Business

By Ananya Mariam Rajesh and Arriana McLymore (Reuters) – Shoppers are likely to spend roughly $14 billion during Amazon’s Prime Day two-day shopping event this week, according to projections from Adobe Analytics, a firm that studies e-commerce transaction data. Spending at Amazon on Tuesday and Wednesday could rise 10.5% from Prime Day 2023, Adobe said. The online retailer began holding Prime Day a decade ago, typically in July. Prime Day accounts for 1% to 2% … Read more…

(Reuters) – Shares of Warner Bros Discovery rose more than 6% on Tuesday after Bank of America (BofA) Global Research said the company could create more value for its shareholders if it explored strategic options, including a potential sale. The loss-making media conglomerate has been reeling from the effects of subdued advertising in the U.S. and certain international markets. The fallout of last year’s Hollywood strikes have also impacted the company’s studio segment. Warner could … Read more…

By Arasu Kannagi Basil and Davide Barbuscia (Reuters) – Assets managed by BlackRock hit a record $10.65 trillion in the second quarter thanks to rising client asset values and as investors pumped money into the company’s exchange-traded funds, the world’s largest asset manager said on Monday. Stock markets have scaled record highs in the last few months amid rising expectations of a soft landing for the U.S. economy and an investor frenzy around artificial intelligence-linked … Read more…

By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) -Berkshire Hathaway’s share price hit a record high on Monday, reflecting investors’ confidence in Warren Buffett’s company, which is often regarded as a microcosm of the broader American economy. The price of Berkshire’s Class A shares rose 1.5% to $649,000 in late morning trading, surpassing the $647,039 price reached on Feb. 26. Berkshire’s more widely held Class B shares are worth about 1/1,500th as much. Monday’s gain boosted the market value … Read more…

(Reuters) -Private equity firm Bain Capital will buy Envestnet in a $4.5 billion deal, with backing from a cohort of investors, including BlackRock and Fidelity Investments, the financial software vendor said on Thursday. Berwyn, Pennsylvania-based Envestnet offers software for wealth managers and data for financial institutions and investment research firms. Its clients include 16 of the 20 biggest U.S. banks and 48 of the 50 largest wealth management and brokerage firms. Reuters exclusively reported earlier … Read more…

(Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Trade Commission plans to delay its decision whether to block Chevron’s $53 billion takeover of Hess until after an arbitration case with Exxon Mobil is settled, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. The signal from the U.S. regulator is another hurdle for Chevron’s proposed acquisition of Hess. The deal, which was initially planned to close in the first half of the year, stalled after Exxon in March filed for arbitration, claiming … Read more…

By Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) – Samsung Electronics unveiled its latest foldable smartphones on Wednesday, making its priciest flagship model lighter and slimmer and bolstering AI functions as it challenges Apple’s dominance in the premium market. Samsung is also offering more sophisticated health monitoring functions to drive new demand for accessories such as its smartwatch, as well as a new ring for easy health monitoring and screen control. The world’s largest smartphone maker pioneered the … Read more…

(Reuters) -Google-parent Alphabet has abandoned its plans to buy online marketing software company HubSpot, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. HubSpot shares fell nearly 12% in afternoon trading while Alphabet shares were up 1.2%. In April, Reuters had reported, citing sources, that Alphabet was in talks with advisers about making an offer for HubSpot. Alphabet had communicated its interest in a potential deal with HubSpot earlier this year, but the … Read more…

(Reuters) -Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain-chip company, is working on a new device that it believes will require half the number of electrodes to be implanted in the brain to make it more efficient and powerful, the company’s executives said. The company is also taking risk mitigation measures such as skull sculpting and reduce the carbon dioxide concentration in the blood to normal level in patients, the executives said in a live stream on social media … Read more…

(Reuters) -Billionaire Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI and tech giant Oracle have ended talks on a potential $10 billion server deal, The Information reported on Tuesday. The startup and Oracle have ended talks to expand an existing arrangement under which xAI has been renting Nvidia’s AI chips from the cloud provider, the report said, citing several people involved in the talks. The AI startup is building a system using Nvidia’s H100 graphics processing units … Read more…