The U.S.-China competition will be the “geopolitical challenge for this generation,” Cordell Hull, principal at WestExec Advisors, told an online symposium Thursday on Indo-Pacific geopolitics hosted jointly by the Asia programs of the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) and the Wilson Center. Hull hopes the competition "can be managed,” and that it “doesn’t lead us into places where neither country really wants to go,” he said.
Considering the challenges facing eBay customers globally, “we are pleased with our performance to start the year,” said CEO Jamie Iannone on a Q1 earnings call Wednesday. Revenue in the quarter declined 6% to $2.48 billion.The stock closed 11.7% lower Thursday at $48.04.
IRobot cut full-year revenue guidance in its Wednesday Q1 earnings report on stunted growth in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. CEO Colin Angle cited higher inflation and lower consumer confidence in Europe and elsewhere stemming from the Russia-Ukraine war.
Industry urged California’s fledgling privacy agency to narrow the scope of automated decision-making (ADM) protections under the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). On the first of three days scheduled for virtual stakeholder sessions, multiple tech groups Wednesday urged the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) to focus regulation on fully automated systems that could have “legal or similarly significant effects” for consumers. A consumer privacy advocate said that’s too narrow, and others urged CPPA to specifically tackle unfair bias and discrimination.
Vivint lowered the bottom end of its full-year 2022 free cash flow guidance due to uncertainties in a “challenging economic environment, rising interest rates, and continuing global supply chain constraints,” said Chief Financial Officer Dale Gerard in prepared remarks Tuesday. Free cash flow guidance is now $50 million-$77 million vs. February guidance of $67 million-$77 million, he said.
Dish Network went live with its 5G network in Las Vegas Wednesday, it confirmed. In another 5G development, the FCC awarded 4,041 flexible-use licenses won in the $22.5 billion 3.45 GHz auction, which ended in January, including to AT&T. The carrier has said it’s waiting for those licenses to clear before concurrently deploying 3.45 GHz and C band on towers (see 2204210061).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is opening dockets in each of two 60-day “time windows” for submission of “requests for continuation” of the Lists 1 and 2 Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports by the four-year anniversaries of when each round of duties took effect, says a notice for Thursday’s Federal Register. The tariffs would face possible termination under the 1974 Trade Act if USTR doesn't receive a single continuation request, which trade experts say is extremely unlikely (see 2205030013).
Logitech shares touched a 52-week low Tuesday at $62.32 after the company shaved revenue guidance for fiscal 2023 and reported a 20% Q4 net sales decline for the quarter ended March 31. Q4 revenue set a new high at $1.23 billion after 76% growth a year earlier. Shares closed 3.1% lower Tuesday at $64.28.
Implied slaps at Netflix and Disney+ as “legacy” streaming services permeated the talk of Paramount Global senior executives during their Q1 earnings call Tuesday, their first since rebranding the company from ViacomCBS. Its signature Paramount+ service added 6.8 million subscribers by the end of the quarter, bringing its installed base to nearly 40 million customers, said CEO Bob Bakish.
The California Assembly’s Judiciary Committee unanimously passed legislation Tuesday to make social media platforms liable for addiction- and design-related harm to children. AB-2408 would impose penalties on major social media platforms for negligent design.