
Buy the dips in software, chips as AI growth story far from over: UBSNov 21 (Reuters) - Efforts by U.S. antitrust regulators to break up Alphabet by forcing a sale of its Google Chrome browser and other proposals to limit its search dominance are likely to run into legal challenges on grounds the remedies are extreme. After a ruling in August that Google (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab illegally monopolized the search market, U.S. Department of Justice prosecutors argued to a judge on Wednesday that the company must sell Chrome , share data and search results with rivals and possibly sell its Android smartphone software. Alphabet shares fell as much as 7%, on track for their biggest daily percentage decline since Jan. 31. The proposals are part of a landmark case aimed at reshaping how users find information. But a new pro-business administration of President-elect Donald Trump next year could change that effort and legal proceedings could last years, experts said. "It would strike me as an over-ask," said Kevin Walkush at Jensen Investment Management, which holds Google stock and is skeptical a Chrome divestiture will happen. "You ask for everything possible, not necessarily with an eye towards what would be probable and proportional, and then see what sticks." The DOJ sought and won a breakup of Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab in the early 2000s after alleging it illegally monopolized the web browser market. That ruling was overturned by an appeals court, and Microsoft and the DOJ eventually settled. Walkush expects the Google case to take years to play out as the company appeals. "The wheels of justice do not turn quickly," he said. Google called the DOJ's approach "unprecedented government overreach that would harm American consumers, developers, and small businesses," giving as examples diminished user privacy and less funding for companies such as browser maker Mozilla when they feature Google search. The case could also face challenges from Trump. While Trump's administration originally filed the search case against Google during his first term, he indicated in October he might not break up the company because it could hurt the American tech industry at a time competition is heating up with China in areas including AI. Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Chrome, the most widely used web browser, is a pillar of Google's business, providing the company with valuable user data that helps it target ads. The search ads business brought in more than half of Alphabet's total revenue of $88.3 billion in the latest quarter. The value of Chrome, estimated to hold about two-thirds of the global browser market, diminishes sharply as a standalone browser. "The reason why it's valuable to Google is because Google uses it to enhance its ad business and its search business," said Megan Gray, former general counsel at search rival DuckDuckGO who has also worked as an attorney at the Federal Trade Commission. "If you don't have those, then Chrome would just be a data broker." A forced sale would not address several key issues raised in the DOJ lawsuit, including a search monopoly, critics say. U.S. antitrust enforcers, who are also pursuing Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab and Amazon (AMZN.O) , opens new tab in other monopoly cases, would have to approve any potential Chrome buyer. "DOJ will face substantial headwinds with this remedy," because Chrome can run search engines other than Google, said Gus Hurwitz, senior fellow and academic director at University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. "Courts expect any remedy to have a causal connection to the underlying antitrust concern. Divesting Chrome does absolutely nothing to address this concern." The DOJ proposed a blanket ban on Google offering incentives to give its search engine preferential treatment. That would include Google's lucrative partnership with Apple, where it pays the smartphone maker billions of dollars annually to make Google Search the default on Apple smartphones. Evercore analysts called the proposed curbs "draconian." Given Google Search's popularity, Apple is likely to continue with Google as the default search engine even without any agreement or payments, Hurwitz said. DOJ's proposals also include demands for Google to license search results at a nominal cost and share the user data it gathers with competitors for free. D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria said it was harder to ascertain the impact of Google having to open up its search data until the terms are clearer. The Center for Journalism & Liberty said Google licensing its search data would be "transformative" for news publishers because it would help them better understand their audiences. Sign up here. Reporting by Deborah Sophia and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru and Kenrick Cai in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Jody Godoy and Chris Sanders in Washington; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh, Aditya Soni and Rod Nickel Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab Thomson Reuters Akash reports on technology companies in the United States, electric vehicle companies, and the space industry. His reporting usually appears in the Autos & Transportation and Technology sections. He has a postgraduate degree in Conflict, Development, and Security from the University of Leeds. Akash's interests include music, football (soccer), and Formula 1. Thomson Reuters Kenrick Cai is a correspondent for Reuters based in San Francisco. He covers Google, its parent company Alphabet and artificial intelligence. Cai joined Reuters in 2024. He previously worked at Forbes magazine, where he was a staff writer covering venture capital and startups. He received a Best in Business award from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing in 2023. He is a graduate of Duke University.
All-star Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko will make his first start of the season Tuesday. Head coach Rick Tocchet confirmed after morning skate that Demko will be in net when the Canucks host the St. Louis Blues. The 28-year-old netminder from San Diego, Calif., last played on April 24 when the Canucks bested the Nashville Predators in Game 1 of a first-round playoff series. He suffered an injury to the popliteus muscle in his knee during the game and has been working his way back ever since. A number of factors led to Demko starting Tuesday, Tocchet said. “You want him to feel comfortable. You want to, obviously, communicate with him,” he said. “(Kevin Lankinen) was playing well, too. So there wasn’t a pressing issue to get him in. But we want to get him in. We’re excited. Obviously he’s a huge part of our team.” Demko had a 35-14-2 record with a .918 save percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts in regular-season play last year and played in the all-star game for the second time in his career. The veteran goalie is managing his personal expectations as he returns to game action, however. “I think it’d be foolish to say that I’m going to come back and be perfectly sharp and feel like I have my ‘A’ game in game one. Obviously, that takes a little bit of time,” Demko told reporters last week. “Just seeing game reps and things is kind of a last step of fully doing rehab. So I’m not really putting an expectation on that. “Obviously, the way Lanks has played kind of takes a little bit of pressure off of myself to come in and not feel like I have to save the world.” Demko returned to Vancouver’s lineup last week, backing up Lankinen for games against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Tampa Bay Lightning. The Canucks signed Lankinen to a US$875,000 deal during training camp and the Finnish goaltender has split the crease with Arturs Silovs this season, backstopping Vancouver to a 14-8-4 record. Lankinen has been “unbelievable” this season, Demko said. “It’s been really fun to get to know him and be able to watch him play,” he said. “It’s a challenging position he was put in, coming into a new team and being able to manage the workload that he’s been given.” Demko’s return to the crease should act as motivation for the Canucks’ skaters as the team takes on the Blues, Tocchet said. “I think, when you look at the way Demmer has worked hard to get back, a lot of lonely times by himself, it should give guys juice that you want to play well in front of him,” the coach said. You’d be crazy not to. “Maybe there’s extra shot blocking, situations to get the puck in deep when we’re tired to give him a break, things like that. I think we need to do that tonight for him.”New initiative pairs agents with in-country Local Sponsors to enhance market-specific expertise and support eXp Realty Launches Local Sponsor Partnership Program to Strengthen Global Agent Success New initiative pairs agents with in-country Local Sponsors to enhance market-specific expertise and support The program addresses the need for in-country support by pairing eXp agents with experienced Local Sponsors in their respective markets. These Local Sponsors provide hands-on guidance to ensure agents successfully implement eXp Realty's cutting-edge tools and thrive in their local real estate landscapes. "Through the Local Sponsor Partnership Program, we're empowering our agents with the resources and mentorship they need to succeed in their local markets while growing globally,” said Glenn Sanford, Founder, Chairman and CEO, eXp World Holdings. "This program represents the essence of eXp Realty's commitment to agent success by providing a collaborative framework that drives innovation, growth and local expertise.” For agents with an international sponsor, the Local Sponsor Partnership Program ensures they receive personalized, in-country support to navigate their markets effectively. The program also opens opportunities for experienced eXp agents to become Local Sponsors, enabling them to lead locally and earn level-one revenue share earnings from their sponsee's transactions. "This is more than a program; it's a movement toward empowering agents with the tools and mentorship they need to lead locally and achieve unparalleled success globally,” Sanford added. With this new initiative, eXp Realty agents can now benefit from a robust support system that strengthens local leadership and fosters collaboration across global markets. About eXp World Holdings, Inc. eXp World Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPI) is the holding company for eXp Realty ® , FrameVR.io and SUCCESS ® Enterprises. eXp Realty is the largest independent real estate company in the world with more than 85,000 agents in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, India, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Italy, Hong Kong, Colombia, Spain, Israel, Panama, Germany, the Dominican Republic, Greece, New Zealand, Chile, Poland and Dubai and continues to scale internationally. As a publicly traded company, eXp World Holdings provides real estate professionals the unique opportunity to earn equity awards for production goals and contributions to overall company growth. eXp World Holdings and its businesses offer a full suite of brokerage and real estate tech solutions, including an innovative residential and commercial brokerage model, professional services, collaborative tools and personal development. The cloud-based brokerage is powered by FrameVR.io technology, offering immersive 3D platforms that are deeply social and collaborative, enabling agents to be more connected and productive. SUCCESS ® Enterprises, anchored by SUCCESS ® magazine and its related media properties, was established in 1897 and is a leading personal and professional development brand and publication. For more information, visit https://expworldholdings.com . Safe Harbor Statement The statements contained herein may include statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on management's current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about future program availability, improvements in technology and related cost efficiencies. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update them. Such statements are not guarantees of future performance. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in forward-looking statements include changes in program availability, changes in technology offerings, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including but not limited to the most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K. Media Relations Contact: eXp World Holdings, Inc. [email protected] Investor Relations Contact: Denise Garcia [email protected] A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/89757d05-33ae-4c89-97a1-98158a5c984c
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All-star Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko will make his first start of the season Tuesday. Head coach Rick Tocchet confirmed after morning skate that Demko will be in net when the Canucks host the St. Louis Blues. The 28-year-old netminder from San Diego, Calif., last played on April 24 when the Canucks bested the Nashville Predators in Game 1 of a first-round playoff series. He suffered an injury to the popliteus muscle in his knee during the game and has been working his way back ever since. A number of factors led to Demko starting Tuesday, Tocchet said. “You want him to feel comfortable. You want to, obviously, communicate with him,” he said. “(Kevin Lankinen) was playing well, too. So there wasn’t a pressing issue to get him in. But we want to get him in. We’re excited. Obviously he’s a huge part of our team.” Demko had a 35-14-2 record with a .918 save percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts in regular-season play last year and played in the all-star game for the second time in his career. The veteran goalie is managing his personal expectations as he returns to game action, however. “I think it’d be foolish to say that I’m going to come back and be perfectly sharp and feel like I have my ‘A’ game in game one. Obviously, that takes a little bit of time,” Demko told reporters last week. “Just seeing game reps and things is kind of a last step of fully doing rehab. So I’m not really putting an expectation on that. “Obviously, the way Lanks has played kind of takes a little bit of pressure off of myself to come in and not feel like I have to save the world.” Demko returned to Vancouver’s lineup last week, backing up Lankinen for games against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Tampa Bay Lightning. The Canucks signed Lankinen to a US$875,000 deal during training camp and the Finnish goaltender has split the crease with Arturs Silovs this season, backstopping Vancouver to a 14-8-4 record. Lankinen has been “unbelievable” this season, Demko said. “It’s been really fun to get to know him and be able to watch him play,” he said. “It’s a challenging position he was put in, coming into a new team and being able to manage the workload that he’s been given.” Demko’s return to the crease should act as motivation for the Canucks’ skaters as the team takes on the Blues, Tocchet said. “I think, when you look at the way Demmer has worked hard to get back, a lot of lonely times by himself, it should give guys juice that you want to play well in front of him,” the coach said. You’d be crazy not to. “Maybe there’s extra shot blocking, situations to get the puck in deep when we’re tired to give him a break, things like that. I think we need to do that tonight for him.”
The Mitchel Field, New York-based company said it had net income of 28 cents per share. The maker of precision timing products posted revenue of $15.8 million in the period. This story was generated by Automated Insights ( http://automatedinsights.com/ap ) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on FEIM at https://www.zacks.com/ap/FEIM