Coinbase Says US 1M Tech Jobs At Risk, Microsoft To Place Ads In ChatGPT Powered Bing Search, Netflix Preps For Big Transition Into TV Gaming: Today’s Top Stories

Benzinga

Coinbase Warns Unclear Crypto Regulations Pose Threat To 1M US Tech Jobs

• Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Inc says that one million tech jobs are at risk of being outsourced to other countries.
• Coinbase said as “the U.S. goes down a path of regulatory uncertainty,” the EU, U.K., UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and Japan are all creating “environments for crypto to flourish.”
• Coinbase said that a recent report from venture capital firm Electric Capital shows that the U.S. was facing a significant risk of losing out on one million web3 developer jobs and millions of related non-technical jobs over the next seven years if it continues with its current regulation by enforcement approach.

ChatGPT, Show Me The Money! Microsoft To Place Ads In ChatGPT Powered Bing Search

• Microsoft Corp aims to tap the popularity of its OpenAI’s GPT-4 powered Bing search engine by introducing ads helping advertisers reach people in a high-quality and targeted environment.
• Microsoft said there are now more than 100 million daily users of Bing. New scenarios like chat drive engagement, including more than 100 million chats.
• Of the millions of users in Preview, one-third are new to Bing, creating a net new opportunity for publishers.

Credit Suisse Helped Rich Americans Hide Over $700M Despite 2014 DoJ Plea: Wyden Investigation

• The Senate Finance Committee’s findings of a two-year investigation released Wednesday uncovered major violations of a 2014 plea agreement by Credit Suisse Group AG with the Department of Justice for enabling tax evasion by thousands of wealthy U.S. individuals.
• The committee’s investigation revealed a “previously unknown, ongoing, and potentially criminal conspiracy involving the failure to disclose nearly $100 million in secret offshore accounts belonging to a single family of American taxpayers.”

Viatris Among Three Companies Licensed To Make GSK/Pfizer-Backed Long-Acting HIV Prevention Drug

• ViiV Healthcare and Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) have signed sublicence agreements with Aurobindo Pharma, Cipla Limited, and Viatris Inc – through its subsidiary Mylan – to manufacture generic versions of cabotegravir long-acting (LA) for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). 
• Aurobindo Pharma and Viatris will manufacture in India. 
• Cipla Limited will manufacture in India and plans to manufacture in South Africa. 

Ford Joins Deal To Build $4.5B EV Battery Material Plant In Indonesia

• Ford Motor Co announced an agreement with Indonesian mining company PT Vale Indonesia Tbk and Chinese mineral supplier Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co.
• Under the new agreement, Vale Indonesia, Huayou Cobalt, and Ford will make equity investments in the Pomalaa Block High-Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL) Project in Southwest Sulawesi, Indonesia.
• The project could produce up to 120 kilotons per year of contained nickel.

Toyota’s February Sales Up 10.3% YoY, Rebounding From Supply Chain Challenges

• Toyota Motor Corp reported higher global sales and production figures for February 2023 compared to the same period a year ago, owing to easing semiconductor supply.
• The Japanese automobile manufacturer reported a 10.3% increase in worldwide sales to 773,271 vehicles. Sales within Japan surged 53.2% to 155,840 vehicles, including mini vehicles.
• Worldwide production rose 2% to 755,839, spurred by an increase in production within Japan, which offset the fall in production outside the country. Domestic production rose 11.2% to 281,521 vehicles.

Electronic Arts To Let Go 6% Employees, To Cut Costs, Pare Real Estate Presence

• Electronic Arts Inc disclosed a restructuring plan to reduce headcount by approximately 6% of the company’s workforce, in addition to office space reductions.
• The company expects to book charges of $170 million – $200 million for the restructuring.
• The restructuring prioritizes the company’s growth opportunities and optimizes its real estate portfolio.

Fashion Retailer H&M Reports 12% Top-Line Growth In Q1; Reports Delay In Start Of Spring Season In Many Markets

• Swedish clothing giant Hennes & Mauritz AB reported a 12% year-on-year increase in first-quarter FY23 sales to SEK 54.87 billion.
• Excluding Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, the increase was 16% in SEK and 7% in local currencies. The gross margin was 47.2%.
• Sellpy, one of Europe’s largest second-hand platforms and previously an associated company, is being consolidated into the H&M group from Q1.

Bloomberg

Netflix And Thrill: Streaming Giant Reportedly Preps For Big Transition Into TV Gaming

• Netflix Inc seems to be testing the idea of expanding its gaming service to televisions. 
• App developer Steve Moser uncovered Netflix code and discovered that the streaming giant plans to expand its video-gamer service beyond smartphones and tablets by bringing it to TV sets for the first time.
• The code references games that can be played on TVs, using phones, and controllers. 

JetBlue Joins United, Delta To Pare Flights To Ease Congestion And Delays

• JetBlue Airways Corp is preparing to prune New York flights during the impending summer travel season.
• The federal regulators urged carriers to reduce schedules by up to 10% at some of the nation’s busiest airports due to a crisis in air-traffic controllers.
• Delta Air Lines, Inc and United Airlines Holdings, Inc are also preparing to trim flights this summer to reduce congestion and delays.
• Carriers have until April 30 to identify what flight slots or times they will temporarily give up at airports in Washington and the New York area.

Starbucks Investors Vote For Worker-Rights Assessment

• Starbucks Corp investors urge an outsider assessment of how it treats its labor force.
• The nonbinding proposal was approved in light of a unionization wave across its cafes in the U.S.
• In the vote, more than half of the investors wanted a worker rights assessment.

Financial Times

Meta Weighs Political Ad Ban In Wake Of Tougher EU Regulations

• Meta Platforms Inc is weighing a company-wide ban on political advertising in Europe.
• The ban follows concerns over its social networking platforms like Facebook and Instagram failing to comply with forthcoming EU regulations that target online campaigning.
• CEO Mark Zuckerberg is concerned that the definition of political ads under the plan will be so broad that it will be easier to refuse all paid-for political campaigns on the company’s sites.

Reuters

Google Flags Microsoft’s Cloud Practices As Anti-Competitive

• Alphabet Inc’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL)  Google Cloud slammed Microsoft for anti-competitive cloud computing practices.
• Google Cloud also criticized Microsoft’s imminent deals with European cloud vendors, saying these do not solve broader concerns about its licensing terms.
• Google Cloud Vice President Amit Zavery told Reuters the company had raised the issue with antitrust agencies and urged European Union antitrust regulators to take a closer look.

Philips Expects Recall Settlements This Year

• Koninklijke Philips NV intends to negotiate settlements related to its global recall of respiratory equipment this year.
• “I think we can at least reach a settlement on economic damages this year,” Reuters quoted CEO Roy Jakobs from an interview with the Dutch financial daily FD.
• According to the report, Jakobs added that he “hopes and expects” to settle with the U.S. FDA this year.

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Originally Posted March 30, 2023 – Coinbase Says US 1M Tech Jobs At Risk, Microsoft To Place Ads In ChatGPT Powered Bing Search, Netflix Preps For Big Transition Into TV Gaming: Today’s Top Stories