar beer ban
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Budweiser has been a World Cup sponsor since the 1986 tournament in Mexico. STRICT CONTROLSBut Qatar 2022 was always going to be different, as the first World Cup held in a conservative Muslim country with strict controls on alcohol, the consumption of which is banned in public. He added that FIFA and Budweiser had been partners for decades and looked forward to being partners in the future. Doukeris though has said that the far greater impact in terms of beer sales is from fans across the globe, many with a AB InBev beer in hand - from a Jupiler in Belgium to a Brahma in Brazil. Indeed, the brewer has launched its biggest ever World Cup campaign in over 70 markets, more than double the number of participating countries, compared with just over 50 for the 2018 edition.

☆ A guide to parental controls on social media
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN Business —A little over a year ago, social media companies were put on notice for how they protect, or fail to protect, their youngest users. The four social networks have since introduced more tools and parental control options aimed at better protecting younger users. But some lawmakers, social media experts and psychologists say the new solutions are still limited, and more needs to be done. For now, guardians must learn how to use the parental controls while also being mindful that teens can often circumvent those tools. In addition to parental controls, the app restricts access to some features to younger users, such as Live and direct messaging.

☆ Why Apple may be working on a ‘hey Siri’ change
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN Business —Apple reportedly wants to put an end to “Hey.”The company is said to be training its voice assistant Siri to pick up on commands without needing the first half of the prompt phrase “Hey Siri.” The trigger phrase is used to launch Siri on various products, including the iPhone, iPad, HomePod and Apple Watch. “‘Siri’ is much shorter than ‘Hey Siri,’ giving the system potentially less comparison points and higher error rate in an echo-y, large room and noisy environments,” such as in the car or when wind is present. The move would allow Apple to catch up to Amazon’s “Alexa” prompt that doesn’t require a first wake word for its voice assistant. The company then integrated Siri into the iPhone 4S, which was released the following year, and introduced the ability to say “Hey Siri” without physically touching a button in 2014. “While the ‘Hey Siri’ change requires a considerable amount of work, it would be surprising if Apple announced only this change to Siri,” Sanders said.

☆ Factbox: Companies count the cost of ditching Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

INDITEX (ITX.MC)Zara owner will book a provision of 216 million euros after agreeing to sell its Russia stores to UAE-based Daher Group. TRATON (8TRA.DE)Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) truck division Traton in September said disposing of some assets in Russia would cause a 550 million euro loss. CREDIT AGRICOLE (CAGR.PA)Credit Agricole provisioned more than 500 million euros related to its Russian exposure in Q1. LINDEThe world's largest industrial gases company's exit from Russia recorded impairments of $993 million from its Russia exit. SIEMENS (SIEGn.DE)The Munich-based engineering and tech firm said in May it would take a 600 million euro hit in Q2 for exiting Russia.

One year and billions of dollars later, the so-called metaverse still feels years away, if it ever manifests at all. And Meta’s flagship social VR app Horizon Worlds can feel like a ghost town (albeit a ghost town with laser tag). Meta’s latest headset, the Quest Pro, is its first effort at combining the immersiveness of VR with the real world. The VR headset market is still tiny compared to, say, an established gadget market like console video games. A visitor to the 2022 Tokyo Game Show tests the Meta Quest 2 VR headset.

☆ AB InBev raises 2022 outlook as beer sales accelerate
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies Q3 core profit up 6.5% vs market consensus 5.2%AB InBev says beer market resilientHeineken, Carlsberg voice concerns over European consumersBRUSSELS, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI.BR), the world's largest brewer, reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings on Thursday as beer sales accelerated, and raised its 2022 outlook to the top-end of its previous forecast range. Third-quarter core profit - earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation - rose 6.5% on a like-for-like basis to $5.31 billion, above the 5.2% climb forecast by analysts in a company-compiled poll. The company said it now expects its core profit to rise by between 6% and 8%. EUROPEAN CONSUMER PINCHAB InBev's largest rivals, far more reliant on Europe, gave a more cautious view of the beer market. For it and Heineken, Europe represented at least 50% of their third-quarter business, against less than 15% for AB InBev.

☆ With product innovation lagging, Silicon Valley bets on a fresh coat of paint
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN Business —When Google unveiled its new Pixel 7 smartphone lineup earlier this month, the devices looked largely the same as the year prior. Google has also swapped the stormy black (a stormy black) option on the Pixel 6 for obsidian (still black) on the Pixel 7. The emphasis on a new color palette for devices isn’t unique to Google. Apple’s new iPhone 14 lineup comes in Starlight (a champagne color) and midnight (black), and the company has previously unveiled two shades of green (“green” and “alpine green”) and purple (“purple” and “deep purple”). “Color names that are descriptive but odd can spark positive reactions because the consumer likes being able to ‘solve the puzzle,’” she said.

☆ Posh ice cream, craft beer in vogue as Chinese downsize their love of luxury
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Casey Hall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SHANGHAI, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Chinese consumers are typically known for lavish spending on high-end handbags, clothes and accessories that sustain Western luxury brands. Brands that have jumped on the trend include Kweichow Moutai (600519.SS), best known for $300 bottles of baijiu, the Chinese spirit popular at banquets. It debuted baijiu-infused ice cream at $10 a cup in May, racking up 2.5 million yuan ($350,000) of sales on the first day. Chinese consumers are "spoiling themselves with those little things and they're loving something novel," said Mark Tanner, founder of marketing agency China Skinny. "When times aren't so good, people want to feel better, guilty pleasures like ice cream can help," said Low.

☆ Microsoft unveils $4,299 Surface desktop computer
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

At a press event on Wednesday, Microsoft is set to unveil several Surface Pro tablets, Surface Laptop models and a Surface Studio 2+ desktop computer, the last of which has not been updated in several years. The device also includes an updated display, cameras, microphones and supports a digital pen for on-screen drawing. The Surface Studio 2+ starts at $4,299, and $4,499 with the digital pen. The previous Surface Studio 2, released in 2018, received some criticism for its $3,499 starting price. The Surface Laptop starts at $999 for the 13.5-inch version and $1299 for the 15 inch.

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