News

Pandemic brings fortunes to Amazon - and headaches too

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO and ALEXANDRA OLSON AP Retail Writers Amazon has spent years honing the business of packing, shipping and delivering millions of products to doorsteps around the world. Now it has a captive audience. With much of the globe in various stages of a lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, the world’s largest online […]

Google's growth slows as pandemic infests advertising market

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Google reported its weakest revenue growth in nearly five years as the pandemic-driven recession began to shrivel its advertising sales in the first quarter. The January-March earnings for Google parent Alphabet offer a first look at how the digital ad market has fared amid widespread […]

Samsung expects profit decline as pandemic hits sales

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday its operating profit for the first three months of 2020 rose 3.4% from a year earlier driven by increasing demands for computer chips. However, the company predicted its profit would decline in the current quarter with the coronavirus pandemic eating into global sales of smartphones, […]

Tesla says cars can automatically stop for traffic lights

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — After testing on public roads, Tesla is rolling out a new feature of its partially automated driving system designed to spot stop signs and traffic signals. The update of the electric car company’s cruise control and auto-steer systems is a step toward CEO Elon Musk’s pledge […]

Digital-ad downturn may complicate life for Google, Facebook

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE and BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writers Demand for digital-ad is shriveling after a decade of explosive growth amid the pandemic-fueled downturn. That could complicate things for Google and Facebook, who for the first time may have to contend with revenues that are actually shrinking. With consumers mostly at home and unemployment soaring, […]

The Latest: Over 1 million Australians download virus app

By The Associated Press undefined The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. TOP OF THE HOUR: — More than 1 million Australians download coronavirus tracing app. […]

Low-tech Japan challenged in working from home amid pandemic

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — When the Japanese government declared an emergency to curb the spread of the coronavirus earlier this month and asked people to work from home, crowds rushed to electronics stores. So much for social distancing. Many Japanese lack the basic tools needed to work from home. Contrary […]

Virus dings AT&T results, telecom withdraws year guidance

By TALI ARBEL AP Technology Writer The effects of the coronavirus pandemic hurt AT&T‘s revenue and profit in the first quarter, and it withdrew its financial guidance for the year. Revenue fell 4.6% to $42.8 billion, with a $600 million impact from the virus thanks to lower wireless equipment sales and a hit to ad […]

Facebook to label national origin of popular posts

By BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writer OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Facebook said Wednesday it will label posts from popular accounts with their geographic origin in an attempt to curb political misinformation by foreign-based pages that mimic legitimate groups and political parties. The new policy will apply to popular pages about elections, entertainment and other topics […]

Facebook invests in India telecom giant Jio for e-commerce

By RISHABH R. JAIN Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Facebook says it plans to invest $5.7 billion in India’s telecom giant Reliance Jio. The investment will give Facebook a 9.99% stake in Jio Platforms, the digital technologies and app developing division of Reliance Industries. Reliance Jio has the highest number of customers in the […]