Technology Yahoo Finance brings you the latest news and expert analysis of the biggest companies and trends in technology. Jack Ma Pushes AI Drive in Rare Speech Since Ant Crackdown (Bloomberg) -- Chinese billionaire Jack Ma rallied his troops during a speech at Ant Group Co.’s 20th anniversary, making a rare appearance after a government crackdown forced the fintech giant to scrap what would have been the world’s largest initial public offering four years ago. Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With Bloomberg • 2 hours ago BABA Trump EV Skepticism Threatens $54 Billion in Korea Plans (Bloomberg) -- South Korean companies are reconsidering their $54 billion investment blitz to build electric-vehicle battery plants in the US over concerns President-elect Donald Trump could undo tax credits for EVs.Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With MicrotransitSome Korean companies have slowed or hit the pause butto Bain-Backed Kioxia to Set IPO Price as Deals Hit Eight-Year High (Bloomberg) -- Bain Capital-backed Kioxia Holdings Corp. is set to price its initial public offering Monday that could value the Japanese memory maker at as much as $5.5 billion, in the latest mammoth deal in Tokyo.Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With MicrotransitThe Tokyo-based company may be valued at as high as ¥819 Oil climbs as Assad's fall brings more uncertainty to Middle East TOKYO/SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Oil prices climbed on Monday after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime introduced greater uncertainty to the Middle East, although the gains were capped by a waning demand outlook for the coming year. Brent crude futures rose 36 cents, or 0.51%, to $71.48 per barrel by 0513 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 38 cents, or 0.57%, to $67.58 per barrel. CVC In Talks to Take German Software Firm CompuGroup Private (Bloomberg) -- CVC Capital Partners Plc is in advanced talks about a deal to take CompuGroup Medical SE & Co. KGaA, a German software provider to the health-care sector, private.Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With MicrotransitKoblenz-based CompuGroup is discussing a potential offer from CVC of €22 a share, it said in a Blackstone’s Data-Center Ambitions School a City on AI Power Strains (Bloomberg) -- The power lines weren’t even built, yet ran into resistance at every turn.Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With MicrotransitThey would encroach on more than 100 properties and houses, hitting home values and crossing people’s yards. Few saw them coming — not city officials, nor local homeowners — until emp Bluesky promises to shake up social media. It might finally succeed. The timing may finally be right for open platforms like Bluesky as social media moves toward a more fragmented future. Dubai’s Mega Tech IPO Solidifies Turnaround That Began in 2021 (Bloomberg) -- German food delivery giant Delivery Hero SE’s Middle Eastern unit is set to start trading in Dubai next week, solidifying a years-long turnaround for the city’s bourse.Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With MicrotransitTalabat’s $2 billion initial public offering, the largest in the Middle East this year an Ant Group President Cyril Han to Assume CEO Role From March (Bloomberg) -- Ant Group Co.’s President Cyril Han will take on the role of chief executive officer from March 2025 as the fintech giant tries to rebuild growth momentum after a government crackdown on the internet sector.Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With MicrotransitHan will succeed Eric Jing as CEO on March 1 and b Trump’s Crypto-AI Czar Sacks Is Longtime Critic of Tech Regulation (Bloomberg) -- David Sacks, President-elect Donald Trump’s surprise pick to guide policy on artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, doesn’t have deep ties to either industry or an extensive track record of investing in them. What he does have, though, is even more important in the eyes of technology investors — a tech-friendly worldview and a long history of skepticism about government regulation.Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern Archit Super Micro Receives Extension From Nasdaq Until February (Bloomberg) -- Super Micro Computer Inc. said Nasdaq Inc. has granted the company additional time to become compliant with listing rules, easing the near-term risk that the embattled server maker would be delisted.Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With MicrotransitSuper Micro said it received a letter Friday from Nasdaq a Ex-ASML Employee Suspected of Stealing Trade Secrets, NOS Says (Bloomberg) -- A former ASML Holding NV employee is facing a lawsuit in the Netherlands over suspected theft of trade secrets, according to Dutch public broadcaster NOS, in the latest breach of the maker of advanced chip-manufacturing equipment.Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With MicrotransitThe 43-year-old Russian eng HPE CEO on $14 billion Juniper deal: It should close in early 2025 HPE CEO Antonio Neri still thinks his prized $14 billion deal for Juniper Networks will close in early 2025. Intel’s Lack of a Clear Plan Makes Wall Street Even More Bearish (Bloomberg) -- Things were already looking bad for Intel Corp. shares this year. But the chipmaker’s sudden ouster of its chief executive officer has led to even more investors throwing in the towel.Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With MicrotransitThe stock fell 13% in the five days ending Friday, notching its worst wee TikTok’s loss is Meta’s win Banning TikTok would be a major win for Meta's Instagram. TikTok Faces US Ban After Appeals Court Refuses to Block Law (Bloomberg) -- TikTok’s Chinese parent company faces a ban in the US next month as a result of a federal appeals court ruling Friday, ratcheting up a political clash over the wildly popular video-sharing app.Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With MicrotransitA three-judge panel in Washington unanimously upheld a new US la Chevron CEO says no discussions with President-elect Trump on Venezuela HOUSTON (Reuters) -Chevron , the only U.S. oil producer now working in Venezuela's oilfields, has not held any discussions with President-elect Donald Trump's team over the company's operations in the country, CEO Michael Wirth said on Friday. Since 2019, Venezuela's oil industry has been under U.S. sanctions designed to curb its oil income and force out President Nicolas Maduro in response to electoral fraud following his re-election in 2018 and a disputed election in 2024. Chevron has been allowed since 2022 to export oil to recoup unpaid dividends from joint venture partners. Yellen warns against weakening financial risk watchdog U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday warned it was "crucial" that a panel charged with monitoring financial risks be able to continue its work as worries grow President-elect Donald Trump's administration will again weaken the body. Speaking at Friday's Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) meeting, the last of President Joe Biden's administration, Yellen said that under Trump's first term the panel's staff shrank to single digits and the infrastructure supporting interagency coordination was significantly scaled back. "This meant we were less equipped to identify and respond to risks to the financial system," she said, adding the Democratic Biden administration reinvested in the panel, which was created following the 2007-2009 crisis to monitor systemic risks. US appeals court reinforces TikTok ban A US federal appeals court upheld a new law that would outlaw TikTok from operating in the US under Chinese ownership, setting up a battle that could reach the Supreme Court. Nvidia-Backed Cohere to Invest in Mega Data Center in Canada (Bloomberg) -- Artificial intelligence startup Cohere Inc. is partnering with CoreWeave Inc. to build a multibillion-dollar data center in Canada, with financial help from the Canadian government.Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With MicrotransitThe company, headquartered in Toronto and San Francisco, is among the larges US appeals court upholds TikTok ban A federal appeals court has unanimously voted to uphold a law that could ban TikTok in the U.S. unless the social network divests from Chinese ownership. The decision comes seven months after TikTok filed a lawsuit against the federal government over the ban. Friday's ruling from the appeals court rejects TikTok's claims that the law violates the U.S. Constitution’s commitment to free speech and individual liberty. Rouble rebounds past 100 vs US dollar after Putin's gas payments decree The Russian rouble rebounded past 100 to the U.S. dollar, trading at 99.50 on Friday, after a decree by President Vladimir Putin which opened new payment options for European buyers of Russian gas, allowing foreign currency flows to resume. The rouble strengthened by 1.5% against the dollar, according to over-the-counter data from banks. It was also up by 2.4% at 13.57, rebounding past 14, against China's yuan in trade on the Moscow stock exchange. Exclusive: BP seeks buyers for US natural gas pipeline system stake, sources say BP is seeking buyers for a stake in its U.S. natural gas pipeline network, four people with knowledge of the matter said. The British energy company could raise up to $3 billion from the sale, two of the people said, with one of them adding that BP may sell up to a 49% stake in the business. The sale process is part of BP CEO Murray Auchincloss's drive to reduce the company's debt levels, which have risen over the past year, another two people said. Trump Names David Sacks as White House AI and Crypto Czar (Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump says he is selecting venture capitalist David Sacks of Craft Ventures LLC to serve as his artificial intelligence and crypto czar, a newly created position that underscores the president-elect’s intent to boost two rapidly developing industries.Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With Microtransi Exclusive-Varo Energy in talks to buy Preem's Swedish refineries, sources say European energy firm Varo Energy is in talks to acquire Preem's two Swedish refineries in a bet on growing demand for low-carbon biofuels, four industry sources told Reuters. Varo has been expanding fast in Europe's refining and fuel trading in recent years. The company is backed by private equity giant Carlyle Group and the world's biggest trading house Vitol, which has enjoyed record profits in recent years. Morning Bid: Long bond yields defused ahead of payrolls, France rallies Somewhat counter to post-election narratives and many new year outlooks, long-dated U.S. Treasury yields continue to sink as the November payrolls report holds all the attention on Friday. Perhaps year-end effects are at play, with another steep rise in cash-like money market fund holdings to a record $6.77 trillion in the latest week also catching eyes even as stock indexes hold near record highs. But with economic and trade uncertainty high before Donald Trump's new administration takes office next month, and many Federal Reserve officials hesitant about another interest rate cut this year, the calming of the Treasury market is notable. Trump's NASA pick a boon for SpaceX, but will face political challenges U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pick to helm NASA, a private astronaut and close ally of Elon Musk's SpaceX, is a central figure of a speedy, commercial-focused side of the space industry who would face unfamiliar political challenges as an administrator. Jared Isaacman, the CEO of payment processing company Shift4 Payments, has made landmark visits to space on two ambitious SpaceX missions, including the first-ever privately funded spacewalk in September. In accepting Trump's decision, he envisioned a "thriving space economy" and vowed to "usher in an era where humanity becomes a true spacefaring civilization." Analysis-Gas price shock set to add to Europe's industrial pain Europe's struggling industries are bracing for a new gas price shock over the coming winter months, as colder weather depletes stocks, competition with Asia for liquefied natural gas intensifies, and the prospect of reduced Russian supplies looms. Since the energy crisis of 2022, when gas prices peaked at nearly 350 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), dozens of firms across Europe have closed factories and cut activity and jobs as high gas prices undermined their competitiveness. Many are maintaining reduced demand and lower manufacturing activity, with negative implications for Europe's sluggish growth. Ransomware Gangs’ Merciless Attacks Bleed Small Companies Dry (Bloomberg Markets) -- The black-and-white message flickering across computer screens sparked panic at Knights of Old, a 158-year-old UK delivery company: “If you’re reading this, it means the internal infrastructure of your company is fully or partially dead.”Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With MicrotransitKnights’ ne GitLab names Bill Staples as its new CEO GitLab, the popular developer and security platform, has named a new CEO, Bill Staples, effective immediately. Staples, who has also been appointed to the company's board of directors, succeeds CEO Sid Sijbrandij, who's battling a rare form of cancer. "I believe [Bill's] passion for software, commitment to customers, and strong track record make him the right person to lead the company going forward," Sijbrandij said in a statement. OpenAI's o1 model sure tries to deceive humans a lot OpenAI finally released the full version of o1, which gives smarter answers than GPT-4o by using additional compute to "think" about questions. OpenAI released these results in its system card for o1 on Thursday after giving third party red teamers at Apollo Research early access to o1, which released its own paper as well. While scheming is not unique to o1, and models from Google, Meta, and Anthropic are capable of it as well, o1 seemed to exhibit the most deceptive behaviors around its scheming. Oil prices fall on supply glut fears despite OPEC+ output cut extension NEW YORK (Reuters) -Oil prices fell by more than 1% on Friday and cemented weekly losses as analysts projected a supply surplus next year on weak demand despite an OPEC+ decision to delay output hikes and extend deep production cuts to the end of 2026. For the week, Brent prices lost more than 2.5%, while WTI saw a drop of 1.2%. Weak global oil demand and the prospect of OPEC+ ramping up production as soon as prices rise have weighed on trading, said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho in New York. Musk’s xAI Wraps Up $6 Billion in Funding in Latest Round (Bloomberg) -- Elon Musk’s xAI has raised $6 billion in new capital, according to a regulatory filing, wrapping up a funding round that has been in the works for months and was said to value the artificial intelligence startup at more than $40 billion.Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With MicrotransitThe equity financing Chevron to take up to $1.5 billion in fourth-quarter charges U.S. oil producer Chevron on Thursday said it will take up to $1.5 billion in fourth-quarter charges for restructuring, asset impairments and property sales costs. Chevron did not disclose how many jobs would be lost among its 45,000 workers. The No. 2 U.S. oil producer earlier said it aimed to cut up to $3 billion in costs through 2026. Apex the $45M stegosaurus is on display in New York. Here's what scientists hope to learn about it The most expensive dinosaur fossil ever discovered will be on view in New York starting this weekend, American Museum of Natural History officials announced Wednesday. The giant stegosaurus fossil, dubbed “Apex,” is 11 feet (3.3 meters) tall and 27 feet (8.2 meters) nose to tail. The museum also confirmed the identity of the philanthropist who purchased Apex. Palantir Teams Up With Shield AI on AI-Powered Autonomous Aircraft (Bloomberg) -- Defense tech companies Palantir Technologies Inc. and Shield AI have signed an agreement for a new strategic partnership, a step toward developing autonomous flight with AI-powered intelligence and operational control. Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With MicrotransitThe agreement will see the two defense Waymo announces it's expanding to Miami Waymo plans to start offering rides in Miami in 2026. OpenAI wants to pair online courses with chatbots If OpenAI has its way, the next online course you take might have a chatbot component. Speaking at a fireside on Monday hosted by Coeus Collective, Siya Raj Purohit, a member of OpenAI's go-to-market team for education, said that OpenAI might explore ways to let e-learning instructors create custom "GPTs" that tie into online curriculums. "What I'm hoping is going to happen is that professors are going to create custom GPTs for the public and let people engage with content in a lifelong manner," Purohit said. NASA Delays First Moon Landing in More Than 50 Years to 2027 (Bloomberg) -- NASA is delaying its first moon landing in more than 50 years by several months to 2027, as engineers at the agency race to fix critical safety issues with the hardware and adjust plans needed for future flights.Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With MicrotransitAgency officials also told reporters on Thurs Dell Deploys Tens of Thousands of Chips for AI at Musk’s Memphis Supercomputer (Bloomberg) -- Dell Technologies Inc. has deployed tens of thousands of graphics processing units to power artificial intelligence work at Elon Musk’s supercomputer project in Memphis.Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With Microtransit“We’ve gone from a blank piece of paper to deploying, at scale, tens of thousands of GPU Stellantis, Zeta Energy agree to jointly develop lithium-sulfur EV batteries Stellantis has signed an agreement with U.S.-based Zeta Energy to develop cheap lithium-sulfur batteries for electric vehicles, with an aim to use them by 2030, the two companies said on Thursday. Unlike traditional lithium-ion batteries, lithium-sulfur batteries do not use expensive materials such as nickel or cobalt, resulting in cheaper production costs, although they are shorter lasting. "Lithium-sulfur batteries are expected to cost less than half the price per kWh (kilowatt hour) of current lithium-ion batteries," Stellantis, the world's fourth largest carmaker, and battery maker Zeta said in a joint statement. OpenAI Adds $200 Monthly ChatGPT Pro Subscription With New Model (Bloomberg) -- OpenAI is introducing a higher-priced paid tier for its chatbot ChatGPT that includes unlimited access to its most powerful artificial intelligence models, including an improved version of its software that can perform human-like reasoning tasks.Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With MicrotransitThe new Cha Big changes are coming to AI in 2025: Microsoft Microsoft says AI will change in some big ways in 2025. Android's latest round of AI features improve accessibility, file sharing and more Google has announced a swath of new AI features for the entire Android ecosystem, with special attention for Pixel users. Intel Shores Up Board With Microchip CEO, Former ASML Chief (Bloomberg) -- Intel Corp., the embattled chipmaker seeking a new chief executive officer, added two semiconductor industry veterans to its board in a move the company said would bring “experience and operational vigor.” Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With MicrotransitFormer ASML Holding NV CEO Eric Meurice and Microch Explainer-What OPEC+ oil output cuts are currently in place? Those include three tranches: 1. million bpd by all OPEC+ members - extended on Dec. 5 by one year until the end of 2026 from the end of 2025. million bpd of voluntary cuts by eight members (Algeria, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) - extended on Dec. 5 by one year until the end of 2026 from the end of 2025. Trump just gave a new signal he isn't going to let up on Big Tech President-elect Donald Trump is making it clear he doesn't intend to ease up on the nation's technology giants once he is back in the Oval Office. Israel Set for Record Tech M&A in 2024 on Cyber, AI Deals (Bloomberg) -- Israeli technology startups are on track for a record year of mergers and acquisitions, according to Vintage Investment Partners, as wars in Gaza and Lebanon didn’t dent investor appetite. Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With MicrotransitThe country had $9.1 billion in tech M&A through the first three qua TikTok Ruling in Focus for Meta, Alphabet, Oracle Investors (Bloomberg) -- Tech investors are girding for the latest development in TikTok’s legal saga. Social media and search companies like Meta Platforms Inc. have a lot at stake, as does Oracle Corp., which counts TikTok as a big customer.Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With MicrotransitThe US Court of Appeals in Washington i AMD CEO Lisa Su Is Ready for the AI Spotlight (Bloomberg) -- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Chief Executive Officer Lisa Su has spent most of her decade in the top job at the chipmaker keeping a tight rein on expectations. Most Read from BloombergA Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern ArchitectNYC’s Run-Down Bus Terminal Gets Approval for $10 Billion RevampKansas City Looks Back on its Long, Costly Ride With MicrotransitAvoiding hype and broad pronouncements has played a big part in reestablishing the creditability o