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Meta mojo is back: Earnings surprise sparks share surge, lifts Big Tech

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Meta mojo is back: Earnings surprise sparks share surge, lifts Big Tech

Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) shares rose nearly 20% in premarket trade after the Facebook owner floored Wall Street by slashing its spending forecast and boosting its stock buyback plan by $40 billion.

The company was set to add around $75 billion to its market value and would post its best day in a decade, if gains hold.

Meta stock surge also sparked a rally in shares of mega-caps Amazon.com (AMZN.O), Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), all of which sport market values of more than $1 trillion and report earnings after market close.

Meta’s move on Wednesday to rein in costs was a dramatic shift for a company that has spent billions of dollars to turn its vision of the futuristic metaverse into a reality even while its core business reeled from stiff competition and a weak advertising market.

The results prompted at least 19 analysts to boost their price targets on the stock, with several saying that a combination of lower costs, upbeat revenue growth and share buybacks will drive up earnings per share.

“That is rare”, analysts at Evercorse ISI said, referring to the positive developments. “And stocks react to rare.”

The results also provided some relief to the market after an earnings meltdown at Snap Inc (SNAP.N) on Tuesday that had sent the tech sector’s shares lower.

“After Snap’s disaster, the fact that Meta wasn’t quite so bad has brought encouragement to tech mega-caps,” said Fiona Cincotta, analyst at City Index.
“There is also a less hawkish Fed which is also boosting demand for growth and tech stocks generally.”

‘YEAR OF EFFICIENCY’

Meta now expects its 2023 expenses between $89 billion and $95 billion, a sharp drop from its previous outlook of $94 billion to $100 billion, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg calling the period a “Year of Efficiency.”

The forecast reflects savings from the 11,000 job cuts it announced in November, plans for lower data-center construction expenses and moves to drop non-crucial projects.

“Promising that 2023 will be a year of efficiency was always likely to go down well with investors concerned about the largesse in spending directed towards the unproven potential of the metaverse,” said AJ Bell, investment director at Russ Mould.

There were also signs that Meta’s core social-media business was getting back on track, with monetization efficiency for short-form video Reels on Facebook doubling and the business being on track to break-even as soon as end of 2023.

The company, which forecast first-quarter revenue above market estimates, also said that Facebook’s daily active user base grew to 2 billion, from 1.98 billion in the prior quarter.

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Plea seeking restoration of ‘X’ adjourned till April 2

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Plea seeking restoration of 'X' adjourned till April 2

 Lahore High Court has adjourned the hearing of miscellaneous application seeking restoration of X (formerly Twitter) till April 21

LHC’s Justice Asim Hafeez heard the petition of Advocate Huzaifa Naeem filed for restoration of social media app X.

During the hearing Justice Asim Hafeez inquired about the petition and the petitioner stated that Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has made impossible for public to access the micro-blogging site X.

The court suggested a solution referring to a minister who has suggested to access the platform with VPN.

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The petitioner stressed for a long-term effective solution, replied that “if police say to avoid a certain route as dacoit rule there, it is not a solution.”

The petition requested to court to declare the X outage as illegal and direct opposition to ensure the public access of X. Court has adjourned the petition for hearing till April 2.

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Samsung Galaxy to launch AI features in other devices as well on March 28

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Samsung Galaxy to launch AI features in other devices as well on March 28

Samsung Galaxy AI features will be introduced into other devices as well after on the acclaimed Galaxy S24 series.

Starting March 28, One UI 6.1 will begin rolling out across the Galaxy S23 series, S23 FE, Z Fold5, Z Flip55, and Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, Tab S9+ and Tab S9 WiFi versions beginning this week.

In the US, Samsung Galaxy S24 users are embracing several innovative features that have revolutionized their smartphone experience.

One standout feature is Circle to Search with Google, which has become immensely popular among users. This feature allows users to search for information quickly by simply circling items on their screens, eliminating the need to switch between apps.

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Live Translate has been a game-changer for users, facilitating seamless communication by providing real-time voice and live caption translations during phone calls. This feature helps users overcome language barriers, ensuring smooth and effective communication.

Samsung’s Generative Edit tool has also garnered significant attention, offering users powerful AI-driven photo editing capabilities. This tool allows users to easily adjust and enhance their favorite pictures by resizing or filling in backgrounds after removing unwanted objects from the frame.

Another highly utilized feature is Chat Assist, integrated into the Samsung Keyboard. This feature provides users with translation, writing style suggestions, and spelling and grammar corrections, enhancing their communication experience across various apps.

These innovative AI features are enhancing the functionality and usability of Samsung Galaxy S24 smartphones, providing users with convenient and efficient ways to interact with their devices and communicate with others. 

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Amazon loses court fight to suspend EU tech rules’ ad clause

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Amazon loses court fight to suspend EU tech rules' ad clause

Amazon (AMZN.O) on Wednesday lost its fight to suspend a requirement regarding its online advertising under EU tech rules after Europe’s top court backed EU regulators, saying EU interests outweigh the U.S. online retailer’s material interests.

Under the Digital Services Act (DSA) which kicked in last year, Amazon was designated as a very large online platform subject to tough rules to tackle illegal and harmful content on its platform.

The company subsequently challenged a DSA requirement to make publicly available a repository containing detailed information on its online advertising and also asked for an interim measure until the court rules on the case.

A lower tribunal in September agreed to its request for an interim measure to suspend the contested obligation, which prompted the European Commission to turn to Europe’s top court.

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The Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) set aside the suspension order and dismissed Aamzon’s application for an interim measure.

The judge said that Amazon’s argument that the obligation unlawfully limits its fundamental rights to respect for private life and the freedom to conduct a business was not irrelevant.

He also said that without a suspension, it was likely that Amazon would suffer serious and irreparable harm before any judgment annulling the Commission’s decision.

However, he said a suspension could have a detrimental impact on the objectives of the DSA.

“Suspension would lead to a delay, potentially for several years, in the full achievement of the objectives of the Regulation on a Single Market for Digital Services and therefore potentially allow an online environment threatening fundamental rights to persist or develop,” the judge said.

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“The interests defended by the EU legislature prevail, in the present case, over Amazon’s material interests, with the result that the balancing of interests weighs in favour of rejecting the request for suspension.”

Amazon said: “We are disappointed with this decision, and maintain that Amazon doesn’t fit the description of a ‘Very Large Online Platform’ (VLOP) under the DSA, and should not be designated as such.”

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