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☆ 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.

☆ Canada clears C$20 billion Rogers-Shaw deal with tough conditions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Aditya Soni | Chavi Mehta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The deal was opposed by consumer advocates and politicians on worries it could lead to higher prices due to an overlap between Rogers and Shaw’s wireless divisions. Rogers made 21 conditions, including setting up a western headquarters in Calgary, creating 3,000 new jobs in Western Canada and investing C$5.5 billion to expand 5G coverage and services. If it breaches the commitments, Rogers will have to pay a fine of as much as C$1 billion, Champagne said at a news conference in Ottawa. And it’s subject to arbitration.”Champagne said if wireless prices do not go lower, he would seek further legislative and regulatory powers. The combined company will benefit from Rogers’ strong presence in urban Ontario and Shaw’s dominance in the sparsely populated regions of Western Canada.

☆ China to examine US chipmaker Micron's products for cybersecurity risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 31 (Reuters) - China's cyberspace regulator will conduct a cybersecurity review of products sold in the country by U.S. memory chip manufacturer Micron Technology Inc (MU.O), the regulator said on Friday. It gave no other details, including which Micron products it was reviewing. The Netherlands, which makes advanced lithography equipment critical for the manufacture of advanced chips, made a similar announcement earlier this month. Weak consumer demand has roiled the memory chip market, which is dominated by South Korea's Samsung Electronics (005930.KS). The larger chunk of the company's products flowing into China are being purchased by non-Chinese firms for use in products manufactured in the country, according to analysts.

The deal was opposed by consumer advocates and politicians on worries it could lead to higher prices due to an overlap between Rogers and Shaw's wireless divisions. Rogers reaffirmed its conditions, including setting up a western headquarters in Calgary, creating 3,000 new jobs in Western Canada and investing C$6.5 billion to upgrade connectivity. If it breaches the commitments, Rogers (RCIb.TO) will have to pay a fine of as much as C$1 billion, Champagne said at a news conference in Ottawa. Champagne said if wireless prices do not go lower, he would seek further legislative and regulatory powers. Rosa Addario, a spokesperson for internet advocacy group OpenMedia, said the concessions sought by the government were unlikely to result in lower prices.

☆ Apple launches buy now, pay later service in U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The service, Apple Pay Later, will allow users to split purchases into four payments spread over six weeks with no interest or fees, the company said. "Apple Pay Later will absolutely wallop some of the other players. Hewson added that Apple Pay Later will be a disruptor as consumers are looking for the easiest way to get what they want, as their wallets have been stretched by inflation. BNPL firm Affirm Holdings Inc's (AFRM.O) shares fell more than 7%, while PayPal was down about 1.5% in midday trading. Apple Pay Later is enabled through the Mastercard Installments program, the company said, adding that Goldman Sachs (GS.N) was the issuer of the Mastercard payment credential.

☆ Accenture trims forecasts, to cut 19,000 jobs as IT spending slows
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Chavi Mehta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Accenture PLC logo is seen on a smartphone in front of displayed same logo in this illustration taken, December 1, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoMarch 23 (Reuters) - Accenture Plc lowered its annual revenue and profit forecasts and decided to cut about 2.5% of its workforce, or 19,000 jobs, the latest sign that the worsening global economic outlook was sapping corporate spending on IT services. More than half of the jobs to be cut will be in its non-billable corporate functions, Accenture said on Thursday, sending its shares up 6.4%. Accenture now expects annual revenue growth to be between 8% and 10%, compared with its previous projection of a 8% to 11% increase. A survey of more than 1,000 IT decision makers by U.S.-based Enterprise Technology Research said they plan to reduce their 2023 budget growth.

☆ Accenture cuts jobs, trims forecasts on worries of lower IT spending
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Accenture PLC logo is seen on a smartphone in front of displayed same logo in this illustration taken, December 1, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoMarch 23 (Reuters) - Accenture Plc on Thursday lowered its annual revenue and profit forecasts and said it would cut about 2.5% of workforce, or 19,000 jobs, the latest sign that the worsening global economic outlook was sapping corporate spending on IT services. Accenture now expects annual revenue growth to be between 8% and 10% compared to the previous projection of 8% to 11% increase. Accenture said it now expects earnings per share to be in the range of $10.84 to $11.06 compared to $11.20 to $11.52 previously. Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] Microsoft Corp's Bing search engine is seen on a computer in this illustration picture taken January 24, 2019. While Bing AI has been available to most users around the world since February, Google began the public release of its chatbot Bard only on Tuesday. "Bing has less than a tenth of Google's market share, so even if it converts 1% or 2% of users it will be materially beneficial to Bing and Microsoft," Luria said. App downloads for Bing have also jumped eight times globally after AI integration, according to app research firm Data.ai. Downloads for the Google search app fell 2% in the same period, the data showed.

March 20 (Reuters) - PDD Holdings Inc (PDD.O), which owns discount e-commerce platforms Pinduoduo and Temu, on Monday missed expectations for fourth-quarter revenue as China's post-re-opening consumer recovery remains patchy. PDD reported revenue of 39.82 billion yuan ($5.79 billion) for the quarter ended Dec. 31, up 46% year-on-year, but this fell short of estimates for 41.01 billion yuan, based on Refinitiv data. The group had reported 65% revenue growth in its third- quarter earnings last November. The company's revenue growth compares with single-digit gains reported by Chinese competitors Alibaba (9988.HK) and JD.com (9618.HK) for the same period. Temu's 2023 expansion will include roll outs in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.($1 = 6.8799 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Jane MerrimanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 'I'm back:' Trump returns to YouTube and Facebook after two-year ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The posts on his Facebook page and YouTube channel, which were titled "I'M BACK!," show a CNN video announcing Trump's election as president in the 2016 race against Hillary Clinton. Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) had reinstated Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts earlier this year. His Twitter account was reinstated in November by the platform's new owner Elon Musk but Trump has yet to post on Twitter. Trump's campaign team did not immediately respond to a request for comment. YouTube banned Trump in 2021 for violating its policy of inciting violence after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress was certifying Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election.

☆ Factbox: Chipmakers' plans for factories in Europe, US and Asia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] The logo of semiconductor manufacturer Infineon is seen in Villach, Austria, June 3, 2018. The European Commission has earmarked 15 billion euros for public and private semiconductor projects by 2030, while U.S. President Joe Biden's administration passed the CHIPS Act last year to make over $52-billion worth of subsidies available for the American semiconductor industry. The Act deters companies using U.S. funds from undertaking any big expansions of overseas semiconductor manufacturing facilities in "countries of concern" such as China for 10 years, with some exceptions. India, Taiwan and South Korea have also offered incentives such as tax breaks to boost domestic chip production. Below are some of the chipmakers' plans for factories in Europe, North America and Asia:NORTH AMERICAEUROPEASIAReporting by Antonis Pothitos in Gdansk, Tiyashi Datta, Chavi Mehta and Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; editing by Josephine Mason, Mark Potter and Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Explainer: What is Microsoft-backed OpenAI's GPT-4 model?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 15 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp-backed (MSFT.O) startup OpenAI began the rollout of GPT-4, a powerful artificial intelligence model that succeeds the technology behind the wildly popular ChatGPT. GPT-3.5 is limited to about 3,000-word responses, while GPT-4 can generate responses of more than 25,000 words. Soon ChatGPT users will have the option to change the chatbot's tone and style of responses, OpenAI said. According to OpenAI, GPT-4 has similar limitations as its prior versions and is "less capable than humans in many real-world scenarios". OpenAI said GPT-4 can rival human propagandists in many domains, especially when teamed up with a human editor.

☆ Factbox: JetBlue-Spirit deal flies into Biden administration's tough scrutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

March 7 (Reuters) - The $3.8 billion merger between JetBlue Airways Corp (JBLU.O) and Spirit Airlines Inc (SAVE.N) is in the crosshairs of the U.S. Justice Department, making it the latest major deal to attract tough regulatory scrutiny. Large deals, including Nvidia Corp's (NVDA.O) bid to buy UK-based chip firm Arm Ltd, have been abandoned following regulatory hurdles. Here is a list of some mergers that faced strong antitrust scrutiny under the Biden regime:DEALS UNDER SCRUTINYDEALS BLOCKED & ABANDONEDDEALS THAT WENT THROUGHReporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Radio company SiriusXM cuts workforce by 8%
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 6 (Reuters) - SiriusXM Holdings Inc (SIRI.O) on Monday said it would lay off 8% of its workforce, or about 475 employees, as the satellite radio firm takes a hit from slow subscriber growth. Weak auto sales are also expected to hurt the radio operator's subscriber base. "Today's decision to reduce our workforce was required for us to maintain a sustainably profitable company," Chief executive Jennifer Witz said in a letter to staff. SiriusXM joins tech titans such as Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Google-parent Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) that cut headcount by the thousands to weather a tough economy. In January, music streaming platform Spotify Technology (SPOT.N) also cut its workforce by 6%.

☆ Meta tweaks its controversial 'cross-check' system for VIPs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 3 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms (META.O) said on Friday it would implement most of the recommendations made by its independent oversight board to its policy of exempting high-profile users from some of its content-related rules. The Facebook parent, however, rejected some suggestions to increase transparency and reduce bias toward content generated by public figures. The board has said the practice privileged the powerful and allowed business interests to influence content decisions. One of the recommendations that Meta rejected suggested the social media company publicly mark the pages and accounts of certain public figures receiving list-based protection. Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru and Katie Paul in New York; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ AI boost lifts Broadcom forecast amid lingering enterprise weakness
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Chavi Mehta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The Broadcom Limited company logo is shown outside one of their office complexes in Irvine, California, U.S., March 4, 2021. REUTERS/Mike BlakeMarch 2 (Reuters) - Broadcom Inc (AVGO.O) forecast second-quarter revenue above estimates on Thursday, as increased investments in artificial intelligence spur demand for its chips used in data centers. Broadcom, which supplies chips used in data centers for networking and specialized chips that speed up AI work, expects networking revenue to grow 20% in the current quarter. While analysts spotted green shoots in the AI space, they also saw weaknesses emerge in areas such as broadband and cloud spending. The chip designer expects current-quarter revenue to be about $8.7 billion, while analysts on average expect $8.59 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

☆ Theater chain AMC falls 8% on worries of slower box-office recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In the United States and Canada, box office collection was above $11 billion in 2019, but since the COVID-19 pandemic, the numbers have fallen drastically, with 2022 box office numbers coming in at $7.4 billion, the company said. "It will take years to see box office revenues return to 2019 levels, which they may not ever do at all," said Jamie Lumley, analyst at Third Bridge. Wedbush Securities analysts expect 2023 box office to be down 24% from 2019 levels. AMC, however, said it expects box office will not return to pre-pandemic norms before 2024 or 2025 at the earliest. Still, AMC said it would pay down its debt of about $4.95 billion as it continued to raise cash.

☆ Factbox: TikTok's Chinese ownership, security concerns spark bans across nations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationFeb 28 (Reuters) - The White House has set a 30-day deadline for U.S. government agencies to remove Chinese-owned social media app TikTok from all federal devices and systems. AfghanistanIs in talks to ban TikTok and video game PUBG, with the Taliban claiming those were leading Afghan youths "astray." U.S. Congress passed a bill in December 2022 to ban TikTok on federal devices. U.S. Educational InstitutionsBoise State University, University of Oklahoma, University of Texas-Austin, and West Texas A&M University are some of the schools to ban TikTok on university devices and Wi-Fi networks. European CommissionThe European Union's executive arm, the European Commission, has issued an order to ban the use of popular Chinese app TikTok on its staff's phones due to cybersecurity concerns.

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Warner Bros Discovery's (WBD.O) shares fell on Friday as Wall Street sees more pain for the media giant that posted more than $2 billion in fourth-quarter losses and cut annual profit forecast as ad market weakness persists. The uncertainty of an ad market recovery in the current market condition, with a potential recession looming, is hounding large media and tech firms such as Paramount Global (PARA.O) and Google-parent Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) alike. "The biggest unknown continues to be in the ad sales environment," Gunnar Wiedenfels, chief financial officer of Warner Bros Discovery said. This implies a range of $11 billion to $11.5 billion, below its previous target of $12 billion. The company reported a wider-than-expected loss of 86 cents per share in the quarter due to restructuring charges related to its merger joining Discovery Inc and AT&T (T.N) spin-off Warner Media.

☆ Nvidia results show its growing lead in AI chip race
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Chavi Mehta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, shows the Drive Pegasus robotaxi AI computer at his keynote address at CES in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 7, 2018. AI has emerged as a bright spot for investments in the tech industry, whose slowing growth has led to widespread layoffs and a cutback on experimental bets. SPECIALIZED CHIPSGraphics processing units are designed to handle the specific kind of math involved in AI computing very efficiently, while generic central processing units (CPUs) from Intel can handle a broader range of computing tasks with less efficiency. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O), whose shares also rose after Nvidia earnings on Wednesday, is the second-biggest player in the GPU industry, with a market share of roughly 20%. Nvidia's strength in the AI industry has also attracted the attention of venture capitalists and startups, which are investing billions of dollars and promising improvements such as lower electricity consumption.

☆ Electric-truck maker Lordstown pauses production, deliveries
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 23 (Reuters) - Lordstown Motors Corp (RIDE.O) will temporarily stop production and deliveries of its pickup truck Endurance, of which it has only made 31 units for sale, the electric-vehicle maker said, citing performance and quality issues with some components. Lordstown had set a target to deliver 50 vehicles in 2022 and more in 2023 out of the planned first batch of 500 units when commercial production started in September. The company did not make it clear when it would resume production and deliveries. Investor Foxconn (2317.TW), which also manufactures the Endurance trucks, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Vehicles waiting for shipment and in process at the manufacturing plant will also be fixed, the company added.

Last quarter, Nvidia said tech giant Microsoft was deploying “tens of thousands” of its GPUs in its cloud unit Azure to train and use AI. Microsoft-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT runs entirely on Nvidia chips, Piper Sandler analyst Harsh Kumar said. Revenue from the data center business was $3.62 billion for the fourth quarter, slightly below analyst estimates of $3.84 billion. Gaming chip sales were $1.83 billion, beating analyst estimates of $1.52 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Adjusted profit was 88 cents per share for the fourth quarter, beating analyst estimates of 81 cents.

☆ Nvidia forecasts first-quarter revenue above expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Chip designer Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) forecast first-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, expecting the artificial intelligence boom to drive up sales of its data center chips, sending its shares up nearly 7% in extended trading. Analysts believe Nvidia is best placed to capitalize on this boom as it dominates roughly 80% of the GPU market. The company forecast current-quarter revenue of $6.50 billion, plus or minus 2%. Analysts on average expect $6.33 billion in revenue, according to Refinitiv data. Revenue in the quarter ended Jan. 29. was $6.05 billion, compared with analysts' average estimate of $6.01 billion.

WHAT IS THE ACTIVISION DEAL? A group of 10 gamers in the United States has filed a private consumer antitrust lawsuit over the deal. Both companies have signed 10-year licensing deals that will bring Call of Duty to their gaming platform if the Activision deal is approved. Spain's Nware also signed a 10-year deal to bring Xbox and Activision Blizzard games to the Spanish cloud-gaming platform. Microsoft's Smith said the company would fight the FTC's request to block the deal.

Persons: Tencent, Martin Coleman, Brad Smith, Smith, Spain's Nware, Meta, Microsoft's Smith, Foo Yun Chee, Aurora Ellis, Maju Samuel Organizations: U.S . Federal Trade Commission, Microsoft, Activision, ACTIVISION, HK, Sony, U.S . FTC, Britain's, Markets, FTC, Nintendo, Sony Group, CMA, Commission, WHO, United States, May, Games Development, UNI Global Union, Nvidia, MICROSOFT, Britain, NINTENDO, NVIDIA, Xbox, Activision Blizzard, Antitrust, Facebook, Thomson Locations: metaverse, U.S, United, Brazil, Chile, Serbia, Saudi Arabia

☆ Cable maker Credo slumps on forecast hit as top customer cuts orders
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 15 (Reuters) - Credo Technology Group Holding (CRDO.O) forecast fourth-quarter revenue well below estimates on Tuesday following a cut in orders from the cable maker's largest customer, sending its shares down as much as 43% on Wednesday. The stock, which fell to $11.07, is set for its worst day since going public in January last year at an issue price of $10. According to a company filing, one of Credo's customers accounted for 44% of its revenue in the second quarter of fiscal 2023. Credo, which makes cables used in data centers, said it was expecting fourth-quarter revenue of $30 million to $32 million, below estimates of $58.3 million, according to Refinitiv data. Credo, which also designs chips, currently outsources all its semiconductor manufacturing to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (2330.TW).

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