COLT VIRAL

Category: Business

  • Microsoft’s earnings came amid growing concerns about slowing profits in its education business

    Microsoft (MSFT.O) Open in new tab When the technology group reports earnings on Tuesday, investors will face one big question: Is the growth of its Azure cloud computing business worth it? Spending billions of dollars to build AI infrastructure? Microsoft is said to be the first company to make money in artificial intelligence thanks to its partnership with ChatGPT developer OpenAI, and it is expected to show the growth of the Azure quarter soon. That figure dropped to 31% between April and June, according to Visible Alpha Data.

    This was in line with the company’s forecast, but investors had expected a bigger contribution from the artificial intelligence business in the fiscal fourth quarter, which accounted for 7% of Azure’s growth in the first three months of the year. A survey of 16 analysts conducted by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) predicts that Microsoft’s capital expenditures will increase by 53% annually to $13.64 billion over the period. That’s a big increase from last year’s $10.95 billion in federal spending. In signs of optimism on Wall Street, US stocks were weighed down by concerns that tech giants’ investments in data centers will not pay off in the short term. The way plants are planted.Shares of Google parent Alphabet ( GOOGL.O ) fell more than 5% last week after the company reported monthly earnings that missed expectations. $1 billion, as AI profits continue to grow, thanks to acquisitions by major tech companies.

    Executive Chairman and CEO of Microsoft Corporation Satya Nadella looks on at the Presidential Palace as he is scheduled to meet Indonesian President Joko WIdodo, in Jakarta, Indonesia, April 30, 2024. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

    Alphabet said monthly capital spending will remain at $12 billion or more through the remainder of 2024.– Investors are very concerned about Microsoft’s ability to continue to accelerate revenue growth, especially in businesses related to artificial intelligence. “If revenue growth can’t keep up with spending, investors may be disappointed,” said Gil Luria, chief software analyst at Microsoft in Davidson. Microsoft said it now needs to invest in data centers to overcome capacity constraints that are hampering its ability to harness the needs of artificial intelligence.

    He shares that vision with other tech companies, including Alphabet. Sundar Pichai, CEO of parent company Google, said last week that “the risks of investing too little [in AI infrastructure] are greater than the risks of investing too much.”

    – Great location –

    The increased spending will allow Microsoft to capture more business from its large enterprise customer base by offering broader access to its artificial intelligence cloud services and launching features such as the 365 Copilot Assistant for Word and Excel.Microsoft says that half of the Fortune 500 companies use its $30-a-month Copilot service, which can condense large volumes of emails into a few key points or quickly complete them. checklists. Computer code.

    However, the technical group of Redmond, Washington did not reveal the financial contribution of the service, and analysts believe that the impact of Copilot will become clearer in the second half of 2024. Think from the customer’s side – More Companies have access to apps like ChatGPT, Microsoft stays active by using its integrated platform.

    Microsoft shares have risen about 13% this year, adding more than $350 billion to the company’s market value. The spot hit an all-time high on July 5, but has fallen nearly 9% amid a recent technical selloff. This performance has outpaced the S&P 500’s gain of 14.5% this year. The company said it grew 14.6% between April and June, compared to a 17% increase in the previous quarter. This is primarily due to the slow growth of the PC business, including the Windows and Xbox gaming divisions. The products business – home to the Office suite, LinkedIn and 365 Copilot – is expected to grow 10%

  • Brent rises on Middle East war fears, WTI falls ahead of inventory report

    Brent crude futures rose slightly in early trade Thursday after Israeli tanks rolled into Gaza, while U.S. crude futures fell on expectations of rising crude inventories. Brent crude futures for August delivery rose 8 cents to $85.15 a barrel by 0008 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery fell 27 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $81.30 a barrel.

    Trading activity remained slow due to the U.S. federal holiday of Juneteenth. Israeli forces, backed by tanks, fighter jets and drones, continued their advance on the Gaza town of Rafah on Wednesday, leaving eight people dead, residents and Palestinian medical workers said.

    Escalating wars in the Middle East are supporting prices as a major conflict could disrupt oil supplies from the region. Meanwhile, WTI crude prices fell as the U.S. government’s oil inventory report was delayed by a day for a holiday.

    The Energy Information Administration will release last week’s oil inventory data at 11 a.m. EDT (3 p.m. GMT) on Thursday. An industry report released on Tuesday showed that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 2.264 million barrels in the week ended June 14, while gasoline inventories fell, market participants said, citing statistics from the American Petroleum Institute.

  • AI fever is driving Nvidia to become the world’s most valuable company

    NEW YORK: NVIDIA has become the world’s most valuable company thanks to a staggering rise in its share price, highlighting how investors believe artificial intelligence will play a huge role in the global economy in the coming years. Nvidia shares rose 3.5% on Tuesday (June 18), giving it a market capitalization of about $3.34 trillion. The semiconductor pioneer overtook Microsoft and Apple, which had been vying for the top spot in recent days.

    Nvidia’s rise in market value has been driven by demand for its chips, which represent the gold standard in artificial intelligence (AI). The company’s shares have risen more than 170% this year and are up about 1,100% from their lows in October 2022. The staggering profits and growing investor enthusiasm for AI are fueling Nvidia’s recovery. This enthusiasm is reflected in the company’s market value, which rose from $2 trillion to $3 trillion in just 96 days. Microsoft, one of the other two companies to reach those lofty heights, took 945 days to jump from $2 trillion to $3 trillion, while Apple took 1,044, according to Bespoke Investment Group.

    Only 11 U.S. companies have held the top market cap position by closing price since 1925, according to Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices. For the former front-runners, fortunes have diverged in recent decades. Microsoft rose to the top in the late 1990s, but its shares languished for years in the early 2000s after the dot-com bubble, before rebounding strongly in the latter part of the decade. ExxonMobil became the world’s most valuable company in the 2000s, but its shares fell as oil prices fell. For some, Cisco is a warning sign. The company’s shares peaked at more than $80 in March 2000 at the height of the dot-com boom, and investors often gave Internet-related companies dizzying valuations.

    Bespoke analysts recently compared Cisco’s developments to those of Nvidia, whose products were seen as essential to supporting Internet infrastructure. “NVDA is performing incredibly well, but the company must continue to grow from here and fend off competition for the stock to continue delivering superior returns,” Bespoke said in a recent note. Right now, NVIDIA’s profits are supporting the stock. Revenues have more than tripled in the most recent quarter, now reaching $26 billion, while net income has increased seven-fold to $14.9 billion.

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    Revenues are expected to nearly double to $120 billion this fiscal year, and are expected to grow another 33% to $160 billion in fiscal 2026, according to LSEG data. Despite the stock’s rise due to Nvidia’s impressive financial performance and forecasts, the stock valuation has fallen by several measures. For example, NVIDIA’s price-to-earnings ratio was recently 43, according to LSEG Datastream. That’s higher than the level of 25 it started the year with but lower than it reached for most of last year. By comparison, the S&P 500’s price-to-earnings ratio is 21. While NVIDIA has been a standout performer, it’s not the only stock benefiting from excitement about AI’s potential profitability. Shares of other technology companies, including Supermicro Computer Inc. and Arm Holdings Inc., have also soared this year.

  • Digital payments and precious metals are among the high-risk sectors as

    Singapore updates its money laundering risk assessment Singapore: Gems and metals, and digital payments are two new sectors identified as high risk for money laundering activities, according to Singapore’s latest national risk assessment. The report, released on Thursday (20 June), also showed that the main threat to Singapore in this sector comes from domestic and international fraud through deep fakes and artificial intelligence, usually perpetrated by criminal organisations based overseas.

    The latest National Money Laundering Risk Assessment (ML NRA) is part of Singapore’s efforts by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Ministry of Finance and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to maintain the effectiveness of its enforcement system amid an evolving economic and geopolitical context. The last report was published in 2014. The latest edition captures new risks observed over the past decade by Singapore’s law enforcement agencies, financial intelligence arm Suspicious Transactions Reporting Office (STRO), as well as private companies and foreign partners. Money laundering has come into the spotlight in Singapore following a $3 billion case involving 10 foreigners and assets including cash, luxury real estate, branded goods, cryptocurrency and alcohol.Now, all of them have been convicted and punished. But work on the latest report began more than two years ago, before news of the investigation broke last August.

    Economic and geopolitical changes

    Economic and geopolitical changes are only increasing the risks facing Singapore as an international financial, trade and transportation hub, authorities said. Criminals may seek to exploit Singapore’s open financial system and business infrastructure to launder or move illicit funds and assets, while also using Singapore as a place to cash out their ill-gotten gains into other assets such as real estate, jewels and precious metals, they told authorities.

    Risks also increase with the proliferation of technology that enables high-speed, large-scale cross-border transactions. Singapore Police Commercial Division chief David Choo said the report is the cornerstone of Singapore’s anti-money laundering regime, and that the national strategy focuses on prevention, detection and enforcement. Choo is also Singapore’s head of delegation to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Singapore currently chairs the 40-member global anti-money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog. The next assessment is due to take place in August next year. He said Singapore has always been open to clean business and is committed to maintaining trust in the financial ecosystem.

    “We adopt a zero-tolerance stance on money laundering. We also do our best to prevent criminals from misusing our financial ecosystem. When we find them, we will track them down and bring them to book,” Chew said. Higher-risk sectors Chew said Singapore remains exposed to major offshore money laundering threats, namely “corruption, taxation and trade-related money laundering.” “In addition, cyber fraud, commonly known as fraud, and foreign organized crime are two new major money laundering threats that pose a much higher risk than those identified in the previous NRA.” The agency said the banking sector remains at the highest risk for money laundering because banks are vulnerable to abuse due to their role in processing large volumes of financial transactions.

    They also serve customers who are more likely to launder money, such as those in countries with high money laundering risk. Among the non-financial sectors, business services are at higher risk as they may be used to commit crimes, such as setting up shell companies with complex ownership structures to hide the identities of criminals. The real estate, licensed trusts, casinos, and gems and metals sectors also pose a higher risk of money laundering, the agency said. Within the financial sector, providers of digital payment token (DPT) services are also at higher risk, as are providers of cross-border remittance services such as remittance agents and third-party asset management companies.

    According to authorities, there has been an increase in the number of reported cases related to DPTs and how they are being misused. While DPT activity in Singapore is only a small fraction of global activity, local authorities continue to monitor the sector closely. “It has been several years since the last (assessment), and we have seen that many sectors have indeed improved their controls and risk awareness,” said Tong Leng Yen, managing director of MAS’s anti-money laundering division. “However, the global threat and risk environment has also become more complex. It is therefore important for industries and sectors across the economy to pay close attention to and refer to this ML NRA to ensure that their risk assessments are up to date, and that their mitigation measures are effective and sufficient to address the risks they are trying to address.”

  • Trump Media shares continue to fall as SEC action threatens to hurt shareholders

    Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. The company that runs former President Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform said Tuesday that regulators had allowed some investors to resell certain securities and exercised certain warrants. Trump Media & Technology DJT shares fell another 13.5% in after-hours trading Tuesday after dropping 9.82% after falling about 10% during regular trading on concerns that the action would reduce the overall supply of shares, thereby lowering the stock price for shareholders.

    The company said Tuesday that the Securities and Exchange Commission had declared an amended registration statement “effective” for potentially millions of warrants and common stock, some of which could be issuable if the warrants are exercised. The warrants allow investors to buy and sell shares at a predetermined price within a prescribed period. Trump Media & Technology said the company could earn “up to approximately $247 million in aggregate proceeds” if all of the warrants listed in the registration statement are exercised for cash.

    Chief Executive Officer Devin Nunes, a former Republican congressman from California, said the move helped prepare Trump Media for its streaming ambitions and “potential mergers and acquisitions.” The company said it would not receive any proceeds from the sale or resale of securities “except in connection with the potential future exercise of all outstanding cash warrants.” It also said the company’s directors and senior executives, as well as Trump himself, who owns about two-thirds of the company’s outstanding stock, are still subject to lockup periods at this time and are otherwise prohibited from selling shares.

    Tuesday’s drop comes after the stock has been on a steady downward trend since President Trump was convicted last month for concealing hush payments to porn stars. Trump Media & Technology shares have soared, but are still up 78.9% year to date since the company’s meme-like surge following its IPO in March. The company is seeking an investigation into possible illegal short selling of its own stock, but some experts say those allegations are unlikely to be confirmed. Trump Media lost money in the first quarter.

  • Tesla’s Big, Big, Disruptive Future

    Elon Musk got paid. And a lot. Here’s where it gets interesting: Musk has to make Tesla so big, successful, and valuable that the tens of billions of dollars he gets will seem cheap in comparison. You might think selling cars is the way to get there, but you could be wrong. Musk, and by extension Tesla, seem much more interested in bigger, more ambitious, and obviously more complicated ideas.

    In this episode of The Vergecast, The Verge’s Andrew Hawkins guest stars as we talk about everything Tesla is working on and why cars have come to feel like they’re at the bottom of that list. We talk about Optimus Robots, the Tesla Network, the whole “AWS for AI” thing, and what the next three mystery vehicles are. Finally, we look at how Musk’s relationship with Tesla, and Musk’s relationship with the company, have changed since Tesla shareholders last voted to give Musk his full share.

    Do these two need each other more than ever, or is this union doomed? Then we’re joined by Victoria Song from The Verge, who shares her excitement about the Apple Watch’s rest days. Ah, sorry, “Ring is broken.” It only took Apple a decade to realize that even the most active people need it sometimes. We’re super excited about the possibility of a smarter relationship with the Workout series.

    We also talk about Pixel Watch leaks, the new Samsung Galaxy Watch FE, and whether the Galaxy Ring could be a game-changer. Finally, we answer questions from the Vergecast hotline about weather apps (866-VERGE11 or [email protected], send us all your questions!) We know there’s no perfect weather app for everyone, but it’s entirely possible to find the perfect weather app for you.

  • Stock Market Today: Asian shares mixed after Wall Street hits new record

    Asian shares were mixed on Wednesday after U.S. benchmarks hit new records following the latest signs that the U.S. economy may slow without falling into recession. U.S. futures were mixed and oil prices were little changed. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.2% to 38,575.54 as Japan’s trade data for May showed exports rose 13.5% from a year earlier and imports rose 9.5% on higher prices and a weaker yen against the U.S. dollar.

    Minutes from the Bank of Japan’s most recent monetary policy meeting revealed discussions among policymakers about whether a weaker yen could push up inflation further. Governor Kazuo Ueda indicated his intention to raise key interest rates in the coming months depending on available economic indicators. “The Nikkei’s move reflects a lot of indecision as the indexes have been in a broad correction phase so far,” IG Asia said in a commentary. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 2% to 18,264.51, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.3% to 3,020.03 after the head of China’s securities regulator said at a Shanghai financial forum that authorities would supervise all financial activities to prevent a possible financial crisis. Risk. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2% to 7,764.30. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1% to 2,792.14. Taiwan’s THAI-X rose 1.8% and Bangkok’s SET fell 0.1%. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 5,487.03, its 31st record this year. The Nasdaq Composite rose less than 0.1% to 17,862.23.

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to 38,834.86. Nvidia was the star of the show again, rising 3.5% and being the biggest driver of the S&P 500. The company has once again boosted its total market value to more than $3 trillion. Nvidia’s chips have helped develop artificial intelligence, which advocates hope will change the world as much as, or even more than, the Internet. And demand for Nvidia’s chips is astoundingly high. Nvidia’s revenue is tripling every quarter, and profits are soaring at an even more astounding pace.

    Its stock price is up nearly 174% since the beginning of the year, and Nvidia alone accounted for nearly a third of the entire S&P 500’s gains in the year through May. Of course, the danger of a handful of superstars being responsible for most of the U.S. stock market’s record gains is that the market becomes more volatile. If more stocks are involved, that could be a sign of a healthier market. Retail sales rose 0.1% in May, slower than economists had expected, the Commerce Department said. April sales were revised down to a 0.2% decline from unchanged. Sales rose 0.6% in March and 0.9% in February. The decline comes after a 1.1% decline in January, hurt by bad weather.

    The weaker-than-expected data could be a warning sign that household spending, a key driver of the U.S. economy, is sagging. Inflation has slowed from its peak but remains high, with lower-income households in particular struggling to keep up with rising prices. Still, a Bank of America survey of global fund managers found they have been the most bullish on stocks since fall 2021, with relatively little money stashed in cash and more allocated to stocks. Fewer managers are predicting a “hard landing” in which the economy falls into a deep recession. Elsewhere, the price of U.S. benchmark crude oil was unchanged at $80.71 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange early Wednesday. Brent crude rose 2 cents to $85.35 a barrel. The dollar rose to 157.87 yen from 156.87 yen. The euro fell to $1.0737 from $1.0740.

  • Apple will stop offering instant purchase loans in the US.

    Apple said it will end Apple Pay Later credit, which allows customers to buy products online and pay in four interest-free installments up to $1,000. Apple said Monday it has stopped offering credits through Apple Pay Later, the instant purchase program it launched last year.

    The move comes after Apple said it will allow installment loans in the Apple Pay checkout process later this year through credit and debit cards from third-party companies such as Affirm and issuers such as Citigroup. Apple said it will end Apple Pay Later credit, which allows customers to buy products online and pay in four interest-free installments up to $1,000.

    The adoption shows that not every new fintech feature or product that Apple brings to market is successful or fits into the iPhone maker’s overall strategy. “Starting later this year, users around the world will be able to access credit and debit cards, as well as installment loans offered through financial intermediaries, when they pay with Apple Pay,” an Apple spokesperson told CNBC.

    “With the launch of this new global installment loan, we will no longer be offering Apple Pay Later in the US.” Apple said that users who want installment plans at checkout will be able to access them in more countries around the world through other financial intermediaries, rather than through Apple Pay Later, which was only available in the US.

  • French stocks face further damage from political risks, Goldman strategists say

    Goldman Sachs strategists say French stocks are likely to be hit further by political risks in the coming weeks and months, but the impact will be concentrated in certain areas. Blue-chip stocks on Paris’ CAC 40 index posted their worst performance since March 2022 last week, falling more than 6% as the country reeled from the sudden announcement of new elections. The market was quickly spooked by the prospect of the far-right party Lassemblement National winning the general elections on June 30 and July 7, as well as populist monetary policies, anti-bank measures and the possibility of a “Liz Truss-style financial crisis.

    ” In addition to the decline in stocks, borrowing costs also rose, widening the gap between French and German 10-year bond yields by 25 basis points. Goldman strategists expect the spread to remain elevated in the coming weeks. “This is likely to continue to pressure French domestic equities, particularly banks, which are highly sensitive to government bond spreads,” Goldman strategists wrote in a research note on Friday. The Carrefour supermarket chain is one of the leading French companies, construction company Vinci, energy supplier Engie and Meanwhile, among the internationally-minded giants are companies like LVMH, L’Oreal and Rémy Cointreau Count.

    In the short term, Goldman advises betting on defensive sectors such as health care amid rising political uncertainty. The investment bank said a victory for the National Lassemblements would likely deal a further blow to French stocks, but that the party could prove more pro-business than expected in the long term if it remains focused on securing victory in the 2027 presidential election. He added that a parliament without a clear majority and political stalemate is also possible, which would “make it less likely that markets will react sharply” but would be accompanied by wider government bond spreads and continue to weigh on certain domestic stocks. Exposure. Tackling the CAC 40 The CAC 40 as a whole only has about 20% exposure to France, according to Sharon Bell, senior equity strategist at Goldman. “That doesn’t mean we have zero exposure to France, and there is clearly an additional risk premium now on France with the election coming up,” Bell said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Monday. “This market has also performed well in recent years and some companies are very highly valued… 80% of them are based outside France and many of them earn dollars,” she added. “I think it was a natural reaction to sell all French stocks. We would argue that small caps and French companies are the most vulnerable.”

    More broadly, he added, a growing perception of political risk in Europe is contributing to the region’s valuation gap with the U.S. “When I talk to global clients, whether it’s Asian clients or U.S. clients, about investing in Europe, the first thing that comes up is political risk. I’m a big believer in this widening gulf between Europe and the U.S. that’s never going to close. It might narrow a little bit, that’s our view, but it’s not going to close because there are some risks,” Bell said.

  • Global stocks rise, Europe Calm

    Global shares edged higher on Tuesday as a tense calm spread across Europe, with traders awaiting comments from a host of U.S. Federal Reserve officials, but the Australian dollar strengthened after the central bank kept interest rates unchanged and warned of inflation. The European stock index STOXX 600 rose 0.2 percent, while the French benchmark index (.FCHI) was unchangedOpens in a new tab, spreads on German and French government bonds narrowed and the euro held steady.

    This marked some stabilization after French assets slumped last week after President Emmanuel Macron’s sudden decision to call a general election left investors worried that parliament would be taken over by far-right forces. “Markets have calmed down following last week’s French bond action and we’ve heard comments from (far-right leader Marine) Le Pen that she respects French bonds,” said Lee Hardman, senior currency strategist at MUFG. “But our overall view remains the same: we believe the euro will continue to price in a political risk premium ahead of the election,” he said. The European common currency recorded a small gain against the pound but was last down 0.1 percent to $1.0722 against the dollar.

    The spread between French and German 10-year government bond yields, a measure of the risk premium on French government bonds, narrowed to 72 basis points after hitting 82.34 basis points on Friday, the highest since February 2017. Also in France, supermarket group Carrefour (CARR.PA) shares fell as much as 9.6% after French media reported that the finance ministry had imposed a “record fine” on the company for its management of its franchise network. . Earlier in the day, Asian shares rose <.MIAPJ0000PUS(.N225) following Monday’s gains on Wall Street, with the MSCI World Index up 0.14%, not far from last week’s record high. “A robust economy, rising corporate profits and optimism about the possibility of interest rate cuts starting to come into effect supported stocks, defying concerns that the gains were concentrated in a few mega-cap tech stocks,” Westpac economist Jameson Coombs said. U.S. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures traded on either side of the zero line on Tuesday.

    Central Banks The Reserve Bank of Australia kicked off a busy week for central bankers. As expected, the Fed kept interest rates unchanged at a 12-year high of 4.35 percent on Tuesday, but warned there was still reason to be cautious about inflation risks, giving markets few clues about its future trajectory.The Australian dollar was last changed to $0.6609. “Uncertainty was again a key theme in the (RBA) statement,” Commonwealth Bank of Australia economists said. “The bottom line is that the board is making every effort not to make future projections, given the economic indicators to the contrary.” The central banks of Norway, the UK and Switzerland also meet this week. It is expected that the first two will hold interest rates steady, with the Swiss National Bank easing by another 25 basis points.

    More than six Fed speakers are on the agenda in the US on Tuesday, and they may provide further guidance on the US interest rate outlook following last week’s monetary policy decision. Futures currently suggest the Fed is pricing in around 45bp of rate cuts by the end of 2024. US retail sales are also expected later in the day. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield was stable at 4.29%, and the dollar strengthened against the euro as well as the British pound and the Japanese yen. Elsewhere, oil prices fell, with Brent crude futures down 0.46% to $83.87 a barrel. Spot gold prices fell 0.3% to $2,312 an ounce.