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Tag: CNBC

  • Omicron Delays Google’s Back-to-Office Date

    Omicron Delays Google’s Back-to-Office Date

    Google is delaying its back-to-office date again, this time as a result of the omicron COVID-19 variant.

    Like most tech companies, Google has repeatedly delayed its back-to-office date as the pandemic has continued. The company last postponed its date in late August, moving it from mid-October to January 10.

    According to CNBC, Chris Rackow, the company’s security VP, sent an email to employees telling them the the company would wait until the new year to make decisions about a return to the office. Rackow says the company will be looking to determine when it can safely return to a “stable, long-term working environment.” As a result, no employees will be required to switch to a hybrid workflow by the January date, as previously planned.

    Rackow didn’t specifically mention the omicron variant, but Business Insider had earlier reported that Google cited the variant when postponing its back-to-office date in specific regions that are already seeing the variant spread.

    Health officials are concerned by the omicron variant because of the high number mutations it has, leading some experts to believe it may be better at evading immunity — both from previous infections and from vaccines.

    If omicron becomes as much of a threat as experts fear, it’s a safe bet Google won’t be the only company pushing back a return to the office.

  • It’s Official: Jack Dorsey Steps Down as Twitter CEO

    It’s Official: Jack Dorsey Steps Down as Twitter CEO

    Jack Dorsey has stepped down as Twitter CEO and will be leaving the company within a few months.

    News broke Monday morning that Dorsey was expected to step down as CEO, although CNBC’s sources did not say why or when. Dorsey confirmed the news in a tweet Monday.

    In his tweet, Dorsey says Parag Agrawal is replacing him, effective Monday. Dorsey said he believes every company should be able to stand on its own, without the leadership or influence of its founders.

    In harmony with that belief, Dorsey says he will stay on the board only though the remainder of his current term, which is set to expire around May. After that, he will leave the company, giving Agrawal room to lead how he sees fit.

  • Amazon Set to Pass UPS and FedEx as Largest US Delivery Service

    Amazon Set to Pass UPS and FedEx as Largest US Delivery Service

    Amazon is on the verge of a major milestone, as it closes in on UPS and FedEx as the largest US delivery service.

    Amazon may have started as an online book sales platform, but it has grown far beyond its origins. The company is now the largest e-commerce platform, the largest cloud provider and will soon be the largest delivery service, according to CNBC.

    While Amazon originally relied on other services to deliver its products, it has increasingly invested in its own service over the last few years. Dave Clark, Amazon’s CEO of Worldwide Consumer, told CNBC that the company expects to become the biggest service in late 2021 or early 2022.

    “We expect we will be one of the largest carriers in the world by the end of this year,” Clark told CNBC’s Becky Quick. “I think we’ll probably be the largest package delivery carrier in the U.S. by the time we get to the end of the year, if not in early ’22.”

  • Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Preparing to Step Down

    Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Preparing to Step Down

    Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is preparing to step down, according to reports, raising questions about the social media platform’s future.

    Dorsey currently serves as CEO of Twitter and his second company, Square. He has faced calls to step down from the top spot at Twitter before, with some questioning whether he has the ability to effectively run both companies.

    According to CNBC, sources say Dorsey is expected to step down, although no details have been disclosed. It’s not known when or why he would step down, nor is it known who would replace him.

    Twitter’s stock was up on the news.

  • Microsoft Is Now the World’s Most Valuable Company

    Microsoft Is Now the World’s Most Valuable Company

    Microsoft has surpassed Apple to become the world’s most valuable company.

    Apple was the first company to be valued at $1 trillion, as well as the first to cross the $2 trillion mark on its way to becoming the world’s most valuable company. Yesterday’s earnings report were a bit of a miss, however, with revenue coming in lower than analysts were expecting, largely as a result of the supply chain issues that have been impacting the industry.

    Apple’s revenue miss has created an opportunity for Microsoft, with the latter surpassing Apple as the world’s most valuable company, according to CNBC. Unlike Apple, Microsoft handily beat Wall Street’s expectations, a benefit of being primarily a software and cloud company, as opposed to Apple’s reliance on hardware sales.

    As of this afternoon, Microsoft’s market cap was around $2.47 trillion, with Apple holding at $2.44 trillion.

  • Intel CEO: Semiconductor Shortage Won’t End Until 2023

    Intel CEO: Semiconductor Shortage Won’t End Until 2023

    Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger had bad news for everyone hoping the semiconductor shortage would end soon, saying it won’t happened until 2023.

    Industries the world over are struggling with one of the worst semiconductor shortages in history. Early lockdowns and COVID outbreaks hurt production at a time when unprecedented numbers of people were transitioning to remote or hybrid work. Between a contained supply and an uptick in demand for laptops, tablets and gaming consoles, the industry has yet to recover.

    Unfortunately, the shortage has spread beyond just the tech industry. Automakers have been struggling to maintain production as a result of not having enough chips to build out their vehicles.

    In an interview with CNBC, Gelsinger said the industry is currently in the worst phase of the shortage, a shortage that will last until 2023.

    “We’re in the worst of it now, every quarter next year we’ll get incrementally better, but they’re not going to have supply-demand balance until 2023,” Gelsinger said.

  • Vladimir Putin Signals Support for Cryptocurrencies

    Vladimir Putin Signals Support for Cryptocurrencies

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has come out in support of cryptocurrencies, at a time when Russia is the third-biggest crypto mining country.

    Cryptocurrency is under increased scrutiny around the world, with many legislators looking to regulate the technology. China recentlyimplemented a major crackdown, and US officials are weighing what steps to take to regulate it.

    Putin, on the other hand, seems ready to embrace it. In an interview with CNBC, via Bloomberg, the Russian president said crypto “has the right to exist and can be used as a means of payment.”

    As Bloomberg highlights, Russia has been looking for alternatives to the US dollar for international trading for several years. The politics of the situation are no doubt playing a part in Putin’s embrace of crypto.

  • Google Lowers Third-Party Cloud Marketplace Fees

    Google Lowers Third-Party Cloud Marketplace Fees

    Google Cloud has made a major change in hopes of being more competitive, slashing the commission it charges for third-party cloud app sales.

    Much like Google or Apple’s app stores, cloud providers often charge a commission on third-party apps and services that vendors sell on their cloud marketplaces. Google had previously charged a 20% commission, but has lowered its fee to 3%.

    The move will help Google better compete with its rivals, and brings its revenue share percentage inline with them. According to CNBC, it’s estimated that AWS charges roughly 5%, while Microsoft reduced its fees from 20% to 3% in July.

    Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian has made no secret of his desire to help the company move from third to second place in the cloud industry within the next several years. Matching its rivals’ revenue share fees is critical if it wants to continue to attract developers and third-party vendors.

    “Our goal is to provide partners with the best platform and most competitive incentives in the industry,” a Google spokesperson told CNBC. “We can confirm that a change to our Marketplace fee structure is in the works, and we’ll have more to share on this soon.”

  • Tencent and NetEase Stocks Take a Hit After China’s Gaming Ban

    Tencent and NetEase Stocks Take a Hit After China’s Gaming Ban

    Tencent and NetEase have both taken a hit to their stock price following China’s decision to limit how much time minors can spend gaming.

    China made headlines when its National Press and Publication Administration (NAAP) limited minors to only three hours of video gaming a week. Kids will only be able to play one hour a day, Friday through Sunday, as well as during holidays.

    According to CNBC, Tencent and NetEase, the country’s two largest gaming companies, have both seen their stock fall roughly 3% in the aftermath of the the NAAP’s decision. Despite the hit, analysts don’t believe there will be major impact long-term.

    “We estimate about 5% of gaming revenue comes from minors under 18 years old, and we believe there is about 3% earnings impact to Tencent if we assume gaming contributes about 60% of total earnings,” investment bank Jefferies said in a note, seen by CNBC.

    “Minors represent low singe digits of NetEase’s gaming revenue,” the analysts continued.

  • PayPal Rumored to Be Exploring a Stock-Trading Platform

    PayPal Rumored to Be Exploring a Stock-Trading Platform

    PayPal is rumored to be looking at the possibility of creating a stock-trading platform in a bid to challenge rivals.

    PayPal is already one of the leading payment services companies, and has recently entered the cryptocurrency market. According to CNBC, the company is now looking at creating a stock-trading platform.

    Such a move would help PayPal better compete with Robinhood and similar platforms, ones that already offer both stock and crypto trading options.

    According to CNBC’s sources, PayPal may purchase or partner with an existing trading company. Either way, sources warned the company’s product will likely not be market-ready this year.

    PayPal’s stock jumped 3% on the news, while Robinhood lost 3%.

  • Microsoft Snags Charlie Bell, Former AWS Heavyweight

    Microsoft Snags Charlie Bell, Former AWS Heavyweight

    Microsoft has scored a big win, snagging Charlie Bell just two week after he left rival AWS.

    Charlie Bell was a heavyweight inside Amazon’s cloud business, a 23-year veteran of the company. When Jeff Bezos stepped down as CEO, and AWS head Andy Jassy succeeded him, many saw Bell as the most likely candidate to take over as AWS CEO.

    Instead, Bell left the company he had spent more than two decades with, sparking a major reshuffling to help fill the gap.

    CNBC has now confirmed that Microsoft has hired Bell, although he’s currently listed as reporting to Kathleen Hogan, Microsoft’s head of HR and an executive vice president. It’s a somewhat odd placement for Bell, given his background, and is likely temporary.

    However things shake out, Bell joining Microsoft is a big blow to AWS, especially since Microsoft is Azure is the AWS’ closest cloud competitor.

  • TSMC Is Now Asia’s Most Valuable Company, Leapfrogging Tencent

    TSMC Is Now Asia’s Most Valuable Company, Leapfrogging Tencent

    TSMC has passed Tencent to become Asia’s most valuable company, a testament to TSMC’s ascendance and Tencent’s troubles at home.

    Taiwan’s TSMC has become the leader in the semiconductor industry, manufacturing chips for everyone from Apple to Intel. The company is widely considered to have a healthy lead technologically, making it that much harder for its competitors to challenge its position in the market.

    In the meantime, Tencent has been facing challenges in its home country of China. The company is behind a number of popular mobile games, such as PUBG Mobile and COD Mobile, but China has been critical of the impact of video games on young people. Being under the government’s scrutiny has been enough to blunt Tencent’s value, creating further opportunity for TSMC to pass it.

    According to CNBC, TSMC is now worth $538 billion, as opposed to Tencent, which is worth $536 billion.

  • Bitcoin Rally Drives Crypto Market Back to $2 Trillion Valuation

    Bitcoin Rally Drives Crypto Market Back to $2 Trillion Valuation

    Bitcoin has rallied enough to drive the cryptocurrency market back above $2 trillion for the first time since May.

    The crypto market has had a rough couple of months. Concerns over a crackdown in China, as well as Tesla suspending sales via bitcoin, helped send bitcoin and the larger crypto market into a tailspin. According to CNBC, it appears the market is beginning to recover some of that lost ground.

    Over the weekend, bitcoin hit $48,000 for the first time since May, boosting the overall market to $2 trillion — also for the first time since May.

    It remains to be seen if the market will maintain its gains. There are still a number of threats on the horizon, not the least of which is increased crypto regulation.

  • Facebook Delays Return to Office Until 2022

    Facebook Delays Return to Office Until 2022

    Facebook is the latest company to push back its return-to-office date, shooting for January 2022 amid the Delta surge.


    The Delta COVID variant has upended many companies plans, with a number of high-profile organizations opting to delay a return to the office, require vaccination or both. Facebook is the latest to join that club, pushing its date back to January 2022.

    At the same time, the company indicated it would make decisions based on data, not arbitrary dates.

    “Data, not dates, is what drives our approach for returning to the office,” the company said in a statement, according to CNBC. “Given the recent health data showing rising Covid cases based on the delta variant, our teams in the U.S. will not be required to go back to the office until January 2022. We expect this to be the case for some countries outside of the US, as well. We continue to monitor the situation and work with experts to ensure our return to office plans prioritize everyone’s safety.”

  • AMC Will Accept Bitcoin as Payment

    AMC Will Accept Bitcoin as Payment

    AMC has announced it will start accepting bitcoin as payment by the end of 2021.

    In an earnings call Monday, AMC CEO Adam Aron said all US theaters would accept bitcoin, for both tickets and concessions, if the purchase is made online. The company plans to have the necessary systems in place to accept the transactions by the end of 2021, according to CNBC.

    As the outlet points out, the news brings together two highly volatile factors. Bitcoin’s prices have been all over the map in the last year, while AMC was one of the stocks that benefited from traders on Reddit’s WallStreetBets group, the same traders that brought GameStop to unexpected heights and cost hedge funds and short-sellers billions.

    Regardless of the backstories involved, another major company accepting bitcoin as payment is sure to help drive the cryptocurrency’s popularity even more.

  • Former Walmart U.S. CEO Sees Virtual Reality As Future Of Retail

    Former Walmart U.S. CEO Sees Virtual Reality As Future Of Retail

    Former Walmart U.S. President and CEO Bill Simon sees technology, such as virtual reality, having a big impact on traditional brick-and-mortar retail, according to CNBC.

    Simon served as President and CEO of Walmart U.S. from 2010 to 2014, giving him a unique perspective on the retail industry. Rather than predicting doom-and-gloom for traditional retail, Simon believe technology has the ability to transform the industry and open all new possibilities.

    Even something as simple as trying on clothes may be revolutionized by technology, such as virtual reality.

    “Could we have virtual changing rooms so that you can just scan an item in a store with your phone and try it on yourself without actually having to go try it on?” Simon said on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.”

    Simon believes successful retailers will combine online sales with a brick-and-mortar presence, and cites Target and Amazon as two examples of companies that are making it work.

  • Deja Vu: Twitter Shuts Offices Amid COVID Surge

    Deja Vu: Twitter Shuts Offices Amid COVID Surge

    Twitter has closed its San Francisco and New York offices amid surging COVID cases.

    A return to the office will have to wait, at least for Twitter employees, as the company is shuttering offices and delaying any further openings.

    “After careful consideration of the CDC’s updated guidelines, and in light of current conditions, Twitter has made the decision to close our opened offices in New York and San Francisco as well as pause future office reopenings, effective immediately,” a Twitter spokesperson said, according to CNBC.

    Much of the blame lies with the Delta variant of COVID, which is far more contagious and has even been infecting some vaccinated individuals. As Twitter acknowledged, the CDC has been forced to update its guidelines in an effort to combat the aggressive variant.

  • Kaseya Ransomware Victims May Reach 1,500

    Kaseya Ransomware Victims May Reach 1,500

    Kaseya has acknowledged as many as 1,500 businesses may have been impacted by the ransomware attack targeting its software.

    On July 2, Kaseya began learning of a coordinated attack against its software. Kaseya makes IT management software, and its customers provide managed IT services to somewhere between 800,000 and 1,000,000 small businesses.

    The company says it immediately shut down the software being targeted, although an estimated 800 to 1,500 businesses have been compromised.

    “Our global teams are working around the clock to get our customers back up and running,” said Fred Voccola, CEO, Kaseya. “We understand that every second they are shut down, it impacts their livelihood, which is why we’re working feverishly to get this resolved.”

    The perpetrators appear to be the REvil gang, most recently responsible for the ransomware attack on meat processor JBS. That attack resulted in JSB paying an $11 million ransom to prevent excessive strain on the world’s meat supply.

    In this case, the group initially demanded a $70 million ransom. According to CNBC, REvil has privately lowered the demand to $50 million.

  • McDonald’s Testing Automated Drive-Thru Technology

    McDonald’s Testing Automated Drive-Thru Technology

    McDonald’s is testing automated drive-thru ordering technology in 10 Chicago locations.

    Restaurants are increasingly looking for ways to revolutionize their processes and streamline operations. Drive-thru operations, in particular, are ripe for change, with many companies implementing mobile ordering.

    McDonald’s is taking it a step further, testing automated voice-ordering tech, according to CNBC. So far, the pilot program is seeing 85% order accuracy, with only a fifth of orders needing to be handled by a person.

    “Now there’s a big leap from going to 10 restaurants in Chicago to 14,000 restaurants across the U.S., with an infinite number of promo permutations, menu permutations, dialect permutations, weather — and on and on and on,” said CEO Chris Kempczinski.

    If McDonald’s is able to make a go of automated ordering, it would give the company a major competitive advantage over competing fast-food chains. Relying on automated ordering tech could help the company cut down on cost. It could also serve as a template for other companies looking to do the same.

  • Amazon Is the Number One US Apparel Retailer, Passing Walmart

    Amazon Is the Number One US Apparel Retailer, Passing Walmart

    What was years in the making has finally happened, with Amazon passing Walmart to become the largest apparel retailer in the US.

    Experts had been predicting Amazon would overtake Walmart for years. Like many other transformations, however, the pandemic is what finally pushed the online giant across the finish line. As individuals remained in lockdown and avoided crowded stores, Amazon’s business went into overdrive.

    According to Wells Fargo, via CNBC, that was enough to help it surpass Walmart in the apparel space, with its apparel and footwear growing an estimated 15% in 2020 to more than $41 billion. That gives it a solid 20% to 25% lead over Walmart.

    “This represents highly impressive 11%-12% share of all apparel sold in the U.S. and 34%-35% share of all apparel sold online,” wrote Wells Fargo analysts Ike Boruchow and Tom Nikic. “We now estimate Amazon will surpass $45 billion in apparel/footwear sales in 2021.”

    Interestingly, the outlook was not all roses for Amazon, as there are still some high-profile brands that refuse to sell on the online store. Much of this is due to the way Amazon approaches the business, focusing on sales over helping companies build their brand.

    “Until Amazon becomes a platform that works with companies to elevate brands, rather than viewing the relationship as transactional, companies who are fiercely protective of their brands (e.g. Nike), will not sell to Amazon,” said the analysts.

  • SpaceX President: No Plans for Tiered Starlink Pricing

    SpaceX President: No Plans for Tiered Starlink Pricing

    SpaceX is aggressively rolling out its Starlink satellite internet service, and has no plans to offer multi-tier pricing.

    Starlink is a constellation of satellites designed to provide internet access to underserved communities around the world. Because the satellites are in low-Earth orbit, they provide much faster performance and lower latency than traditional satellite internet options.

    The service is currently in beta, but has been widely praised by users for offering speeds up to 500+ Mbps. While those reports are extreme cases, the average speeds users see are 80 – 90 Mbps. For individuals in remote areas, without access to fiber or cable internet, Starlink has been a game-changer.

    While many internet service providers offer tiered pricing, with different options, Space X president Gwynne Shotwell doesn’t see the company going that route, according to CNBC.

    “I don’t think we’re going to do tiered pricing to consumers. We’re going to try to keep it as simple as possible and transparent as possible, so right now there are no plans to tier for consumers,” Shotwell said, speaking on a virtual panel at the Satellite 2021 “LEO Digital Forum.”

    While some may lament the lack of choice, most consumers will probably appreciate the simple, straightforward options. The decision also puts Starlink in the same position as T-Mobile’s Home Internet, which also has a single, all-inclusive price for its service. After years of internet companies nickel-and-diming customers, simple options like Starlink and T-Mobile Home Internet are a breath of fresh air.