Amazon.com, Inc . ( AMZN ) has rolled out several enhancements to its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing offering that are designed to enhance its utility to a wide range of customers. In particular, AWS is focused in 2022 on enabling many organizations—including startups, large enterprises, and government agencies—to become more agile and innovate more rapidly at lower cost. During the AWS Summit in San Francisco on April 21, 2022, Swami Sivasubramanian, vice president of data, analytics, and machine learning services at AWS, offered details on several new product offerings. The innovations that he described range across several service categories, including databases, machine learning, the Internet of Things (IoT) , and application development. Key Takeaways Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced six major enhancements on April 21, 2022. Two increase flexibility and lower costs for AWS users. One makes creating digital twins easier. One facilitates … [Read more...] about Amazon (AMZN) Rolls Out Web Services (AWS) Innovations
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Senate Democrats Demand Answers About Tech Companies Sharing Data From People Who Get Abortions
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Fourteen Senate Democrats sent letters Tuesday to two data brokers demanding information about data they’ve distributed related to abortion clinic visits, as the prospect that the Supreme Court could soon overturn Roe v. Wade has sparked new concerns about how patients’ digital data could be used against them to enforce abortion bans. Key Facts The senators, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), sent letters to SafeGraph and Placer.ai , following Vice reports that found SafeGraph sold location data of people who visited Planned Parenthood clinics and Placer.ai offered “heat maps” on its website showing where Planned Parenthood patients live. Calling the reports “appalling,” the lawmakers asked the companies to “immediately account for [their] problematic practices … and guarantee that [they] will eliminate these practices, and others like them, completely and permanently.” The lawmakers … [Read more...] about Senate Democrats Demand Answers About Tech Companies Sharing Data From People Who Get Abortions
Boeing (BA) Takes Heat From Top European Customer Ryanair
A management reset may be in order at The Boeing Company (BA) , contends the CEO of Irish budget carrier Ryanair Holdings PLC ( RYAOF ), after a string of delivery delays and disputes over pricing negotiations have clouded the business relationship of the two companies. Key Takeaways Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said that Boeing's management needs a shakeup after a number of delivery delays and stalled pricing negotiations with the company. Ryanair ended negotiations to purchase up to 250 MAX 10 planes in September 2021 after pricing negotiations with Boeing broke down. Boeing's 737 MAX 10 and 787 Dreamliner have suffered major delivery delays due to certification and manufacturing issues. Faster-than-expected deliveries of Boeing's MAX 10 and Dreamliner could bring on a sharp rally in the company's share price. Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary lambasted the aerospace company's management at the airline's quarterly earnings conference call on Monday, … [Read more...] about Boeing (BA) Takes Heat From Top European Customer Ryanair
StudioCanal shows interest to shoot film in Malaysia
CANNES: StudioCanal, a film production and distributor in France, has expressed its interest in Malaysia as its filming destination. Suraya Filem Production (M) Sdn Bhd director Shures. R (pic) said the matter was expressed by StudioCanal Head of Production Elsa Bonomi and Head of Sales and Distribution Mathilde Mourey during a discussion and luncheon session with Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa on Tuesday (May 17). He said the company was also interested in the 30% cash rebate offered through the Film in Malaysia Incentive (FIMI) and an additional up to five per cent through the cultural test. "All this while, we have made a lot of distributions and bought a lot of content. So now, why not bring forward the production to Malaysia? If the storyline of the film requires a Malaysian background, why not come to Malaysia, rather than Thailand or other countries? We can get a better rebate. "They (StudioCanal) has decided to bring the head of their … [Read more...] about StudioCanal shows interest to shoot film in Malaysia
Steve Jobs didn’t want first iPhone to have a SIM slot, reveals iPod inventor
Apple’s visionary co-founder Steve Jobs wanted the first iPhone to not have a SIM slot, iPod inventor Tony Fadell revealed in a recent interview. Fadell , while discussing his book Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making with journalist Joanna Stern, said that Jobs wanted Apple to use CDMA technology for connections with cell towers. “We don’t need a hole in this (iPhone),” Fadell quoted Steve Jobs as saying. “Verizon (a wireless carrier company) does not have SIM cards, why do we need a SIM card? We are not going to have SIM cards on our phones.” Fadell recalled telling jobs that the idea would not work. “We had to bring him all the cell phone data. Almost 95 percent of all the phones at that time (in 2007) had SIM slots. No one had the technology for eSIM at that time. It took 12 to 13 years to get there.” Fadella added that when working with a highly-opinionated person, one has to be certain to get data to oppose them. Close “We … [Read more...] about Steve Jobs didn’t want first iPhone to have a SIM slot, reveals iPod inventor
CFPB Orders Debt-Relief Payment Processors to Pay Over $11 Total Million Penalty
On Wednesday, May 11, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a federal watchdog agency responsible for consumer protection in the financial services industry, finalized an enforcement action against debt-relief payment processors RAM Payment and Account Management Systems (AMS) as well as AMS’s co-founders, Gregory Winters and Stephen Chaya. The respondents have been accused of illegally collecting debt-relief fees, misleading borrowers about when said fees would be paid to debt-relief companies, sending illegal advance fees to debt-relief companies, and failing to return funds to consumers who cancelled their student loan debt-relief agreements. The CFPB has ordered RAM Payment, AMS, Winters, and Chaya to pay over $11 million in consumer redress and civil money penalties, in addition to banning AMS, Winters, and Chaya from the debt-relief payment processing and account maintenance industry. Key Takeaways The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has … [Read more...] about CFPB Orders Debt-Relief Payment Processors to Pay Over $11 Total Million Penalty
Walmart Q1 FY2023 Earnings Report Preview
Key Takeaways Analysts estimate adjusted EPS of $1.48 vs. $1.69 in Q1 FY 2022. U.S. comparable sales (excluding fuel sales) are expected to rise YOY, but at less than half the pace of the same quarter a year ago. Revenue is expected to barely increase for the second straight quarter as the boost from the pandemic continues to wear off. Walmart Inc. ( WMT ), one of the world's biggest retailers, enjoyed unusually strong earnings and revenue growth during the past two years. The key driver was consumers who changed their buying patterns in several ways during the pandemic. Walmart's e-commerce sales soared as people sheltering at home boosted their shopping online. And consumers also spent more on manufactured goods as they spent less on dining out and traveling. But these pandemic-related forces are beginning to lose momentum. As a result, Walmart's growth has begun to slow sharply. Investors will be watching whether Walmart can reverse its slowdown in growth when … [Read more...] about Walmart Q1 FY2023 Earnings Report Preview
Serba Dinamik units seek restraining order, proposes ‘100% return’ scheme of arrangement
Serba Dinamik seeks restraining order against units, proposes '100% return' scheme of arrangement to creditors - A + A KUALA LUMPUR (May 18): Four subsidiaries of Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd are seeking a restraining order and a leave to convene a creditors' meeting -- a move seen as to revive the troubled oil and gas group which is facing a winding up petition from its creditors. In a bourse filing on Wednesday (May 18), Serba Dinamik said its subsidiaries, namely Serba Dinamik Group Bhd (SDGB), Serba Dinamik Sdn Bhd (SDSB), Serba Dinamik Development Sdn Bhd and SD Controls Sdn Bhd, have filed an application for the two purposes on May 13. SDGB and SDSB are also among Serba Dinamik’s three subsidiaries, which together with the listed entity were slapped with winding-up petitions from six financial institutions for failing to service its RM1.2 billion syndicated term financing. The lenders are HSBC Amanah Malaysia Bhd, Ambank Islamic Bhd, Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd, … [Read more...] about Serba Dinamik units seek restraining order, proposes ‘100% return’ scheme of arrangement
Asia’s SPAC Hopefuls Have Nowhere to Turn As IPO Market Shuts
- A + A (May 18): Asian sponsors of blank-check firms are facing a tough market for initial public offerings wherever they turn, as a combination of increasing regulatory scrutiny and fading investor demand shutters the window for new listings from the US to Asia. In the past three months, at least six Asia-related special purpose acquisition companies seeking a combined $1.3 billion from US IPOs have been scrapped, according to data provider SPAC Research. Of 12 blank-check firms that have filed to go public in Hong Kong, only one has actually started trading. It’s a similar pattern in Singapore, where SPACs have stalled after three inaugural IPOs in January. “The global IPO market has obviously been very quiet so far this year,” Paul Uren, JPMorgan Chase and Co.’s Asia Pacific head of investment banking, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “What we need to see for that to change is lower volatility and investors with more of a risk-on mentality.” Asia was … [Read more...] about Asia’s SPAC Hopefuls Have Nowhere to Turn As IPO Market Shuts
US pries into over 100 trader and banker phones in texting probe
Reuters filepix for illustration purpose only - A + A NEW YORK (May 18): The US is forcing Wall Street banks to embark on a systematic search through more than 100 personal mobile phones carried by top traders and dealmakers in the largest-ever probe into clandestine messaging on platforms such as WhatsApp. The Securities and Exchange Commission has been sending firms lists of key positions — in some cases pointing to around 30 people including heads of certain investment banking teams or trading desks — that are subject to the review, according to people with direct knowledge of the requests. Personnel in those roles are being ordered to hand over phones so devices can be examined by lawyers. The aim is to gauge how pervasively Wall Street professionals use unauthorized messaging platforms to chat with each other or clients as regulators decide which firms to punish, and how hard, for failing to preserve business-related messages sent via unapproved platforms. … [Read more...] about US pries into over 100 trader and banker phones in texting probe