DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Wrexham secures promotion in front of jubilant owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Aimee Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Racecourse Ground, Wrexham CNN —Wrexham fans are still singing, they will likely be singing into the night, serenading their famous owners in the process, because the wait for promotion is finally over. On a raucous evening at the Racecourse, and with Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney – the actors who have transformed the club since their 2021 takeover – in the stadium, Wrexham secured promotion to the Football League after a 15-year absence. Wrexham will next season compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league. New Wrexham fans, from Ohio, Los Angeles, Washington and Arizona, had come to Wales this week; some had tickets, some just wanted to be in the city to see for themselves what they had watched on TV. When Reynolds and McElhenney took ownership of the club in February 2021 few could have imagined the impact the pair would make.

☆ Opinion: Jonathan Majors case raises urgent questions
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Opinion Jill Filipovic | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

As someone who has spent her career writing about and reporting on women’s rights, including domestic violence, I see them as the exact opposite of exonerating. All acts of intimate partner violence are equally wrong, but they are not equally predictive of greater violence. As long as it’s an institution that emphasizes hypermasculinity and doesn’t fully accept women, it will be an institution where domestic violence remains a problem. And finally, we know that domestic violence victims often blame themselves. And these same sexist stereotypes infuse media coverage and public conversations about partner violence.

☆ Ant Group IPO is likely this year, venture capital firm says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | 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 EmailAnt Group IPO is likely this year, venture capital firm saysBen Harburg of MSA Capital says it is "critical for regulators to buoy the market" in China and make global investors feel confident.

☆ 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' smashes box office records with the biggest global opening for an animated film ever
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

"The Super Mario Bros. Movie" had the biggest opening for an animated film on record. The movie, based on Nintendo's video game, stars Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Jack Black. In the US the film took $31.7 million on Wednesday, $26 million on Thursday and a further $146.4 million Friday to Sunday. It's also the biggest opening of any film so far this year, beating "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Hollywood Reporter said "Super Mario" was set to be "the first all-audience blockbuster of 2023."

☆ Inside Disney it's 'Revenge of the Creatives' and 'Shields Up!' against outside foes as returned CEO Bob Iger is taking no prisoners
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Since returning as Disney CEO, Bob Iger has vanquished foes and dumped many of predecessor Bob Chapek's hires. But it's a supercharged Bob Iger who is really taking command. "If I'm inside Bob's head coming back, after the downfall of Bob Chapek, this is all about taking no prisoners," said Will Schutte, a high-level executive coach. Disney World is scheduled to host a major conference on gay rights in September, according to the Miami Herald. Even if he wants to be the Bob Iger of old he can't be.

HONG KONG, April 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Alibaba's (9988.HK) worth may be hiding in plain sight. The $260 billion Chinese group wants to split off faster-growing, money-losing bets like its cloud and logistics units. It accounted for 9% of Alibaba's top line in the nine months to December, nearly double five years ago. Zhang would do well to focus investor attention back onto Alibaba's commerce operations in China. That’s some 30% more than the company’s entire market value as of Wednesday.

The flow may be signalling a shift in sentiment among foreign investors who have been notably absent while China's markets and economy roared back to life after Beijing abruptly lifted its stringent zero-COVID policy in December. Alibaba's shares (9988.HK) are up more than 14% in the five days since the company's announcement and some 11.7 billion yuan ($1.7 billion) in foreign cash has flowed into China's markets. That's already more than the net 9.2 billion yuan in inflows in February and drove March flows to 35.4 billion yuan and the quarter's inflow to a record of 186 billion yuan. Premier Li Qiang assured foreign investors that China would unswervingly adhere to reform and opening up, expanding market access and optimising the business environment. Ernest Yeung, a portfolio manager at U.S. asset manager T. Rowe Price, anticipated "a gradual process of stabilisation" of private enterprises and the internet sector.

☆ Wall Street is bullish on Alibaba's overhaul with Morgan Stanley expecting the stock to double
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

This move has attracted positive sentiment from major Wall Street banks, with Morgan Stanley saying that this restructuring could lead to a 100% upside in Alibaba's share price. Alibaba shares closed 15% higher Wednesday in Hong Kong, after trading higher by a similar amount on the NYSE on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley said that Alibaba shares, listed in the U.S. as BABA , are trading at a significant discount to their sum-of-the-parts valuation, and the restructuring could unlock this value. Nearly all of the valuation comes out of Alibaba's massive e-commerce and retail operations, according to Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley analysts led by Gary Yu wrote in a note to clients on Mar.

☆ Alibaba's breakup lifts hopes China's regulatory winter is thawing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The move represented a light at the end of the tunnel for many investors who had seen a wave of regulatory blitzes as a major cloud hanging over China's private sector. Reuters GraphicsAlibaba said on Tuesday it would split into six units - Cloud Intelligence Group, Taobao Tmall Commerce Group, Local Services Group, Cainiao Smart Logistics Group, Global Digital Commerce Group and Digital Media and Entertainment Group. He was spotted on Monday in Hangzhou, home to Alibaba, just one day before the company announced the restructuring. Tencent Holdings Ltd (0700.HK), China's largest gaming company, saw shares rise as much as 5.1%. Alibaba's split may pave the way for other Chinese tech giants to undergo similar restructuring, CMC Markets analyst Tina Teng said.

☆ Alibaba's revamp puts renewed focus on Ant Group's suspended IPO
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

"I truly believe [Alibaba is] aiming for a bigger target," said Kingston Securities Executive Director Dickie Wong. "In terms of the bigger picture, obviously would be Ant Group [being] re-introduced into the equity market," he told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" on Wednesday. HANGZHOU, CHINA - OCTOBER 27: A logo of Ant Group is seen at the company's headquarters on October 27, 2020 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China. To be clear, there was no mention of Ant in Alibaba's announcement for its overhaul overnight. KraneShares' CIO Brendan Ahern said investors it's likely investors will be focusing Ant's IPO.

☆ Alibaba’s restructuring and Jack Ma’s homecoming are all part of China’s plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Ma is seen as a symbol of China’s tech industry and a barometer of the Chinese government’s support for private business. Alibaba’s restructuring is “part of [Beijing’s] strategy to shore up confidence in the private sector,” said Hong Hao, chief economist for Grow Investment Group. “[Alibaba’s restructuring plan] offers a way to limit monopoly power and platform sway,” Hong said. Unlocking valueInvestors and analysts have cheered Alibaba’s restructuring. Alibaba’s business will be split into six units: domestic e-commerce, international e-commerce, cloud computing, local services, logistics, and media and entertainment.

While Alibaba announced it would split its company as a move "designed to unlock shareholder value and foster market competitiveness," " Fast Money " traders aren't so sure about buying the stock. The Chinese tech giant announced Tuesday it would divide its company into six business groups. BABA 1D mountain Alibaba stock However, a couple of the "Fast Money" traders are hesitant as to whether the stock is now a good play. This is a wait-and-see moment," said Tim Seymour, founder and chief investment officer of Seymour Asset Management. She said that while sentiments with Chinese tech companies could potentially have bottomed out, she is unsure how the split will be executed.

☆ Syngenta IPO delay rekindles past China fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Syngenta’s bumpy relisting path in the People’s Republic brings back unpleasant investor memories. The Shanghai Stock Exchange had scheduled this week a hearing, one of the last steps before listing. The exchange’s rules vaguely mandate that any “major issue” affecting an IPO would justify the postponement. It’s unclear how long a drag this would cause, but Shenzhen VMAX New Energy had been on a similar boat: its IPO hearing was abruptly cancelled in January, only to be rescheduled two months later. Ant’s $37 billion Shanghai IPO was pulled in 2020 shortly before its shares were due to start trading.

HONG KONG, March 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - In the biblical parable of the prodigal son, a repentant wastrel returns home to a forgiving and beneficent father. In China, Alibaba (9988.HK) founder Jack Ma's homecoming and rehabilitation appears to be part of an official campaign to revive flagging private sector investment. However, if officials believe the mere sight of Ma in public will revive business confidence, that hope has a whiff of desperation. Ma the prodigal entrepreneur has returned, but perhaps not for long. Shares of Alibaba rallied as much as 4% in Hong Kong following the SCMP report before closing flat at HK$85.25 on March 27.

☆ Alibaba founder Jack Ma returns to China, ending year-long sojourn abroad -SCMP
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, March 27 (Reuters) - Alibaba (9988.HK) founder Jack Ma has returned to China, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on Monday, ending a more than year-long sojourn overseas that was viewed by industry as reflecting the sober mood of China's private businesses. Ma, one of China's best known entrepreneurs, left mainland China in late 2021 and has been seen in photographs in Japan, Australia and Thailand in the months since. Once one of the country's most outspoken businessmen, he retreated from the public limelight in late 2020 after criticising China's regulatory system that was later blamed for triggering a wide-ranging regulatory crackdown by Beijing. Alibaba shares in Hong Kong rose more than 4% after the SCMP report was published. It added that he returned to China after a brief stop in Hong Kong.

☆ Alibaba founder Jack Ma back in China after months abroad in sign Beijing may be warming to tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Alibaba founder Jack Ma has been seen in public in China after the first time in several months. The billionaire's reapprance may suggest Beijing is softening its stance toward the technology sector after an 18-month crackdown. Alibaba founder Jack Ma has been spotted in China after spending months abroad in a potential sign that Beijing is warming to technology giants again after a roughly 18-month crackdown on the sector. Ma has been traveling outside of China over the past few months and has been spotted in Spain, Japan and Thailand. "In so doing, the government intends to signal its warmth towards private sector and investors—if even Jack Ma is perceived as having been pardoned, everyone else should feel safe and welcome," Sun said.

Hong Kong/Beijing CNN —Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of Alibaba (BABA) and once one of China’s most prominent entrepreneurs, has made a rare public appearance in the country. Ma visited the city of Hangzhou and was seen meeting with students and teachers at the Alibaba-funded Yungu School. That intervention by regulators followed a speech from Ma in which he criticized China’s banks and financial regulators. In a statement to CNN about the trip, the Jack Ma Foundation said the Alibaba founder “travels very often in China and overseas.”“Mr. He paid a visit to Hangzhou Yungu School today and had a chat with teachers there on education,” a spokesperson said.

☆ Actor Jonathan Majors arrested in New York on assault charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, March 26 (Reuters) - The actor Jonathan Majors was arrested in New York City over the weekend on assault and harassment charges, leading to the U.S. Army pulling new advertisements featuring the "Creed III" star. A 30-year-old woman suffered minor injuries to her head and neck and was taken to a hospital in stable condition, the New York Police Department said. Majors, 33, appeared in court for an arraignment later on Saturday and was released without bail. Priya Chaudhry, Majors' defense lawyer, said in a statement that Majors was innocent and that he was "provably the victim of an altercation with a woman he knows." She said that the episode occurred in a vehicle, and that the driver who witnessed it would help exonerate Majors.

☆ Chinese search giant Baidu invests in RISC-V chip technology startup StarFive
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, March 23 (Reuters) - Shanghai-based RISC-V chip technology company StarFive said on Thursday that it has received a strategic investment from Chinese search giant Baidu Inc (9888.HK). The company added that to date it has raised 1 billion yuan ($146.46 million) in financing, calling that a first for the domestic RISC-V sector. In a statement, StarFive CEO Xu Tao said that StarFive would work with Baidu to implement RISC-V products in data centres. StarFive was established in 2018 as a China-facing offshoot of SiFive, a RISC-V instruction set architecture (ISA) chip design company based in California. Baidu's investment comes as enthusiasm for RISC-V rises within China's chip sector.

In a 31-page decision on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge George Daniels in Manhattan also dismissed all claims against the billionaire Ma, including for insider trading. Beijing announced an antitrust probe in Dec. 2020, and fined Alibaba $2.75 billion four months later for requiring "merchant exclusivity" to do business. Daniels said Alibaba shareholders lacked standing to sue over Ant, because the IPO did not happen and thus they never bought or sold Ant shares. He said they could sue Alibaba, Chief Executive Daniel Zhang and former Chief Financial Officer Maggie Wu over the antitrust compliance statements. The case is In re Alibaba Group Holding Ltd Securities Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

☆ Marvel Takes Google and Reddit to Court Over Leaked ‘Ant-Man’ Script
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Alyssa Lukpat | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,’ follows a superhero who gets trapped in a strange realm. Marvel Studios is demanding that Google and Reddit identify who may have leaked the script of “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” weeks before the movie premiered last month. A federal court in California this week granted Marvel’s request to subpoena Google and Reddit for information behind the leak, according to documents filed in California’s Northern District. Marvel said the leaks on Reddit and Google infringed on its copyrights.

☆ Disney CEO Bob Iger says it's time for 'newness' from Marvel movies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

After a fourth Thor movie and a third standalone Ant-Man film, even Disney CEO Bob Iger wants something new out Marvel. "Sequels typically worked well for us," Iger said during the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference on Thursday. "There's nothing in any way inherently off in terms of the Marvel brand," Iger said. Additionally, the amount of time between Disney+ Marvel series has grown. A new Marvel series has not debuted since the final episodes of "She-Hulk" launched in early October.

☆ China's State Council shakeup aims to counter rising US tech restrictions and financial risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“These proposed institutional changes reflect key focus areas of Chinese policymakers in the next few years, namely improving financial regulation coordination to enhance financial stability,” Goldman Sachs analysts said on Wednesday. Among the changes announced Tuesday during the annual gathering of the National People’s Congress, Beijing will set up a new powerful financial regulator: the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA). VCG/Getty ImagesA super regulatorChina’s financial system has traditionally been jointly overseen by the People’s Bank of China, the CBIRC and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). The new regulator is meant to “better manage risks” in the financial system and strengthen the supervision of “institutions, behaviors, and functions,” the government proposal said. The move comes as risks to the stability of China’s financial system are rising amid a housing market slump and economic slowdown.

☆ China to set up new financial regulator in sweeping reform
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The new financial regulator will replace the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) and bring supervision of the industry, excluding the securities sector, into a body directly under the State Council, or cabinet. The proposal for setting up the new regulator, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, was presented to China's parliament during its annual meeting on Tuesday. China's financial sector is overseen by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the CBIRC, and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), with the cabinet's Financial Stability and Development Committee having overall responsibility. The setting up of the new financial regulatory body comes as Beijing seeks to rein in large corporate and financial institutions that may bring systemic risks via regulatory arbitrage among multiple authorities. 'STRENGTHEN SUPERVISION'The new administration will "strengthen institutional supervision, supervision of behaviours and supervision of functions", according to the plan.

☆ This chronically online writer believes he gamed Twitter's For You algorithm. Here's how he made his tweets go viral.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Ryan Broderick noticed engagement on his tweets sharply dropped in recent months. There were a few things Broderick noticed about tweets on the For You page. Broderick also saw that Twitter's algorithm was prioritizing "already-viral" content, which he suspects might be the reason why everyone was seeing the same tweets. This Insider reporter saw Broderick's tweets about Marvel and his theory about Twitter's algorithm on the For You tab before following or interviewing Broderick. Broderick encourages the idea of other people using his method to try to game Twitter's algorithm and further highlight the problem.

Search resuls for: "ant"

25 mentions found