Month: May 2023

Overall, FedEx is well-positioned to benefit from the global economic recovery, and Deutsche Bank’s bullish call is likely to further boost investor sentiment.

The U.S. Supreme Court has handed a victory to Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) by refusing to clear a path for victims of attacks by militant organizations to hold social media companies liable under an anti-terrorism law. The court also sidestepped a bid to weaken legal protections for internet firms in a separate case involving Google LLC.

The justices reversed a lower court’s ruling that had revived a lawsuit against Twitter by the American relatives of Nawras Alassaf, a Jordanian man killed in a 2017 attack during New Year’s celebration in a Istanbul nightclub claimed by the Islamic State militant group.

The case was one of two that the Supreme Court weighed in its current term aimed at holding internet companies accountable for contentious content posted by users – an issue of growing concern for the public and U.S. lawmakers.

The justices on Thursday, in a similar case against Google LLC-owned YouTube, part of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc, sidestepped making a ruling on a bid to narrow a federal law protecting internet companies from lawsuits for content posted by their users – called Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

The court ruled that the plaintiffs had failed to sufficiently allege that Twitter had knowingly provided “substantial assistance” to an “act of international terrorism” that would allow the relatives to maintain their suit and seek damages under the anti-terrorism law.

In the case against Google, the justices wrote that they “decline to address the application of (Section 230) to a complaint that appears to state little, if any, plausible claim for relief.”

The rulings are a victory for internet companies, which have argued that allowing lawsuits like this would threaten them with liability for providing widely available services to billions of users.

The ruling is a major setback for Amgen, which had sought to protect its blockbuster drug from generic competition. Repatha, which is used to treat high cholesterol, generated $1.3 billion in sales in 2019.

rnrnThe Supreme Court’s decision is a victory for Sanofi, which had argued that Amgen’s patents were invalid because they did not provide enough information to enable a generic version of the drug to be made.

rnrnThe ruling is also a win for generic drugmakers, who will now be able to produce generic versions of Repatha without fear of legal action from Amgen. This could lead to lower prices for consumers and increased competition in the market.

Walt Disney’s ESPN is reportedly preparing to offer its channel as a subscription-based streaming service in the coming years. The move is seen as inevitable as consumers increasingly cut the cable-TV cord. Executives at ESPN and parent Disney have assigned the project with the code name “Flagship” and have started to secure flexibility in its deals with cable providers to offer the channel directly to consumers. ESPN already has a sports streaming app called ESPN+, but it does not offer access to the full channel. There is no firm timeline for the change yet.

Saudi Arabia stocks closed higher on Thursday, with gains in the Insurance, Transport and Industrial Investment sectors leading shares higher. The Company for Coop. Insurance (TADAWUL:8010) and Al-Rajhi Cooperative Insurance (TADAWUL:8230) rose to all time highs, up 7.50% and 6.44% respectively. Meanwhile, Crude oil for June delivery was down 0.88% and the June Gold Futures contract fell 1.14%. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.53%. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Saudi Arabia Stock Exchange by 154 to 96 and 23 ended unchanged.

On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 0.06% as losses in Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO) weighed on the index. Walmart Inc (WMT) rose 2.8% after the retailer raised its annual sales and profit targets. Netflix Inc (NFLX) rose 4.5% after saying its recently launched ad-supported tier reached nearly 5 million active users per month. Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (TTWO) jumped 11.7% as it beat estimates for quarterly adjusted sales.

Wall Street’s main indexes ended the previous session higher after President Joe Biden and top U.S. congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy reiterated their aim to strike a deal soon to raise the $31.4 trillion federal debt ceiling and agreed to talk as soon as Sunday. Data showed the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell more than expected last week, suggesting the labor market remains tight.

Chipmaker Micron Technology Inc (MU)’s shares gained 3% as it plans to invest up to 500 billion yen ($3.70 billion) in Japan for new chips over the next few years. Bath & Body Works Inc (BBW) gained 8.7% after the beauty and skincare firm raised its annual profit forecast. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 2.30-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and for a 1.47-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded 12 new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 34 new highs and 16 new lows.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd posted a 2% rise in quarterly revenue that missed expectations on Thursday, but announced plans to list its cloud computing business in the next year. The company has been struggling to attract new users as China’s e-commerce sector matures and it grapples with inroads made by new competitors.

Earlier this year, Alibaba announced plans to restructure into six units following a two-year regulatory crackdown on China’s tech sector. It expects all of the units except for its China-facing e-commerce division to seek outside funding and go public. On Thursday it approved a full spinoff of the Cloud Intelligence Group via a stock dividend distribution to shareholders, aiming to complete the public listing within the next 12 months.

Finance chief Toby Xu said Alibaba’s board has also approved the process to start external financing for Alibaba International Digital Commerce Business Group. Freshippo, its grocery arm, will kick off the IPO process and logistics unit Cainiao will explore an IPO in the next 12-18 months.

Chinese consumer spending has gained some momentum since the country abandoned draconian zero-COVID policies late last year, but it still remains relatively muted amid a wobbly economic recovery. Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders was 23.52 billion yuan for the quarter, reversing a year earlier loss of 16.24 billion yuan.

Amid soft corporate demand and excess capacity, both Alibaba and rival Tencent Holdings Ltd have recently announced drastic price cuts for their cloud computing services, plunging the sector into a price war. Last month Alibaba showed off Tongyi Qianwen, a generative artificial intelligence model which is similar to the model that powers OpenAI’s ChatGPT. A number of other Chinese companies, including search giant Baidu have released similar AI models.