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☆ T-Mobile misses quarterly revenue estimates
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 1 (Reuters) - Wireless carrier T-Mobile US Inc (TMUS.O) posted fourth-quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, as competition heats up with rivals looking to add subscribers through more attractive promotional offers. The company added thousands of wireless subscribers over the last few years, thanks to hefty discounts on smartphones, industry-low plan prices and an edge in 5G. But a slowdown in wireless growth and bigger promotions by rivals amid rising costs are hurting T-Mobile now. The company said total revenue fell 2.5% to $20.27 billion in the quarter ended December, below Wall Street's estimate of $20.6 billion, according to Refinitiv data. T-Mobile expects to add between 5 million and 5.5 million net monthly-bill paying subscribers in 2023, compared with the 6.4 million additions it reported in 2022.

☆ Europe grew faster than the US last year. Its markets are outperforming too
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The overall rise is a reversal of a 15-year trend that has seen US stock indices, flush with fast-growing tech companies, consistently beat those across the Atlantic. Over the past decade, investors poured money into fast-growing tech stocks, aided by ultra-low interest rates. (SXXL)But tech companies have taken a beating recently. Tech companies, including Microsoft and Alphabet, announced thousands of layoffs last month. High interest rates make it more expensive for companies to borrow to expand their business, raising doubts about their future earnings.

The White House will likely appoint Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard to run the National Economic Council and Jared Bernstein to lead the Council of Economic Advisers, sources familiar with the matter tell CNBC. The appointments are expected to be announced after incoming White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients assumes his role, as soon as next week. Bernstein is a member of the board he is expected to head, the White House Council of Economic Advisers. The White House is holding a ceremony on Wednesday to thank outgoing White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain and welcome Zients to the position. Current White House NEC Director Brian Deese is expected to depart imminently, sources said.

☆ Private Medicare Plans Face Tough New Audits That Could Cost Billions
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Anna Wilde Mathews | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The new rule could prompt Medicare to seek to recover billions of dollars in alleged overpayments from insurers. Federal health regulators said they would implement a tough new standard for auditing the billings of insurers that offer private Medicare plans, the latest sign of stepped-up scrutiny of the companies. Yet the new rule, set to be issued Monday by Medicare’s parent agency, doesn’t go as far as it could have in applying the standard to earlier years.

☆ U.S. Appeals Court Sides With Drugmakers on Discount Program
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Anna Wilde Mathews | Joseph Walker | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The ruling by a three-judge panel of the Philadelphia-based Third Circuit Court of Appeals can be appealed. A U.S. appeals court ruled that pharmaceutical companies can limit their shipments of federally-discounted drugs to pharmacies, in a major win for the drugmakers and a blow to hospitals and clinics that receive the low-priced medicines. The ruling on Monday, by a three-judge panel of the Philadelphia-based Third Circuit Court of Appeals, was in favor of drugmakers Sanofi SA, AstraZeneca PLC and Novo Nordisk A/S, and against the Health Resources and Services Administration, or HRSA, which oversees the federal drug-discount program known as 340B.

Total revenue rose 0.7% to $30.55 billion in the quarter. Cable revenue grew 1.4% to $16.64 billion, narrowly missing analysts' estimates of $16.67 billion. Comcast lost 440,000 video subscribers in the quarter, fewer than Factset's estimated loss of 548,000, as the trend of cable TV cord-cutting continued. The company also lost 26,000 broadband customers in the quarter, compared with Factset's estimated loss of 40,000 customers. NBCU advertising sales grew 4% to $2.86 billion, and theme parks revenue grew 12% to $2.11 billion.

Jan 25 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) said Wednesday it will reinstate former U.S. President Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts in the coming weeks, following a two-year suspension after the deadly Capitol Hill riot on January 6, 2021. He has 34 million followers on Facebook and 23 million on Instagram, platforms that are key vehicles for political outreach and fundraising. "I worry about Facebook's capacity to understand the real world harm that Trump poses: Facebook has been too slow to act." Whether, and how, Trump will seize upon the opportunity to return to Facebook and Instagram is unclear. He did not indicate if or when he would begin posting on Meta platforms again.

☆ Meta to restore Donald Trump's Facebook, Instagram accounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Jan 25 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) said on Wednesday it will restore former U.S. President Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts in the coming weeks, following a two-year suspension after the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot. Reporting by Eva Mathews and Yuvraj Malik in BengaluruOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ White House Considers Fed Vice Chair for Role as Biden’s Top Economic Adviser
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Andrew Restuccia | Ken Thomas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—President Biden is considering Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard as the next head of the National Economic Council, according to administration officials and others familiar with the matter. A final decision hasn’t been made, the officials said, adding that Mr. Biden is in the process of conducting interviews. Several other contenders are under discussion for the key economic policy-making role, the officials said, including Sylvia Mathews Burwell , who led the Office of Management and Budget and the Health and Human Services Department during the Obama administration. Ms. Burwell has been the president of American University since 2017.

☆ Candidates to become top Biden economist include Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard, Treasury official Wally Adeyemo
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The process to replace Deese as head of the powerful National Economic Council remains ongoing and the situation is fluid, the person said. The Washington Post first reported the leading candidates to replace Deese. Brainard was viewed as a leading contender to become Fed chair before Biden ultimately decided to renominate Jerome Powell. Brainard, a former Treasury official in the Obama administration and a Fed governor since 2014, was instead elevated to vice chair, the central bank’s No. U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo on October 13, 2022 in Washington, DC.

☆ Fed's Lael Brainard among leading contenders for top White House economic post
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Lael Brainard, vice chair of the US Federal Reserve, listens to a question during an interview in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard is a top candidate to take the most important economic position in the White House. Biden named Brainard vice chair at the Fed in 2022; she also was considered as a possible successor to Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whom Biden reappointed last year. Brainard is one of multiple candidates being considered and interviews for the position are continuing, according to a White House spokesman familiar with the matter. For her part, Brainard could garner support from progressives who are in favor of strong bank regulation and easier monetary policy.

"With improving churn numbers and strong 5G wireless net adds, AT&T is entering 2023 in a good position," Third Bridge analyst Jamie Lumley said. Apart from 5G technology, AT&T is also investing in bolstering its fiber-optic network, which lets it sell both broadband services and video packages. "We will be operating in a challenging macroeconomic environment where wireless industry growth is likely to return to more normalized levels." Wireless stocks in the last 12 months Wireless stocks in the last 12 monthsFor the latest quarter, AT&T added 656,000 postpaid phone subscribers, above Factset estimates of 644,800 additions. The number also came in well above Verizon's 217,000 additions, although it failed to match T-Mobile's expected 927,000 additions.

President Joe Biden is searching for a replacement for National Economic Council (NEC) Director Brian Deese, who is expected to leave soon. Interviews are still ongoing to replace him, according to the sources who declined to discuss an ongoing personnel process. Biden's team is also starting to craft an economic message for his expected 2024 re-election campaign. But reducing high inflation became the administration's top economic priority last year as rising costs began to anger voters. She previously served as the Treasury's point person on international affairs during the Obama administration.

☆ Elevance to Acquire Louisiana Nonprofit Health Insurer
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Anna Wilde Mathews | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Elevance Health Inc. said it agreed to acquire the nonprofit health insurer Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, expanding its Blue business into a new state. Elevance, the parent of a major health insurer that offers an array of other health services as well, didn’t disclose terms of the deal in its Monday announcement. Spokeswomen for Elevance and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana declined to comment.

☆ Verizon forecasts profit below estimates on slowdown worries, shares fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Shares in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) company fell 2.5% to $38.65 in premarket trading. However, thanks to promotional offers and Apple's (AAPL.O) flagship iPhone launch during the fourth quarter, the company added 217,000 net new monthly bill paying wireless phone subscribers in the fourth quarter, higher than Factset estimates of 200,400 additions. Verizon, which added 558,000 subscribers in the fourth quarter last year, expects adjusted profit between $4.55 per share and $4.85 per share in 2023. For the fourth quarter, Verizon earned $1.19 per share on revenue of $35.3 billion, both largely in-line with analysts' estimates. Reporting by Eva Mathews and Samrhitha Arunasalam in Bengaluru Editing by Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Microsoft to invest more in OpenAI as tech race heats up
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Jeffrey Dastin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Recently touting a revolution in artificial intelligence (AI), Microsoft is building on a bet it made on OpenAI nearly four years ago, when it dedicated $1 billion for the startup co-founded by Elon Musk and investor Sam Altman. Microsoft in a blog post has now announced "the third phase" of its partnership "through a multiyear, multibillion dollar investment" including additional supercomputer development and cloud-computing support for OpenAI. Both companies will be able to commercialize the AI tech that results, the blog post said. Microsoft last week said it aimed to imbue such AI into all its products, as OpenAI continues to pursue the creation of human-like intelligence for machines. Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft warned of a recession and growing scrutiny of digital spend by customers in its layoff announcement.

☆ Spotify to trim 6% of workforce in latest tech layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 23 (Reuters) - Spotify Technology SA (SPOT.N) said on Monday it plans to cut 6% of its workforce and would take a related charge of up to nearly $50 million, adding to the massive layoffs in the technology sector in preparation for a possible recession. The tech industry is facing a demand downturn after two years of pandemic-powered growth during which it had hired aggressively. "I was too ambitious in investing ahead of our revenue growth," he added, echoing a sentiment voiced by other tech bosses in recent months. Reuters GraphicsSmall figurines are seen in front of displayed Spotify logo in this illustration taken February 11, 2022. Ostroff helped shape Spotify's podcast business and guided it through backlash around Joe Rogan's show for allegedly spreading misinformation about COVID-19.

☆ Spotify to cut 6% of jobs, content head to depart
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

That has led firms from Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) to Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) to shed thousands of jobs. "I was too ambitious in investing ahead of our revenue growth," he added, echoing a sentiment voiced by other tech bosses in recent months. It said Dawn Ostroff, the head of content and advertising, was leaving after an over four-year stint at the company. Ostroff helped shape Spotify's podcast business and guided it through backlash around Joe Rogan's show for allegedly spreading misinformation about COVID-19. The company said it is appointing Alex Norström, head of the freemium business, and research and development boss Gustav Söderström as co-presidents.

☆ Spotify to trim 6% of workforce
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 23 (Reuters) - Music streaming firm Spotify Technology SA (SPOT.N) plans to cut 6% of its workforce, the company said on Monday, a move that will add to a glut of layoffs in the technology sector as companies prepare for a possible recession. Tech companies are facing a demand downturn after two years of pandemic-driven growth during which they had hired aggressively. Spotify said it will incur about 35 million euros ($38.06 million) to 45 million euros in severance-related charges. Spotify had about 9,800 full-time employees, as of Sept. 30. ($1 = 0.9196 euros)Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Netflix's ability to churn out hits gives it an edge over rivals -analysts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

read moreAt least 18 brokerages raised their price targets on the stock as they cheered Netflix's 7.66 million subscribers additions that easily beat estimates of 4.57 million. "Content performance is underpinning all aspects of financial improvement and helps investors sleep better," Wells Fargo analysts said, adding that double-digit revenue growth could be achievable in the second half of the year. The company said it would roll out features this quarter to try and convert more password sharers to paying subscriber. But the company expects increased engagement and monetization after a short period of churn. Reporting by Aditya Soni, Tiyashi Datta and Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ T-Mobile says investigating data breach involving 37 mln accounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 19 (Reuters) - U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile (TMUS.O) said on Thursday it was investigating a data breach involving 37 million postpaid and prepaid accounts and that it expected to incur significant costs related to the incident. The company said it identified malicious activity on Jan. 5 and contained it within a day, adding that no sensitive data such as financial information was compromised. However, some basic customer information was obtained, such as name, billing address, email and phone number, T-Mobile said. T-Mobile has over 110 million subscribers, making it the third-largest wireless carrier in the United States. Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Amazon to lay off staff in U.S., Canada and Costa Rica by end of day
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 18 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) will cut some jobs in the United States, Canada and Costa Rica by the end of Wednesday as part of its plan to lay off 18,000 employees, the e-commerce giant said in a memo to staff seen by Reuters. The layoffs are the latest in the U.S. technology sector, with companies cutting their bloated workforce and slashing costs to reverse pandemic-era excesses and prepare for a worsening global economy. Amazon.com Chief Executive Andy Jassy said earlier this month the cuts, about 6% of the company's roughly 300,000 corporate employees, would mostly impact the e-commerce and human resources divisions. read moreMicrosoft (MSFT.O) said earlier on Wednesday it would cut about 10,000 jobs and take a $1.2-billion charge. read moreReporting by Tiyashi Datta and Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Stores say shoplifting is a national crisis. The numbers don’t back it up
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Videos of brazen shoplifting incidents, like this one posted to social media in 2021, have turned retail theft into a national issue. The metric incorporates inventory losses caused by external theft, including organized retail crime, employee theft, human errors, vendor fraud, damaged or mismarked items and other losses. Whatever the numbers say, though, retailers maintain that organized retail crime has gotten worse. Organized retail crime typically refers to large-scale retail theft and fraud by groups of professional shoplifters who conspire to steal and resell stolen merchandise. The NRF estimates that organized retail crime costs companies an average of just 7 cents for every $100 in sales.

☆ Disney says Peltz 'lacks skills' to help business as proxy battle heats up
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Peltz does not understand Disney's businesses and lacks the skills and experience to assist the board in delivering shareholder value in a rapidly shifting media ecosystem," Disney said. Peltz told CNBC on Thursday that Disney should either jettison the streaming business or buy the rest of rival streaming service Hulu. Disney also needs to boost capital expenditure at its parks business, where it probably raised ticket prices "too hard," he said then. In its statement on Tuesday, Disney said it was already working to improve profitability at the Disney+ streaming business that Iger helped launch in 2019 and was rolling out broader cost-cutting measures. Unless Peltz settles with Disney, investors will vote this year on whether he should sit on the company's board.

☆ Netflix set for slowest revenue growth as ad plan struggles to gain traction
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Eva Mathews | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Bing GuanJan 17 (Reuters) - Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) is expected to report its slowest quarterly revenue growth on Thursday as its ad-supported plan struggles to attract customers in the saturating U.S. market, which could pressure the company to pull back on content spending this year. "Given current interest rates, Netflix will have to be very selective about green-lighting content and how they would finance it." It returned to subscriber growth in the third quarter, but its stock, an investor favorite during its years of rapid growth, still ended the year with a drop of more than 50%. "As overall streaming growth flattens out, most of the more mature streaming platforms have leveled off as well," MoffettNathanson said, adding that Netflix's reach fell by 200 basis points in the quarter. Reuters GraphicsStill, some analysts believe that the ad-supported plan will pay off in the long run, especially in developing markets, where spending power is weaker.

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