Merck stops Gardasil shipments to China, hitting 2025 outlook; shares tumble

By Michael Erman and Mariam Sunny (Reuters) -Merck said on Tuesday it would not ship its HPV vaccine Gardasil in China until at least the middle of this year due to weak discretionary spending, a move that dented its full-year forecast and sent shares tumbling 11% in early trading. Gardasil, which prevents cancers caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), has been one of Merck’s top growth drivers aside from Keytruda, and much of its international … Read more…

PayPal’s profit push slows unbranded business growth, shares drop 10%

By Manya Saini (Reuters) -PayPal’s shares fell nearly 10% on Tuesday, after the digital payments giant’s unbranded card processing business saw a sharp slowdown in growth and its operating margin shrank in the fourth quarter. Unbranded payments, which include transactions for other firms rather than PayPal itself, had traditionally been a low-margin business due to stiff competition but saw strong growth in recent years. Under CEO Alex Chriss, PayPal has embarked on an ambitious turnaround … Read more…

Analysis-Trump tariffs will only add to the pain for hard-hit Nissan

By Daniel Leussink and Maki Shiraki TOKYO (Reuters) – One of the biggest casualties of Donald Trump’s potential tariffs on Mexico and Canada is likely to be the Japanese automaker that can least afford the pain: Nissan. While it’s unclear whether the U.S. President will follow through with his promised 25% levies after agreeing to a 30-day pause on Monday, the blowback would be profound for Japan’s No.3 carmaker, which is struggling to turn itself … Read more…

Trading touchdowns: Robinhood launches Super Bowl prediction contracts

By Manya Saini and Niket Nishant (Reuters) -Robinhood is rolling out event contracts to let U.S. users wager on the outcome of the Super Bowl clash, it said on Monday, seeking to tap into the betting mania around one of the most iconic sporting events in the country. The platform has been pushing to gain traction with retail investors and evolve beyond its stock-trading roots, a strategy that kicked off with Robinhood launching widely popular … Read more…

Alphabet faces scrutiny on AI spending as Google cloud growth slows

By Deborah Mary Sophia and Zaheer Kachwala (Reuters) – Alphabet will face investor scrutiny over its massive spending on AI when it reports earnings on Tuesday, as revenue growth at the Google parent likely slowed in the holiday quarter due to a slowdown in its advertising and cloud businesses. Like other U.S. technology heavyweights, Alphabet faces new scrutiny on its capital expenditure after Chinese startup DeepSeek last month launched low-cost AI models that threaten to … Read more…

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Tesla’s California car registrations down 12% in 2024, report shows

(Reuters) – Tesla’s electric-vehicle registrations in California fell about 12% last year, according to industry data, indicating mounting challenges for the automaker in the key U.S. market. While high interest rates, tough competition and the introduction of a restyled Model 3 sedan hurt the EV maker’s sales in California, the loss of business was likely exacerbated by CEO Elon Musk’s involvement in the U.S. election. “Things aren’t looking so golden for Tesla in the Golden … Read more…

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Explainer-Can the US Congress intervene on Trump’s tariffs?

By Bo Erickson WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Some lawmakers in the U.S. Congress have expressed dismay at President Donald Trump’s threat to slap new tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico, but they have limited power to stop him. WHICH BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT HAS TARIFF POWER?  The U.S. Constitution gave Congress the power to set and regulate tariffs, but over the last 70 years the body has repeatedly passed laws handing that power over to the president, … Read more…

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Berkshire Hathaway has shed more than 4,000 jobs

(Reuters) – Berkshire Hathaway said on Friday it has shed more than 4,000 jobs over the last year, even as the conglomerate run by Warren Buffett is on pace to post a record annual operating profit. In a regulatory filing, Berkshire said its dozens of operating businesses employ about 392,000 people, down from 396,440 shown in its most recent annual report last February. The filing did not say which businesses have cut, or added, jobs. … Read more…

Apple rises as rosy forecast lifts hopes for iPhone rebound

(Reuters) – Apple shares rose 2% on Friday after a rosy forecast fuelled hopes of an iPhone sales rebound, even as tough competition and a lack of AI features weigh on demand in key market China. Already the world’s most valuable company, Apple is set to add more than $81 billion to its market value of $3.573 trillion, if the gains hold. Apple, which has been grappling with investor worries over iPhone demand due to … Read more…

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Exclusive-Musk aides lock government workers out of computer systems at US agency, sources say

By Tim Reid WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Aides to Elon Musk charged with running the U.S. government human resources agency have locked career civil servants out of computer systems that contain the personal data of millions of federal employees, according to two agency officials. Since taking office 11 days ago, President Donald Trump has embarked on a massive government makeover, firing and sidelining hundreds of civil servants in his first steps toward downsizing the bureaucracy and … Read more…

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