Cloud Outages Ground Flights, AI Boosts Infosys Outlook, and IPO Buzz

Microsoft's Flight Disruptions, Infosys' AI-Fueled Forecast, and Manycore Tech's IPO

Microsoft Resolves Outages That Briefly Disrupted Air Travel - Bloomberg

• Microsoft Corp. experienced a cloud services outage that grounded flights and disrupted flight operations in the US. Frontier Airlines and Allegiant Air also experienced an outage, while Sun Country Airlines reported a global outage. The cause of the outage was attributed to issues with Microsoft’s Azure cloud and Microsoft 365 services. The Azure issues were localized in the central US region.

Infosys Outlook Boost Fuels Hopes AI Will Spur Tech Spending - Bloomberg

• Infosys Ltd. raised its sales forecast for the fiscal year through March 2025, indicating that clients are beginning to boost technology spending due to a resilient global economy. The software services industry in India, led by Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., is betting on falling interest rates and slowing inflation to spur technology spending.

• Revenue is expected to grow 3% to 4% on a constant currency basis in the year, compared to the average analyst estimate of 3.16%.

• Companies like TCS are betting on machine learning, analytics, and cloud computing to boost revenue as global enterprises try to transform legacy businesses to compete with nimble startups.

Manycore Tech Said to File for $200 Million Hong Kong IPO This Year - Bloomberg

• Manycore Tech is preparing to file for a Hong Kong initial public offering.

• The company has picked CCB International Holdings Ltd. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. for the deal.

McDonald’s in Japan Hit by Systems Outage, Closing 30% of Stores - Bloomberg

• McDonald’s in Japan suspended 30% of its stores nationwide due to a systems outage.

• The company is investigating the cause and the timeline for recovery is unclear.

Bosch Emerges as Frontrunner for JCI Air Conditioning Assets - Bloomberg

• Bosch is in advanced talks to potentially acquire Johnson Controls’ HVAC assets, including most of the York International operations and a 60% stake in an air conditioning joint venture with Hitachi Ltd.

• A deal could value the operations at several billion dollars, with other suitors including Lennox International Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. also vying for the assets

• There is no certainty that Bosch will reach an agreement, as other parties remain interested in the assets and another buyer could emerge

• Johnson Controls has been divesting assets as it seeks to reposition itself as a pure-play building solutions company.

Tucker Carlson, Ousted by Fox, Roars Into Milwaukee as a Top Trump Ally - New York Times

• Tucker Carlson, former Fox News host, is making a comeback at the Republican National Convention

• He is increasingly welcomed by Trump’s inner circle and is set to deliver a televised address on Thursday

• Carlson lobbied for Trump to select Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate and helped broker a meeting between Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

• Trump Jr. believes Carlson would make an excellent vice president and sees him as a great thought leader for the party

• Last year, Carlson had turned on Trump and expressed anger towards him passionately

• In an interview on Thursday, Carlson dismissed past comments about Trump as merely venting frustration to a colleague.

Ford Plans More Gas Trucks, Fewer Electric Vehicles - New York Times

• Ford is retooling a Canadian factory to produce large pickup trucks instead of electric sport-utility vehicles.

• The move is a response to the slowing growth of electric vehicle sales, with sales expected to reach 200,000 to 250,000 battery-powered cars and trucks this year

• Ford will turn the Oakville factory into a third production location for its Super Duty pickup trucks, which are among its most profitable models

• Super Duty trucks are typically used to haul heavy equipment and materials by building contractors, oil and gas companies, and other businesses

• About 1,800 jobs will be secured at the plant, as well as 50 others at an engine plant in Windsor, Ontario

• Tesla has responded to slower growth by cutting prices of its electric cars

• Unifor, the Canadian auto workers union, welcomed the new plan for pickup production.

Carlos Espina is a One-Man Telemundo on TikTok - New York Times

• Carlos Eduardo Espina is a social media personality viewed as modern-day broadcasters by politicians, especially those in the Biden White House

• He received a news alert about the former president of Honduras being sentenced to 45 years in prison for drug trafficking while driving to a restaurant

• Espina created a video about the news in the car and shared it on TikTok, which has 9.4 million followers

• The video gained over 100,000 views during lunch and Espina received a free video because the restaurant owner recognized him from TikTok

• Despite having more TikTok followers than Beyoncé or Reese Witherspoon, Espina has received little attention in the national press due to his Spanish-speaking background

• Politicians are offering Espina briefings and unique access to administration officials in hopes of reaching their audiences beyond traditional news media

• In August, the White House will host its first conference on the social media creator economy and hand out credentials to Espina for the Democratic National Convention

• His TikTok account blends aspects of reporting with political commentary and entertainment.

Why China Is So Interested in Kazakhstan - New York Times

• Kazakhstan is investing tens of millions of dollars to extract nickel, a key mineral used in electric vehicles and other clean energy technologies.

• The world’s transition to renewable energy, including electric cars, requires huge amounts of nickel, copper, lithium and other critical minerals, including Kazakhstan’s many of which China is eager to buy.

• Kazakhstan has many of these critical minerals and is courting buyers from the West and not playing favorites when it comes to investors in mining. The country has signed pacts with the European Union, Britain, and the United States to cooperate on critical minerals. a former Soviet Republic, Kazakhstan borders Russia to the north and China to the east and retains close trade ties to Russia. kazakhstan is a longtime oil exporter, and Mr. Rakishev is one of the richest men in Kazakhstan.

WNBA Players Seek Expert Advice as They Assess Next Union Contract - New York Times

• N.B.A players have more leverage than ever before in issues like salaries, travel accommodations, and revenue sharing due to the league’s popularity and growing popularity.

• A newly negotiated media rights deal is expected to earn the league at least six times more than the current deal

• The players’ union has created a five-person advisory committee to help players and union members make a united decision on whether to opt out of their collective bargaining agreement or not

• Opting out comes with the risk of negotiations taking longer than a year, potentially leading to a lockout

• Players on the executive committee and team player representatives will vote on the opt out, and the committee will meet twice a month

• Attendance and viewership records are being shattered, with star rookies like Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark leading the way

• Kelsey Plum and Angel Reese are popular and highly regarded by fans.

From palm oil to data: Malaysia builds AI hub on Singapore’s doorstep - Financial Times

• Companies such as TikTok, Nvidia, and Microsoft are investing billions of dollars in data centres in Johor, southern Malaysia.- Johor is taking advantage of cheaper land and abundant energy for computer infrastructure while staying close to Singapore, the biggest financial centre in the region.

• Malaysia hopes Johor can become as integral to the regional digital economy as Shenzhen has been to China’s manufacturing growth, similar to the transformation of Shenzhen from a fishing village to a tech megapurpose.

• Foreign investment into Johor has increased by RM58.8bn ($12.6bn) in 2022 and RM31bn in 2023, with economic growth expected to outpace national forecasts up to 2025. - Malaysia has a development pipeline of 1.2 gigawatts of data storage capacity, an increase of 600% in the next five years from its current 189 megawatts. The country is predicted to make up the majority of south-east Asia’s data centre market in terms of capacity by 2035.

US regulators serve up a shot aimed at Serena Williams-backed venture - Financial Times

• US consumer regulators are proposing a proposed rule that would restrict the way a lending start-up charges customers.

• SoLo Funds, backed by Serena Williams, is a peer-to-peer lending platform that uses a pay-what-you-like model that charges a fee in the form of a “tip”.

• The CFPB sued SoLo for deceptive lending practices after it advertised its loans as “zero-interest loans or 0% APR” despite the fact that nearly all borrowers end up paying a fee on top of the interest rate. The new rule would require SoLo and other upstarts to price loans in terms of annual interest rates and ensure that fees do not exceed federal or state caps.

• Borrowers typically pay an average annualized interest rate of 36% on loans through SoLo, but in many cases, it can exceed 300% in excess of existing limits. SoLo maintains it is in compliance with federal and state lending loans and is working with regulators to understand the advantages of its offering.

OpenAI and Broadcom in talks about developing new AI chip - Financial Times

• OpenAI is in talks with semiconductor designers including Broadcom to develop a new chip to ease its reliance on Nvidia and boost its supply chain.

• The talks are part of OpenAI’s efforts to become more self-reliant in its pursuit of artificial general intelligence (AI) and increase access to the infrastructure needed to run powerful AI models.

• Altman has engaged with chipmakers, partners, including Microsoft, government bodies, and financial backers to boost capacity and retain his company’s position at the centre of the technology boom.

Netflix earnings surge on boost from Baby Reindeer and Bridgerton - Financial Times

• Netflix added 8mn new subscribers in the second quarter, thanks to hit shows.

• The new subscriber sign-ups were the most in a second quarter since 2020.

Warner Bros Discovery’s problem is mismanagement, not structure - Financial Times

• Warner Bros Discovery may seek a break-up to create two companies with distinct growth and profit profiles.

• The idea of a separation would involve putting low-growth but cash-generative cable TV stations into a company that takes on most of WBD’s net debt.

• WBD might be able to get creditors to take haircuts in debt exchanges.

Elon Musk Wants His AI Bot to Deliver the News. It Is Struggling With the Job - Wall Street Journal

• Elon Musk wants people to get news from Grok, an AI model accessible through his X platform

• Grok served up erroneous headlines in the hours after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump

• One headline wrongly said Vice President Kamala Harris was shot

• Another Grok news summary incorrectly named a purported shooter and claimed the man was a member of antifa

• The errors suggest that design can be a weakness and highlight the potential pitfalls of having a humor-inclined computer model trying to sort in real-time

• Journalists also can make mistakes following a surprising and dramatic event such as the attack on Trump.

Google Near $23 Billion Deal for Cybersecurity Startup Wiz - Wall Street Journal

• Alphabet is in advanced talks to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz for $23 billion, its largest acquisition ever.

• The acquisition could boost Alphabet’s efforts in cloud computing and come at a time of intense antitrust scrutiny of the search company and other tech giants

• Wiz raised $1 billion earlier this year at a valuation of $12 billion, one of only a few startups outside the artificial-intelligence industry to raise money at a higher valuation in 2024

• Tech startups are still suffering from the hangover effects of the tech boom that peaked earlier this decade

• If a deal for Wiz comes together, it would be one of the largest technology deals of late

• Alphabet has been a more conservative acquirer than some of its big-tech peers in recent years

• Google is currently awaiting a verdict in a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit over claims that it used illegal means to bolster its dominance in internet search.

Young Women With Eating Disorders Feel the Pull of Energy Drinks - Wall Street Journal

-Energy drinks have become more appealing to women, particularly those with unhealthy eating and exercise habits. Overconsumption of low-cal, highly caffeinated energy drinks is on the rise among young women with eating disorders. Brands like Celsius and Alani Nu pitch themselves as fitness aids and claim to boost metabolism and burn fat. High doses of caffeine can cause serious health problems, especially for people who aren’t eating enough. At Cleveland Clinic Children’s, about a third of the hospital’s eating-disorder patients consume energy drinks. Anne Arthurs, a college freshman diagnosed with anorexia, began drinking one or two cans of Celsius a day and found it helped her feel full and energized. Supplementing her energy drinks with diet soda regularly brought her daily caffeine intake to 500 mg. Other women interviewed for this story described drinking up to 800 mg of caffeine a day. Caffeine tends to have stronger effects on women, whose bodies metabolize it more slowly than men. Patients use energy drinks to temporarily boost vital signs and gain water weight to avoid hospitalization for eating disorders during the pandemic.

Microsoft Quits OpenAI’s Board Amid Antitrust Scrutiny - Wall Street Journal

• Microsoft has resigned its observer position on the board of OpenAI, as regulators scrutinize the partnership between the tech giant and the AI startup.

• Microsoft had invested $13 billion in OpenAI in exchange for a 49% stake in its for-profit arm, which is now facing antitrust scrutiny in the US and Europe.

• The tech giant had gained a nonvoting observer position after the formation of the new board following the abrupt firing and reinstatement of Sam Altman as CEO in late last year. (

• Apple had been set to have a board observer seat after signing a partnership to put ChatGPT on its iPhones and other devices as part of a broader AI initiative called Apple Intelligence).

• OpenAI is establishing a new approach to informing and engaging key strategic partners, such as Microsoft and Apple, and will no longer have board observer seats for any partner.

Samsung Electronics Union Launches Indefinite Strike - Wall Street Journal

• Samsung Electronics unionized workers have launched an indefinite strike in South Korea.

• The union demands an extra one day of leave, an average 3.5% wage increase, and a change to an unfair bonus pay system.