TOP 5 STOCKS TO WATCHOUT:-
1.#Airbnb:- Airbnb has been canceling home-sharing reservations in the Washington D.C. area for the week of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration after law enforcement warned of a threat from armed militias, the rental platform said on Wednesday.
Airbnb said it made the decision after consulting local and federal officials and after a number of hosts worried about potential attacks sought to cancel bookings.
"We are aware of reports emerging yesterday afternoon regarding armed militias and known hate groups that are attempting to travel and disrupt the Inauguration," Airbnb said.
The company did not comment on specific instances and said it did not see evidence on its platform of guests planning protests and attacks.
Critics of last week's attack on the U.S. Capitol have asked hotels to cancel bookings during inauguration week to prevent further attacks, but major hotel chains Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc and Marriott International said they planned to uphold existing reservations.
2. #Google :Australia urged Google on Thursday to "focus on paying for original content, not blocking it" after the internet giant said it was running tests that limit access to domestic news content, deepening a rift between the tech giant and the government.
After the Alphabet Inc owned search engine provider said it was conducting experiments to determine the value of its service to Australian news outlets, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg accused it of "blocking" users when it should be paying for the content.
"The digital giants should focus on paying for original content, not blocking it," Frydenberg told reporters, referring to Google and social media behemoth Facebook Inc .
The companies should "pay traditional news media businesses a fair sum of money for those news media businesses generating original content", he added.
The spat shows the strong resistance by the so-called Big Tech firms to laws which will force them to negotiate with Australian news outlets over payment for the content which appears on their platforms.
3.#Amazon:- Parler, a social media outlet favored by some supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump, urged a court Wednesday to order Amazon.com Inc to put it back online.
Amazon had shut down Parler following the Jan. 6 riot by Trump supporters at the Capitol aimed at preventing Democrat Joe Biden from becoming president. Parler filed a lawsuit against Amazon on Jan. 11, accusing it of making an illegal decision to shut it down to benefit Twitter Inc .In its filing, Parler argued that Amazon Web Services breached its contract by cutting it off. Amazon earlier had said it had warned Parler about ugly and threatening language on its site, citing posts with vile language used to describe former first lady Michelle Obama, as well as postings such as "the only good democrat is a dead one. Kill'em all."
4. #Paypal :-PayPal Holding Inc has become the first foreign operator with 100% control of a payment platform in China, according to Chinese government data, as the U.S. fintech giant eyes a bigger foothold in a booming market for online payments.
PayPal acquired the 30% stake it doesn't already own in China's GoPay, formally known as Guofubao Information Technology Co., on Dec. 31, 2020, according to shareholder data from the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System.
Financial details weren't disclosed in the data. The stake purchase came a year after PayPal bought a 70% stake in GoPay for an undisclosed amount๏ผthen becoming the first foreign company licensed to provide online payment services in China.
1.#Airbnb:- Airbnb has been canceling home-sharing reservations in the Washington D.C. area for the week of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration after law enforcement warned of a threat from armed militias, the rental platform said on Wednesday.
Airbnb said it made the decision after consulting local and federal officials and after a number of hosts worried about potential attacks sought to cancel bookings.
"We are aware of reports emerging yesterday afternoon regarding armed militias and known hate groups that are attempting to travel and disrupt the Inauguration," Airbnb said.
The company did not comment on specific instances and said it did not see evidence on its platform of guests planning protests and attacks.
Critics of last week's attack on the U.S. Capitol have asked hotels to cancel bookings during inauguration week to prevent further attacks, but major hotel chains Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc and Marriott International said they planned to uphold existing reservations.
2. #Google :Australia urged Google on Thursday to "focus on paying for original content, not blocking it" after the internet giant said it was running tests that limit access to domestic news content, deepening a rift between the tech giant and the government.
After the Alphabet Inc owned search engine provider said it was conducting experiments to determine the value of its service to Australian news outlets, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg accused it of "blocking" users when it should be paying for the content.
"The digital giants should focus on paying for original content, not blocking it," Frydenberg told reporters, referring to Google and social media behemoth Facebook Inc .
The companies should "pay traditional news media businesses a fair sum of money for those news media businesses generating original content", he added.
The spat shows the strong resistance by the so-called Big Tech firms to laws which will force them to negotiate with Australian news outlets over payment for the content which appears on their platforms.
3.#Amazon:- Parler, a social media outlet favored by some supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump, urged a court Wednesday to order Amazon.com Inc to put it back online.
Amazon had shut down Parler following the Jan. 6 riot by Trump supporters at the Capitol aimed at preventing Democrat Joe Biden from becoming president. Parler filed a lawsuit against Amazon on Jan. 11, accusing it of making an illegal decision to shut it down to benefit Twitter Inc .In its filing, Parler argued that Amazon Web Services breached its contract by cutting it off. Amazon earlier had said it had warned Parler about ugly and threatening language on its site, citing posts with vile language used to describe former first lady Michelle Obama, as well as postings such as "the only good democrat is a dead one. Kill'em all."
4. #Paypal :-PayPal Holding Inc has become the first foreign operator with 100% control of a payment platform in China, according to Chinese government data, as the U.S. fintech giant eyes a bigger foothold in a booming market for online payments.
PayPal acquired the 30% stake it doesn't already own in China's GoPay, formally known as Guofubao Information Technology Co., on Dec. 31, 2020, according to shareholder data from the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System.
Financial details weren't disclosed in the data. The stake purchase came a year after PayPal bought a 70% stake in GoPay for an undisclosed amount๏ผthen becoming the first foreign company licensed to provide online payment services in China.
TOP 5 STOCKS TO WATCHOUT:-
1.#Amazon:- Amazon.com Inc was slapped with a class-action lawsuit on Thursday accusing the e-commerce giant of inflating the prices of ebooks in collusion with some publishers.
The lawsuit alleges that Amazon and the five largest U.S. publishers, collectively called the 'Big Five', agreed to price restraints that cause consumers to overpay for eBooks purchased from them through a retail platform other than Amazon.com. (https://refini.tv/2MXXVqs)
The lawsuit comes a day after Connecticut said it was investigating Amazon for potential anti-competitive behavior in its business selling digital books.
Amazon declined to comment.
About 90% of eBooks are sold through Amazon, the largest U.S. eBooks seller, the lawsuit claimed.
Law firm Hagens Berman, bringing the case, in 2011 filed a similar lawsuit against Apple Inc and the 'Big Five' over ebook prices.
2. #Google : Alphabet Inc's Google has removed some lending apps aimed at consumers in India from Play Store in an attempt to safeguard users, it said in a blog post on Thursday.
"We have reviewed hundreds of personal loan apps in India, based on flags submitted by users and government agencies," Suzanne Frey, Vice President, Product, Android Security and Privacy said in the post.
A recent investigation by Reuters found at least 10 lending apps on Play Store breached Google's rules on loan repayment lengths aimed at protecting vulnerable borrowers. It also found that a number of the lending apps also flouted central bank regulations designed to protect borrowers..
Google did not elaborate on the number of apps that had been taken down.
Google has contacted companies and asked them to clarify if they are compliant with the rules and regulations, failing which an app could be removed from the Play Store.
3.#GOLDMAN SACHS:-Goldman Sachs has partnered with card issuing startup Marqeta to build the U.S. bank's Marcus checking accounts set to launch this year, the companies said on Thursday.
The bank, an investor in California-based Marqeta, hopes that the partnership will enable it to create more personalized and feature-rich digital banking services for its customers, it said.
Launched in 2016, Marcus has allowed Goldman to diversify its revenue and funding sources by offering savings accounts and personal loans to retail customers. Until then, the bank had operated largely as an investment bank and trading house, relying on money from the wholesale market.
Goldman, which had amassed more than $96 billion in consumer deposits through Marcus as of September 2020, has been investing heavily in its retail business. It bought a personal finance app in 2018, launched a credit card with Apple Inc in 2019 and has been offering lucrative savings rates to draw in more customers.
It launched an app for Marcus a little over a year ago, finally meeting demand from frustrated smartphone users who had to view account information, make loan payments or balance transfers on the bank's website.
4. #NOKIA :- Nokia on Thursday partnered with Alphabet's Google Cloud unit to build 5G core network infrastructure and allow business customers to offer services such as smart retail and automated manufacturing.
Cloud computing units of big technology companies such as Microsoft and Amazon are also tying up with telecoms vendors ahead of deployment of 5G infrastructure to corner a share in new businesses the new technology might enable.
While Nokia will bring its 5G expertise, Google Cloud will serve as the platform for launching applications and assist customers in building an ecosystem of services.
"We will start to see some of these things in the live environment by the end of this year," Amol Phadke, Managing Director at Google Cloud.
1.#Amazon:- Amazon.com Inc was slapped with a class-action lawsuit on Thursday accusing the e-commerce giant of inflating the prices of ebooks in collusion with some publishers.
The lawsuit alleges that Amazon and the five largest U.S. publishers, collectively called the 'Big Five', agreed to price restraints that cause consumers to overpay for eBooks purchased from them through a retail platform other than Amazon.com. (https://refini.tv/2MXXVqs)
The lawsuit comes a day after Connecticut said it was investigating Amazon for potential anti-competitive behavior in its business selling digital books.
Amazon declined to comment.
About 90% of eBooks are sold through Amazon, the largest U.S. eBooks seller, the lawsuit claimed.
Law firm Hagens Berman, bringing the case, in 2011 filed a similar lawsuit against Apple Inc and the 'Big Five' over ebook prices.
2. #Google : Alphabet Inc's Google has removed some lending apps aimed at consumers in India from Play Store in an attempt to safeguard users, it said in a blog post on Thursday.
"We have reviewed hundreds of personal loan apps in India, based on flags submitted by users and government agencies," Suzanne Frey, Vice President, Product, Android Security and Privacy said in the post.
A recent investigation by Reuters found at least 10 lending apps on Play Store breached Google's rules on loan repayment lengths aimed at protecting vulnerable borrowers. It also found that a number of the lending apps also flouted central bank regulations designed to protect borrowers..
Google did not elaborate on the number of apps that had been taken down.
Google has contacted companies and asked them to clarify if they are compliant with the rules and regulations, failing which an app could be removed from the Play Store.
3.#GOLDMAN SACHS:-Goldman Sachs has partnered with card issuing startup Marqeta to build the U.S. bank's Marcus checking accounts set to launch this year, the companies said on Thursday.
The bank, an investor in California-based Marqeta, hopes that the partnership will enable it to create more personalized and feature-rich digital banking services for its customers, it said.
Launched in 2016, Marcus has allowed Goldman to diversify its revenue and funding sources by offering savings accounts and personal loans to retail customers. Until then, the bank had operated largely as an investment bank and trading house, relying on money from the wholesale market.
Goldman, which had amassed more than $96 billion in consumer deposits through Marcus as of September 2020, has been investing heavily in its retail business. It bought a personal finance app in 2018, launched a credit card with Apple Inc in 2019 and has been offering lucrative savings rates to draw in more customers.
It launched an app for Marcus a little over a year ago, finally meeting demand from frustrated smartphone users who had to view account information, make loan payments or balance transfers on the bank's website.
4. #NOKIA :- Nokia on Thursday partnered with Alphabet's Google Cloud unit to build 5G core network infrastructure and allow business customers to offer services such as smart retail and automated manufacturing.
Cloud computing units of big technology companies such as Microsoft and Amazon are also tying up with telecoms vendors ahead of deployment of 5G infrastructure to corner a share in new businesses the new technology might enable.
While Nokia will bring its 5G expertise, Google Cloud will serve as the platform for launching applications and assist customers in building an ecosystem of services.
"We will start to see some of these things in the live environment by the end of this year," Amol Phadke, Managing Director at Google Cloud.