Today: May 14, 2026
Online Edition
Hong Kong shares in China’s most prominent tech firm tumbled after it scrapped plans to spin off its cloud business. The move is a setback for investors as it would have created a separate public listing for the fast-growing division, which could be valued at about $41-$60 billion. The Chinese e-commerce giant had announced the plan in March as part of a significant restructuring that broke it into six units. It also put on hold an IPO of its Freshippo
Spotify (SPOT.N) expanded its partnership with Google Cloud to use large language models (LLMs) to help identify a user’s listening patterns across podcasts and audiobooks to suggest tailor-made recommendations. Artificial intelligence-powered LLMs, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google Bard, are trained on a massive amount of data to generate text and other content. Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Google Cloud, which powers Spotify, has several models, including PaLM 2, Codey, Imagen, and Chirp. Spotify will use the new tools to help users discover
On Thursday, China’s TikTok joined Meta in appealing against the “gatekeeper” status under an EU law that brings more rigid rules for tech companies and makes it easier for users to move between competing services. The European Commission in September picked 22 core platform services from six of the world’s largest tech companies — Alphabet’s Google, Amazon, Apple, TikTok parent ByteDance, and Microsoft — to face new curbs as part of an antitrust crackdown on Big Tech. The Digital Markets
On Sunday, the Australian government described a “serious and ongoing” cybersecurity incident that has forced ports operator DP World Australia to suspend operations at ports in several states since Friday. The company manages nearly half of the goods that flow in and out of the country, and its closure has caused delays to freight, which could continue for days. The company said it was working around the clock to ensure that any “sensitive inbound freight” can be prioritized and retrieved.
Leading a company demands a way to relax, and every CEO looks for a way to unwind. For some, that may mean golf or sailing, but Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, finds comfort in playing video games. “Playing video games has a very calming effect on my mind. Confronting virtual challenges helps ease the turbulence in my thoughts,” the Tesla and SpaceX founder told podcaster Lex Fridman in an episode released on Friday. The 51-year-old is a lifelong gamer
Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) struck a deal with Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings (0700. H.K.) to sell a new, low-cost virtual-reality (V.R.) headset in China in a return to a market where Facebook and Instagram are blocked. Meta would get most of its revenue from device sales, while Tencent would make more off content and services, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. Meta’s agreement with Tencent could give it access to the colossal Chinese consumer market for the first
The US arm of China’s largest bank said Thursday that it was hit by a ransomware attack, forcing clients to reroute trades and disrupting the Treasury market. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Financial Services unit, which handles trades for many financial institutions, said the hack had affected some systems. Still, it disconnected parts of those systems to limit damage from the attack. The company said it successfully cleared Treasury trades executed Wednesday and repo financing trades Thursday and
The government has accused Apple Inc. of favoring workers from abroad in the hiring process, and the company will pay $25 million to settle the claim. The Department of Justice said the Cupertino-based tech giant showed bias in recruitment for positions eligible for a federal program allowing employers to sponsor immigrant workers for green cards, which give them permanent U.S. residency. According to the department, Apple did not advertise the jobs on its website or allow applicants to apply electronically,
On Thursday, Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) said it raised prices on some refreshed Model 3 and Model Y long-range vehicles in China, which could help protect margins after sales of the U.S. company’s best-selling models fell last month. According to its website and official Weibo account, the electric vehicle maker will increase the price of its Model 3 version in China by 1,500 yuan ($206). According to Reuters calculations, it will also raise the price of the Model Y version in
The ecommerce giant is investing millions in training an ambitious large language model (LLMs), hoping it could rival top models from OpenAI and Alphabet, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The model, codenamed Olympus, has 2 trillion parameters, the people said, making it one of the most significant models being trained. The team behind the secretive project is spearheaded by Rohit Prasad, a former head of Alexa who now reports to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. He has brought