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Apple unveils record $110 billion buyback as results beat low expectations

admin — Fri, 03 May 2024 03:37:53 +0000

Apple CEO Tim Cook attends the ‘Wonderlust’ event at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, U.S. September 12, 2023. REUTERS

People look at the new iPhone 15 Pro as Apple’s new iPhone 15 officially goes on sale across China at an Apple store in Shanghai, China September 22, 2023. REUTERS

May 3 (Reuters) – Apple’s (AAPL.O), quarterly results and forecast beat modest expectations on Thursday, as the iPhone maker unveiled a record share buyback program, sending its stock up 6% in extended trade.

Apple increased its cash dividend by 4% and authorized an additional program to buy back $110 billion of stock. The buyback is the largest in the company’s history.

Apple’s quarterly revenue fell, but less than analysts had expected, and CEO Tim Cook said revenue growth would return in the current quarter.

The results and guidance suggest the company may be regaining its footing in the smartphone market, despite stiff competition and regulatory challenges.

The surge in Apple’s shares following its report lifted its stock market value by over $160 billion.

Apple said fiscal second-quarter revenue fell 4% to $90.8 billion, beating the average analyst estimate of $90.01 billion, according to LSEG data.

For Apple’s current quarter, which ends in June, Cook told Reuters the iPhone maker expects “to grow low-single digits” in overall revenue. Wall Street expected 1.33% revenue growth to $82.89 billion, according to LSEG data.

Long considered a must-own stock on Wall Street, Apple shares have underperformed other Big Tech companies in recent months, falling 10% this year as it struggles with weak iPhone demand and tough competition in China.

Apple expects current-quarter services and iPad revenue to grow by double digits, CFO Luca Maestri told analysts on a conference call. The company expects gross margins of between 45.5% and 46.5% for the fiscal third quarter.

Apple faces a raft of challenges across its business. Smartphone rivals such as Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), have introduced competing devices aimed at hosting artificial-intelligence chatbots.

On the regulatory front, Apple’s services business, which contains its lucrative App Store and was one of the few areas of growth in the fiscal second quarter, is under pressure from a new law in Europe. In the United States, the Department of Justice in March accused Apple of monopolizing the smartphone market and driving up prices.

For the fiscal second quarter, iPhone sales fell 10.5% to $45.96 billion, compared with analyst expectations of $46 billion. Apple executives said in February that the year-ago fiscal second quarter had benefited from a $5 billion surge in iPhone sales as the company caught up from supply-chain snarls during pandemic lockdowns.

Reuters Graphics

Excluding that one-time phenomenon, iPhone sales were down only slightly as the Cupertino, California, company’s signature product faces stiff competition. In China, Huawei Technology (HWT.UL) has gained market share.

Cook said that iPhone sales still experienced “growth in some markets, including China.”

Apple’s revenue decline in China was not as steep as analysts expected, with Greater China sales of $16.37 billion for the fiscal second quarter that ended March 30, down 8.1% and above analyst expectations of $15.59 billion, according to data from Visible Alpha.

Apple has said little about its product plans for artificial intelligence, the technology on which rivals Microsoft (MSFT.O), and Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O), Google are placing huge bets. The company started ramping up research and development spending last year, and Cook said the company has spent more than $100 billion on R&D in the past five years.

“We continue to feel very bullish about our opportunity in generative AI and we’re making significant investments,” he said. “We’re looking forward to sharing some very exciting things with our customers” at events later this year, Cook said.

As it races to bring AI into its products, Apple’s massive buyback program may appease investors who have been bruised by its sinking stock price.

“It’s certainly a great time to resort to this strategy as, on the one hand, the stock remains relatively fairly priced, and, on the other hand, it needs to garner solid support for a structural shift that may very well take several quarters to play out,” Investing.com analyst Thomas Monteiro said in a client note.

Apple’s quarterly earnings per share were $1.53, above Wall Street estimates of $1.50, according to LSEG data.

Sales in Apple’s services segment, which also represents Apple Music and TV offerings, rose to $23.87 billion, above analyst expectations of $23.27 billion, according to LSEG data.

Analysts had expected Mac sales to decline in the fiscal second quarter, but they instead grew to $7.5 billion, compared with estimates of $6.86 billion, according to LSEG data.

“They were really driven by the strength of the new MacBook Air that’s powered by the M3 chip,” Cook said. “About half of our MacBook Air buyers during the quarter were new to the Mac.”

The company’s sales in the iPad segment declined to $5.56 billion, below analyst expectations of $5.91 billion.

In the company’s wearables segment, which represents sales of Apple Watches and AirPods headphones, sales fell to $7.91 billion, compared with analyst estimates of $8.08 billion, according to LSEG data.

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Reporting by Stephen Nellis and Max A. Cherney in San Francisco and Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Noel Randewich in Oakland, California; Editing by Matthew Lewis

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Bird flu likely circulated in US cows for four months before diagnosis -paper

admin — Fri, 03 May 2024 03:34:34 +0000

Dairy farmer Brent Pollard’s cows stand in their pen at a cattle farm in Rockford, Illinois, U.S., April 9, 2024. REUTERS

CHICAGO, Bird flu likely circulated in U.S. dairy cows on a limited basis for about four months before federal officials confirmed the disease that has now spread to nine states, according to a new federally funded research paper.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported the first-ever H5N1 virus infection in a dairy cow in Texas on March 25, following reports of decreased milk yields in multiple states.

The USDA has said it believes wild birds, which can carry the virus, introduced H5N1 to cattle. The outbreak then expanded as cows were shipped to other states, according to the paper released on Wednesday that was funded by USDA, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

“Data support a single introduction event from wild bird origin virus into cattle, likely followed by limited local circulation for approximately four months prior to confirmation by USDA,” the paper said.

A team of academic scientists led by University of Arizona evolutionary biologist Michael Worobey pieced together raw genetic sequences released by USDA on April 21 without dates or locations and concluded a week ago that a single transmission event occurred in late 2023.

Scientists have criticized USDA for not releasing details of the data that would allow academic researchers around the world to trace the evolution of the virus.

The Arizona Senate voted on Wednesday to repeal the state’s abortion ban, which dates back to 1864.

One person, a Texas farm worker, has tested positive for H5N1 in the current outbreak, though the only symptom was conjunctivitis, believed to be caused by contact with cow milk. The CDC has said the general public faces a low risk for infection.

Bird flu has long been on the list of viruses with pandemic potential, and any expansion to a new mammal species is concerning to scientists.

Carol Cardona, a bird flu expert at the University of Minnesota, said the virus was able to spread during the four months it was undetected.

“By the time it was recognized, we were beyond our ability to contain the outbreak,” she said.

Veterinarians observed dairy cattle displaying unexplained reductions in milk production and changes in milk quality, along with reduced feed consumption, starting in January, according to the paper. It was published an open-access preprint

server for the biological sciences called bioRxivon.

Members of USDA’s network of laboratories that monitors for diseases identified influenza A virus, which includes bird flu, in milk and nasal swabs from cows at a Texas dairy, the paper said, without specifying a date.

They forwarded samples to USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories, which respond to animal-health emergencies, for testing as epidemiologic investigations continued elsewhere, the paper said.

USDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Overall, it’s wonderful that these data have been shared,” virologist Angela Rasmussen of the University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, who worked on sequencing the virus with Worobey, said in a post on X.

Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter.

Reporting by Tom Polansek and Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago; Editing by Cynthia Osterman

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Airbus called for compensation to take on money-losing Spirit operations, sources say

admin — Fri, 03 May 2024 03:32:02 +0000

The logo of Airbus is pictured outside the Airbus facility in Saint-Nazaire, France, November 7, 2023. REUTERS

The headquarters of Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc, is seen in Wichita, Kansas, U.S. December 17, 2019. REUTERS

May 2 (Reuters) – Airbus (AIR.PA), has called for financial compensation to take on money-losing operations from Spirit AeroSystems (SPR.N), a demand that has emerged as one obstacle to a tie-up deal between the supplier and its main customer Boeing (BA.N), people familiar with the matter said.

Spirit and Airbus executives are holding talks in New York, first reported by Bloomberg, to try and work through issues such as the European planemaker’s demands for financial compensation to take on the supplier’s loss-making operations. They also include the mechanics of separating Airbus’ business from Spirit, said two of the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.

It was not clear how the talks progressed or whether any of the obstacles were resolved.

The world’s dominant aircraft makers have been exploring how to untangle their respective ties with Spirit through a carefully timed “framework” deal to split operations, Reuters reported in April.

The sources did not give financial details, but industry sources have said a UK Airbus plant run by Spirit needs a $1 billion-plus re-investment to dig it out of losses.

Boeing is focused on acquiring its key aerostructures supplier, which produces the fuselage for its 737 MAX jet. In order for Boeing to regain control, it has to deal with its arch-rival Airbus, which accounts for roughly one-fifth of Spirit revenues.

Boeing is seen likely to oppose payments to Airbus to take operations. It wants to close the deal to focus on ramping up slumping MAX production, one of the sources said.

“They want it done so that things can be stabilized and prepare the entire production system to go up in rate,” he said.

Separating Spirit’s Airbus business involves both transferring plants and extracting part of the work from others, a second source said. Spirit’s money-losing Belfast plant is one of the sticking points currently being worked through, two of the sources said.

Spirit reports earnings on May 7.

An Airbus spokesperson reiterated it was engaged in talks over its Spirit-based operations and declined further comment. Boeing also declined comment.

Spirit Aero spokesman Joe Buccino said, “irrespective of negotiations, we are and will always lock in on quality, safety, and the highest engineering rigor.”

Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury told Reuters last month it was “not unlikely” that Airbus would assume control of Belfast and the Kinston, North Carolina, plant where Spirit makes part of the A350.

Spirit was spun off from Boeing in 2005 and quickly set about diversifying to supply Airbus, which is now its second-biggest customer behind Boeing. It still makes about 70% of Boeing’s best-selling 737, including the fuselage, and supplies large parts of the 787.

The saga has revived concerns over the future of Northern Ireland’s largest manufacturing employer and its 3,400 staff after Spirit stepped in to acquire it from struggling Bombardier in 2019.

As well as building wings for the Airbus A220 it has been expanding into defence and space.

Coming soon: Get the latest news and expert analysis about the state of the global economy with Reuters Econ World.

Reporting By Allison Lampert in Montreal, Mike Stone in Washington. Additional reporting by Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by David Gregorio

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India’s Kerala shuts schools, colleges amid sweltering heat

admin — Fri, 03 May 2024 03:23:50 +0000

NEW DELHI, India’s Kerala state has closed all schools and colleges until Monday due to scorching temperatures, urging people in the coastal region to limit exposure to the sun and take care to prevent wildfires.

With most parts of India reeling from high temperatures, the weather department has forecast an unusually high number of heatwave days for April to June, as the country stages a general election that has seen a low voter turnout.

Heatwaves are rare in Kerala and data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) shows that the state recorded five heatwave days in April.

Referring to the current El Nino weather pattern, the IMD said on Wednesday that El Nino years typically have more heating, with hot and dry weather in Asia and heavier rains in parts of the Americas.

Fewer thunderstorms and an anti-cyclonic circulation near India’s southeastern coast were causing heatwaves, the IMD said.

A staff member walks inside an empty classroom of a school in Kochi, India March 12, 2020. REUTERS

Kerala’s state government on Thursday directed people to minimize exposure to the sun and urged authorities to monitor situations to avoid fires. With several districts issuing heatwave warnings, the government asked all educational institutions to be shut till Monday.

Heatwaves have forced school closures in parts of Asia and North Africa too, widening learning gaps between developing nations in the tropics and developed countries, experts told Reuters,

Local media reported that at least two people died earlier this week in Kerala, but authorities are yet to confirm if their death was due to extreme heat.

On Thursday, the temperature in the state capital Thiruvananthapuram touched 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) but the IMD said it felt like 46 (115) due to high humidity.

Soaring temperatures and dry spells have caused frequent forest fires in other parts of India, and the blazes have been worsened by people burning the forest to collect a flower used to brew alcohol in Odisha state.

Coming soon: Get the latest news and expert analysis about the state of the global economy with Reuters Econ World.

Reporting by Chris Thomas in Bengaluru and Tanvi Mehta in New Delhi, Editing by William Maclean

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Israeli private eye arrested in London over alleged hacking for US firm

admin — Fri, 03 May 2024 03:20:31 +0000

A view shows the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) headquarters in Lyon, France, September 30, 2023. REUTERS

LONDON, An Israeli private investigator wanted by the United States was arrested in London over allegations that he carried out a cyberespionage campaign on behalf of an unidentified American PR firm, a London court heard on Thursday.

But an initial attempt to extradite Amit Forlit to the United Sates was thrown out by a judge at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday on a legal technicality.

Amy Labram, a lawyer representing the United States, told the court Forlit “is accused of engaging in a hack-for-hire scheme”.

Labram said that the U.S. allegations include that an unnamed Washington-based PR and lobbying firm paid one of Forlit’s companies 16 million pounds ($20 million) “to gather intelligence relating to the Argentinian debt crisis”.

Forlit and his lawyer did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

Forlit was arrested under an Interpol red notice at London’s Heathrow Airport as he was trying to board a flight to Israel, according to the U.S authorities. It was unclear when Forlit was arrested.

Forlit is wanted in the U.S. on three charges: one count of conspiracy to commit computer hacking, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of wire fraud.

A judge ruled that the attempt to extradite Forlit by the United States could not continue as he was not produced in court within the timeframe required under British extradition law.

“He was not produced at court as soon as practicable and the consequences of that … he must – I have no discretion – he must be discharged,” Judge Michael Snow ruled.

AI is favoring some tech players more than others.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation declined to comment.

Forlit has separately been accused of computer hacking in New York by aviation executive Farhad Azima. Azima, whose emails were stolen and used against him in a 2020 trial in London, is suing Forlit and others in federal court in Manhattan.

Forlit has previously acknowledged retrieving Azima’s emails but has denied hacking, telling Reuters he innocently stumbled across the messages “on the web”.

Reporting by Sam Tobin in London, additional reporting by Raphael Satter in Washington and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles, Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Michael Perry

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DoJ seeks more details from US Steel, Nippon Steel on proposed merger

admin — Fri, 03 May 2024 03:07:38 +0000

Nippon Steel logos are displayed at the company’s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan March 18, 2019. REUTERS

The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking more details and documentary materials as part of an antitrust review of Nippon Steel’s (5401.T), proposed $15 billion takeover of U.S. Steel, the American firm said on Thursday.

Commonly known as a “second request”, it signifies additional scrutiny from antitrust regulators who ask for additional information and documentary material as part of their review process for mergers.

The DoJ’s request comes after the Japanese firm’s proposed bid drew sharp criticism in the U.S., including from President Joe Biden, who said the asset should be domestically owned.

However, an overwhelming majority of U.S. Steel shareholders voted in favor of the deal in April.

Despite fears of layoffs, Japan’s largest steelmaker has pledged no job cuts as a result of the merger and has said it will move its own U.S. headquarters to Pittsburgh where U.S. Steel is based.

The acquisition of U.S. Steel will help Nippon, the world’s fourth-largest steel maker, move toward 100 million metric tons of global crude steel capacity.

U.S. Steel now expects that the merger will be completed in the second half of 2024, it said on Thursday, as its prior deadline of second to third quarter of 2024 nears.

(This story has been corrected to say the second request signifies additional scrutiny from antitrust regulators in paragraph 2)

Reporting by Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva

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India’s opposition Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to contest elections from Raebareli too

admin — Fri, 03 May 2024 03:03:14 +0000

Rahul Gandhi, a senior leader of India’s main opposition Congress party, speaks with the media with Akhilesh Yadav (not pictured), chief of the regional Samajwadi Party, during their joint press conference ahead of the country’s general election, in Ghaziabad, India, April 17, 2024. REUTERS

NEW DELHI, India’s main opposition Congress party said on Friday that Rahul Gandhi, the face of the party and its former president, will contest general elections from the family bastion seat of Raebareli in north India as well.

The decision of the party and the family to field Gandhi from the seat in Uttar Pradesh state signals their confidence to take on the political might of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

It is also expected to boost the morale of party members in a key state from which it has been almost wiped out by BJP and regional players. Uttar Pradesh is India’s most populous and elects the most lawmakers and a party needs to win a large number of seats here to win power nationally.

India’s general elections got underway on April 19 and the country will vote in seven phases until June 1, with votes set to be counted on June 4.

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Congress has ruled India for 54 of its 76 years since independence from Britain, and members of the Nehru-Gandhi family were prime ministers for more than 37 of those 54 years.

The adjoining seats of Raebareli and Amethi have been strongholds of the family for decades as they have elected generations of Gandhis or their close relatives since the 1950s.

However, the party itself has sunk to historical lows since it was swept out of power by Modi in 2014 and has been struggling to revive itself.

While Rahul Gandhi’s Italian-born mother Sonia won from Raebareli in 2019 – the only seat Congress won of the 80 in Uttar Pradesh – Rahul lost from Amethi in a shocking defeat at the hands of BJP minister Smriti Irani.

He entered parliament from the second seat he had contested from Wayanad in the southern state of Kerala. He is in the fray from Wayanad, which voted on April 26, this time as well.

This year, Sonia decided against contesting from Raebareli and instead entered the upper house of parliament through indirect elections.

Local media reports had since said that her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, 52, was likely to make her electoral debut and contest from Raebareli while Rahul Gandhi, 53, would stick to Amethi.

India allows a candidate to contest more than one seat but they can keep only one if they record multiple victories.

Coming soon: Get the latest news and expert analysis about the state of the global economy with Reuters Econ World.

Reporting by YP Rajesh; Additional reporting by Shivam Patel and Tanvi Mehta

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Fresh chaos, arrests on US college campuses as police flatten camp at UCLAv

admin — Fri, 03 May 2024 03:00:00 +0000

Law enforcement officers detain a demonstrator, as they clear out the protest encampment in support of Palestinians at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), in Los Angeles, California, May 2. REUTERS

Protesters are detained at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), during a pro-Palestinian protest, as the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 2, 2024. REUTERS

Law enforcement officials stand in front of demonstrators forming a human chain during a protest at an encampment in support of Palestinians at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), as the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 2, 2024. REUTERS

A law enforcement officer detains a protester at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), during a pro-Palestinian protest, as the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 2, 2024. REUTERS

Law enforcement officials clash with demonstrators during a protest at an encampment in support of Palestinians at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), as the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 2, 2024. REUTERS

LOS ANGELES, Police forcibly removed scores of defiant pro-Palestinian protesters at several colleges on Thursday, including taking down an encampment at UCLA in a jarring scene that underscored the heightened chaos that has erupted at universities this week.

In the pre-dawn hours, helmeted police swarmed a tent city set up at the University of California in Los Angeles, using flash bangs and riot gear to push through lines of protesters who linked arms in a futile attempt to halt their advance.

Los Angeles police said on social media that 210 people were arrested at UCLA, and hundreds of arrests were made at other universities overnight and on Thursday.

“I’m a student here,” one UCLA protester told cameras as he was led away, his hands bound. “Please don’t fail us. Don’t fail us.”

Hours later, the student, who would only give his first name as Ryan, was back on campus and vowed he would not stop fighting.

“We will be back,” said Ryan, who was cited for unlawful assembly. “We will be disrupting. We will be demanding divestment.”

Students have rallied or set up tents at dozens of universities in recent days to protest Israel’s war on Gaza. Demonstrators have called on President Joe Biden, who has supported Israel’s right to defend itself, to do more to stop the bloodshed in Gaza and demanded schools divest from companies that support Israel’s government.

Many of the schools, including Columbia University in New York City, have called in police to quell the protests.

Biden broke his silence on the demonstrations on Thursday after the UCLA raid, saying Americans have the right to protest but not to unleash violence.

“Destroying property is not a peaceful protest,” he said at the White House. “It’s against the law. Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancelling of classes and graduations – none of this is a peaceful protest.”

Biden, who is seeking re-election in November against Republican former President Donald Trump, has walked a careful line as he confronts criticism from both the right and the left over his Israel policy.

VIOLENCE ON CAMPUS

At UCLA, police repeatedly urged demonstrators to clear the protest zone, which occupied a central plaza about the size of a football field, before they moved in.

Dozens of loud explosions were heard from stun grenades, fired by police, while demonstrators, some carrying makeshift shields and umbrellas, chanted “push them back” and flashed bright lights in officers’ eyes.

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Trump praises New York police raid on Columbia university protesters

admin — Thu, 02 May 2024 11:48:28 +0000

Police use a vehicle named “the bear” to enter Hamilton Hall from a public street, which was occupied by protesters, as other officers enter the campus of Columbia University, during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in New York City, U.S., April 30, 2024. REUTERS

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump attends a campaign event in Waukesha, Wisconsin, U.S. May 1, 2024. REUTERS

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during a campaign event in Waukesha, Wisconsin, U.S. May 1, 2024. REUTERS

WAUKESHA, Wisconsin, Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Wednesday it “was a beautiful thing to watch” New York police officers raiding a Columbia University building occupied by pro-Palestinian students, and called on officials to crack down on campus protests across the United States.

“New York was under siege last night,” Trump told supporters at a campaign rally in Wisconsin, praising the police officers for arresting about 300 protesters at Columbia and City College of New York who he referred to as “raging lunatics and Hamas sympathizers.”

While what the student protesters are seeking varies school to school, many are demanding for an immediate ceasefire in the war on Gaza and that their universities divest from companies with military ties to Israel.

Trump comments addressed the spread of student protests against the war in Gaza across the U.S. in recent days, seeking to capitalize on concern over campus unrest.

Republican lawmakers have accused some university administrators of ignoring antisemitic rhetoric and harassment. Many student organizers say they are peaceful and have widely disavowed violence against pro-Israel counter-protesters, although some Jewish students have said they feel unsafe on campus and unnerved by chants they say are antisemitic.

“I say remove the encampments immediately, vanquish the radicals and take back our campuses for all of the normal students who want a safe place from which to learn,” Trump said.

The Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip and the ensuing Israeli offensive on the Palestinian enclave have unleashed the biggest outpouring of U.S. student activism since anti-racism protests in 2020.

The police response at Columbia has triggered condemnations from some Columbia faculty.

Last week, the Columbia University Senate approved a resolution saying the school’s administration had undermined academic freedom and disregarded the rights of students and faculty by calling in the police and shutting down protests.

Trump sought to pin the blame for the turmoil on Democratic President Joe Biden, whose aides have condemned physical intimidation and antisemitism, while speaking out in support peaceful protests, which have advocated for humanitarian aid in Gaza and the university divestment from companies supporting the Israeli military.

Trump also criticized a possible move by the Biden administration – outlined by U.S. White House press secretary on Wednesday — to relocate some Palestinian refugees who are related to Americans to the U.S.

During his presidency Trump pursued a hard line on immigration. At times he has used dehumanizing terminology to describe refugees and immigrants in the country illegally, rhetoric that his critics say is aimed at generating fear and energizing his political base.

“Your towns and villages will now be accepting people from Gaza and various other places,” Trump said, eliciting boos from the crowd. “Under no circumstances shall we bring thousands of refugees.”

Last week, Trump described the pro-Palestinian protests as driven by “tremendous hate” while asserting that the violence at a 2017 white nationalist rally with some Trump supporters in Charlottesville, Virginia, when he was president was small by comparison.

Trump was staging rallies on Wednesday in the battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan as polls show him locked in a close race with Biden ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

Trump’s visit to the two swing states marked his first major campaign events since the April 15 start of his New York criminal trial, in which he is accused of falsifying business records concerning a hush money payment to a porn star.

Get weekly news and analysis on the U.S. elections and how it matters to the world with the newsletter On the Campaign Trail.

Reporting by Nathan Layne, Tim Reid, Eric Beech, Trevor Hunnicutt and Susan Heavey in Washington; editing by Colleen Jenkins, Lincoln Feast and Jonathan Oatis

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Google faces closing arguments in US market power trial

admin — Thu, 02 May 2024 11:44:58 +0000

The Google logo is seen on the Google house at CES 2024, an annual consumer electronics trade show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 10, 2024. REUTERS

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WASHINGTON, May 2 (Reuters) – The U.S. government will layout its antitrust case against Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O), Google in closing arguments on Thursday, wrapping up a trial in which the online search leader is accused of breaking the law to stay on top.

The U.S. government has hammered away at Google in a trial that started Sept. 12, arguing Google is a monopolist and illegally abused its power to favor its bottom line.

This case, filed by the Trump administration, was the first of five aimed at reining in the market power of tech leaders. The second, against Meta, was also filed during the Trump administration, while Biden’s antitrust enforcers have followed with a second case against Google and cases against Amazon.com (AMZN.O), and Apple Inc (AAPL.O).

In the non-jury trial, the judge will weigh whether Google violated the law, and will later look at any punishment if needed.

Witnesses from Verizon (VZ.N), Android maker Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), and Google itself testified about the company’s annual payments – $26.3 billion in 2021 – to ensure that its search is the default on smartphones and browsers, and to keep its dominant market share.

In his testimony, Google CEO Sundar Pichai acknowledged the importance of making its search engine the default on phones, tables and laptops to keep users loyal, saying: “We definitely see value.”

In turn Google has argued the government was wrong to allege it broke the law to hold onto its massive market share, saying its search engine was wildly popular because of its quality and that dissatisfied users can easily switch.

The Arizona Senate voted on Wednesday to repeal the state’s abortion ban, which dates back to 1864.

The Technology Roundup newsletter brings the latest news and trends straight to your inbox.

Reporting by Chris Sanders; Editing by Sonali Paul

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