YouTube offers thousands of free TV episodes with ads

YouTube on Wednesday began streaming some 4,000 television episodes from shows like "Hell's Kitchen" and "Heartland" to US viewers as the site tries to capture viewers in a fiercely competitive market.

The Google-owned video platform said that popular television shows along with films from major studios will be available, with ads, on YouTube using smart televisions, mobile devices or web browsers.

YouTube was a pioneer in the trend to accessing video on-demand using the internet, starting with clips uploaded and shared by users.

It faces an array of competitors, ranging from streaming television service Netflix based on subscriptions to ad-supported offerings from Peacock, Roku, Tubi and other rivals.

Films and shows will be added weekly, with the line-up of movies to include "Gone in Sixty Seconds" and "Runaway Bride," according to the YouTube team.

YouTube cited Nielsen findings that more than 135 million people in the United States watched YouTube videos using televisions connected to the internet in December of last year.

"YouTube is at the forefront of the consumer shift to (connected TV) viewership as the top ad-supported streaming platform," the video-sharing platform said in a post.

Agence France-Presse

American Express suspends operations in Russia and Belarus

American Express Co said it was suspending all operations in Russia and Belarus, joining a growing number of Western corporations to boycott business there over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

"In light of Russia's ongoing, unjustified attack on the people of Ukraine, American Express is suspending all operations in Russia," the credit card company said in a statement on its website.

"We are also terminating all business operations in Belarus," American Express said.

American Express follows US counterparts Visa Inc and Mastercard Inc, which announced a suspension of their Russian operations the previous day, as well as payments company PayPal Holdings Inc.

American Express said its globally issued cards would no longer work in Russia at merchants or at ATMs. In addition, cards issued by Russian banks in Russia would no longer work outside the country on American Express' network.

The company said it has already suspended its relationships with Russian banks affected by US and international sanctions.

-reuters

Dollar idles after tumble from 19-month peak; Aussie firm before RBA

TOKYO - The US dollar nursed its wounds on Tuesday following its biggest drop in nearly three weeks against major peers, as Federal Reserve policymakers allayed investor fears of a very rapid tightening of monetary policy.

The Australian dollar remained firm after its biggest jump in eight months overnight ahead of a Reserve Bank of Australia policy decision later on Tuesday, with expectation building that Governor Philip Lowe will capitulate on his prior conviction that an interest rate rise this year was unlikely.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six rivals, ticked 0.05 percent higher to 96.715, barely making a dent in Monday's 0.59 percent tumble. It was at an almost 19-month high of 97.441 at the end of last week, as investors pondered chances the Fed could raise rates by 50 basis points in March.

Trading in Asian hours may be subdued with several markets on holiday for the Lunar New Year.

A chorus of Fed officials on Monday backed a lift-off in rates in March, but spoke cautiously about what might follow.

Money markets price in a quarter-point rise for March, and four more by year-end.

"Recent Fed remarks appeared to push back on the odds of a 50bp rate hike in March," putting the focus on economic data this week for clues on the pace of policy tightening, including the closely watched monthly payrolls report on Friday, TD Securities strategists wrote in a note.

US payrolls are forecast to show a gain of 153,000 jobs for January, down from 199,000 in December, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 3.9 percent, according to a Reuters poll.

Meanwhile, the Aussie was little changed at $0.7067 after soaring 1.06 percent on Monday, its biggest gain since early June.

Australian inflation is surging at the fastest annual pace since 2014, suggesting price pressures are not as benign and transitory as policymakers thought they would be.

"It is impractical and unlikely the RBA can continue to hold a dovish stance," the TD Securities strategists wrote, predicting a hike in August or earlier.

A Reuters poll of economists puts the odds of a first hike in November.

The Bank of England holds its policy meeting on Thursday, with a Reuters poll predicting a second rate hike in less than two months after UK inflation jumped to its highest in nearly 30 years.

The European Central Bank also meets on Thursday. While no policy change is expected, analysts said the Fed's looming rate hikes will narrow the ECB's window for action.

The euro slipped 0.11 percent to $1.12235, following a 0.80 percent jump on Monday.

Sterling was flat at $1.34385 after gaining 0.33 percent in the previous session.

The greenback was little changed at 115.125 yen.

(Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

-reuters

Amid controversies, Facebook trumpets massive new supercomputer

Facebook's parent company Meta announced on Monday it was launching one of the world's most powerful supercomputers to boost its capacity to process data, despite persistent disputes over privacy and disinformation.

The US tech giant said the array of machines could process images and video up to 20 times faster than their current systems.

The supercomputer, built from thousands of processors, will be used to "seamlessly analyze text, images, and video together; develop new augmented reality tools; and much more", the firm said in blog post written by two of its Artificial Intelligence (AI) researchers.

They envisage developing AI tools that will, among other things, allow people speaking in several different languages to understand each other in real-time.

Meta said the machine, known as AI Research SuperCluster (RSC), was already in the top five fastest supercomputers and would become the fastest AI machine in the world when fully built in the next few months.

Platforms such as Facebook and Google have long been criticized for the way they process and utilise the data they take from their users.

The two firms currently face legal cases across the European Union that allege data transfers from the bloc to the United States are illegal.

And the AI algorithms that funnel Facebook users towards appealing posts have been criticized for helping to fuel disinformation and hate speech.

- 'Metaverse' hopes -

Facebook has apologised repeatedly about the adverse effects of its algorithms and has long flagged its investment in content moderators and other measures to tackle problematic posts.

The blog on Monday stressed that weeding out harmful content was among the "critical use cases" for its AI development.

The researchers wrote that high-definition video was creating ever greater demand for processing power at the same time as the company was pushing for AI tools based on trillions of examples.

"We hope RSC will help us build entirely new AI systems that can, for example, power real-time voice translations to large groups of people, each speaking a different language, so they can seamlessly collaborate on a research project or play an AR game together," wrote the researchers.

"Ultimately, the work done with RSC will pave the way toward building technologies for the next major computing platform -- the metaverse, where AI-driven applications and products will play an important role."

Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg has been pushing harder than his big tech rivals to develop the idea of the metaverse, which envisages an immersive 3D internet enabled by virtual reality headsets and sensor equipment.

Facebook has not yet confirmed the location of its supercomputer, telling AFP the information was confidential.

Agence France-Presse

Microsoft to buy US gaming giant Activision-Blizzard for $69 billion

Microsoft announced Tuesday a landmark $69 billion deal to purchase US gaming giant Activision Blizzard, grabbing the sex harassment scandal-hit firm as the tech colossus seeks to boost its power in video games.

Merging with troubled Activision will make Microsoft the third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony, it said, a major shift in the booming world of games.

"This acquisition will accelerate the growth in Microsoft's gaming business across mobile, PC, console and cloud and will provide building blocks for the metaverse," Microsoft said in a statement.

Activision, the California-based maker of "Candy Crush" has been hit by employee protests, departures, and a state lawsuit alleging it enabled toxic workplace conditions and sexual harassment against women. 

Over the past seven months the company has received about 700 reports of employee concerns over sexual assault or harassment or other misconduct, in some cases separate reports about the same incident, The Wall Street Journal has reported.

Nearly 20 percent of Activision Blizzard's 9,500 employees have signed a petition calling for CEO Bobby Kotick to resign.

"Acquiring Activision will help jump start Microsoft's broader gaming endeavors and ultimately its move into the metaverse with gaming the first monetization piece of the metaverse in our opinion," Wedbush analysts said after the news broke.

- Troubled Activision -

"With Activision's stock under heavy pressure (CEO related issues/overhang) over the last few months, Microsoft viewed this as the window of opportunity to acquire a unique asset that can propel its consumer strategy forward," Wedbush added.

Microsoft has just marked 20 years of the "Halo" video game franchise that turned its Xbox console into a hit.

Microsoft launched a host of initiatives to mark two decades of both Halo and the Xbox, including a virtual museum exploring key moments in the console's history.

Xbox remains a key player in a video game industry now thought to be larger than the movie sector, with market research firm Mordor Intelligence valuing it at $173.7 billion in 2020.

Troubles, meanwhile, have stacked up for Activision over its sex harassment and discrimination scandal.

In July, California state regulators accused the company of condoning a culture of harassment, a toxic work environment, and inequality.

In September the Securities and Exchange Commission launched a probe into the company over "disclosures regarding employment matters and related issues."

And two months later the Journal reported that Kotick, accused of mishandling the harassment complaints, had signaled he would consider stepping down if he failed to quickly fix the company culture. He has led the company for more than three decades.

Late last year chief operating officer Daniel Alegre pledged a 50 percent increase in female and non-binary staff over the next five years so that they will account for more than a third of Activision's workers.

Agence France-Presse

Omicron ‘overreaction?’ Airline ticket sales see sharp drop, IATA says

Airline ticket sales have fallen sharply since the end of 2021, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Wednesday, blaming governments for having "overreacted" to the omicron COVID variant by closing borders.

IATA, which groups more than 290 airlines, said international air travel had been slowly but steadily recovering from the mass shutdowns of 2020 and early 2021 before the fast-spreading omicron strain was discovered at the end of November.

Ticket sales in November were 60.5 percent below their pre-pandemic November 2019 level, marking an improvement on the 64.8 percent decline recorded a month earlier.

"Unfortunately, governments overreacted to the emergence of the omicron variant at the close of the month and resorted to the tried-and-failed methods of border closures, excessive testing of travelers and quarantine to slow the spread," IATA president Willie Walsh accused.

As a result, he said, the industry was bracing for "a more difficult first quarter than expected."

IATA's members account for 83 percent of global air traffic.

In October, the association forecast cumulative industry losses of $11.6 billion in 2022, down from an estimated $51.8 billion in 2021 and $137.7 billion in 2020.

IATA said it expected US airlines to turn profits again this year but that European carriers, which operate more long-haul flights and are therefore more exposed to border closures, would remain in the red.

Agence France-Presse

Citi to exit consumer banking in Mexico

NEW YORK, United States - Citi announced Tuesday it will exit its Mexican consumer banking business, the latest reorganization effort to steer the US financial heavyweight towards higher-return ventures.

The New York-based bank plans to cease operations in Mexico in consumer, small business and middle-market customers, but will maintain an institutional client business in the country to provide financial advisory and private banking services.

Chief Executive Jane Fraser said the move was consistent with a "strategy refresh" that included earlier moves to pare back consumer banking in other overseas markets.

"Citi is uniquely positioned to support cross-border capital markets activity and trade flows in and out of Mexico for our institutional clients and we will continue to make material investments in our institutional operations and market-leading hub there," Fraser said.

Citi announced plans in April 2021 to exit 13 international consumer banking markets where the bank said it lacked the scale to compete effectively.

The businesses Citi is shedding in Mexico -- it's last in Latin America -- accounted for $3.5 billion in revenues and $1.2 billion in pre-tax earnings through the first three quarters of 2021.

The bank said the timing of the move is unclear since it depends on regulatory approvals, but could involve a sale pf the business lines.

Agence France-Presse

Wall Street dips after worldwide slide; gold nears record

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is slipping on Friday after tensions ramped higher between the world’s two largest economies, though the market pared its losses as the morning progressed.

The S&P 500 was 0.4% lower in midday trading, which would wipe out the last of its gains for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 118 points, or 0.4%, at 26,534, as of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was down 0.5%. Each of the indexes had been down more sharply in the morning, with the Nasdaq off by as much as 2.3%.

Stocks also sank across Asian and European markets, and all the uncertainty helped gold top $1,900 per ounce, close to its record high. Treasury yields were holding relatively steady, but they remain close to their lowest levels since April.

The coronavirus pandemic remains the most dominant force in markets, with its potential to destroy lives and economies. But other risks are also bubbling up, headlined by Friday’s worsening relations between the United States and China.

Investors are also concerned about a recent uptick in layoffs as spiking coronavirus counts across the Sun Belt lead more businesses to shut down. Extra benefits for those out-of-work Americans from the federal government are set to expire soon, and worries are rising about whether Congress can reach a deal on more aid for the economy. Nearly half of Americans whose families experienced a layoff during the pandemic believe those jobs are lost forever, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Despite all those challenges, the S&P 500 remains only about 5% below its record set in February, after roaring back from an earlier, nearly 34% plummet. This week’s stall for the S&P 500 follows three straight weekly gains driven by hopes that the economy was regaining its footing. Underlying it all is massive aid for the economy promised by the Federal Reserve, including record-low interest rates.

“The Fed is the big story behind this market, that and the liquidity it’s provided,” said Teresa Jacobsen, managing director at UBS Private Wealth Management. “It gives a great deal of support for upside in the market. But, there are momentary blips when we pause and give a little back.”

On Friday, the blip came after China’s Foreign Ministry ordered the closure of the U.S. consulate in the western city of Chengdu. It echoes a similar move earlier this week by the United States to close the Chinese consulate in Houston.

Such moves have investors on edge because of how viciously markets swung in prior years when President Donald Trump was pressing his trade war with China, before they agreed to a temporary truce early this year.

“Alongside the eviction of the Houston Chinese Consulate, the risk of the U.S.-China conflict escalating into a ‘Cold War’ is worrying,” said Hayaki Narita of Mizuho Bank.

A speech Thursday by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying that “securing our freedom from the Chinese Communist Party is the mission of our time” adds to the rhetoric certain to incense Beijing, making it still more difficult for either side to back down, he said.

Technology stocks have also been in the spotlight, after a sharp slide for them on Thursday helped drag the S&P 500 to its worst loss in nearly four weeks.

Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and other giants have cruised through much of the pandemic on expectations that they can keep growing despite all the challenges for the economy. But critics say enthusiasm for them was overdone, with prices too high even after accounting for the huge profits that they can produce

Apple slipped 0.6%, Microsoft dropped 0.2%, and tech stocks as a group accounted for roughly half of the S&P 500’s loss. Earlier in the morning, Apple had been down 4%, and tech stocks were responsible for two thirds of the S&P 500′s drop.

Intel sank 15.3% after it delayed the release of its new 7 nanometer chip, and it was the biggest weight on the market Friday morning.

Earlier in the day, stocks in Shanghai sank 3.9%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 2.2%. Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.7%.

In Europe, France’s CAC 40 fell 1.5%, and Germany’s DAX lost 1.9%. The FTSE 100 in London dropped 1.3%.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury held steady at 0.58%. It tends to move with investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation.

Gold rose 0.5% to $1,900.30 per ounce, crossing above that threshold for the first time in nearly nine years. Benchmark U.S. crude slipped 14 cents to $40.93 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 10 cents to $43.21 per barrel.

AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

The Associated Press

Wall Street hits the brakes after strong, weekslong rally

Wall Street hit the brakes Tuesday, a day after its remarkable, weekslong rally brought the S&P 500 back to positive for the year and the Nasdaq to a record high.

The S&P 500 was down 0.9% in midday trading, after earlier being down as much as 1.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 283 points, or 1%, to 27,281, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.1%.

Skeptics have been saying for weeks that Wall Street’s huge rally, which reached 44.5% between late March and Monday, may have been overdone. The economy has given glimmers of hope that the recession could end relatively quickly as governments lift their lockdown orders, but the stock market has been soaring much more quickly than the economy and corporate profits are expected to.

“We’re seeing a little bit of a pause and a little bit of a reversal,” said Bill Northey, senior investment director at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. “Some of that is an appropriate reconciliation with the pace for the restart.”

IMPACT ON THE ECONOMY:

– Medicaid rolls swell in New Mexico amid economic turmoil
– A US recession began in February in the face of coronavirus
– Virus tourism impact gives Maui state's top jobless rate

In another sign of increased caution, the yield on the 10-year Treasury yield fell to 0.81% from 0.88% late Monday. It tends to move with investors’ expectations of the economy and inflation, though it’s still well above the 0.64% level where it started last week.

European stock markets were also lower. Germany’s DAX lost 1.4% after the country reported that its exports fell by a quarter in April. France’s CAC 40 slid 1.5%, and the FTSE 100 in London dropped 2.1%.

Asian markets were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4% after the government reported that wages fell in April as the country widened precautions to fight the coronavirus pandemic, which caused some businesses to close or limit their operations. But the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 1.1% and South Korea’s Kospi added 0.2%.

Wall Street has been generally rising since late March, at first on relief following emergency rescues by the Federal Reserve and Congress. More recently, investors have begun piling into companies that would benefit most from a reopening economy that’s growing again.

Banks, airlines, energy companies and others whose profits need the economy to get closer to normal have been leading the way in recent weeks. They got a big boost on Friday when the government said that employers surprisingly added jobs to their payrolls last month, a sign that the economy could pull out of the recession that began in February relatively quickly.

But such companies went into reverse on Tuesday. American Airlines and Alaska Air Group both fell more than 9% for some of the sharpest losses in the S&P 500, a day after they were near the top of the leaderboard.

Stocks in the energy, financial and industrial sectors fell more than the rest of the market, also mirroring their performance from a day before. Technology and communication services companies rose.

Smaller stocks also pulled back following a furious run. The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks fell 2.1%, after a 10.2% rally in a little more than a week.

Skeptics of the rally have been saying that many risks still lurk ahead on the long road to a full recovery. Chief among them is the possibility of a second wave of coronavirus infections, which could lead states across the country and nations around the world to tighten up on lockdown measures that could again choke the economy. Plus, one month of improving jobs data does not necessarily mean a trend.

The next big milestone for markets is coming Wednesday, when the Federal Reserve announces its decision on monetary policy following a two-day meeting. The Fed’s promise of immense, unprecedented amounts of aid helped stocks begin their rally, and investors want to see what their reaction will be to the recent upturn in jobs numbers.

___

AP Business Writer Yuri Kageyama contributed.

The Associated Press

Buzzfeed closes news operations in Britain, Australia

SYDNEY — Groundbreaking website Buzzfeed said on Thursday that it would be shuttering part of its loss-making news operations in Britain and Australia, as it scales back global ambitions to cut costs.

“For economic and strategic reasons, we are going to focus on news that hits big in the United States during this difficult period,” a company spokesperson said.


Many news outlets have been hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, with plummeting advertising revenues and already struggling operations pushed deeper into the red.

Ten staff in Britain and four in Australia will be furloughed, in a move that is expected to become permanent.

The company will no longer cover local news in the two countries, but said: “In the UK, we still plan on retaining some employees who are focused on news with a global audience — social news, celebrity, and investigations.”

The four Australian posts were “no longer essential during this time of sharply limited resources,” the company added.

Once maligned as a funnel for little more than celebrity gossip, clickbait lists and cat pictures, Buzzfeed has developed into a news force to rival more established outlets.

“BuzzFeed gave us space to experiment with covering politics for a young audience,” Australian news editor Lane Sainty tweeted.

She lauded her staff’s work to “tackle important and often under-covered beats like abortion, LGBTQ rights, Indigenous affairs, immigration and internet culture.”

“I’ve always been grateful for that & very proud of our work.”

More cost-cutting measures are expected, including in the United States, where “workshare programs” are being touted as a way of avoiding furloughs.



“Those options need to meet our savings goals, be legally and logistically workable, and allow us to keep producing kinetic, powerful journalism,” Buzzfeed said.

This year “news will spend about $10 million more than it takes in,” it added.

Agence France-Presse

US service sectors slows in March

WASHINGTON (AP) — Growth in the U.S. service sector slowed in March with a much bigger decline expected in coming months from all the shutdowns and job layoffs that have occurred because of efforts to contain the coronavirus.

The Institute for Supply Management said Friday that its service-sector index slowed to 52.5 in March from a reading of 57.3 in February.

Any reading above 50 indicates the service sector, where most Americans work, is expanding. But with record layoffs over the past two weeks, economists believe services will fall into a contraction in April.

The March report said service industries were already showing signs of the impact of the virus. Reports from the health care sector found significant shortages of personal protective equipment, test swabs and other basic medical supplies.

“Extreme sourcing measures are required to procure necessary supplies for basic operations,” the ISM report said, quoting respondents to its survey.

Anthony Nieves, chair of the survey committee for the ISM services report, said one factor that kept the index from sliding further in March was strength being seen in the government and health care parts of the index.

ISM reported on Wednesday that its manufacturing index did fall into contractionary territory in March with a reading of 49.1. Private economists said they were looking for the services index to slide into contraction territory probably with the April report.

“Conditions in both non-manufacturing and manufacturing are expected to weaken over coming months in response to virus-related shutdowns, supply chain disruptions as well as weak demand,” said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics.

Associated Press

Google offers $800 million to pandemic-impacted businesses, health agencies

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Google on Friday pledged $800 million worth of support for health organizations, researchers and businesses impacted by the crisis.

The aid will come in the form of cash, ad credits, and cloud services from the California-based internet colossus, according to chief executive Sundar Pichai.


Google will provide $250 million in ad grants to the World Health Organization and more than 100 other public agencies around the world providing information to stem the spread of the coronavirus, according to Pichai.

Some $340 million worth of free advertising will be made available to small- or medium-sized businesses in Google’s network that are taking financial hits as people stay home due to virus risk.

“We hope it will help to alleviate some of the cost of staying in touch with their customers,” Pichai said in a blog post.

A pool of $20 million world of credits for services hosted in the Google “cloud” will be available to researchers and academic institutions exploring ways to combat the deadly pandemic or that are tracking critical data about its spread.

Google will also match as much as $10,000 in donations its employees make to organizations in their communities this year, increasing the amount from $7,500.

“Together, we’ll continue to help our communities—including our businesses, educators, researchers and nonprofits—to navigate the challenges ahead,” Pichai said.

Google has been working with partners to ramp up production of protective gear such as face masks for healthcare providers.

Employees from Alphabet divisions including Google, Verily and X are also working with equipment makers to increase the production of ventilators needed to keep some COVID-19 sufferers alive, according to Pichai.

Agence France-Presse

Northern Ireland sportswear factory scrubs up in virus fight

As other factories fall silent due to the coronavirus, the din of production continues at O'Neills sportswear factory in Northern Ireland, where staff have pivoted to making scrubs and facemasks for besieged healthcare workers.

"You always feel proud of your product," business development manager Orla Ward told AFP.

"But this is just on another level because you really are getting it to the people that need it most at this really critical time."


Around 750 staff at the factory in Strabane, which makes kits and leisurewear primarily for Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) sports, were temporarily laid off as the COVID-19 crisis unfolded.

Teams and groups playing GAA sports -- such as hurling and Gaelic football -- began to postpone events and matches as the British and Irish governments restricted gatherings in a bid to stem infections.

"Our business was just basically drying up," Ward explained.

"Over the period of basically two weeks our order book went from extremely busy to practically nothing whatsoever."

But with the factory switching to produce scrubs for local operations of Britain's National Health Service (NHS), 150 staff have been able to return to work.

The news has been a small mercy for the town of Strabane, where the factory is the biggest employer.

- 'Tsunami' of patients -

It has also had an effect on a national scale, boosting Britain's efforts as it prepares for a "tsunami" of new coronavirus patients.

Healthcare workers across Britain have complained of a lack of protective equipment for staff, who are at higher risk of contracting COVID-19.

"The managing director had been speaking to people here in the local hospital and realised that they were in desperate need of scrubs," said Ward.

Ranks of the skilled machinist staff were back at their stations on Thursday, separated from each other under "social distancing" guidelines designed to slow the spread of the virus.

Surrounded by spools of vibrant thread and wearing masks made in the factory, they sewed the maroon fabrics which will soon be worn by frontline NHS staff.

Production began at the O'Neills Strabane location on Wednesday after the fabrics were dyed, given antibacterial treatment and shipped from Dublin -- where the firm is headquartered.

The Strabane factory is currently working to meet an order of 5,000 scrubs -- consisting of a set of trousers, a top and a mask.

"I think there's absolutely a great sense of pride that we can do this," said Ward.

"When you're faced with a challenge, look how quickly and how well you can step up to the plate and really help."

Agence France-Presse

Oppo continues to push envelope on smartphone technology

In an era of increasingly sophisticated smartphones, being good enough is simply not good enough.

This is why leading smartphone brand OPPO continues to churn out innovative technology that empowers the restless and relentless Filipinos, whose thirst for the best-among-the-best smartphone in the market is ever evident.

Revolutionary smartphone

OPPO’s latest revolutionary flagship smartphone, the Find X2 series was launched globally via livestream in early March, set to be a showcase of the brand’s best technologies yet, as well as a preview of other innovations the brand has in store for everyone.

The OPPO Find X2 Pro features the most advanced screen display OPPO has ever developed, with emphasis on resolution, screen refresh rate, color, and high dynamic range. The Find X2 Pro is the next generation flagship offering of OPPO that promises an all-round powerful camera experience, as well as battery life.

The device is equipped with Grade A screen quality through the 120Hz QHD+ AMOLED screen, an all-round ultra-vision-camera system, the industry’s fastest 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 flash charging technology, and the most advanced mobile platform—the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset. The Find X2 Pro continues OPPO’s line of smartphones with amazing camera. It is equipped with a triple-camera combination, 48MP wide-angle lens + 48MP ultra-wide-angle lens + 13MP telephoto lens, whilst supporting 10x hybrid zoom. It uses the Sony IMX689 which has the largest sensor size among all 48MP mobile camera sensors in the industry and Dolby Atmos equipped speakers.

“We are very excited to finally unveil our latest flagship phone Find X2 Pro in the Philippines. We believe that it perfectly matches the fast-paced and highly digital lifestyle of the modern Filipino industry leaders. Its revolutionary features were carefully crafted for years before we released them in public to ensure that we’re able to offer a full and satisfying smartphone experience that can keep up with the ever-demanding lifestyle of its target consumers,” shares Raymond Xia, Marketing Head of OPPO Philippines.

The Future of Intelligent Connectivity

Over the years, OPPO has boosted its multi-billion-dollar R&D facilities across key locations in the world. This ensures that the latest cutting edge technology is always at the hands—quite literally—of its customers around the world.

With nearly 100 million active users in the APAC region, OPPO remains committed to evolve into an R&D-centric technology company. In fact, in the next three years, the brand is set to invest over $7 billion in R&D initiatives, as it continues to focus on developing state-of-the-art technologies such as 5G, 6G, AI, AR, and big data.

“In line with the announcement made during the OPPO APAC Hub launch in Malaysia, we are already evolving beyond being a smartphone company. We have recently expanded our portfolio in the IoT space for a more comprehensive personal technology experience,” said Xia.

During the recent Find X2 series online launch, OPPO announced Find X2 series 5G smartphone globally as well as its latest product innovation on smart devices: the OPPO 5G CPE Omni and OPPO Watch. Adding to its portfolio beyond its smartphone product line, plus the other IoT products that were introduced during the OPPO APAC Hub launch in Malaysia such as the OPPO Enco Free, AR Glass, and VR.

Additionally, OPPO published a whitepaper on intelligent connectivity at the OPPO INNO DAY last December 2019, in partnership with market analytics firm IHS Markit. Titled “Intelligent Connectivity: Unleashing opportunities with the power of 5G, AI, and cloud,” the whitepaper aims to enable the industry to establish a more open and collaborative understanding of the ecosystem, better informing and guiding the sustainable development of intelligent connectivity in the future. The 5G era will be driven by intelligent connectivity powered by AI, cloud, edge computing, and IoT, according to the whitepaper.

OPPO also reiterates its commitment to being a global pioneer of 5G, especially because the coming 5G era is expected to generate 170 million potential shipment units for global smartphone markets. The possibilities of 5G is immense—almost instantaneous download speeds, higher resolution video, and next-level AR and VR capabilities.

business.inquirer.net

Amazon increases paid sick leave due to coronavirus

Amazon on Wednesday beefed up paid leave for workers quarantined due to the novel coronavirus or diagnosed with the COVID-19 illness.

The company also announced the creation of an Amazon Relief Fund — starting at $25 million — to serve as a pool of grant money for independent delivery drivers, seasonal employees and others losing paychecks due to the pandemic, according to the global internet retailer.


“Effective immediately, all Amazon employees diagnosed with COVID-19 or placed into quarantine will receive up to two weeks of pay,” the firm said in an online post.

“This additional pay while away from work is to ensure employees have the time they need to return to good health without the worry of lost pay.”

Amazon is already providing unlimited unpaid time off for all hourly employees through the end of this month.

The firm is based in Seattle, Washington, the state which has emerged as the United States epicenter of the virus with 24 deaths there so far.

Amazon partners and seasonal workers will be able to apply for relief fund grants to cover two-weeks’ pay “if diagnosed with COVID-19 or placed into quarantine by the government or Amazon,” according to the company.

“Additionally, this fund will support our employees and contractors around the world who face financial hardships from other qualifying events, such as a natural disaster, federally declared emergency, or unforeseen personal hardship.

Amazon has almost 800,000 full-time employees worldwide.

The company confirmed last week that one of its Seattle employees had been quarantined after testing positive for the new coronavirus.

Agence France-Presse

Dating app Tinder to move out of parent’s home

The popular mobile dating app Tinder will move out on its own next year in a spinoff announced Thursday by corporate parent IAC.

Tinder and its online dating siblings including PlentyOfFish, OkCupid and Hinge, which make up the Match Group, will be spun off as an independent company in 2020, according to an IAC statement.


“We’ve long said IAC is the ‘anti-conglomerate’ — we’re not empire builders,” said Barry Diller, chairman and senior executive of the holding company IAC.

“We’ve always separated out our businesses as they’ve grown in scale and maturity and soon Match Group, as the seventh spinoff, will join an impressive group of IAC progeny collectively worth $58 billion today.”

Tinder, known for giving users the option to “swipe” right or left to accept or reject a date, is the largest of the apps in Match Group with an estimated 57 million users worldwide.

The friendly breakup creating two separate public companies will give Match Group more flexibility while providing fresh capital to IAC, a media and entertainment group which also includes the Daily Beast, Dotdash Vimeo, Investopedia and HomeAdvisor.

“We’ve grown up tremendously over the last 20 years as part of IAC, from an innovator in a nascent category to a global leader in a fast-growing market with millions of users all over the world,” said Mandy Ginsberg, chief executive officer of Match Group. “Match Group is in an incredibly strong position as we enter this transaction and we are ready for the next chapter of the company’s journey.” RGA

source: business.inquirer.net

Asian shares rise after buying mood on Wall Street ends week

TOKYO – Asian shares were mostly higher Monday cheered by a buying mood on Wall Street that came at the end of last week.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 edged up 0.3% in early trading to 23,414.51, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.2% to 6,722.90. South Korea’s Kospi edged up 0.3% to 2,088.76. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost earlier gains to inch down 0.2% to 26,451.16. The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.2% to 2,906.42.

“Markets were mostly higher on the solid U.S. jobs data print,” said Vishnu Varathan of the Asia & Oceania Treasury Department at Mizuho Bank in Singapore, adding that questions remained on whether would prove enough amid other global risks.

The surprisingly strong U.S. jobs report had put investors in a buying mood on Wall Street, extending the market’s winning streak to a third day.

The rally pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average up by more than 300 points and erased the S&P 500’s losses from earlier in the week, nudging the benchmark index to a second consecutive weekly gain.

The Labor Department said employers added 266,000 positions, well above estimates of 184,000. The report also showed unemployment falling to a 50-year low. Separately, an index that measures how consumers feel about the economy showed an increase from last month.

The S&P 500 rose 28.48 points, or 0.9%, to 3,145.91. The index posted a 0.2% gain for the week, a solid pivot from losses of more than 1% as of late Thursday. It’s now within 0.3% of its all-time high set on Nov. 27 and up 25.5% so far this year.


The latest gains also helped stem some of the losses for the Dow and Nasdaq.

The Dow climbed 337.27 points, or 1.2%, to 28,015.06. The Nasdaq gained 85.83 points, or 1%, to 8,656.53. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks picked up 19 points, or 1.2%, to 1,633.84.

Friday’s batch of encouraging economic data capped what started as a rough week for the market.

Increased trade tensions and disappointing economic reports — including data showing manufacturing continues to shrink, and growth in the service sector is slowing — dragged the market to steep losses on Monday and Tuesday.

The latest employment report and consumer sentiment data are a welcome development as steady job growth has been one of the bright spots in the economy, along with solid consumer spending.

Investors also got some encouraging news on the U.S.-China trade front, with Beijing saying Friday that it is waiving punitive tariffs on U.S. soybeans and pork as negotiations for a trade deal continue.

ENERGY:

Benchmark crude oil

It rose 77 cents to $59.20 a barrel on Friday.

Brent crude oil, the international standard, gained $1 to close at $64.39 a barrel.

CURRENCIES:

The dollar fell to 108.59 Japanese yen from 108.69 yen on Friday. The euro weakened to $1.1055 from $1.1107.

source: business.inquirer.net

‘Black Friday’ becoming a shadow of its former self in US

The U.S. holiday shopping season officially opened with a deluge of “Black Friday” promotions but the frenzied crowds of the past have thinned out with the rise of e-commerce.

Companies in the retail, entertainment and tourism industries once again tried to entice shoppers after Thanksgiving with a bevy of offers on a day synonymous with American consumer culture and notorious “doorbuster” sales that start at the crack of dawn.


But U.S. consumers aren’t buying Black Friday the way they once did.

Only 36% of U.S. consumers plan to shop this year on Black Friday, down one percent from last year and a decline of 23% from 2015, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey.

“Just a few years ago, Black Friday had the aura of a FOMO (fear of missing out) event,” PWC said. “Now it seems more symbolic than significant in the pantheon of retail holidays.”

Black Friday will be followed in three days by “Cyber Monday,” a second highpoint of spending early in the season.

Friday’s sales have prompted copycat versions throughout Europe, an effort that has generated no small amount of friction.

This year’s events prompted protest in parts of France, Germany and the Netherlands that included environmentalist rallies outside Amazon distribution centers and human chains blocking malls.

There has been little sign of that sort of subversiveness in the United States. Rather, the bigger emerging challenge for Black Friday has been shifting consumer patterns.

The PWC survey said that for the first time in 2019 more consumers (54%) said they’ll do more of their shopping online than in stores.


Higher sales expected

Economists and retail industry insiders are broadly confident about the outlook for the 2019 season, owing to a strong labor market.

Consumer spending accounts for about 70% of US economic growth and has stayed strong throughout 2019 even as manufacturing has stagnated and business investment has been lackluster.

“Consumers are in good financial shape and willing to spend a little more on gifts for the special people in their lives this holiday season,” said Matthew Shay, Chief Executive of the National Retail Federation.

The NRF has projected that US consumers will spend an average of $1,048 this year, up about 4% they said they would spend last year.

But increasingly more of those sales are migrating online.

This trend includes Amazon of course, but also traditional brick-and-mortar chains like Walmart and Macy’s that have evolved into “multichannel” retailers, as well as companies and organizations hawking everything from pet food to hotel stays to political merchandise.

President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” merchandise was being once again discounted on the U.S. president’s political website at 35% off.

Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts was offering 25% off merchandise orders of $75 or more.

Due to the lateness of Thanksgiving, this year’s holiday shopping season is about six days shorter than last year, prompting more retailers to push up promotions even earlier in the season than usual, according to analysts.

Online consumer spending on Thanksgiving day came in this year at $4.2 billion, up 14.5% from a year ago and the first time above $4 billion, according to Adobe Analytics.


Jason Woosley, a vice president with Adobe, said preliminary data showed Black Friday was also on track to top its performance from last year by almost 19%, with promotions for sporting goods and appliances especially popular.

The data suggested the Thanksgiving day shopping spree hasn’t “stolen any traffic from Black Friday,” he said, adding that about 20% of the overall online sales for the season are expected between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday. NVG

source: business.inquirer.net

EU bank to stop funding fossil fuel projects in 2 years

BERLIN – The European Investment Bank said Thursday that it will stop financing fossil fuel energy projects from the end of 2021 as part of an effort to fight climate change.

The decision, which ends fossil fuel funding a year later than initially proposed, follows lengthy negotiations among European Union member states, the bank’s shareholders.

“We will stop financing fossil fuels and we will launch the most ambitious climate investment strategy of any public financial institution anywhere,” the EIB’s president, Werner Hoyer, said in a statement.

Calling climate “the top issue on the political agenda of our time,” Hoyer noted scientists’ warnings that the planet is heading for a 3-4 degrees Celsius (5.4-7.2 Fahrenheit) increase in global average temperature by the end of the century.

“If that happens, large portions of our planet will become uninhabitable, with disastrous consequences for people around the world,” he said.

The 2015 Paris climate accord aims to cap global warming at no more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) by 2100 compared with pre-industrial times.

The policy change —which will also see the EIB prioritize lending for energy efficiency, low carbon technology and grid improvements — comes as the EU tries to ratchet up its climate efforts.

Earlier Thursday, Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told diplomats and scientists in Berlin that “Europe must lead, because only then other countries such as China or India will stay the course too.”

He backed a proposal by the incoming European Commission for the 28-nation bloc to agree a Green New Deal that would see economic programs linked with efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said the EU should aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 55% by 2030 compared with 1990 levels, in line with Germany’s national target. The current EU goal is for a 40% cut.

Despite its tough talk, Germany was one of the countries which had resisted a complete end to fossil fuel funding by the EIB. Conservatives in the German government wanted an exemption for natural gas infrastructure on the grounds that it can help wean countries off more polluting coal.


Environmental groups cautiously welcomed the EIB decision but warned that it contains some loopholes for some gas projects.

The EIB, which is one of world’s biggest public lenders, loaned 55.6 billion euros ($61.93 billion) in 2018.

Separately, Sweden’s central bank said Wednesday that it has ditched bonds issued by the Canadian province of Albert and the Australian states of Queensland and Western Australia because authorities there are not doing enough to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

On Thursday, the European Commission announced that vehicle tires will have to come with clearer energy labels from 2021, to help consumers choose those that are most efficient.

The EU executive estimates that high rolling friction can increase fuel consumption by up to 30%, and more efficient tires could have the same effect as 4 million fewer cars on the roads. /gsg

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Freebies Are the Key Hook of the ‘Streaming Wars’

If you make it free, will they come? Apple, Disney and AT&T’s WarnerMedia want to jump-start their challenges to Netflix by offering freebies and deep discounts on emerging streaming plans.

That includes a free year of Apple TV Plus for customers of new Apple devices and a free year of Disney Plus to higher-tier Verizon customers.

Some existing HBO subscribers will also get the supercharged version, HBO Max, at no additional cost.

Experts say these services can worry later about holding onto customers — perhaps by offering must-see shows they can’t get anywhere else or tying discounts to other services that are difficult to drop.


“Next year is a race to aggregate consumers,” said Kevin Westcott, who heads Deloitte’s U.S. telecommunication, media and entertainment consulting business.

“The first war is getting them to sign up for a service.
The second war is retaining them.”

The new services have to attract users with marketing blitzes and the promise of original shows and movies, then build a big enough library of old favorites to help keep them.

Already, HBO Max will have “Friends ” exclusively, and Disney is taking back its older movies from Netflix.

A lot of shows and movies won’t be available at launch but will be added over time.
Free helps in the meantime.

Netflix has spent years building up its 158 million subscribers worldwide.
Hulu has 28 million.

The new players want to ramp up subscribers quickly to show they can compete.

So the services have launched the digital equivalent of the old cable promos: lure you in with discounted rates, then jack up the price after a year or two.

But digital customers have more choices than cable customers of yore so a big question is whether they’ll stick around.


Apple TV Plus debuts Friday for $5 a month with just nine shows and a few more coming soon.
It’s already cheaper than the $13 a month Netflix charges for its most popular plan.
Buyers of any new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or iPod Touch get a year for free.
That suggests a market of 40 million customers, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said.

Disney Plus, which arrives Nov. 12, is also cheaper than Netflix at $7 a month.
Disney struck a deal with Verizon to give customers of all unlimited wireless plans and some home-internet customers a free year.

Members of Disney’s free D23 fan club were also eligible to buy three years of Disney Plus service upfront for the price of two years.

Disney is targeting 60 million to 90 million worldwide by 2024.

AT&T’s HBO Max, which launches in May for $15 a month, is the most expensive of the new services.

That could make it tough for AT&T to reach its goal of 50 million U.S. customers and 75 million to 90 million worldwide by 2025.

But AT&T will make the service free for about 10 million existing HBO subscribers, or about a third of its U.S. subscribers.
HBO Max will also be included with AT&T’s higher-tier wireless and broadband offerings.

Comcast’s Peacock service will be free for many of its own cable and internet customers.
The regular price hasn’t been announced yet.
The service launches next spring.

“I don’t think customers are going to have to make difficult choices about cutting one in order to add another for the first few years,” said MoffettNathanson Research’s Craig Moffett.

But companies can’t run the services at a loss forever, and when discounts end and prices rise, customers may flee.
After all, the services add up fast, and signing up to multiple ones could end up costing as much as the cable packages people are ditching for streaming.

There’s a lesson to be drawn from the latest TV-industry attempt to counter cord-cutting.
Cable-like online packages like Sling TV and YouTube TV have ended discounts or raised prices, causing customers to flee and new sign-ups to slow down.

Sony announced Tuesday that it will quit offering PlayStation Vue, one of the first to challenge traditional TV packages.

Even the dominant player isn’t immune.
Netflix has raised prices slowly, which helped shield it from price shock, but its latest small increase has hurt customer growth.

Westcott, the Deloitte consultant, compared the streaming promotions to efforts to lure wireless customers from competing companies.


T-Mobile has long offered Netflix free to many customers.
Verizon includes six free months of Apple Music with some of its unlimited plans.
Many offer other deals like paying off your phone early or getting a phone for free if you switch.

“They were constantly looking for ways to steal you off other players,” he said.

How will these services keep users once they’ve reeled them in?

The companies can constantly refresh their services with new shows and movies, Diffusion Group president Michael Greeson said.

Cathy Yao, an analyst at Diamond Hill Capital Management, also said companies can try to create “stickiness” by bundling the services with other products and services so a customer is less inclined to unsubscribe.

For example, including HBO Max with wireless and broadband services will make consumers more likely to stick around for all three, Yao said.

It’s similar to how Amazon packages its streaming service with its $119-a-year Prime loyalty program.

Ultimately, the content will be king, experts say.
The services are investing billions into creating new shows and building up their libraries to find or create the next “Stranger Things.”


Apple TV Plus inked high-profile deals with Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Jennifer Aniston.

Comcast’s NBCUniversal reportedly paid $500 million to take back “The Office,” and Netflix reportedly paid even more to claim global rights to “Seinfeld.”

“The weapon of choice for retention is exclusive programming,” said Peter Csathy, founder of Creative and an industry consultant.
“All of these behemoths are investing billions of dollars in originals with the hope of finding the next ‘Game of Thrones’ that becomes ‘Must See TV.'”

source: usa.inquirer.net