• Waymo's self-driving trucks and minivans are headed to New Mexico and Texas
    TechCrunch

    Waymo's self-driving trucks and minivans are headed to New Mexico and Texas

    Waymo said Thursday it will begin mapping and eventually testing its autonomous long-haul trucks in Texas and parts of New Mexico, the latest sign that the Alphabet company is expanding beyond its core focus of launching a robotaxi business. Waymo plans to mostly focus on interstates because Texas has a particularly high freight volume, the company said.

  • 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.

  • The Apple Watch hits the gym with Connected program
    TechCrunch

    The Apple Watch hits the gym with Connected program

    For those glued to gym equipment, however, things get trickier. GPS can’t really do its job detecting distances, and machines like the elliptic tend to be even trickier. Recent generations of the Apple Watch and WatchOS have worked to bridge the gap, with more sophisticated workout detection and the addition of GymKit in 2017.

  • Opera and the firm short-selling its stock (alleging Africa fintech abuses) weigh in
    TechCrunch

    Opera and the firm short-selling its stock (alleging Africa fintech abuses) weigh in

    Internet services company Opera has come under a short-sell assault based on allegations of predatory lending practices by its fintech products in Africa. Hindenburg Research issued a report claiming (among other things) that Opera's finance products in Nigeria and Kenya have run afoul of prudent consumer practices and Google Play Store rules for lending apps. Hindenburg — which is based in NYC and managed by financial analyst Nate Anderson — went on to suggest Opera's U.S.-listed stock was grossly overvalued.

  • UN wants an immediate investigation into the Saudi hacking of Jeff Bezos
    Engadget

    UN wants an immediate investigation into the Saudi hacking of Jeff Bezos

    It all started with a WhatsApp message.

  • Microsoft releases tools to let devs start building for its upcoming dual-screen devices
    TechCrunch

    Microsoft releases tools to let devs start building for its upcoming dual-screen devices

    As we learned back in October, Microsoft has been cracking away at not one, but two dual-screen devices: Surface Duo and Surface Neo. While a developer kit for the Android-powered Duo has been made available, the company says dev tools for the Windows-powered Neo will arrive in "the coming weeks," with a target date of February 11th. Meanwhile, Microsoft is also starting to build out web standards for dual-screen devices — APIs for developers to easily detect dual-screen devices, for example, allowing them to adapt their web apps accordingly.

  • Bitcoin Slumps in Wake of Chinese New Year Slowdown Warning
    Bloomberg

    Bitcoin Slumps in Wake of Chinese New Year Slowdown Warning

    (Bloomberg) -- Bitcoin traders appear to be heeding a warning of a demand slowdown ahead of China’s lunar New Year.The largest cryptocurrency slumped as much as 4% to $8,281, while altcoins such as Ethereum Classic tumbled more than 11% to $8.18 in New York trading.Arthur Hayes, co-founder and chief executive officer of BitMex, a cryptocurrency exchange, predicted in a post on Twitter late Wednesday that it’s time for “volatility and volumes to nose dive.”Cryptocurrencies have been under pressure this week. The price of Bitcoin has dropped more than 6% since Friday, while the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index -- which tracks some of the major digital currencies -- has slumped about 5.7%.“Bitcoin and the entire crypto space are under pressure as uncertainty over regulatory scrutiny is expected to intensify and investor skepticism grows for the short-term outlook for risky assets,” said Ed Moya, a market analyst with OANDA. Investors “saw central banks unite and begin a review on digital currencies, fading optimism that a Bitcoin ETF will occur, and amid the China coronavirus worries, a flight-to-safety to the bond markets and not cryptocurrencies.”Twenty of the top 50 crypto exchanges are based in the Asia-Pacific region and accounted for about 40% of Bitcoin transactions in the first half of last year, according to data from Chainalysis. Within the region, the most exchanges are in China, the research firm found.A number of technical indicators are flashing sell signals. Earlier this week, for instance, a measure of upward and downward movements of successive closing prices flashed a sell signal, the first such sign since Bitcoin’s peak in June of last year. Should Bitcoin’s price drop further, the GTI Vera Convergence-Divergence indicator could also generate such a signal.\--With assistance from Kenneth Sexton.To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Vildana Hajric in New York at vhajric1@bloomberg.net;Claire Ballentine in New York at cballentine@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeremy Herron at jherron8@bloomberg.net, Dave Liedtka, Randall JensenFor 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.

  • 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.

  • Bill Miller’s Hedge Fund Rose 120% in 2019 After Fast Finish
    Bloomberg

    Bill Miller’s Hedge Fund Rose 120% in 2019 After Fast Finish

    (Bloomberg) -- Legendary investor Bill Miller’s hedge fund jumped 120% last year -- and he says it’s because he didn’t stray from his top names.“In the fourth quarter, we did our favorite thing to do in markets: nothing,” Miller wrote in an investor letter dated Jan. 15. “No new names and no elimination of holdings from the portfolio. This doesn’t happen as often as it probably should.”The performance stands in contrast to the industry. Hedge funds on average rose 9.2% last year, according to Bloomberg Hedge Fund Indices, while the S&P Index 500 jumped 29% in that period. Miller’s gain marks a turnaround for 2018 when the fund slid about 34% as markets plunged.The veteran stock-picker’s Miller Value Partners 1 surged 60% in the fourth quarter alone, according to the letter seen by Bloomberg. The fund, which has about $220 million in assets, uses one-to-three times leverage on its investments.Among the fund’s top contributors to the gains were security system company ADT Inc., Flexion Therapeutics Inc. and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Other holdings included furniture retailer RH and Amazon.com Inc.Miller, who focuses on beaten-down securities that trade at a large discount to their intrinsic value, predicts the bull market will continue, though “stocks will not move in a straight line higher.” He declined to comment beyond the letter.Miller gained fame beating the S&P 500 for 15 straight years when he ran the Legg Mason Value Trust. He stumbled during the financial crisis, losing 55% in 2008 and triggering redemptions.His Miller Opportunity Trust, a mutual fund with $1.7 billion in assets, was up about 34% last year and rose about 19% in the fourth quarter​​.(Updates with Miller declining to comment in sixth paragraph)To contact the reporter on this story: Melissa Karsh in New York at mkarsh@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Sam Mamudi at smamudi@bloomberg.net, Alan MirabellaFor 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.

  • Electronic Arts (EA) Earnings Expected to Grow: Should You Buy?
    Zacks

    Electronic Arts (EA) Earnings Expected to Grow: Should You Buy?

    Electronic Arts (EA) possesses the right combination of the two key ingredients for a likely earnings beat in its upcoming report. Get prepared with the key expectations.