Shamayita Acharya

TAIPEI (Reuters) -TSMC said on Thursday it plans to invest $100 billion over the next three to increase capacity at its chipmaking plants, days after Intel Corp announced a $20 billion plan to expand its advanced chip manufacturing capacity. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd is the world's largest contract chip manufacturer with clients including Apple Inc and Qualcomm Inc. "We are entering a period of higher growth as the multiyear megatrends of 5G and high-performance computing are expected to fuel strong demand for our semiconductor technologies in the next several years," the company said in a statement to Reuters. "In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic also accelerates digitalization in every aspect," it said. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard;Editing by Shri Navaratnam) ... Read More on Datafloq

By Heekyong Yang SEOUL (Reuters) -The U.S. trade watchdog cleared South Korean battery company SK Innovation Co Ltd of violating rival LG Energy Solution's patents in a preliminary ruling, sending SK shares surging 15% on Thursday. The initial determination by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) marks the first time LG Energy Solution has received a negative determination from the trade panel for one of its several legal disputes with SK in the United States. "The ITC's decision is regrettable, but we respect its decision," the wholly-owned battery division of LG Chem said in a statement. The company, whose clients include Tesla Inc, General Motors Co and Hyundai Motor Co, had filed a claim citing four patent infringements to the ITC in 2019. SK Innovation said it "fully expected" the ITC's preliminary ... Read More on Datafloq

By Douglas Busvine BERLIN (Reuters) - Celonis, a fast-growing German process mining software startup, has struck a strategic partnership with IBM to help companies make the most of the digital transformation that many are undergoing at speed. IBM's Global Business Services consulting arm will weave the Celonis Execution Management System into its offering, adding the ability to analyse data thrown off by processes like supply-chain management, finance or procurement to identify weaknesses and recommend fixes. Celonis will also shift its software stack to IBM's Red Hat OpenShift platform, which enables companies to operate in an open 'hybrid' setting that can include public or private cloud data centres, on-premise servers and mainframe computers. That represents a big step for the Munich startup, which last raised funds https://ift.tt/2D0VT0y from investors at a ... Read More on Datafloq

The world is firmly moving ahead on the path of technology and digitalization. The ever-expanding reach of technology has meant an impact not just on our personal lives but our professional lives too. Getting used to this technology and working with it is essential for HR professionals so that they can reap the benefits of technology and not be left behind by their peers in the field.With most people being online these days, there is the need for those with non-technical skills to keep upgrading themselves and ultimately create an online presence through social networking and online shopping. Every sphere of life requires professionals to adapt fast to technological advancements, and HR also must boost its skill in technology.How has the search for new workforce members changed?There have been dramatic changes in the process of sourcing the workforce. The process is no more quite as simple as posting a job, receiving candidate resumes, and conducting interviews. Responsibilities are no

(Reuters) - Robinhood Markets Inc will discard its signature confetti animation that used to mark first trades for users on its trading app, following criticism from politicians and regulators. Starting next week, users will see new features marking milestone moments, including first-time money deposits, first investments or for sign-ups for Robinhood Gold, its premium membership offering, the online brokerage said in a blog post on Wednesday. The move comes weeks after Robinhood's digital confetti animation was criticized on the grounds that the company was "gamifying" investing. The Silicon Valley unicorn startup, which was at the heart of the historic retail trading frenzy earlier this year, is currently being probed by U.S. regulators for imposing temporary trading curbs on so-called "meme stocks". During a congressional hearing in February, ... Read More on Datafloq

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Softbank Corp said its newly-appointed Chief Executive Junichi Miyakawa was buying 20 billion yen $180.55 million) worth of the company's shares. SoftBank will provide financing to Miyakawa for the share purchases, it said in a statement. (Reporting by Tokyo Newsroom; Editing by Kim Coghill) ... Read More on Datafloq

By Tiyashi Datta and Stephen Nellis (Reuters) - Micron Technology Inc on Wednesday forecast fiscal third-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates due to a rise in demand for memory chips thanks to 5G smartphones and artificial intelligence software that is pushing memory chip prices upward. The Boise, Idaho-based company, which makes NAND memory chips that serve the data storage market as well as DRAM chips that are widely used in laptops and other computing devices, benefited from the coronavirus pandemic as a global shift to remote work boosted chip demand. Shares were up 2.9% after hours. On top of that, a global chip shortage has spurred buyers such as personal computer makers to begin snapping up supplies, sending memory chip prices upward. Analyst firm Trendforce said prices for DRAM rose between 3% and 8% in the first calendar quarter and predicts prices will ... Read More on Datafloq

By Elizabeth Culliford (Reuters) - Facebook Inc has removed a video of an interview with former U.S. President Donald Trump, who remains banned from the platform, from his daughter-in-law Lara Trump's Facebook page, a company spokeswoman said on Wednesday. Lara Trump, who is married to the former president's son Eric and recently joined Fox News as a contributor, had promoted an interview with Trump for her own online show "The Right View" in Instagram posts on Tuesday. She later posted a screenshot of an email from Facebook that said her video with Trump speaking had been removed, citing the ban on his accounts. Trump was suspended from Facebook and Facebook-owned Instagram indefinitely over incitement of violence following the Jan. 6 riot by Trump supporters at the U.S. Capitol ... Read More on Datafloq

By Raphael Satter WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Wednesday that dealing with ransomware will be a top priority, highlighting the growing threat of the data-scrambling software. Ransomware - which effectively holds files and networks hostage unless a payment is made - has steadily climbed to the top of America's security agenda as the criminals behind it become increasingly well-resourced. Speaking via a webcast, Mayorkas said that ransomware was "a particularly egregious type of malicious cyber activity" and listed it as the first of several top priorities that his department would tackle in the online sphere. Many ransomware operators work out of jurisdictions with a lax attitude to cybercrime, and Mayorkas said he would seek to hold accountable "governments that do not use the full extent of ... Read More on Datafloq

GDANSK (Reuters) - Shares in Polish video games maker CD Projekt dropped almost 15% to a two-year low on Wednesday after a strategy update aimed at rebuilding investor confidence after a bug-ridden game launch last year backfired. Analysts said the update gave few details on plans beyond 2021, and some were disappointed by changes to the proposed multiplayer version of its flagship Cyberpunk 2077 game. CD Projekt shares, hit by the botched launch of Cyberpunk 2077 last year, were down 14.7% to 185.8 zlotys at 1220 GMT. The company's market value has more than halved since December and now stands at around 20 billion zlotys ($5 billion). CD Projekt said late Tuesday it planned to transform its studio and change the way it develops new products so it can start producing high-budget games in parallel from 2022, while also seeking ... Read More on Datafloq

By Abhirup Roy MUMBAI (Reuters) -An Indian court on Wednesday granted no relief to China's ByteDance, owner of the TikTok video app, in a case where the company challenged the local tax authority's decision to block its Indian bank accounts, dealing a blow to its operations. Indian authorities in mid-March blocked ByteDance's bank accounts for alleged tax evasion, prompting the company to ask a court to quash the directive which it feared would hurt its operations. A two-judge bench at the High Court in Mumbai city heard the plea of a ByteDance counsel who said the company was "bleeding" and needed funds to pay staff salaries and rent, but the court gave no relief. "I’m completely hanged. I need some oxygen to survive. All bank accounts are frozen. I have to pay ... Read More on Datafloq

(Reuters) - A recent fire at a Japanese semiconductor factory and severe weather in parts of the United States in February have exacerbated an ongoing chip shortage plaguing the global auto industry, data firm IHS Markit said on Wednesday. IHS said it now expects disruptions to the production of nearly 1.3 million global light vehicles, up from a prior forecast of 1 million in the first quarter. A chip-making factory owned by Renesas Electronics Corp, which accounts for 30% of the global market for microcontroller units used in cars, was hit by fire earlier this month. The company said on Tuesday it would take at least 100 days for production to normalize at the plant in northeast Japan. IHS Markit also said vehicle output would be affected by unseasonably cold weather that gripped the southwestern parts of the United States last month, with ... Read More on Datafloq

By Stephen Nellis (Reuters) - Apple Inc said Wednesday that it will build a battery-based renewable energy storage facility in Central California near a solar energy installation that already provides energy for all of its facilities in the state. Apple said the project will store 240 megawatt-hours of energy, or enough to power more than 7,000 homes for one day. It is located next to the California Flats solar installation in southeastern Monterey County, about 100 miles southeast of Apple's Cupertino, California headquarters. The site sends 130-megawatts of electricity directly to Apple's California facilities during daylight hours but does not provide power during dark hours. Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives, told Reuters in an interview the company intends to develop what it believes will be one of the largest battery-based storage systems in the United States. ... Read More on Datafloq

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc will let users customize their feed and give them control over who can comment on their public posts, the social media giant said on Wednesday. The company will also offer a Feed Filter Bar that would allow users to switch between algorithmic ranking of their feed or show content in the order it was posted. The changes come as the world's largest social network has been under fire for amplifying hate speech and misinformation globally across its platforms. Users can manage the comments for any public post by choosing from options such as anyone who can view the post can comment or only people and pages they tag, Facebook said https://ift.tt/3u6hVrl in a blog post. Separately, Nick Clegg, vice president of Global Affairs at ... Read More on Datafloq

You’ve undoubtedly heard the words “project management” and “workflow management” used, perhaps interchangeably, but having a strong sense of what each of them will bolster your team’s ability to effectively plan and execute both daily assignments and big projects with clarity.The easiest way to understand the differences from Project and Workflow Management is to parse the What and When from the How.What is Project Management?Project Management is the plan that has been laid forth to achieve a goal. Project Management defines the definitive timelines for when clusters of tasks need to be achieved in order to complete the entirety of the project’s tasks on schedule.In this way, Project Management types define the What and When of a group of tasks that constitutes a project. Project Management deals with a clear beginning, middle, and end of the project.The goal of project management is to assess and measure the tasks within its scope to ensure that the end goal can be reached. A projec

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has found applications in almost every area of business and improving website performance is no exception.Using the right AI tools, you can improve your website’s user experience, site navigation, conversion rates, and so much more.But, exactly where should you start?That’s what you will learn in this post: the applications of AI for SEO and website optimization. We will discuss four areas where AI can help improve your website’s performance. You can start applying AI for these and then explore more.4 Areas Where AI Can Improve Website PerformanceAI has numerous applications in the field of website design and performance improvement. For this post, we will cover the four most important aspects of a website where AI can help.Curious to know more?Let’s get started.1. Analytics  The biggest use of artificial intelligence for improving website performance comes from its analytical capabilities. Using AI for website analytics can help you gather valuable insigh

By Sankalp Phartiyal and Aditi Shah NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India is offering more than $1 billion in cash to each semiconductor company that sets up manufacturing units in the country as it seeks to build on its smartphone assembly industry and strengthen its electronics supply chain, two officials said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' drive has helped to turn India into the world's second-biggest mobile manufacturer after China. New Delhi believes it is time for chip companies to set up in the country. "The government will give cash incentives of more than $1 billion to each company which will set up chip fabrication units," a senior government official told Reuters, declining to be named as he was not authorised to speak with media. "We're assuring them that ... Read More on Datafloq

By Yingzhi Yang and Julie Zhu BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) - ByteDance is in talks about a possible offshore listing of its short video app Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, in New York or Hong Kong, two people familiar with the matter said. The TikTok owner's exploration of an initial public offering (IPO) of Douyin in New York has emerged recently, according to the people. ByteDance earlier considered a standalone IPO for Douyin in Hong Kong, Reuters reported in October. The company had also been considering listing some of its Chinese businesses including news aggregator Toutiao in Hong Kong or on Shanghai's STAR market. Beijing-based ByteDance was one of the candidates that Chinese regulators courted for years for a potential stock market debut on Nasdaq-style STAR Market, separate sources ... Read More on Datafloq

By Josh Horwitz SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Smartphone maker Xiaomi has joined a rush of Chinese tech companies venturing into the semiconductor sector, announcing on Wednesday a new chip to help smartphone cameras process images. Xiaomi's Surge C1 chip was developed after an earlier unsuccessful attempt at producing a smartphone processor and comes as Chinese internet giants, automakers, and even home appliance firms invest heavily in semiconductor research and development. While all remain in the early stages, their drive dovetails with Chinese government policy to boost the domestic semiconductor sector as demand for chips soars. The initiative has become ever-more critical, with a global chip shortage crimping supplies and U.S. sanctions hobbling Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, once China's top smartphone maker and for a time the only company capable of ... Read More on Datafloq

By Abhinav Ramnarayan and Julien Ponthus LONDON (Reuters) -Shares in Deliveroo plunged by as much as 30% in their trading debut on Wednesday, slicing more than 2 billion pounds off the company's valuation in a blow to the food delivery group and the London market for initial public offerings (IPO). The highly-anticipated listing, the biggest in the London market in a decade, had been hailed by British finance minister Rishi Sunak as a "true British tech success story" that could clear the way for more IPOs by fast-growing technology companies. But the debut had already been overshadowed as some of Britain's biggest investment companies shunned the listing, citing concerns about gig-economy working conditions and the share structure. The 390 pence price tag gave an overall valuation of 7.6 billion pounds ($10.46 billion) and ... Read More on Datafloq

By Paresh Dave (Reuters) - Oracle Corp announced on Wednesday it will migrate companies' most complicated computer programs to its cloud for free as it tries to catch a new wave of potential cloud-computing clients by aiming to save them time and money. The pandemic prompted many businesses and governments to shift from in-house digital storage and computing to leased cloud servers from Amazon.com Inc's Web Services and other providers. A laggard in the cloud industry, Oracle is counting on its free support to persuade organizations that have not made a switch - or done so only partially - to opt for a move to its infrastructure. More than 100 customers have taken advantage of what Oracle is calling its Cloud Lift Services over the last six months, and the ... Read More on Datafloq

(Reuters) - French consulting and IT services provider Capgemini raised its mid-term margin targets on Wednesday, citing the rapidly expanding use of cloud solutions and artificial intelligence across industries. In a statement released ahead of its capital markets day later on Wednesday, the Paris-based group said it expects an operating margin of 14% by 2025 compared to the guidance for a range of 12.5%-13.0% it first announced in 2015 and reiterated over the years. The company's revenue should increase by an average of 7%-9% each year until 2025, it said. (Reporting by Kate Entringer and Zuzanna Szymanska in Gdansk; Editing by Kim Coghill) ... Read More on Datafloq

TOKYO (Reuters) - Fujifilm Holdings Corp said on Wednesday that Shigetaka Komori, who oversaw the company's transition from film business to healthcare, would step down as chairman and chief executive in June. Komori, 81, will take a new role as chief adviser while Teiichi Goto becomes CEO and Kenji Sukeno the chairman. The transitions are subject to approval by shareholders, Fujifilm said in a release. Komori is credited with helping Fujifilm transform its business and survive the collapse of the film industry that drove its main rival Eastman Kodak Co into bankruptcy. Fujifilm's push into healthcare has become all the more apparent amid the pandemic, as its antiviral drug Avigan is being studied as a COVID-19 treatment. The company has invested heavily in Europe and the United States to ... Read More on Datafloq

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Hitachi Ltd plans to buy U.S. software company GlobalLogic for $9.6 billion, the Nikkei business daily reported on Wednesday. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Kim Coghill) ... Read More on Datafloq

By Paresh Dave (Reuters) - Two advocacy groups on Wednesday called on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate whether apps that Google's Play Store labels as "Teacher approved" are unlawfully collecting personal data without parental consent to target ads at children. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) and the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD), which have helped spur FTC action before, cited among other evidence reports from three separate research groups since last June that concluded Play Store apps aimed at children quietly transmitted data about individual users to other companies. Alphabet Inc's Google said in response to Wednesday's complaint that its app store is "committed to providing a positive and safe environment for children and families" and that it "will continue to make the protection of children on our platform a priority." ... Read More on Datafloq

By David Randall NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cathie Wood failed to repeat her stellar 2020 performance with ARK Invest funds in the first quarter, but the celebrity fund manager still managed to attract a steady pile of cash into her red-hot funds. Wood outperformed every other actively managed equity mutual or exchange-traded fund manager last year, according to Morningstar, helping propel the firm's assets under management of its flagship ARK Innovation fund from $1.86 billion at the end of 2019 to nearly $22 billion as of March, according to Lipper data.     But for the first quarter her flagship fund is down 10.7% through March 29, ranking in the worst 1 percentile of the 601 U.S. mid-cap growth funds, according to Morningstar data https://ift.tt/39wNRx0. Over a five-year period, its annualized gain is 44.6%. ... Read More on Datafloq

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr on Tuesday called for new steps to ensure Huawei Technologies and ZTE equipment is barred from U.S. telecommunications networks and ensure no electronic devices produced with forced labor enter the United States. The FCC last year adopted rules requiring U.S. telecom carriers to remove and replace equipment produced by Huawei or ZTE if purchased using an $8.3 billion government fund, but carriers could still purchase equipment from the Chinese companies with private funds. Carr, a Republican, called for closing the "glaring loophole ... It makes no sense to allow that exact same equipment to get purchased and inserted into our communication network as long as federal dollars are not involved." Huawei said in a statement that "extending the ... Read More on Datafloq

By Stephen Nellis (Reuters) - Arm Ltd, the British technology firm whose chip technology powers most of the world's smartphones, on Tuesday released a new generation of technology aimed at taking over data centers and artificial intelligence applications ahead of its planned $40 billion merger with Nvidia Corp. Arm released a new version of what is called its instruction set architecture, the most fundamental recipe for a chip that defines what kind software it can run. Arm makes major updates to the architecture only about once a decade, and its major rival is Intel Corp, which supplies the so-called x86 architecture that powers most of today's laptops and data center servers and underlies chips from both Intel and Advanced Micro Devices. The new architecture, which Arm calls "V9," aims to counter Intel in two areas: Security and artificial intelligence. One of the major ... Read More on Datafloq

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawyers for Alphabet's Google and the government tangled on Tuesday over how many documents related to the Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit against the search and advertising giant should be turned over, and how fast. In a status conference before Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the Justice Department's Kenneth Dintzer said Google had balked at delivering some older documents, dating to the early 2000s. He also said that third parties, which could include Microsoft and Apple, had delayed responding to government subpoenas until they got a subpoena from Google - which slowed that process down. "Broadly speaking, it's going slowly," he said. For Google's part, John Schmidtlein, who argued for the company, said they would send some subpoenas to third parties this week and next. ... Read More on Datafloq

By Paresh Dave (Reuters) -Four Republican U.S. lawmakers requested on Tuesday that Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google turn over any studies they have done on how their services affect children's mental health. The request follows a joint hearing last week of two House Energy and Commerce subcommittees at which the companies' chief executives discussed their content moderation practices in the wake of the siege on the Capitol in January. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the committee's ranking Republican, had asked the CEOs at the hearing whether their companies had conducted internal research concerning children's mental health. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg said he believed the company had, while Twitter's Jack Dorsey said he did not believe so. Google's Sundar Pichai said the company consulted with outside experts and invested "a lot of time and ... Read More on Datafloq

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Cisco Systems Inc on Tuesday announced new products to help mobile network operators manage increased data traffic generated by homeworking because of the pandemic and as the 5G rollout connects billions more devices to the internet. Remote healthcare services, streaming video and gaming and homeworking have led to a 25%-45% increase in internet traffic in many regions across the globe since the COVID-19 pandemic, Cisco said. And 5G will mean billions more internet-connected devices. Cisco says it expects nearly 30 billion connected devices in 2023, compared with 18.4 billion in 2018. It is proposing an approach to designing the network, open to all systems, and says its new routing gear will help telecom operators to build up high-capacity networks at reduced cost. ... Read More on Datafloq

By Stephen Nellis (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said on Tuesday that it aims to place 50,000 people in jobs that require technology skills as part of a broader push being undertaken with its professional networking website LinkedIn to help workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic move into new fields. The jobs will be in what Microsoft calls its "ecosystem" of companies that use or help sell its products. The effort started last year as pandemic-related business closures hit service workers much harder than technology workers and other white-collar employees who could work from home. LinkedIn made free many of its paid digital skills training courses, covering topics such as software development, data analysis and financial analysis. LinkedIn said it will extend the free courses until the end of this ... Read More on Datafloq

WARSAW (Reuters) -Poland's CD Projekt will actively look for merger and acquisition targets in its bid to become one of the top three video game makers in the world, it said on Tuesday. The maker of Cyberpunk 2077, one of the most anticipated and derided games of 2020, also announced plans to transform its studio and change the way it develops new products, so that it can start its next high-budget AAA games production in 2022. "We are focused on large-scale transformation," Michal Nowakowski, CD Projekt board member told a conference call. The company also said it plans free downloadable content (DLC) for Cyberpunk, which was highly expected by investors and players, who also had expected the Polish studio to present a plan to fix the game, which was bug-ridden when it was released in December. ... Read More on Datafloq

By Elizabeth Culliford NEW YORK (Reuters) - Spotify Inc said on Tuesday it has purchased Betty Labs, the company behind sports-focused social audio app Locker Room, to accelerate its move into live audio. New voice-based platforms, including invite-only social app Clubhouse, have seen rapid growth in recent months during the COVID-19 pandemic. Locker Room, launched in October 2020, became a popular spot for sports fans to chat and hold watch parties. The music-streaming service said in the coming months it would "evolve and expand" Locker Room to offer sports, music, and cultural programming as well as live discussions with professional athletes, musicians and other personalities. "Creators and fans have been asking for live formats on Spotify, and we're excited that soon, we'll make them available to hundreds of millions ... Read More on Datafloq

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's video games maker CD Projekt said every patch to its flagship game Cyberpunk 2077 brings the product closer back to Sony's PlayStation, the company's board member said on Tuesday. Sony Corp pulled Cyberpunk 2077 from its PlayStation Store only a week after the game's debut amid complaints of glitches. "We have published several patches, we have published a really big one yesterday ...every one of them brings us closer to going back to that store. The final decision belongs to Sony store... so lets wait and see," board member Michal Nowakowski told a conference call following the company's awaited strategy update. (Reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko and Anna Pruchnicka; Editing by Chris Reese) ... Read More on Datafloq

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp has formally entered the automotive industry with a new smart electric vehicle (EV) business, the company announced on Tuesday in a filing. The firm will initially invest 10 billion yuan ($1.52 billion) in the wholly-owned subsidiary, with a total investment goal of $10 billion over the next ten years. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun will also serve as CEO of the smart electric vehicle unit, the company added. ($1 = 6.5647 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Josh Horwitz, editing by Louise Heavens, Kirsten Donovan) ... Read More on Datafloq

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co said on Tuesday it plans to temporarily suspend production at its Ulsan No.1 plant in South Korea due to chip and component supply issues from April 7-14. "We are closely monitoring the situation to take prompt and necessary measures and optimize production in line with the supply conditions," Hyundai said in a statement. The South Korean automaker said in a statement that the supply issues involve front view camera systems for Kona sport utility vehicle (SUV) and power electric modules for the IONIQ 5. The factory produces 311,000 vehicles annually, including the Kona SUV and Ioniq 5. Hyundai was until recently one of the automakers least affected by the chip shortage, largely because it maintained a large stockpile of chips ... Read More on Datafloq

TOKYO (Reuters) - Lexus, a luxury auto brand owned by Toyota Motor Corp, said on Tuesday it plans to introduce 20 new or improved models by 2025, of which more than 10 will be electric. Electrified models such as battery electric vehicles (BEV), plug-in hybrids and hybrid electric cars will be introduced, the company said in a statement. Lexus also unveiled a BEV concept car, the "LF-Z Electrified", which will include features such as a new four-wheel driving force control technology. Two new models will be launched this year, Lexus International President Koji Sato said at an online press conference on Tuesday. He also said Lexus would open a business and technical centre in March 2024 within the Toyota Technical Center Shimoyama in Japan's Aichi Prefecture. ... Read More on Datafloq

(Reuters) - Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said in a tweet on Tuesday the near-term cell supply shortage makes it difficult to scale the production of Tesla Semi commercial truck. (Reporting by Akanksha Rana in Bengaluru) ... Read More on Datafloq

By Abhinav Ramnarayan and Paul Sandle LONDON (Reuters) -When food delivery firm Deliveroo joins the London stock market on Wednesday, it will be Britain's biggest listing in a decade, even though some of the country's leading investors - worth over $1 trillion between them - will be conspicuous by their absence. British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak has hailed the company's decision to go public in London as a "true British tech success story," and said he hopes it will set the stage for more listings by fast-growing technology companies. But strong demand for the IPO - it was fully subscribed within hours of the order book being opened - has been overshadowed by complaints over its share structure, questions about potential legal problems for its gig-economy business model and the threat of strike action from some of its workers. ... Read More on Datafloq

By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing the Finnish telecommunications company Nokia of defrauding shareholders by concealing problems in integrating the former Alcatel-Lucent and in its readiness to become a leader in 5G technology. In a decision on Monday night, U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter in Manhattan said Clyde Waite, the plaintiff leading the proposed class action, failed to identify any statements by Nokia that were false or misleading when they were made. He also said it was not plausible that Nokia's statements would have misled reasonable investors, given the company's "numerous and continuous disclosures regarding the Alcatel integration and 5G progress." Carter dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning it cannot be filed again. ... Read More on Datafloq

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan has asked some Taiwanese manufacturers to cooperate in alternative production of semiconductors, industry minister Hiroshi Kajiyama said on Tuesday, after a chip plant owned by Renesas Electronic Corp was hit by a fire this month. "We are in communication with several manufacturing equipment makers (in Taiwan) to speed up procurement," Kajiyama told reporters after the cabinet meeting. "The ministry will also work together for a swift recovery by using all possible means," he added. A Renesas-owned Naka chip plant in northeast Japan was hit by fire earlier this month due to a power surge in one of the machines, putting more pressure on the broader chips industry amid a global shortage of semiconductors. The company, which has about a 30% share of the global market for ... Read More on Datafloq

BERLIN (Reuters) - German software company Teamviewer said on Tuesday that it had struck a five-year sponsorship deal with the Mercedes Formula 1 and Formula E teams, following its recent shirt deal with soccer club Manchester United. TeamViewer, a provider of remote connectivity, will be shown on both the cars and the racing suits of drivers in the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team led by world champion Lewis Hamilton, and the Mercedes EQ Formula E Team. Goeppingen-based Teamviewer said the cost of the deal was accounted for in the recent downward revision to its profit margin guidance for this year made when it announced its shirt deal with Manchester United this month. (Reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Caroline Copley) ... Read More on Datafloq

By Chris Taylor NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Recalculating," as the GPS often tells us when we are driving, may be our best career strategy after a year of uncertainty. Roadblocks or jams may lie ahead, but the route could be more scenic with twists and turns. Maybe another destination would even be better than the one we had planned. Lindsey Pollak, author of "Recalculating: Navigate Your Career Through the Changing World of Work," discussed with Reuters how to adapt and thrive when life is unpredictable. Q: Why did this image of a "recalculating" GPS resonate so much with you? A: This image popped into my head last March. We were all on a path, and suddenly we ... Read More on Datafloq

SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics' U.S. chip plant at Austin, Texas has reached production close to normal levels as of last week, a company spokesman said on Tuesday. Samsung and other chipmakers with production facilities in the area had seen shutdowns caused by severe weather in mid-February. (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Kim Coghill) ... Read More on Datafloq

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Trade Commission said on Monday it would not ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review its appeals court loss against Qualcomm Inc, which the agency had accused of breaking antitrust law in selling chips for smartphones. In October, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said it would not rehear arguments over whether the San Diego, California-based company had engaged in anticompetitive patent-licensing practices to keep a monopoly on the market for modem chips that connect smart phones to wireless data networks. A three-judge panel on that court had ruled in August that the FTC failed to prove its case. In a statement, Acting FTC Chairwoman Rebecca Slaughter noted "significant headwinds facing the Commission in this matter" in deciding to not petition the Supreme Court. "I continue to believe that the district court's conclusion that Qualcomm violated the ... Read More on Datafloq

(Reuters) - T-Mobile US Inc said on Monday it was winding down its live TV services and would instead offer YouTube TV and YouTube Premium under an expanded partnership with Alphabet Inc's Google. The company said Live, Live + and Live Zone services would be shut down on April 29 and that it would give the first month of YouTube TV for free to customers who have subscribed for TVision Live. It will also offer YouTube TV to its customer at $54.99 per month, which is $10 below the regular price, the company said. As part of the partnership deal, T-Mobile said it would offer other services including Messages by Google and Google One, while showcasing a range of Android devices. ... Read More on Datafloq

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said on Monday it is investigating a SpaceX commercial space launch that regulators determined violated U.S. safety requirements and its test license. The Federal Aviation Administration said in February that SpaceX's December launch of Starship SN8 proceeded without the company demonstrating that the public risk from "far field blast overpressure" was within regulatory criteria. The FAA says far field blast overpressure may be a hazard to the public if the launch vehicle explodes on impact, potentially creating a shock wave that damages windows in areas relatively far from the impact site. House Transportation Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio and Representative Rick Larsen, who oversees the aviation subcommittee, said in a letter last Thursday to the FAA ... Read More on Datafloq

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japanese government has decided to temporarily halt its use of popular messaging app Line, owned by SoftBank Corp's Z Holdings, to handle sensitive information, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said on Monday. The decision comes after domestic media reports this month that four engineers at a Line affiliate in Shanghai were allowed to access servers in Japan from 2018 that contained the names, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of users. Following the reports, a spokesman for Line, which has 186 million users worldwide, said the company has since blocked access to user data at the Chinese affiliate. "The government will halt the use of Line when handling sensitive information for now, and set up a task force swiftly, so that usage guidelines can be compiled soon," Kato told a regular news conference. ... Read More on Datafloq

(Reuters) -Thousands of Twitter Inc users were unable to access the social media platform on Monday, according to outage monitoring website Downdetector.com. (https://bit.ly/3m0fBPP) As many as 18,000 users reported issues with the micro-blogging site, according to Downdetector, and several users took to Twitter to complain about the outage, using the hashtag "#twitterdown". "Taking forever to load tweets on app and website," said a user with Twitter handle @WillontheRadio. (https://bit.ly/2PI8Ci8) Downdetector tracks outages by collating status reports from a series of sources, including user-submitted errors on its platform. The outages could have affected a larger number of users. (Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru;Editing by Vinay Dwivedi) ... Read More on Datafloq

LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin jumped to a one-week high on Monday, rising as much as 4.5% to $58,300 and nearing a record high above $61,000 hit earlier this month. Visa Inc said earlier it would allow the use of cryptocurrency to settle transactions on its payment network, the latest sign of growing acceptance of digital currencies by the mainstream financial industry. (Reporting by Tom Wilson; Editing by Saikat Chatterjee) ... Read More on Datafloq

BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD Co Ltd,, which is backed by billionaire Warren Buffett, on Monday reported a 162% growth in 2020 net profit as it became a major mask maker amid the COVID-19 pandemic. BYD reported 4.23 billion yuan ($643.75 million) net profit in 2020, up from 1.61 billion yuan in 2019. That compared with a 4.6 billion yuan net profit estimated by 22 analysts, according to Refinitiv data. BYD, which started making masks early last year, shortly after the COVID-19 outbreak began, did not give details about its current manufacturing capacity of masks. In May it said it could make 50 million masks a day. The Shenzhen-based car company, which has partnerships with Japan's top automaker Toyota and German Daimler in China, sold 426,972 vehicles in 2020, 7.5% lower from a year earlier. ... Read More on Datafloq

(Reuters) - Poland's CD Projekt has released a patch for its Cyberpunk 2077 game, the video games maker said on Monday, potentially paving a way for the game to return to the PlayStation store after its removal last year. "Patch 1.2 for Cyberpunk 2077 is now live on PC and consoles!" CD Projekt said on Twitter. The patch 1.2 includes over 500 fixes to gameplay, graphics, audio, animation and addresses issues related to police response to player actions, among others. CD Projekt originally had planned to release the patch last month, but it was delayed by a cyber attack. Sony Corp pulled Cyberpunk 2077 from its PlayStation Store only a week after the game's debut amid complaints of glitches. ... Read More on Datafloq

By Josh Horwitz SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A global shortage of chips that has rattled production lines at car companies and squeezed stockpiles at gadget makers, is now leaving home appliance makers unable to meet demand, according to the president of Whirlpool Corp in China. The U.S. based company, one of the world's largest white goods firm, is falling behind on exports to Europe and the United States from China, by as much as 25% on some months, Jason Ai told Reuters in Shanghai. "It's a perfect storm," he said on the sidelines of the Appliance and World Electronics Expo. "On the one hand we have to satisfy domestic demand for appliances, on the other hand we're facing an explosion of export orders. As far as chips go, for those of ... Read More on Datafloq

By Noor Zainab Hussain (Reuters) - Visa Inc said on Monday it will allow the use of the cryptocurrency USD Coin to settle transactions on its payment network, the latest sign of growing acceptance of digital currencies by the mainstream financial industry. Visa has launched the pilot program with payment and crypto platform Crypto.com and plans to offer the option to more partners later this year, it said. The USD Coin (USDC) is a stablecoin cryptocurrency whose value is pegged directly to the U.S. dollar. Visa's move comes as major finance firms including BNY Mellon, BlackRock Inc and Mastercard Inc have embraced some digital coins, sparking predictions that cryptocurrencies will become a regular part of investment portfolios. ... Read More on Datafloq

(Reuters) - Britain's competition watchdog said on Monday it had cleared Uber's takeover of UK tech firm Autocab, after its initial probe found the deal would not affect competition in the country's taxi booking and dispatch software market. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) began its investigation into the deal in January for possible effects on supply of dispatch software - one of Autocab's key services - referral networks, and any potential merger of Autocab's customers. The CMA found that there was "only limited indirect competition" between the two companies. "...the companies are not close competitors, the two businesses will continue to face competition from rivals and Autocab's customer taxi companies can switch to credible alternative providers if they wish," said Joel Bamford, senior director of mergers at the CMA. ... Read More on Datafloq

By Matthew Stock (Reuters) - U.S. robotics company Boston Dynamics on Monday unveiled a new robot called Stretch, designed to perform one very specific warehouse job: moving boxes.     Stretch is the first robot for one task that the company has built, based on requests received from companies around the world, said Michael Perry, vice president of business development for Boston Dynamics.     “We heard pretty much universally across warehousing that truck unloading is one of the most physically difficult and unpleasant jobs ... And that's where Stretch comes into play," Perry told Reuters.     Stretch has a small mobile base that allows it to move around tight spaces in existing warehouses without having to reconfigure them for automation. It is equipped with an arm and a smart-gripper with advanced ... Read More on Datafloq

(Reuters) - Hackers suspected of working for Russia got access to an email account belonging to the former head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which is responsible for cybersecurity, in the SolarWinds hack, the Associated Press reported https://ift.tt/3w5tv7P on Monday. The AP report said the intelligence value of the hacking of Chad Wolf, the former acting secretary of the DHS, and of email accounts belonging to officials in the department's cybersecurity staff, was not publicly known. The DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the security breach at SolarWinds Corp which came to light in December, hackers infiltrated the U.S. tech company's network management software and added code that allowed them to spy on end users. The hackers penetrated nine federal agencies and 100 companies. ... Read More on Datafloq

TOKYO (Reuters) -Renesas Electronics Corp now believes damage from a fire at its chip-making plant was more extensive than first thought, the Nikkei daily newspaper reported on Monday. The company had initially said 11 machines were damaged, but the Nikkei reported that the number of inoperable machines was now believed to be around 17. A company spokeswoman would not confirm a specific number. A Renesas-owned chip plant in northeast Japan was hit by fire earlier this month. The company has said it will take at least a month to resume production at its 300mm wafer line, but replacing damaged machines could take several months. An extended outage could add to a global shortages of chips which is disrupting some production of cars and electronic devices. The company accounts for 30% of the global market ... Read More on Datafloq

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Didi Chuxing, which is backed by SoftBank, said on Monday it would start a ride-hailing service in Cape Town, South Africa. Didi already operates in Japan, Australia, Russia and several South American markets. (Reporting by Yilei Sun and Tony Munroe; Editing by Christian Schmollinger) ... Read More on Datafloq

HONG KONG (Reuters) - China Evergrande Group on Monday said it will sell 10% of its online real estate and automobile marketplace, Fangchebao (FCB), to 17 investors for HK$16.35 billion ($2.10 billion), in a fundraising ahead of the unit's initial public offering (IPO). FCB, with a pre-financing valuation of over 150 billion yuan ($22.92 billion), could list on the Nasdaq or other suitable stock exchange, Evergrande said in a bourse filing. The country's most indebted developer has said it would spin off several units to lower its debt amid tighter industry regulation and investor concern about its cash flow. Its interest-bearing debt was about $110 billion at year-end. The firm listed Evergrande Property Services Group Ltd in December, raising $1.8 billion. In January, China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group Ltd ... Read More on Datafloq

(Reuters) - China's Tencent Music Entertainment Group announced a $1 billion share repurchase plan, its biggest, late on Sunday, days after the U.S. securities regulator adopted stricter measures for foreign companies listed on American stock exchanges. The Chinese music streaming company may buy back up to $1 billion of its Class A ordinary shares in the form of American depositary shares during a twelve-month period starting March 29, it said in a statement. Shares in dual-listed Chinese companies including Tencent Music fell sharply last week after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it would kick out foreign firms from U.S. exchanges if they failed to comply with U.S. auditing standards. The company's shares were further pressured on Friday after a sell off in its stock - and those of several others such as Baidu Inc and ViacomCBS Inc - by Goldman ... Read More on Datafloq

By Fanny Potkin and Aradhana Aravindan SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Facebook said on Monday it planned two new undersea cables to connect Singapore, Indonesia and North America in a project with Google and regional telecommunication companies to boost internet connection capacity between the regions. "Named Echo and Bifrost, those will be the first two cables to go through a new diverse route crossing the Java Sea and they will increase overall subsea capacity in the trans-pacific by about 70%," Facebook Vice President of Network Investments, Kevin Salvadori, told Reuters. He declined to specify the size of the investment, but said it was "a very material investment for us in Southeast Asia." The cables, according to the executive, will be the first to directly connect North America to some of the ... Read More on Datafloq

Recently, PrimeXBT revealed a dramatic refresh and the most significant upgrade to the award-winning platform’s interface and user experience since the platform first debuted. At first glance, the new visual design is striking and easy to understand, focused on supporting newly added currencies ETH, USDT, and USDC, in addition to the BTC-based CFDs the platform earned its reputation on. The result is what the company is calling the PrimeXBT V2.0 update.  Here’s what else the massive update entails and how this benefits the trades of one of the biggest platforms in the crypto market. What’s New In PrimeXBT V2.0: ETH, USDC, and USDT Make Debut The familiar PrimeXBT dashboard now aggregates all vital account information within the Main account section, including wallet account balances, margin account balances, Covesting data, and much more. New wallets for each unique cryptocurrency and address have been added. Both USDT and USDT are the Ethereum-based version using the ERC-20

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's government on Sunday accused Facebook Inc of "digital totalitarianism" after it froze President Nicolas Maduro's page for 30 days for violating its policies against spreading misinformation about COVID-19. Facebook told Reuters this weekend it had also taken down a video in which Maduro promoted Carvativir, a Venezuelan-made remedy he claims, without evidence, can cure the disease. Facebook said it followed guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) that there is currently no medication that can cure the virus. In a statement on Sunday, Venezuela's information ministry said Facebook was going after "content geared toward combating the pandemic" and described Carvativir as a retroviral of "national production and engineering." "We are witnessing a digital totalitarianism exercised by supranational companies who want to impose their law on the countries of the world," the ministry said. ...

BERLIN (Reuters) - The trade union Verdi has called for workers at six Amazon sites in Germany to go on strike from Sunday evening for four days in the latest attempt to try to force the U.S. e-commerce group to recognise collective bargaining agreements. Verdi said the strikes at Amazon's sites in Rheinberg, Werne, Koblenz, Leipzig and at two locations in Bad Hersfeld signalled an "unofficial start" to wage talks for the retail and mail order industry, which are due to begin in the next few weeks. "Amazon is making a mint in the coronavirus crisis. For this reason alone, wage evasion must be stopped there," said Verdi representative Orhan Akman. Verdi is demanding a pay increase of 4.5% for workers in the retail and mail order industry. "This must ... Read More on Datafloq

(Reuters) - Japan is set to issue digital health certificates to citizens who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, joining China, the EU and other countries that have adopted similar measures aimed at opening up overseas travel, the Nikkei reported https://s.nikkei.com/3stfAX6 on Saturday. In line with international standards, the certificate can be managed on a mobile app, allowing the carrier to present the proof of vaccination when boarding a plane or checking in to a hotel, the report said. The app is also focused on foreigners staying in Japan and returning to their respective home countries, according to the report. (Reporting by Vishal Vivek in Bengaluru; Editing by Daniel Wallis) ... Read More on Datafloq

By Brian Ellsworth CARACAS (Reuters) - Facebook has frozen Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's page for violating policies against spreading misinformation about COVID-19 by promoting a remedy he claims, without evidence, can cure the disease, a company spokesman said on Saturday. Maduro in January described Carvativir, an oral solution derived from thyme, as a "miracle" medication that neutralizes the coronavirus with no side effects, a claim doctors say is not backed by science. Facebook has taken down a video in which Maduro promotes the medication because it violates a policy against false claims "that something can guarantee prevention from getting COVID-19 or can guarantee recovery from COVID-19." "We follow guidance from the WHO (World Health Organization) that says there is currently no medication to cure the virus," the spokesman told Reuters. ... Read More on Datafloq

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Friday condemned what it called a "state-led" social media campaign in China against U.S. and other international companies for deciding not to use cotton from China's Xinjiang region over forced labor concerns. State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter said the social media campaign and consumer boycotts had targeted American, European and Japanese businesses. "We commend and stand with companies that adhere to U.S. laws and ensure that products we are consuming are not made with forced labor," she told a regular news briefing. "We support and encourage businesses to respect human rights in line with the U.N. guiding principles on business and human rights and the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises," she added. China rejects allegations of abuses in Xinjiang, which is one of ... Read More on Datafloq

By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Friday said she was maintaining the threat of U.S. tariffs on goods from Austria, Britain, India, Italy, Spain and Turkey in retaliation for their digital services taxes. In a statement, Tai announced that her office would proceed with steps to impose potential tariffs, including filing public notices and collecting public comments as part of investigations launched originally by the Trump administration into the taxes aimed largely at American internet companies and e-commerce platforms. The taxes target in-country revenues of digital services platforms, such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon.com. The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced the decision despite Democratic President Joe Biden's renewed commitments to pursue a global agreement on digital services taxes through the ... Read More on Datafloq

By Sinéad Carew (Reuters) - Shares in media companies ViacomCBS and Discovery Inc tumbled around 27% each on Friday, capping a week of declines and putting both stocks roughly 50% below their recent record highs. ViacomCBS closed down $18.12 at $48.23, marking a record one-day percentage decline, with trading volume more than five times its 10-day moving average. The stock had hit a record high of $101.97 on March 15 before it started losing ground over several sessions. Discovery shares dropped $15.85 to $41.90 in what was also its biggest one-day percentage decline, with volume surpassing eight times its 10-day moving average. That stock has now fallen 45.8% over five straight sessions of declines after hitting a record high of $78.14 on March 19. Wells ... Read More on Datafloq

By Diane Bartz WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Amazon.com's social media team bared its teeth this week to go after two big critics in Congress: Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Amazon first struck out Wednesday with tweets by Dave Clark, chief executive of Amazon's worldwide consumer business, who criticized Sanders for pushing for a $15 minimum wage and supporting Amazon workers in Alabama who are considering unionizing. On Friday, the day that Sanders met with Amazon workers in Alabama, Amazon News tweeted that Sanders' home state of Vermont's minimum wage was $11.75. "Sanders would rather talk in Alabama than act in Vermont," the company tweeted. In his meeting, Sanders urged Amazon workers to vote for the union: "When you stand up and fight, you are taking on here not only one ... Read More on Datafloq

By Anna Irrera LONDON (Reuters) - New York-based Chainalysis, a startup that allows companies and government agencies to analyse and investigate blockchain transactions, said on Friday it had raised $100 million from investors at a valuation of more than $2 billion. The round was led by investment firm Paradigm, with participation from existing backers Addition, Ribbit and TIME Ventures, Chainalysis said. The cash injection will be used to provide enterprise data solutions to cryptocurrency businesses, financial services companies and government agencies, the company said. "We'll continue to invest in investigations and compliance software, but we'll also build out new data products both for our existing customer base and new audiences," said Michael Gronager, the firm's co-founder and chief executive. ... Read More on Datafloq

(Reuters) - U.S. home rental company Airbnb Inc's supply more than doubled over the past four years, while surpassing some of the traditional hotel chains combined, data from analytics firm AirDNA showed on Friday. The relative appeal for short-term rentals with larger living space and their location in remote destinations proved vital for Airbnb during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing it to perform better than traditional forms of lodging over the last year, AirDNA said. Airbnb's global active listings increased by 2.5% as of February 2021, compared with a year earlier, according to the firm. Globally, there were over 5.4 million active listings on Airbnb, with more units available for rent than the combined total of 3.3 million units at hotel chains Marriott, Hilton, and IHG, AirDNA said. Airbnb had a ... Read More on Datafloq

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc said on Friday it plans to reopen its Menlo Park, California headquarters with 10% occupancy on May 10, if the COVID-19 situation begins to improve. Major tech companies including Facebook were among the fastest to shift to work from home during last year's lockdowns and have regularly extended the freedom to continue do so for their employees. The social media company said its offices in Fremont and Sunnyvale are also scheduled to reopen at 10% capacity on May 17 and May 24 respectively, while its San Francisco office would reopen on June 7. Ride-sharing firm Uber Technologies Inc said on Thursday it plans to reopen its offices at Mission Bay, San Francisco, with 20% occupancy on March 29, and provide an option for its staff to return to work on a "voluntary basis". (https://reut.rs/3tY6SQR) ... Read More on Datafloq

By Susan Mathew (Reuters) - "Meme" stock-in-chief GameStop jumped another 13% in value on Friday, building on a surge since results earlier this week that showed online sales improving and a much-hyped management reshuffle gathering pace. The video-game retailer, whose shares rose as high as $483 in a battle with short-sellers in January, has now risen more than five times in value since hitting a low of $38.50 per share in mid-February. It was trading at around $190 by mid-morning, but was still down about 5% on the week after the company pointed to the possibility of a share sale in its earnings filing on Tuesday. "It's fascinating because it seems that the Reddit army is doubling down and believing that the company is going to be able to shift ... Read More on Datafloq

By David Shepardson and Karen Freifeld WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Biden administration said Friday it wants new public input on establishing licensing or other procedures to help companies comply with a sweeping new rule targeting Chinese technology firms. On Monday, the U.S. Commerce Department allowed a regulation issued under then President Donald Trump in January to take effect over objections from U.S. business groups. Days before Trump left office in January, the Commerce Department issued interim final rules aimed at addressing information and communications technology supply (ICTS) chain concerns posed by China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela The regulation said Commerce would adopt licensing or other pre-clearance procedures by May 19. "It ... Read More on Datafloq

By Rollo Ross LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor William Shatner, best known for forging new frontiers on the "Star Trek" TV series, has tapped new technology that will give current and future generations the chance to query him about his life, family and career. Shatner, who turned 90 on Monday, spent more than 45 hours over five days recording answers to be used in an interactive video created by Los Angeles-based company StoryFile. Starting in May, people using cellphones or computers connected to the internet can ask questions of the Shatner video, and artificial intelligence will scan through transcripts of his remarks to deliver the best answer, according to StoryFile co-founder Stephen Smith. Fans may even be able to beam Shatner into their living rooms in future, Smith said, ... Read More on Datafloq

(Corrects new initiatives' revenue figure) By Yingzhi Yang and Ryan Woo BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese food delivery company Meituan reported a loss on Friday for October-December after two consecutive quarters of profit, as it expanded into the community group-buying business that relies heavily on subsidies. It reported a loss of 2.24 billion yuan ($343 million) versus profit of 1.46 billion yuan in the same quarter a year earlier, the company said in a stock exchange filing. Meituan, whose services also include restaurant reviews and bike sharing, said total revenue rose 34.7% in October-December from a year earlier to 37.92 billion yuan. That compared with the 39.17 billion yuan average of 14 analyst estimates, IBES data from Refinitiv showed. ... Read More on Datafloq

(Reuters) - Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio Inc said on Friday it would halt production for five working days at its Hefei plant, due to a shortage in semiconductor chips. Nio said it planned to suspend production from Monday. It also cut its first quarter delivery forecast to around 19,500 vehicles, compared to the 20,000 to 20,500 vehicles it had previously expected. The company is one of several automakers to halt manufacturing this season. Honda Motor Co Ltd and General Motors Co both announced this week they would continue production suspension at plants in North America for the coming weeks, citing the chip shortage as one of several reasons. Swedish truck maker Volvo AB meanwhile said on Tuesday the chip shortage would have a "substantial" impact on its second-quarter earnings, ... Read More on Datafloq

By Douglas Busvine and Mathieu Rosemain (Reuters) - Governments around the world are subsidizing the construction of semiconductor factories as a chip shortage hobbles the auto and electronics industries and highlights the world's singular dependence on Taiwan for vital supplies. But beyond a consensus that something must be done to diversify supplies, divisions over strategy are emerging along with concerns that free-spending governments could spur over-building in an industry that has historically been highly cyclical. Governments in the United States, the European Union and Japan are contemplating spending tens of billions of dollars on cutting-edge "fabs," or chip fabrication plants, as unease grows that more than two-thirds of advanced computing chips are manufactured in Taiwan. Earlier this week, a top U.S. military commander told U.S. lawmakers that a Chinese takeover of the island was the military's foremost concern in the Pacific. ... Read More on Data

Writing efficient, error-free, and cost-effective software that meets client requirements is hard. One of the most effective ways of achieving these goals is by understanding and embracing automation in the software development process. Automation helps streamline development by reducing developer workload and providing a standardized structure to your development processes. There are a lot of exciting opportunities and competing ideas about precisely what and how automation should be used in the software development process. Why Automate Software Development A lot of what defines software development practices today is ultimately about speed. CI/CD, agile, AI, and DevOps are all slightly buzz-wordy terms, but they all relate to software development methodologies that emphasize creating and deploying code quickly. Modern software development life cycles (SDLC) are short as teams compete to deliver and refine their product in a crowded marketplace. It’s no surprise then that teams

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Xiaomi Corp will unveil a new self-developed computer chip on March 29, the company announced on Friday on its official Weibo social media account. (Reporting by Josh Horwitz; Editing by Christian Schmollinger) ... Read More on Datafloq

(Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc said on Thursday it plans to reopen its offices at Mission Bay, San Francisco, with 20% occupancy on March 29, and provide an option for its staff to return to work on a "voluntary basis". The ride-hailing firm had previously announced the extension of its work-from-home policy until Sept. 13. The employees returning to office shall adhere to COVID-19 protocols such as requirement of face coverings during the initial reopening phase, maintaining safe distance and wipe down areas such as their desks, Uber said in a statement. The company also said that employees or those with family members who are sick are required to stay at home. (Reporting by Anirudh ... Read More on Datafloq

By Julie Zhu and Yilei Sun HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Xiaomi Corp plans to make electric vehicles (EVs) using Great Wall Motor Co Ltd's factory, said three people with direct knowledge of the matter, making it the latest tech firm to join the smart mobility race. The tech firm's stock price was up more than 9% in afternoon Friday trade after Reuters reported the plan. Great Wall's Hong Kong stock rose more than 15% and its Shanghai shares gained by their maximum 10% daily limit. Xiaomi, one of the world's biggest smartphone makers, is in talks to use one of Great Wall's plants in China to make EVs under its own brand, said two of the people, who declined to be identified as the information is not public. ... Read More on Datafloq

(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc is rolling out on-site COVID-19 vaccination for its U.S. front-line employees, it said on Thursday, as companies step up efforts to get their workers immunized against the coronavirus. The e-commerce company, which has also been testing employees for COVID-19, said that on-site vaccination programs would first start in Missouri, Nevada, and Kansas and then expand across the country as more vaccines become available. Amazon will give up to $80 to front-line workers with no access to the on-site clinics, mirroring a move by companies such as hotel operator Marriott International Inc and retailer Kroger Co to provide employees incentives to get COVID-19 vaccines. Earlier in December, Amazon had asked the U.S. government to prioritize essential workers, including its warehouse, grocery store and data center staff, for receipt of the COVID-19 vaccine. (https://reut.rs/31wnzqB) ... Read More on Datafloq

By Joseph Menn, Christopher Bing and Nandita Bose SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A planned Biden administration executive order will require many software vendors to notify their federal government customers when the companies have a cybersecurity breach, according to a draft seen by Reuters. A National Security Council spokeswoman said no decision has been made on the final content of the executive order. The order could be released as early as next week. The SolarWinds Corp hack, which came to light in December, showed “the federal government needs to be able to investigate and remediate threats to the services it provides the American people early and quickly. Simply put, you can’t fix what you don’t know about," the spokeswoman said. In the SolarWinds case, hackers suspected of working for ... Read More on Datafloq

By Sarah Berman and Moira Warburton VANCOUVER (Reuters) - The Canadian judge overseeing Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou's extradition case questioned a federal prosecutor on Thursday about why a retired police officer, considered a key witness by the defense, had declined to testify. The exchange came as prosecutors defended the refusal of Ben Chang, a former Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, to take the stand. Chang is accused by the defense of improperly sharing identifying details about Meng's electronic devices with U.S. authorities. Chang has denied the allegation in an affidavit submitted to courts. Meng's lawyers asked British Columbia Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes on Monday for Chang's testimony to be taken with adverse inference, meaning the court would accept that if Chang was subjected to cross-examination, ... Read More on Datafloq

(Reuters) - Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk's 2018 tweet threatening employees would lose their stock options if they formed a union was illegal and should be deleted, the U.S. National Labor Relations Board said on Thursday. The NLRB backed a ruling from a U.S. labor judge in 2019 that the electric-car maker had committed a series of violations of the National Labor Relations Act in 2017 and 2018. "Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so tmrw if they wanted. But why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing? Our safety record is 2X better than when plant was UAW & everybody already gets healthcare", Musk wrote in the May 2018 tweet https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/998454539941367808. The board ordered Tesla to direct Musk to delete the tweet and to post a notice addressing the unlawful ... Read More on Datafloq

By Elizabeth Culliford (Reuters) - Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted his frustration with U.S. lawmakers' questions on the social media platform during a hearing about misinformation on Thursday, leading one member of congress to call out his multi-tasking. ( https://twitter.com/jack/status/1375152199433527296?s=20) Lawmakers grilled Dorsey and the CEOs of Facebook and Google's parent Alphabet for almost five hours. Tensions were high as they asked them to answer "yes or no" to questions ranging from whether their platforms bore any responsibility for the Jan. 6 riot to whether they understood the difference between the two words. During the hearing, Dorsey tweeted "?" with a poll asking Twitter Inc users to vote "yes" or "no." Democratic Representative Kathleen Rice asked: "Mr. Dorsey, what is winning, yes or no, on your Twitter account poll?" ... Read More on Datafloq

By John P. Desmond, AI Trends Editor   Since  OpenAI  announced last June that users could request access to the GPT-3 API, a machine learning toolset, to help OpenAI explore the strengths and limits of the new technology, some experience is accumulating.     The GPT-3 from  OpenAI , the venture founded in 2015 with $1B from investors including Elon Musk, is the third generation of the large language model, with an increased capacity of two orders of magnitude — 100 times — over its predecessor, GPT-2. GPT-3 has a capacity of 175 billion machine learning parameters. That is ten times larger than the next large language model, Microsoft’s Turing Natural Language Generator (NLG), according to  Wikipedia.   Some researchers have warned about the potential harmful effects of GPT-3. Gary Marcus, author, entrepreneur and New York University psychology professor, published an account with Ernest Davis in  MIT Technology Review  last August, with the headline: “ GPT-3, Bloviator:  OpenAI’s