Organizers’ surprise announcement Wednesday canceling the Sept. 3-7 IFA 2021 as “a physical live event as originally planned” due to the ongoing pandemic happened to coincide with the vote of ambassadors from 27 EU states adopting the European Commission’s May 3 proposal lifting restrictions on nonessential travel through EU borders for foreign visitors showing proof of COVID-19 vaccinations.
Target shares hit a 52-week high at $219.820 Wednesday after a Q1 earnings report showed comparable sales growth of 22.9%, after 10.8% increases last year. Revenue jumped 23.4% to $24.2 billion, and sales expanded by $6.5 billion in the quarter, for a $1 billion market share gain, said CEO Brian Cornell on the company’s Wednesday earnings call. The stock closed 6.1% higher Wednesday at $219.01.
Fully autonomous vehicles are at least five years from deployment, potentially much longer, a Carnegie Mellon University professor told the House Consumer Protection Subcommittee Tuesday. Members of both parties cited the need to develop a road map for AVs so China doesn’t take the lead on future deployment.
There’s no easy or quick solution to chip shortages, and the Biden administration is doing all it can to resolve the crisis, National Security Council Senior Director-International Economics and Competitiveness Peter Harrell told an AT&T webinar Tuesday. The FCC sought comment last week (see 2105120024). Harrell said the administration supports legislation to provide money for domestic chip manufacturing (see 2105170059). The administration is also trying to increase supply chain transparency, he said.
Quick pairing, virtual remote control and digital keys are among Android announcements at Google’s virtual I/O event this week through Thursday. It's working with carmakers to develop a digital car key in Android 12 that will let owners of select Pixel and Samsung Galaxy smartphones lock, unlock and start a car from their phones, blogged Android Vice President-Engineering Erik Kay Tuesday. It's teaming with BMW and others to enable the feature in upcoming models.
Walmart is continuing its focus on serving customers better by “diversifying the model,” said CEO Doug McMillon on the company’s Q1 earnings call Tuesday. Store remodels, investments in pickup and delivery capacity and sales of Walmart+ memberships led growth initiatives. “We need more capacity to get ahead of demand,” he said.
Samsung Display sees a future in connectivity devices based on foldable, rollable, slidable and stretchable display form factors, said CEO Choi Joo-sun in a prerecorded keynote streamed Tuesday during the virtual Display Week 2021 conference. “Many people have been looking forward to the mobility revolution,” dominated by blurrier lines of product-category demarcation between smartphones, tablets and portable monitors, he said.
States want to extend temporary relaxations of telehealth restrictions made on an emergency basis during the pandemic, legislators and experts said in interviews. Nearly every state is “trying to grapple with what just happened with COVID and telehealth,” said American Telemedicine Association Director-Public Policy Kyle Zebley, citing 550 telehealth bills in 49 states this year.
The Chips for America Act will help the U.S. develop manufacturing needed to compete with China and other adversaries, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said Monday. Debate within Congress is growing about appropriating $50 billion for domestic chip manufacturing incentives and research initiatives (see 2105110065) related to the Endless Frontier Act (S-1260). The legislation goes as far as possible now in pushing semiconductor development, but Congress is still incrementally educating its leaders, Ernst told a Brookings virtual event.
The cost of hi-res music came down for consumers Monday, with Amazon and Apple announcements that lossless music will be available to users at the price of a standard streaming music subscription. That’s $7.99 for Amazon Prime members, $9.99 for non-Prime users and $14.99 for Amazon’s family plan.