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☆ Many investors are 'uber bearish' and thinking of exiting China, says investment firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailMany investors are 'uber bearish' and thinking of exiting China, says investment firmThio Siew Hua of Lion Global Investors says China's growth is starting to slow down as the government "took their foot off the pedal" on stimulus "prematurely."

Persons: Thio Siew Hua Organizations: Lion Global Locations: China

☆ Threads: Everything to know about Instagram's app to rival Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —Facebook-parent Meta on Wednesday officially launched its Twitter competitor, Threads, after first confirming its plans for the app just three months ago. And for Meta, Threads could further expand its empire of popular apps and provide a new platform on which to sell ads. Similar to Twitter, users can reply to, repost and quote others’ Threads posts. Frequent technical issues and policy changes have sent some noteworthy Twitter users heading for the exits. For Meta, Threads could be a way of eking additional engagement time out of its massive existing user base.

Persons: Elon Musk, Meta, ”, Mark Zuckerberg, it’s, Musk, ” Zuckerberg, hasn’t, Linda Yaccarino, “, Adam Mosseri, Zuckerberg Organizations: New, New York CNN, Facebook, Wednesday, Twitter, Elon, Apple, Meta Locations: New York, Instagram

This spike bodes well for the IPO market, bankers say, because both new listings and secondary stock sales rely on strong demand from equity investors. "Historically, follow-on activity of this magnitude should lead to animal spirits in the IPO market," said Daniel Burton-Morgan, head of Americas syndicate for equity capital markets at Bank of America Corp (BAC.N). The IPO market has been in the doldrums since the start of 2022, when Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a spike in inflation fueled a bout of market volatility as investors fretted over U.S. interest rate hikes. The week of June 5 saw 19 follow-on and secondary stock sales in the United States, totaling proceeds of $6.6 billion, one of the highest weekly tallies since the end of 2021. IPO HOPEFULSMajor companies are waiting in the wings to launch their market debut come September, when the IPO window traditionally opens after a summer lull.

Persons: Daniel Burton, Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Electric's, Alex Wellins, Keith Townsend, Echo Wang, Lance Tupper, Greg Roumeliotis, Sam Holmes Organizations: YORK, LSEG, Intelligence, Bank of America Corp, Dealogic, Reuters Graphics, Federal, Goldman, Intel Corp, GE Healthcare Technologies, SoftBank Group Corp, chipmaker, Holdings, Blueshirt, King, Spalding, Thomson Locations: United States, Ukraine, Cava, New York

☆ How many engineers does it take to make a Dyson headphone? We tour its secret labs to find out
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Nessa Anwar | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Dyson is one of the world's most recognizable vacuum makers, raking in revenue of about $8 billion in 2022. But the tech giant is also known for other household appliances such as bladeless fans, air purifiers and hair styling products. The company is building a giant battery plant the size of 53 basketball courts in Singapore, due to open in 2025. James Dyson, the company's founder, was a vocal supporter of Brexit, arguing that the U.K. would create more wealth and jobs outside the EU single market. Watch the video to learn more about why the multibillion-dollar tech company is expanding in the region.

Persons: Dyson, John Churchill, – Dyson, Churchill, James Dyson, Brexit Organizations: CNBC, EU Locations: Singapore

☆ Triller is being sued for alleged unpaid bills by a firm it hired to analyze and validate its user data
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Triller hired Sensor Tower in August 2020 to analyze its user data and build a metrics dashboard. Nearly three years later, Sensor Tower is suing Triller for about $540,000 in alleged unpaid bills. App-analytics firm Sensor Tower is suing Triller for roughly $540,000 in a new lawsuit that alleges the tech company hasn't paid its bills. A Sensor Tower spokesperson told Insider in September 2020 that "Sensor Tower is in no way disputing Triller's officially published metrics." Other vendors and partners have also sued Triller for alleged late paymentsIn late 2020, Triller was primarily known for its TikTok-like video app.

Persons: Triller, It's, Apptopia, Mike Lu, Triller's, Triller's Lu, Lu, Swizz Beatz, Timbaland Organizations: of, Google, TechCrunch, Triller, Billboard, Sony Music, Universal Music Group Locations: Superior, of California, San Francisco, copublish

At his grooming salon in San Diego, anything is possible: Bernedoodles become giraffes and poodles become Pokémon. Feitosa, a native of São Paulo, Brazil, opened Gabriel Feitosa Grooming Salon in 2018, capitalizing on a $1.3 billion global pet grooming market. As a dog grooming artist, Feitosa combines traditional grooming techniques with unique designs, and uses vegan, pet-friendly dyes. Finding career inspiration while running an errandFeitosa's dog grooming career began when he was 12. He left high school right before graduating to pursue dog grooming as his full-time career, working at the salon and teaching dog grooming at a vocational school based on his real-world learnings.

Persons: Gabriel Feitosa, poodles, Feitosa, São Paulo, Tasia Jensen, it's Organizations: CNBC Locations: San Diego, São Paulo, Brazil, TikTok, São, Sacramento, Calif

☆ UK streamer BritBox just inked a big Comcast deal and is poised to grab more US viewers with shows that go way beyond Agatha Christie
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

British streamer BritBox just scored a deal with Comcast as it eyes US expansion. BritBox is like other enthusiast streamers that have sustained growth while big SVODs' growth has slowed. BritBox International, the British-specialty streaming service backed by BBC Studios and ITV Studios, has big ambitions for growth. The Xfinity opportunity is "a real step change in terms of distribution and access," said Reemah Sakaan, CEO of BritBox International. But BritBox sees itself in a good position to complement the big streamers — as British content moves into the mainstream and interest in high-quality, international content grows.

Persons: it's, Comcast's, BritBox, Reemah Sakaan, Agatha Christie's Poirot, Matthew Macfadyen, John Stonehouse, Frannie Langton, Jed Mercurio's, Mercurio's, Cary Grant, Archie, Jason Isaacs, Harry Potter, Matthew Macfadyen's, Brian Cox, Logan Roy, Robert Schildhouse, King Charles, Sakaan, We've Organizations: Comcast, BritBox, BBC Studios, ITV Studios, AMC, BET, Netflix, Hulu, US, Amazon's, Disney, Labor, Warner Bros, Hollywood, Writers ' Guild of Great Locations: British, Canada, Australia, Scandinavia, " Stonehouse, BritBox, American, Stonehouse, North America, Writers ' Guild of Great Britain

☆ Low-tax Switzerland votes on global minimum corporate tax rate
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( John Revill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In 2021 almost 140 countries including Switzerland agreed to an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) deal to ensure large companies pay a minimum tax rate of 15%, to prevent them trying to avoid taxation by transferring profits to low tax countries. Reuters GraphicsEach of Switzerland's 26 cantons can set its own corporate tax rate, but the federal government would impose a top-up tax to ensure companies are paying 15 percent, raising up to 2.5 billion Swiss francs ($2.76 billion) in tax revenue. She said last month, "this minimum tax is coming, with or without Switzerland." Swiss Holdings, a group representing 62 multinationals in Switzerland including Nestle, Johnson & Johnson, and IKEA, supported the minimum tax. Stefan Kuhn, Head of Tax and Legal at KPMG Switzerland, said the top-up tax "gives cantons the money to do something smart to remain competitive."

Persons: Arnd, Fabian Molina, Karin Keller, Johnson, Christian Frey, Stefan Kuhn, Kuhn, John Revill, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: REUTERS, Switzerland Broad, Economic Cooperation, Development, GFS, Google, Nestle, Reuters, Union, Social Democrats, Sutter, OECD, Swiss Holdings, Johnson, IKEA, KPMG Switzerland, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Bernese, Lake Zug, Zug, Switzerland, ZURICH, Swiss, GFS Bern, Germany, Japan, Basel, Economiesuisse

☆ Netflix password crackdown leads to an explosion in subscription sign-ups
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The streaming service has seen a bigger jump in new subscriber sign-ups as a result of the crackdown than it did in the early days of the Covid pandemic. In the following days, Netflix has seen a more than 100% increase in sign-ups from the prior 60-day average. For years, Netflix turned a blind eye to password sharing because it was fueling growth. But the streamer suffered heavy subscriber losses last year, and said that password sharing hurt its revenues and therefore limited its ability to invest in new content. The company started to clamp down on password sharing in several countries earlier this year, including Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain.

Persons: “ Organizations: New, New York CNN, Netflix Locations: New York, United States, Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain

☆ Australia's Canva expands A.I.-powered design business to Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Melanie Perkins, co-founder & chief executive of Australian graphic design firm Canva, says the business is in a "uniquely strong position" as it expands to Europe. LONDON — Australian graphic design company Canva believes it is in a "uniquely strong position" to withstand industry headwinds as it embarks on a European expansion. The Sydney-based software company opened its new Europe headquarters in London last month as it competes with tech heavyweights Adobe and Microsoft to attract individual and enterprise users to its design suite. Canva, which offers both free and paid tools for designing websites, presentations and social content, had annualized revenues of $1.5 billion in the year to May. Of its 135 million global users, 16% are in Europe.

Persons: Melanie Perkins, Canva, Perkins, We've Organizations: LONDON, Adobe, Microsoft, CNBC, WPP, Unilever, Rolls Royce Locations: Europe, Sydney, London

☆ World's first vaccine against deadly swine fever nears approval in Vietnam
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Francesco Guarascio | Thomson Reuters | Francesco Leads A Team Of Reporters In Vietnam That Covers Top Financial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

African swine fever has for years disrupted the $250 billion global pork market. The next step will be nationwide authorisation, the first ever for an African swine fever vaccine, and possible sales overseas. "There will be a specific interest obviously," Vilsack said in an interview with Reuters in April, speaking about possible purchases of the Vietnamese vaccines. Use of unlicensed live-virus vaccines in China in past years raised concerns they caused the emergence of new strains of swine fever. Only limited data are available from China's trials on a live-virus vaccine against swine fever.

Persons: Gregorio Torres, Torres, Thomas Vilsack, Vilsack, WOAH, Francesco Guarascio, Phuong Nguyen, Khanh, Dominique Patton, Sonali Paul Organizations: Organisation for Animal Health, Reuters, Rabobank, United States Department of Agriculture, Thomson Locations: Vietnam, Hanoi, world's, HANOI, China, U.S, United States, Khanh Vu, Beijing

June 7 (Reuters) - European regulators have approved the region's first vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which causes thousands of hospitalisations and deaths annually. The shot, called Arexvy, is made by British drugmaker GSK (GSK.L) and is designed to protect people aged 60 and over. The complex molecular structure of the virus and safety concerns with previous vaccine attempts had stymied efforts to successfully develop a shot since the virus was first discovered in 1956. Given the different definitions of the trial endpoints across the GSK and Pfizer trials, a direct comparison of efficacy is difficult. In Europe, RSV leads to over 270,000 hospitalisations and about 20,000 in-hospital deaths in adults over 60 each year.

Persons: Luke Miels, Peter Welford, TD Cowen, Steve Scala, Natalie Grover, Eva Mathews, Maggie Fick, Savio D'Souza, Mark Potter Organizations: GSK, European Commission, European Medicines Agency, Reuters, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Pfizer, Jefferies, Thomson Locations: British, Europe, U.S, London, Bengaluru

☆ Swine fever: World's first vaccine against deadly animal disease nears approval in Vietnam
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

African swine fever has for years disrupted the $250 billion global pork market. The next step will be nationwide authorization, the first ever for an African swine fever vaccine, and possible sales overseas. Use of unlicensed live-virus vaccines in China in past years raised concerns they caused the emergence of new strains of swine fever. Only limited data are available from China’s trials on a live-virus vaccine against swine fever. NAVETCO, AVAC and Vietnam’s agriculture ministry, which is responsible for approval of veterinary vaccines, did not respond to requests for comment.

Persons: Gregorio Torres, “, ” Torres, ”, Thomas Vilsack, ” Vilsack, WOAH Organizations: World Organization for Animal Health, Reuters, Rabobank, United States Department of Agriculture Locations: Vietnam, China, United States

☆ 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' opens to $120.5 million, second-highest debut of 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Spider-Man returned to the big screen this weekend, webbing up an estimated $120.5 million at the domestic box office. Sony's "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," the much anticipated sequel to the Academy Award-winning "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," had the second-biggest opening of 2023, just behind Universal's "Super Mario Bros. The film also marks the third-best opening weekend for any Spider-Man film, animated or live-action. The film has secured $186.2 million in domestic ticket sales and stands at $326.7 million globally. Additionally, Disney's "The Boogey Man" opened to $12 million in domestic ticket sales and Universal's "Fast X" added $9.24 million in ticket sales over the weekend, bringing its domestic haul to $128.4 million.

Persons: Universal's, Mario, Paul Dergarabedian, Shawn Robbins, Robbins Organizations: Academy, Mario Bros, BoxOffice.com, Disney, Guardians, Galaxy, Comcast, CNBC Locations: EntTelligence, NBCUniversal

☆ India launches electronics repair pilot project to lure manufacturers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, May 31 (Reuters) - India has launched a pilot project to establish itself as an electronics repair hub with certain favourable policy changes, which has already attracted companies like Lenovo and Flex, the country's IT ministry said on Wednesday. The three-month-long Electronics Repair Services Outsourcing (ERSO) program is India's first formal attempt to capitalise on a $100 billion global industry and follows a push by MAIT, an industry group for IT and electronics manufacturers. Besides, China's Lenovo (0092.HK) and Singapore-based Flex (FLEX.O), electronic manufacturers like CTDI, R-Logic, and Aforeserve have volunteered for the program, the ministry said in a statement. While India is seeing increased interest in electronics manufacturing, with companies such as Apple (AAPL.O) pivoting from production in China, its repair outsourcing industry has been beleaguered by certain import-export rules. In the pilot phase India will also permit re-export of the imported electronics goods to countries different from the original one - currently it is banned under foreign trade rules.

Persons: Aforeserve, Varun Vyas, Savio D'Souza Organizations: Lenovo, Flex, Reuters, Services, IT, HK, Apple, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, India, Singapore, China, Bengaluru, Munsif, New Delhi

NEW DELHI, May 30 (Reuters) - India will start a pilot project this week to establish itself as an electronics repair hub by relaxing cumbersome import-export rules, a move that could draw tech majors such as Flex (FLEX.O) to expand such operations in the country. In the pilot phase, which will see participation from companies including Lenovo (0992.HK) and Cisco (CSCO.O), India will also permit re-export of the imported electronics goods to countries different from the original one - currently it is banned under foreign trade rules. "Repair outsourcing will incentivise electronic manufacturers to further expand their production capabilities in India. This is a critical step towards ensuring resilience to supply chain shocks," said Jafri, who estimated the repair industry in India to be worth $20 billion in five years. High repair costs in regions such as Europe and the United States are compelling companies to send goods overseas, Jafri said.

☆ Striking Hollywood writers lament residuals slide
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The streaming residual check amounted to one-third of the $12,000 Jones received in residuals for writing one episode of the ABC drama "Queens." The writers argue that streaming services, which upended decades of television industry business practices, have significantly undercut their compensation. RESIDUALS WERE 'VERY HEALTHY'Streaming changed the compensation structure and now accounts for the largest share of TV residuals. One studio executive said writers negotiated a 46% increase in residuals for streaming programs, starting in 2022. The latest guild proposal would bump foreign streaming residuals by 200%, a number studio executives noted fails to recognize that subscription fees vary from country to country.

☆ London’s Allen & Overy to Merge With Shearman & Sterling to Create $3.4 Billion Global Law Firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Erin Mulvaney | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/londons-allen-overy-to-merge-with-shearman-sterling-to-create-3-4-billion-global-firm-fd38c06b

☆ Netflix stock jumps 10% on signs that its new ad-based subscription plan is booming
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Netflix told advertising executives that its new ad-based plan has 5 million active users. Sign up for our newsletter to get the inside scoop on what traders are talking about — delivered daily to your inbox. On Wednesday, the company presented advertising executives at the industry's so-called upfronts with the first insights into the new tier, disclosing that it had 5 million monthly active users. In March, Bloomberg reported that the $7-per-month ad option had 1 million monthly active users after its first two months. Because monthly active users can include several people using the same subscription, analysts at Evercore estimated that the 5 million MAUs Netflix reported translates to 2 million-3 million subscription accounts.

☆ Netflix ad tier now has nearly 5 million monthly active users
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LOS ANGELES, May 17 (Reuters) - Netflix Inc's (NFLX.O) recently launched tier that offers lower subscription fees but includes commercials on its programming now has nearly 5 million global monthly active users, a company executive said on Wednesday at a presentation to advertisers. The median age of those viewers is 34, said Jeremi Gorman, Netflix's president of worldwide advertising. Netflix launched a $7-per-month ad-supported tier in November in 12 markets. A Netflix subscription without advertising starts at $10 a month. Netflix had planned to make the presentation live in New York but switched to a virtual event to avoid protests from striking members of the Writers Guild of America.

ORLANDO, Florida, May 15 (Reuters) - China's yuan faces significant long-term obstacles to becoming a global reserve currency of any great import, but the biggest challenge in the near term is the fact that nobody wants to buy Chinese bonds. Reuters ImageReuters Image"It is very hard to create a reserve currency, without attractive reserve assets. Exante Data's figures show foreign investors bought a net $558 billion of Chinese bonds between 2010 and 2021. But in a pool of $12 trillion global reserves, of which nearly 80% is denominated in dollars and euros, these are very small numbers. Reuters ImageRESERVE STATUSAny currency that has designs on attaining international reserve status must meet several criteria and fulfill several roles.

☆ How generative A.I. and ChatGPT will influence jobs at all professional levels
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Mikaela Cohen | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

A new C-suite role of chief AI officer is comingAsha Palmer, senior vice president of compliance solutions at digital learning platform Skillsoft, says every C-suite has executives who oversee privacy and data, so AI could prompt the creation of a chief AI officer and entire departments overseeing AI security. As AI takes off, a chief AI officer will be a key decision maker over tech priorities that filter down through the organization. Companies need to take precaution and set up guardrails to oversee AI use, Palmer said, and that starts with training employees on how to use chatbots and generative AI. "For companies using or buying AI, they should ask AI companies what their transparency metrics are, how often they audit and check these, and ask them to make this information public facing." Office workers face a challenge, but it is the roles in middle management, specifically, he said, "where it's ambiguous how AI will impact them."

☆ Disney CEO Bob Iger praises rival Universal's 'Super Mario Bros. Movie'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Chris Pratt and Charlie Day voice Mario and Luigi in Universal and Illumination's "The Super Mario Bros. Disney CEO Bob Iger used part of his opening remarks during an earnings call Wednesday to praise rival Universal Studios' "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" and its success at the global box office. "Allow me to digress for a moment to congratulate Universal for the tremendous success of 'Super Mario Bros.'" Iger said. Others said Disney has done a poor job marketing its animated films to the public. The widespread success of "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" could pave the way for Disney's upcoming releases, which include Pixar's "Elemental" and the Thanksgiving release "Wish."

☆ How NBA star Damian Lillard turned a common foot injury into a sneaker business
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Ian Thomas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers dribbles against the New York Knicks at Moda Center on March 14, 2023 in Portland, Oregon. That was just one of the multiple foot injuries and issues like plantar fasciitis that Lillard, now an NBA All-Star point guard for the Portland Trailblazers, has dealt with over his playing career. Exacerbating issues related to his flat feet, Lillard said the injuries stemmed from the lack of support he was getting from the standard insoles found in basketball sneakers. A high percentage of sneaker wearers also just use the standard insole that comes with their shoes. "The product has to speak for itself and the people that are putting the insoles inside their shoes," he said.

☆ HSBC vote gives Ping An a fresh shove towards exit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 5 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Ping An Insurance (601318.SS) is having an underwhelming week. Instead, HSBC’s results were decent and the AGM resolution was crushed. True, 20% of votes cast went in favour of plans for a strategic review each quarter which could assess whether to spin off HSBC’s key Asian arm, and to reinstate the bank’s pre-Covid dividend. Ping An could continue to chunter away at HSBC boss Noel Quinn from the sidelines. Throw in the lack of investor support implied by the vote, and Ping An’s essential choice – to pipe down or to sell its stake – has become ever more stark.

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