US judge grants Google request to put Play store overhaul on temporary hold

By Mike Scarcella (Reuters) – Google said on Friday that a federal judge in California granted its request to pause his order directing the Alphabet unit to overhaul its Android app store Play by Nov. 1 to give consumers more choice over how they download software. San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge James Donato made the decision on Friday as part of an antitrust lawsuit against Google brought by “Fortnite” maker Epic Games. Google argued that … Read more…

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US Cellular to sell select spectrum assets to Verizon for $1 billion

(Reuters) – United States Cellular said on Friday it has agreed to sell some of its spectrum licenses to Verizon in a $1 billion deal. U.S. Cellular’s shares jumped 3.9% in trading before the bell. The company will sell portion of its spectrum licenses used for mobile phone signals and high-speed data services to Verizon. WHY IT’S IMPORTANT The transaction is part of U.S. Cellular’s strategy to monetize its spectrum assets and will help Verizon … Read more…

Meta must face Massachusetts social media addiction lawsuit, judge rules

BOSTON (Reuters) – A Massachusetts judge has rejected Meta Platforms’ bid to dismiss a lawsuit by the state alleging the social media company purposely deployed features on its Instagram platform to addict young users and deceived the public about the dangers its product posed to teenagers’ mental health. Suffolk County Superior Court Judge Peter Krupp in Boston, in a decision made public on Friday, rejected Meta’s request to dismiss claims by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea … Read more…

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Chip stock rally, upbeat retail sales data boost indexes

By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Purvi Agarwal (Reuters) -Wall Street rose on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and the Dow briefly reaching record highs, as chip stocks surged on TSMC’s upbeat forecast and stronger-than-expected monthly retail sales indicated a robust U.S. consumer. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, beat market estimates for profit and forecast a jump in fourth-quarter revenue, driven by demand for artificial intelligence chips. The chipmaker’s U.S.-listed shares soared … Read more…

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Strong discretionary spending buoys US retail sales in September

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. retail sales increased solidly in September likely as lower gasoline prices gave consumers more money to spend at restaurants and bars, supporting the view that the economy maintained a strong growth pace in the third quarter. The slightly stronger-than-expected rise in sales reported by the Commerce Department on Thursday also reflected sharp increases in receipts at clothing store outlets as well as miscellaneous store retailers. Consumers boosted online purchases … Read more…

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Bain & Co, OpenAI expand partnership to sell AI tools to clients

(Reuters) – Bain & Co said on Thursday it will expand its partnership with OpenAI to sell the AI startup’s tools, including ChatGPT, to the consultancy’s clients. Last year, the companies had set up a global services alliance to make Bain’s clients aware about OpenAI’s technology. The Boston-based consultancy has made OpenAI platforms, including ChatGPT Enterprise, available to its employees globally. Bain is also investing in establishing an OpenAI Center of Excellence, which will be … Read more…

EV maker Lucid expects to raise $1.67 billion from stock sale

(Reuters) -Cash-strapped electric luxury sedan maker Lucid said on Thursday a combined public offering and private placement of roughly 637 million shares would likely fetch it $1.67 billion. The stock sale as well as its latest warning of a bigger-than-expected loss for the third quarter sent Lucid shares down as much as 16.5% to $2.74, the lowest since July 2. The company expects to report a loss from operations of $765 million to $790 million … Read more…

Musk gave $75 million to pro-Trump group, becoming a Republican mega donor

By Alexandra Ulmer and Rachael Levy (Reuters) -Elon Musk gave around $75 million to his pro-Donald Trump spending group in the span of three months, federal disclosures showed on Tuesday, underscoring how the billionaire has become crucial to the Republican candidate’s efforts to win the Nov. 5 presidential election. America PAC, which is focused on turning out voters in closely contested states that could decide the election, spent around $72 million of that in the … Read more…

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FTC takes on subscription traps with ‘click to cancel’ rule

By Jody Godoy (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Trade Commission adopted a final rule on Wednesday requiring businesses to make it as easy to cancel subscriptions and memberships as it is to sign up, in the agency’s last major rulemaking before the Nov. 5 election. The “click to cancel” rule requires retailers, gyms and other businesses to get consumers’ consent for subscriptions, auto-renewals and free trials that convert to paid memberships. The cancellation method must … Read more…

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Boeing closes in on $15 billion financing via stock, hybrid bonds

By Shankar Ramakrishnan, Echo Wang (Reuters) -Boeing is closing in on a plan to raise around $15 billion with common shares and a mandatory convertible bond as the jet maker bolsters finances worsened by a crippling strike, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The company on Tuesday said in regulatory filings that it could raise as much as $25 billion in stock and debt with its investment-grade credit rating at risk. One of … Read more…

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