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The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Lauwin-Planque, northern France, February 20, 2017. The FTC said that it was asking the court to issue a permanent injunction ordering Amazon.com to stop its unlawful conduct. Other allegations include that Amazon gave preference to its own products on its platforms over competitors also on the platform. During the Trump administration which ended in 2021, the Justice Department and FTC opened probes into Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon. The FTC sued Facebook during the Trump administration and Biden's FTC has pressed forward with the lawsuit.

Persons: Pascal, Lina Khan, Khan, Trump, Republican Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Diane Bartz, Chris Sanders, Matthew Lewis, Nick Zieminski Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, Amazon.com, Amazon, Alphabet's, Google, Facebook, FTC, The Yale Law, Apple, Big Tech, Republicans, Justice Department, The, Republican, Democratic, Thomson Locations: Lauwin, France, Seattle

The Federal Trade Commission and 17 state attorney generals filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon on Tuesday, alleging the e-commerce behemoth uses its position in the marketplace to inflate prices on other platforms, overcharge sellers and stifle competition. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, is the result of a years-long investigation into Amazon’s businesses and one of the most significant legal challenges brought against the company in its nearly 30-year history. Many had wondered whether the agency would seek to a forced break-up of the retail giant, which is also dominant in cloud computing and has a growing presence in other sectors like groceries and health care. In a briefing with reporters, Khan dodged questions of whether that will happen. Political Cartoons View All 1182 Images“At this stage, the focus is more on liability," she said.

Persons: ”, Lina Khan, Khan Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, Amazon, Western, of Locations: U.S, of Washington

☆ Biden Joins U.A.W. Strike President Heads to Picket Line in Michigan to Court Autoworkers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Katie Rogers | Neal Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The high-profile contract fights have played out across the country, just as public opinion has been turning more in favor of organized labor. UPSThe union representing more than 325,000 UPS workers, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, spent months negotiating a new contract with the company. The workers’ key demands included better pay for part-time workers, whom the company relies on heavily during busy periods, and improved heat safety. The work stoppage has grown in scope since, with the union expanding its strike to include spare-parts distribution centers for G.M. has pointed to growth in profits and chief executive compensation in making its demands for improved compensation for its members.

Persons: they’ve, —, Shawn Fain Organizations: United Automobile Workers, SAG, Writers Guild of America, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Gallup, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Hollywood, Guild of America, UPS, United Auto Workers, U.S, — Ford, General Motors, Teamsters Locations: Hollywood, Staten

☆ Blue Origin: Longtime Amazon executive to take over Jeff Bezos’ rocket company
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Jeff Bezos’ space tourism and rocket company is replacing its chief executive officer with a longtime Amazon executive. The current Blue Origin CEO, Bob Smith — a former Honeywell executive who took over the role in 2017 — will step down and make way for Dave Limp, the senior vice president of devices and services at Amazon, a spokesperson for Blue Origin said in a statement Monday. In the statement, Blue Origin said that Limp is “a proven innovator with a customer-first mindset. Blue Origin has several other high-profile projects in the works. Blue Origin struggled to deliver the BE-4 engines, encountering months of delays.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, Bob Smith —, Dave Limp, Limp, Smith, ” Limp’s, Shepard, New Shepard, Glenn, Lockheed Martin, ULA, Artemis — Organizations: CNN, Amazon, Honeywell, Blue Origin, SpaceX, Vulcan, United Launch Alliance, Lockheed, Boeing, Blue, NASA, Origin

☆ OpenAI gives ChatGPT an update that allows it to hear, see, and speak like a human
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —You can now speak aloud to ChatGPT and hear the artificial intelligence-powered chatbot talk back. OpenAI, the startup behind the wildly-popular chatbot, announced Monday that it is rolling out new features including the ability to let users engage in a back-and-forth voice conversation with ChatGPT. The updates from OpenAI come amid an ongoing AI arms race within the tech sector, initially spurred by the public launch of ChatGPT late last year. Google last week announced a series of updates to its ChatGPT competitor Bard. Also last week, Amazon said it was bringing a generative AI-powered update to its Alexa voice assistant.

Persons: ChatGPT, OpenAI, Amazon’s Alexa, Siri, Larry, ”, Bard Organizations: CNN, Amazon’s, OpenAI, ChatGPT’s, Enterprise, Google

☆ Amazon to invest up to $4 billion in OpenAI rival startup Anthropic
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | 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 EmailAmazon to invest up to $4 billion in OpenAI rival startup AnthropicCNBC's Deirdre Bosa joins 'The Exchange' to report on Amazon’s aggressive AI push.

Persons: Deirdre Bosa

☆ Amazon invests up to $4 billion in Anthropic AI in exchange for minority stake and further AWS integration
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

As part of the deal, AWS will become the “primary” cloud provider for Anthropic, with the AI company using Amazon’s cloud platform to do “the majority” of its AI model development and research into AI safety, the companies said. That will include using Amazon’s suite of in-house AI chips. Anthropic also made a “long-term commitment” to offer its AI models to AWS customers, Amazon said, and promised to give AWS users early access to features such as the ability to adapt Anthropic models for specific use cases. Anthropic already offers its models to AWS users through Amazon Bedrock, Amazon’s one-stop shop for AI products. In a release, Anthropic said that Amazon’s minority stake would not change its corporate governance structure nor its commitments to developing AI responsibly.

Persons: Anthropic, ” Anthropic, Biden, OpenAI, Bing Organizations: CNN, Amazon Web Services, AWS, Amazon, AI21 Labs, Microsoft Locations: Anthropic, OpenAI

☆ Amazon’s New Challenge: Bargain Retailers That Are Playing a Different Game
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Sebastian Herrera | Shen Lu | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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Persons: Dow Jones

☆ Amazon’s New Challenge: Bargain Retailers Who Are Playing a Different Game
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Sebastian Herrera | Shen Lu | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ Amazon is bringing ads to Prime Video and will charge you to avoid them
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN —Amazon is joining other streaming services and inserting ads into its programming. Beginning next year, shows and movies on its Prime Video service will “include limited advertisements,” the company announced Friday. Prime Video, which is home to “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “Citadel,” is included in the $139 yearly Prime subscription. Streaming services are no long chasing subscribers, but rather investors are pressuring them to make money off the services, even if it comes at the expense of losing subscriptions. Hulu, in which Disney owns a majority stake, will also hike its monthly ad-free subscription $3 to $17.99.

Persons: Maisel Organizations: New, New York CNN, Netflix, Max, “ Citadel, Disney, Hulu, NBCUniversal Locations: New York, “, ”

☆ Surge of Migrants Put Strain on Texas City
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Amazon’s Next Big Hit Remains ElusiveFirst came online shopping, then Prime, followed by AWS. But when it comes to Amazon’s next big hit, the tech giant continues to fumble. WSJ reporter Sebastian Herrera joins host Zoe Thomas to discuss the company’s yearslong search for its “fourth pillar.” Illustration: Mitch Blunt

Persons: Amazon’s, Sebastian Herrera, Zoe Thomas, Mitch Blunt Organizations: AWS

☆ Amazon Alexa gets more human-like with generative AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Amazon’s Alexa is about to bring generative AI inside the house, as the company introduces sweeping changes to how its ubiquitous voice assistant both sounds and functions. The company announced a generative AI update for Alexa and, subsequently, of all Echo products dating back to 2014, at a press event Wednesday at its new campus in Arlington, Virginia. Generative AI refers to a type of artificial intelligence that can create new content, such as text and images, in response to user prompts. ‘Alexa, let’s chat’When Limp said “Alexa, let’s chat,” it launched a special mode that allowed for a back-and-forth exchange on various topics. Rowan Curran, an analyst at Forrester Research, said the news marks a major step forward in bringing generative AI to the home and allowing it to accomplish everyday tasks.

Persons: Alexa, Dave Limp, Limp, Rowan Curran, Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana, ChatGPT, “ We’re, ” Organizations: CNN, Alexa, Amazon, BMW, Forrester Research, Big Tech Locations: Arlington , Virginia

☆ Amazon devices unit morale wanes amid cuts, weak development pipeline
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Greg Bensinger | Thomson Reuters | Greg Bensinger Joined Reuters As A Technology Correspondent In Focusing On The World'S Largest Technology Companies. He Was Previously A Member Of The New York Times Editorial Board | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Amazon hopes consumers will install Alexa-enabled devices in more rooms of their homes and become accustomed to using the system throughout the day, the sources said. Amazon has said its devices and services business is not profitable, without providing figures. Amazon is set to name as successor Microsoft's Panos Panay who oversaw development of the Surface, according to Bloomberg. Alexa employees were included in rounds of layoffs beginning last year resulting in 27,000 job cuts across Amazon. For years, Amazon has said it can sell devices for close to production cost and see a profit through services offered on them.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, Dave Limp, Alexa, Kinley Pearsall, Amazon, hasn’t, “, ”, Avi Greengart, Limp, Microsoft's Panos Panay, Gregg Zehr, Tom Taylor, Ken Washington, Andy Jassy, Siri, That’s, Bruno Borges, I‘m, Greg Bensinger, Ken Li, Claudia Parsons Organizations: FRANCISCO, Reuters, Alexa, Amazon, Devices, Google, Microsoft, Echo, “, Bloomberg, Astro, Medtronic, Intelligence, Amazon.com, Lightform, Thomson Locations: Amazon’s, Lab126, Alphabet’s, Vancouver, Canada

☆ Jhumpa Lahiri and Me
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Vauhini Vara | More About Vauhini Vara | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Yet lately it has occurred to me that Lahiri came of age in circumstances very different from mine or Sathian’s. In an essay Lahiri later wrote about the state, she said that her family “didn’t fundamentally belong” there, recounting that her mother once received nine pieces of racist hate mail while working at the elementary school Lahiri had attended. By the 2000 census — the year Lahiri won her Pulitzer — the number of Indian immigrants in the United States had increased 20-fold since 1970. In my mid-20s, after that conversation with Jenny, I decided to write about Indian Americans again. I also started writing the stories that appear in my new collection, “This Is Salvaged,” featuring Indian Americans in multicultural communities.

Persons: Lahiri, forbearance, Jeff Bezos, Satya Nadella, Jenny, King Rao, ” Organizations: Indian, Microsoft Locations: Rhode, United States, Rhode Island, Saskatchewan, Canada, Seattle, Bellevue, Mall, American, Panamanian, India, —

☆ Deliveroo lacks tasty recipe for takeover call
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Deliveroo’s (ROO.L) valuation makes it a plausible takeover target, but Chief Executive Will Shu has a weak hand in negotiating any deal. Activist investor Sachem Head Capital Management has built a stake in the London-listed food delivery company, Bloomberg reported late on Wednesday. Share prices of Deliveroo rose nearly 5% on Thursday morning. That’s below the 1.5 times average of rivals Delivery Hero (DHER.DE), Just Eat Takeaway.com (TKWY.AS), HelloFresh (HFGG.DE) and DoorDash (DASH.N). Lastly, Delivery Hero and Amazon’s 5% and 12.5% stakes could complicate any deal.

Persons: Will Shu, LSEG, Uber, Karen Kwok, BoE, Neil Unmack, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Head Capital Management, Bloomberg, X, Treasury, Thomson Locations: London

☆ US retail spending picked up in August, mostly due to sales at gas stations
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Washington, DC CNN —US retail sales picked in August, boosted by higher gas prices, as spending on other items grew modestly. Retail sales, which are adjusted for seasonal swings but not inflation, rose 0.6% in August, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Excluding sales at gasoline stations, retail spending advanced a more modest 0.2% in August from July. Retail spending increased across most categories, including at restaurants and grocery stores. Online retail sales in August were flat, after jumping in July due to Amazon’s Prime Day promotional event.

Persons: That’s, It’s, “ Fitch, ”, David Silverman, Goldman Sachs, there’s, Lydia Boussour, “ Encouragingly, Boussour Organizations: DC CNN, Commerce Department, AAA, Federal Reserve, Fitch Locations: Washington, Libya, EY

☆ Amazon’s Makeover of Lord & Taylor Building Shows Challenge of Office Conversions
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Konrad Putzier | Photographs Thalia Juarez For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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Persons: Dow Jones

New York's 22-16 overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills was the most-watched Monday night game since ESPN took over the package in 2006. The Jets have five more prime-time appearances scheduled, but two can be subbed out due to the league's flexible schedule rules. Those are the Nov. 12 "Sunday Night Football” game at Las Vegas on NBC and the Dec. 28 “Thursday Night Football” game at Cleveland on Amazon Prime Video. NBC can't begin to flex Sunday night games until Week 5, meaning the Jets' Oct. 1 game against Kansas City will not be moved. The “Monday Night Football” flex option begins in Week 12, three weeks after the Jets host the Los Angeles Chargers on Nov. 6.

Persons: Aaron Rodgers, Rodgers ’, Rodgers, Brett Favre’s, Russell Wilson’s, Zach Wilson, “ We’ve, ”, Hans Schroeder, “, Brock Purdy, Tom, Brady, Drew, Bledsoe, Video's, Marie Donoghue, Weeks, ” Schroeder, ___ Organizations: New York Jets, Jets, ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, New, Buffalo Bills, Lambeau, Minnesota, Russell Wilson’s Denver, Seattle, Las Vegas, NBC, Cleveland, Amazon Prime, NFL Media, Kansas City, Los Angeles Chargers, Miami, Dallas, CBS Locations: Green, New England, New York

☆ Tesla shares jump after Morgan Stanley predicts Dojo supercomputer could drive
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Tesla’s Dojo supercomputer could fuel a $500 billion jump in the electric vehicle maker’s market value, analysts at Morgan Stanley said in a note Monday. Shares of Tesla jumped more than 6% during early trading Monday morning, on the heels of the rosy prediction from Morgan Stanley’s team about the automaker’s supercomputing efforts. The Morgan Stanley team, lead by longtime Tesla analyst Adam Jonas, predicted that the massive drive in value could come from Dojo potentially unlocking new revenue streams through the wider adoption of robotaxis and software services. The analysts compared the potential of Dojo at Tesla to the “same forces that have driven” Amazon Web Services to propel Amazon’s profitability to new heights. The world’s most valuable carmaker had a market cap of some $788.74 billion as of the market close on Friday.

Persons: New York CNN —, Morgan Stanley, Tesla, Morgan Stanley’s, Adam Jonas Organizations: New, New York CNN, supercomputing, Tesla, Services, Investors, Dojo Locations: New York

☆ Nielsen Won’t Incorporate Amazon’s Data on ‘Thursday Night Football’ Viewership
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Joe Flint | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Persons: Dow Jones, nielsen

☆ NFL viewing schedule 2023: It'll be more confusing than ever
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The NFL season kicks off Thursday night with the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Detroit Lions on NBC and its Peacock app. Long gone are the days when NFL games were shown on one or two networks. They are showing more NFL games on streaming platforms, including games exclusively, to try to entice people to sign up. “The NFL is the biggest driver of network ratings and advertising dollars during the fall TV season,” the analysts said. ESPN will air “Monday Night Football” games on ESPN and ESPN+.

Persons: New York CNN —, Long, ABC —, MoffettNathanson, “, Fox, Roger Goodell Organizations: New, New York CNN, National Football League, NFL, Super Bowl, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, NBC, Fox, CBS, ESPN, ABC, YouTube, Paramount, Disney, Comcast, Amazon, Football, NBC’s, National Football Conference, American Football Conference, Nickelodeon, Amazon Prime, Google, DirecTV, “ Locations: New York

☆ Factbox: How the EU's Digital Markets Act challenges Big Tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Martin Coulter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

On Wednesday, the EU Commission designated 22 services of the major tech companies as "gatekeepers" of online services. That means they will be required to make their messaging apps inter-operate with rivals and let users decide which apps to pre-install on their devices. APP STORES:Apple and Google will be forced to provide space for third-party app stores on their respective iOS and Android devices. For example, they may offer users a “choice screen” with a range of options upon setting up their device. MESSAGING:Under the DMA’s new interoperability rules, gatekeepers’ messaging apps will no longer be siloed off from others.

Persons: ByteDance, Ben Wood, Apple’s, Martin Coulter, William Maclean Organizations: New, Union, Big Tech, Markets, EU Commission, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Meta, Insight, Reuters, EU, Facebook, Thomson

But it was justified in Musk’s mind because of his conviction that Twitter’s management had misled him. At 4:12 p.m. Pacific time, once they had confirmation that the money had transferred, Musk pulled the trigger to close the deal. But when his Twitter email was cut off, it took him a few minutes to get the document into a Gmail message. Hybrid work is winningChief executives aren’t letting up on their push to get workers back to the office. And even Zoom, a symbol of remote work, has ordered some of its employees to work in the office.

Persons: Twitter Elon Musk’s, Wall, Walter Isaacson, Isaacson, “, ”, Musk, Agrawal, Andy Jassy, Amazon’s, “ It’s, Organizations: Elon, Twitter Elon, Twitter, Wall Street, Mr, Meta, Labor Locations: ”

☆ The Fed’s preferred inflation measure stayed high in July — and consumers are continuing to spend
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Minneapolis CNN —US inflation may have remained elevated in July, but consumers just wanted to have some fun. It’s the strongest monthly spending gain since January; however, underlying data indicates this type of activity may be on borrowed time. The Personal Consumption Expenditures index showed that prices increased 0.2% on a monthly basis and 3.3% annually. Economists were expecting monthly increases of 0.2% for the headline and core indexes and 3.3% and 4.2%, respectively, for the annual numbers. Even when adjusted for inflation, spending surged in July, rising by 0.6% from the month before.

Persons: ” Eugenio Alemán, Raymond James, “, ” Gregory Daco, EY, Jerome Powell, ” Powell, Wells, Shannon Seery, Wells Fargo, ” Seery, ” Daco, Powell, Jackson, ” Organizations: Minneapolis CNN, New Commerce Department, Federal, Commerce Department, Amazon’s, PCE, CNN, “, of Labor Statistics Locations: Minneapolis, Jackson Hole , Wyoming

☆ Shopify says merchants can use Amazon's 'Buy with Prime' option
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Lauwin-Planque, northern France, January 5, 2023. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol Acquire Licensing RightsAug 30 (Reuters) - Canada's Shopify (SHOP.TO) said on Wednesday Amazon (AMZN.O) will release an app in Shopify's app ecosystem that will give US-based merchants access to Amazon's "Buy with Prime" option. "Soon, Shopify merchants who also use Amazon’s fulfillment network will have the option to add the Buy with Prime app from our app ecosystem directly into Shopify Checkout, processed by Shopify Payments," the company said. The company said the new app would enable Shopify merchants to give Prime members access to Prime benefits like fast and free delivery outside of Amazon.com for the first time ever. Merchants and businesses have been turning to Shopify, which offers tools to create and manage online store-fronts, as retail spending picks up on signs of stabilizing macroeconomic conditions.

Persons: Pascal Rossignol, Granth, Shailesh Organizations: REUTERS, Shopify, Merchants, Thomson Locations: Lauwin, France, Bengaluru

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