Today’s Stock Market News

* Stories are summarized by an A.I. * Companies mentioned: LK, SoftBank, COST, and Ucommune Luckin Coffee jumps after announcing unmanned retail strategy LK;SBUX LK (Luckin Coffee Inc ADR) | The Fly At the press conference, Luckin Coffee also disclosed that its number of self-operated stores reached 4,507 by the end of 2019, which the Company believes makes it the largest coffee chain by number of stores in China as of December 31, 2019. Read More SoftBank in talks to sell stake in Indian renewables venture: ET SFTBF (SoftBank Group Corp) | Reuters REUTERS/Issei Kato/File PhotoBENGALURU (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) is in talks to sell a majority stake in its renewable energy joint venture in India as it looks to raise cash after facing setbacks to its global investments, India’s Economic Times daily reported on Thursday. Read More New Cambridge Analytica Leaks Reveal Psychological Manipulation Of Global Population Zero Hedge The latest CA wh...

* Stories are summarized by an A.I. * Companies mentioned: BA, SpaceX, TSLA, CITIC, and BP Boeing 737 crashes shortly after takeoff in Iran BA (The Boeing Company) | UPI A Boeing 737 with at least 170 people on board crashed shortly after takeoff from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran on Wednesday, killing all on board, according to Iranian state-news media. The Boeing 737-800 plane was headed to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and crashed two minutes into its flight, according to Flightradar24. Ali Khashani, a senior official at Imam Khomeini International Airport, said the crash was likely the result of technical problems. Boeing said in a statement it was aware of the crash and was "gathering more information." Read More SpaceX launches 60 more Starlink internet satellites amid astronomer concerns SpaceX | Digital Trends SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink internet satellites on Tuesday evening, marking the beginning of what’s ex...

* Stories are summarized by an A.I. * Companies mentioned: PYPL, UBER, CVX, Sumitomo Corporation, and TM PayPal Completes Purchase of E-Commerce Startup Honey for $4B PYPL (PayPal Holdings Inc.) | Finance Magnates Online-payments giant PayPal Holdings on Monday confirmed the completion of its buyout of deal-finding browser add-on Honey Science Corporation for $4 billion, the biggest acquisition in the company’s two-decade history. PayPal’s presence in the e-commerce spaceThe deal comes at a time when Honey is growing in popularity among online shoppers as it automatically applies coupon codes at checkout. It also makes strategic sense for the company as it helps deepen its footprint and catapult PayPal into the customer’s journey throughout the purchase funnel, from discovery to purchase and payment. PayPal is also competing with its rival Square on more fronts, including digital payments tool into physical retailers. On its part, PayPal pulled out of the coalition of com...

* Stories are summarized by an A.I. * Companies mentioned: BA, GOOG, AMZN, Mitsubishi Motors, and Huawei Boeing has uncovered another potential design flaw with the 737 Max BA (The Boeing Company) | CNN New York (CNN Business) Hundreds of 737 Max jets are sitting, grounded, as Boeing awaits approval from aviation regulators for the troubled plane to return to flight. Boeing BA However, as part of a December audit of the plane's safety ordered by the US Federal Aviation Administration,found "previously unreported concerns" with wiring in the 737 Max, according to a report earlier Sunday from the New York Times . A Boeing spokesperson confirmed the report to CNN Business on Sunday, saying the issue was identified as part of a "rigorous process" to ensure the plane's safety. "Our highest priority is ensuring the 737 Max meets all safety and regulatory requirements before it returns to service," the spokesperson said. "We are working...

* Stories are summarized by an A.I. * Companies mentioned: MRK, FB, OnePlus, AMZN, and GOOG UPDATE 1-Merck receives FDA approval for Ebola vaccine MRK (Merck & Company Inc) | Reuters REUTERS/Brendan McDermid(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday it approved drugmaker Merck & Co’s (MRK.N) Ebola vaccine Ervebo, making it the first FDA-authorised vaccine against the deadly virus. The vaccine was used by the World Health Organization and Democratic Republic of the Congo as an investigational vaccine to help reduce Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreaks in few West African countries from 2014 to 2016. Read More Facebook’s Ban on Political Ads Could Backfire on the Left FB (Facebook Inc) | OZY A week after Twitter unveiled the final details of its political ad ban in mid-November, Google followed suit with restrictions on microtargeting that severely hamper candidates’ ability to reach potential voters. Still, Facebook is the real ba...

* Stories are summarized by an A.I. * Companies mentioned: GOOG, GM, Huawei, LMT, and ERIC Investors Are Subdued About a Quantum-Computing ETF GOOG (Alphabet Inc.) | The Wall Street Journal A quantum-computing breakthrough announced by Google in October illuminated the technology’s potential—and an investment opportunity. So says Paul Dellaquila, president of Defiance ETFs. The firm’s Defiance Quantum ETF (QTUM) tracks the BlueStar Quantum Computing & Machine Learning Index, which is made up of companies involved in quantum computing, along with a number of closely related sectors such as big-data solutions used in machine learning. The $12.4 million fund was up more than 40% for the year to date through... Read More Next Chapter Of GM's Electrified Future To Unfold At Detroit Assembly Plant And In Ohio GM (General Motors Company) | Seeking Alpha Following costly 40-day strike, key feature of GM labor contract is agreement to build several new battery-po...

* Stories are summarized by an A.I. * Companies mentioned: AAPL, PYPL, Huawei, and Banco do Brasil SA Apple Is Doubling AirPods Pro Production to Satisfy Soaring Demand AAPL (Apple Inc.) | The Motley Fool The bad news for rivals is that AirPods Pro demand is off the charts, and Apple is scrambling to catch up. Making 2 million AirPods Pro per monthThe Nikkei Asian Review reports that Apple is working on doubling production of AirPods Pro in order to meet soaring demand. "Apple has increased monthly orders for the latest AirPods Pro from 1 million units to at least 2 million units thanks to healthy demand," an anonymous source told the outlet. AirPods Pro are subject to the tariffs that President Trump has implemented, although Apple is lobbying Trump for tariff exemptions. Prior to releasing AirPods Pro, Apple also launched Powerbeats Pro and Solo Pro under its Beats brand in recent months. Read More Russia's Taymyr plan: Arctic coal for India risks poll...

* Stories are summarized by an A.I. * Companies mentioned: AMZN, UBER, Panasonic, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and FCAU Amazon doesn't report its warehouse injury rates -- but we have an inside look AMZN (Amazon.com Inc.) | PBS Black Friday, two days away, kicks off the peak of shopping season, and especially for Amazon. In fact, the retail giant announced that it will hire 200,000 people for the holiday shopping season, double the number of workers it hired a year ago. But many Amazon staffers say the demand for greater speed is the leading factor harming warehouse workers. Like many other companies, Amazon doesn't make its workplace injury rates public. But Search Will Evans of Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting was able to compile injury records from Amazon work sites across the country for the first time, and has some sobering findings. Read More When Will Drones Finally Deliver Your Food UBER (Uber Technologies Inc) | Forbes Ube...

* Stories are summarized by an A.I. * Companies mentioned: NFLX, BA, Box Inc, DIS, and HPE Netflix leases New York's Paris Theatre NFLX (Netflix Inc.) | Tech Crunch Netflix is expanding its theatrical presence by signing a long-term lease for The Paris Theatre, a historic single-screen venue in New York City. This follows reports that Netflix is also working to buy the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles. So by buying or leasing theaters of its own, Netflix can ensure that its films will get the cachet of a big-screen release. As for the Paris Theatre, it opened in 1948, and reopened earlier this month to screen “Marriage Story.” (By the way: I highly recommend seeing “Marriage Story” on the big screen — I’ve already done so twice.) “After 71 years, the Paris Theatre has an enduring legacy, and remains the destination for a one-of-a kind movie-going experience,” said Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos in a statement. Read More FAA says it again: Boeing's 737 Ma...

* Stories are summarized by an A.I. * Companies mentioned: HPQ, Huawei, SoftBank Group, and MSFT Chinese investors choose Singapore over Hong Kong for 'diversification' — but things could change CNBC Why are mainland Chinese buying more Singapore apartments than in recent years, given that the 20 per cent foreign buyer taxes? Chmiel said that the boost in Singapore is from "mainland Chinese money that might otherwise have been channeled to Hong Kong, or Hong Kong money looking for offshore diversification." Chinese investors have often been blamed for driving up housing prices in Hong Kong. Despite those steep fees, Chinese investors are still pouring money into what they perceive to be a safe investment. "Why are mainland Chinese buying more Singapore apartments than in recent years, given that the 20 per cent foreign buyer taxes?" Read More UPDATE 1-HP reiterates its rejection of Xerox's offer to buy the company HPQ (HP Inc.) | Reute...

* Stories are summarized by an A.I. * Companies mentioned: LB, GOOG, TMUS, and MSFT Victoria's Secret is canceling its fashion show LB (L Brands, Inc) | CNN Victoria's Secret parent company L Brands confirmed on Thursday that it will not air its fashion show this year after falling ratings and backlash to the event in recent years. "We think it's important to evolve the marketing of Victoria's Secret," L Brands Chief Financial Officer Stuart Burgdoerfer said on a call with analysts Thursday. The first Victoria's Secret fashion show aired in 1995, but last year the show fell to its lowest ratings since its inception. Online lingerie startups like Third Love have pointed to the show as an example of Victoria's Secret falling out of touch. And a year ago Third Love's CEO wrote an open letter to the company denouncing "demeaning comments about women" by one of Victoria's Secret's top executives. Read More Bank robber ...

* Stories are summarized by an A.I. * Companies mentioned: AMZN, BA, Tata Steel, DoorDash, and BABA Amazon says it’s considered face scanning in Ring doorbells AMZN (Amazon.com Inc.) | The Washington Post Markey wrote to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in September raising privacy and civil liberty concerns about Ring’s video-sharing agreements with police departments across the country. Amazon’s initial response to Markey said Ring doesn’t currently offer facial recognition. Then Markey sent another letter to Bezos asking why it’s mentioned in Ring’s privacy policy. ADBut Amazon also said it doesn’t require law enforcement to delete a user’s video footage after a certain period. Markey said Tuesday that Amazon is not doing enough to ensure that its products don’t run afoul of civil liberties. Read More NTSB calls for redesign of Boeing 737 NG part after woman killed by Southwest engine explosion BA (The Boeing Company) | ABC News The National Transportation Safety Board is...

* Stories are summarized by an A.I. * Companies mentioned: TSLA, MSFT, BABA, DIS, and Huawei Willkommen Elon! Musk Says Next Tesla Gigafactory Will Be In Germany TSLA (Tesla Inc.) | Forbes Musk made the announcement while in Berlin attending Auto Bild magazine’s Golden Wheel Award ceremony Tuesday, without providing details including how much the factory’s cost and timing of its construction. “That’s part of the reason why we are locating our Gigafactory Europe in Germany. Currently, all Tesla vehicles are built at its Fremont, California, plant, with batteries supplied by the company’s Gigafactory near Reno, Nevada. Tesla has also struggled to fully utilize its solar panel Gigafactory 2 in Buffalo, New York. Read More US Court rules travellers' phones and laptops cannot be searched arbitrarily MSFT (Microsoft Corporation) | ZDNet A federal court in Boston has ruled that US government agents cannot search phones and laptops of international travellers at ai...

* Stories are summarized by an A.I. * Companies mentioned: MSFT, AMZN, GS, GOOG, SPOT, and UL Microsoft to employ California's digital privacy law nationwide MSFT (Microsoft Corporation) | CNET Microsoft said Monday it plans to follow California's digital privacy law throughout the US. Microsoft said in a blog post that it's a strong supporter of the California Consumer Privacy Act, which goes into effect on Jan. 1. "It also shows that we can make progress to strengthen privacy protections in this country at the state level even when Congress can't or won't act." The push to pass the California privacy law came as data privacy scandals brought the anger of lawmakers and regulators down on Silicon Valley. The European Union last year rolled out new privacy regulations for its citizens called the General Data Privacy Regulation, but the US doesn't have a similar law at the federal level. Read More Helicopter Government? How The Interne...

* Stories are summarized by an A.I. * Companies mentioned: ADDYY, CEA, BABA, BA, and DIS China's Hottest New Investment: Overpriced Sneakers ADDYY (Adidas AG) | NDTV Forget stocks, real estate, even cryptocurrencies -- China's hottest investment nowadays may be the Nike, Adidas, and Puma basketball shoes that "sneakerheads" like Hu Huaiyuan fight to get their hands on. "The sneaker market is no longer just a game for enthusiasts. "If I wasn't so lucky today, it's possible I wouldn't be able to afford the shoes on the secondary market," Hu said. Excessive speculation warning"If selling overpriced sneakers proves so worthwhile, why not take it as a good source of income?" "I'm really annoyed that I have to pay more for a normal pair of basketball shoes now," he said. Read More Climate change: Airlines accused of 'putting profit before planet' CEA (China Eastern Airlines Corporation Ltd.) | ...

* Stories are summarized by an A.I. * Companies mentioned: Tencent, YUM, UBER, We Company, and GOOG WeChat Pay follows Alipay in allowing foreign visitors to make payments in China Tencent | ZDNet Chinese payments giant WeChat Pay can now be used by foreign visitors to pay for goods and services in China. The Chinese payments giant has partnered with Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover Global Network, and JCB to allow foreign visitors to link their credit cards to WeChat Pay. This marks the first time that foreign visitors will be able to use international credit cards to pay with WeChat Pay in China. Previously, WeChat Pay only supported users that had mainland Chinese bank cards, savings cards, and credit cards. To sign up for the newly-expanded service, WeChat Pay users can add international credit cards directly to their digital wallets on the WeChat app. Read More Why Yum! Brands Lost 10% Last Month YUM (Yum! Brands Inc.) | The Motley Fool YUM Brands...

* Stories are summarized by an A.I. * Companies mentioned: SoftBank, GOOG, DISH, TWTR, and NVRO SoftBank Group shares slide over 4% after massive quarterly loss SFTBF (SoftBank Group Corp) | Financial Post Shares of SoftBank Group fell more than 4% in early trade on Thursday after the Japanese conglomerate reported a $6.5 billion quarterly loss, its first such loss in 14 years, dragged down by a massive hit at its giant Vision Fund. The stock was down 3.4% as of 0022 GMT after shedding as much as 4.2%. Read More Alphabet investigating exceutives' handling of sexual miscondut allegations GOOG (Alphabet Inc.) | CNET Google parent Alphabet is investigating how management handled allegations of sexual misconduct against legal chief David Drummond and other executives, according to a report Wednesday by CNBC. In January, company shareholders sued Alphabet for allegedly covering up the scandals. Because of the relationship, Google moved Blakely out of the legal ...

* Stories are summarized by an A.I. * Companies mentioned: TWTR, We Company, AMZN, ATVI, and NFLX Twitter’s political ad ban raises one big issue: what exactly is an ‘issue’? TWTR (Twitter Inc.) | The Verge Twitter is finally doing something popular: banning political ads. But the company already regulates political ads, so it won’t be starting from scratch. In mid-2018, Twitter laid out policies for both direct political campaigning and “issue ads” in the United States. Facebook and Google banned political ads entirely in Washington, thanks to the state’s complex campaign finance laws. Dorsey announced the news just before Facebook’s quarterly earnings call, following a week of furious debate over whether Facebook would ban or fact-check political ads. Read More WeWork and its ousted CEO accused of pregnancy discrimination We Company | CNN The allegations add to a litany of complaints about the company's culture under Neumann's leadership. She said Neuma...