• US mobile app subscription revenue jumped 21% in 2019 to $4.6B across the top 100 apps
    TechCrunch

    US mobile app subscription revenue jumped 21% in 2019 to $4.6B across the top 100 apps

    Outside of in-app purchases in mobile games, subscription revenue from non-game apps helped to boost 2019's mobile consumer spend -- a figure that reached $120 billion globally last year, according to a recent report by App Annie. Now, new data from app intelligence firm Sensor Tower indicates U.S. subscription app revenue grew by 21% last year from the $3.8 billion generated by the top 100 subscription apps to reach over $4.6 billion in 2019. The firm also found that the subscription revenue by these apps accounted for 19% of the total $24 billion in U.S. consumer spend in 2019, across both the Apple App Store and Google Play.

  • Central banks see ‘impending arrival’ of their own digital currencies
    Yahoo Finance

    Central banks see ‘impending arrival’ of their own digital currencies

    A cohort of central banks said Thursday that a fifth of the world's population could see central bank-issued cryptocurrencies in the next three years.

  • In latest JEDI contract drama, AWS files motion to stop work on project
    TechCrunch

    In latest JEDI contract drama, AWS files motion to stop work on project

    When the Department of Defense finally made a decision in October on the decade-long, $10 billion JEDI cloud contract, it seemed that Microsoft had won. The company announced on November 22nd that it had filed suit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims protesting the DoD's decision to select Microsoft. Sources tell us that AWS decided not protest the start of initial JEDI activities at the time of the court filing in November as an accommodation made at DoD’s request.

  • Google's latest user-hostile design change makes ads and search results look identical
    TechCrunch

    Google's latest user-hostile design change makes ads and search results look identical

    Did you notice a recent change to how Google search results are displayed on the desktop? Here, for example, are the top two results for a Google search for flight search engine 'Kayak' -- with just a tiny 'Ad' label to distinguish the click that will make Google money from the click that won't... Turns out this is Google's latest dark pattern: The adtech giant has made organic results even more closely resemble the ads it serves against keyword searches, as writer Craig Mod was quick to highlight in a tweet this week.

  • Procter & Gamble, Intel earnings: What to know in markets Thursday
    Yahoo Finance

    Procter & Gamble, Intel earnings: What to know in markets Thursday

    Earnings season is in full swing and several heavyweights are gearing up to report results Thursday including consumer staples giant Procter & Gamble and chipmaker Intel.

  • Google's Collections feature now pushes people to save recipes & products, using AI
    TechCrunch

    Google's Collections feature now pushes people to save recipes & products, using AI

    Google is giving an AI upgrade to its Collections feature -- basically, Google's own take on Pinterest, but built into Google Search. Originally a name given to organizing images, the Collections feature that launched in 2018 let you save for later perusal any type of search result -- images, bookmarks or map locations -- into groups called "Collections." Starting today, Google will make suggestions about items you can add to Collections based on your Search history across specific activities like cooking, shopping or hobbies. The idea here is that people often use Google for research but don't remember to save web pages for easy retrieval.

  • Travel demand cushions 737 MAX toll
    Reuters Videos

    Travel demand cushions 737 MAX toll

    American Airlines and Southwest said strong demand for travel HELPED cushion QUARTERLY results even though the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX WEIGHS on costs and profits. The Boeing jets have been out of action since a safety ban took effect in March following two deadly crashes. That forced American and Southwest to cancel thousands of flights. Although the grounding bit into earnings, healthy demand helped American grow its quarterly profit 27%, surpassing analysts estimates, and revenue also rose. BUT IT WAS ANOTHER STORY FOR Southwest since it is the world's largest operator of 737 MAX planes. Profit fell 21%, and the carrier warned the grounding will continue to weigh on profits in the first quarter. But STILL, it managed to slightly boost its revenue. Southwest said it'll likely extend MAX flight cancellations beyond June. American anticipates resuming service in late summer or early fall. Boeing says it does not expect to get regulatory approval for the MAX to fly again until mid-year.

  • 5G will be in every metro area in the US by the end of 2020: Qualcomm president
    Yahoo Finance

    5G will be in every metro area in the US by the end of 2020: Qualcomm president

    Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon says every U.S. metro area will have 5G connectivity by the end of 2020.

  • Google Cloud gets a Secret Manager
    TechCrunch

    Google Cloud gets a Secret Manager

    Google Cloud today announced Secret Manager, a new tool that helps its users securely store their API keys, passwords, certificates and other data. With this, Google Cloud is giving its users a single tool to manage this kind of data and a centralized source of truth, something that even sophisticated enterprise organizations often lack. "Many applications require credentials to connect to a database, API keys to invoke a service, or certificates for authentication," Google developer advocate Seth Vargo and product manager Matt Driscoll wrote in today's announcement.

  • Tech Daily: AAPL Bug, AMZN JEDI Motion, Music Subs, UK Digital Tax, More
    Zacks

    Tech Daily: AAPL Bug, AMZN JEDI Motion, Music Subs, UK Digital Tax, More

    The top stories here are Apple's ITP vulnerability, Amazon's motion to stop work under the JEDI contract, Amazon's soaring music subs and the UK digital tax.

  • Earnings from Comcast, Airlines & More, Plus a Cheap Tech Stock to Buy - Free Lunch
    Zacks

    Earnings from Comcast, Airlines & More, Plus a Cheap Tech Stock to Buy - Free Lunch

    Quarterly earnings results from Comcast, Southwest, American Airlines, and more. And a look at why Pure Storage, Inc. (PSTG) is a Zacks Rank 1 (Strong Buy) stock right now, as it trades under $20 a share...

  • Bloomberg

    TripAdvisor CEO to Brief Staff on Path to ‘Long-Term Growth’

    (Bloomberg) -- TripAdvisor Inc. Chief Executive Officer Stephen Kaufer will brief employees about plans to return the online travel company “to sustained, long-term growth” after the market closes Thursday, according to a memo to staff.The memo, sent by the company’s head of human resources, Beth Grous, also confirmed that there will be job cuts, as reported by Bloomberg on Wednesday. “These actions are never easy, especially when they impact people we know and care about,” Grous said in the memo obtained by Bloomberg. The company is eliminating about 200 employees, or about 5% of total staff, according to people familiar with the move.TripAdvisor’s struggles come as Alphabet Inc.’s Google has launched new, competing travel search tools, while adding its own reviews of hotels, restaurants and other destinations. Google has also crammed the top of its mobile search results with more ads. This has forced many companies, including TripAdvisor, to buy more ads from the search giant to keep online traffic flowing.In early November, TripAdvisor shares plunged more than 20% in one day after the company reported dismal third-quarter results. It said the main challenge was “Google pushing its own hotel products in search results and siphoning off quality traffic that would otherwise find TripAdvisor via free links and generate high margin revenue in our hotel click-based auction.” The shares are down about 46% over the past 12 months.Kaufer acknowledged on the earnings call that “Google has got more aggressive.” “We’re not predicting that it’s going to turn around.”While Kaufer won’t discuss the plans until after market close, and the company declined to comment, people familiar with the plans said the company is preparing for a minor re-branding that could debut as early as next week. The makeover will include a new logo and a stylistic change to the corporate name, shifting from TripAdvisor to “Tripadvisor” with a lowercase “a.” TripAdvisor is also preparing revamped versions of its iOS and Android apps for later this year, the people said.Needham, Massachusetts-based TripAdvisor also plans to increase advertisements and sponsored content on its platform to boost revenues.To contact the reporters on this story: Mark Gurman in Los Angeles at mgurman1@bloomberg.net;Olivia Carville in New York at ocarville1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net, Molly SchuetzFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Index Fund Giants Draw Antitrust Scrutiny in U.S. Mergers
    Bloomberg

    Index Fund Giants Draw Antitrust Scrutiny in U.S. Mergers

    U.S. antitrust officials have begun asking companies about communications with their biggest shareholders as part of merger investigations.