BIG TECH CRACKDOWN LOOMS AS EU, UK READY NEW RULES

TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Google, and Amazon are facing rising pressure from European authorities as London and Brussels advanced new rules this week to curb the power of digital companies.

UK BLOCKS MICROSOFT-ACTIVISION GAMING DEAL, BIGGEST IN TECH

British antitrust regulators this week blocked Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of video game maker Activision Blizzard, thwarting the biggest tech deal in history over worries that it would stifle competition for popular titles like Call of Duty in the fast-growing cloud gaming market.

MONEY: HOW TO BOLSTER YOUR FINANCIAL CONFIDENCE

Melinda Perez, a financial educator, still remembers the first time she felt financially confident. She had recently started investing money outside of her employer-sponsored retirement account because she was finally earning more than she spent. “It was exciting because for once, I had what felt like extra money,” recalls Perez, who lives in San Antonio, Texas.

LITTLE RICHARD BIOPIC CELEBRATES A ROCK PIONEER

The king of rock ‘n’ roll didn’t die at Graceland in 1977. He died just three years ago in Tullahoma, Tennessee, and he never really got the crown he deserved.

GOOGLE'S PERSISTENT AD SLUMP WEIGHS ON ALPHABET'S 1Q RESULTS

Google’s advertising malaise persisted during the first quarter while the internet company also grapples with advancements in artificial intelligence technology that threaten to undercut its dominant search engine.

US OFFICIALS SEEK TO CRACK DOWN ON HARMFUL AI PRODUCTS

The U.S. government will “not hesitate to crack down” on harmful business practices involving artificial intelligence, the head of the Federal Trade Commission warned in a message partly directed at the developers of widely-used AI tools such as ChatGPT.

NO ONE IS DRIVING THIS TAXI. WHAT POSSIBLY COULD GO WRONG?

I won’t forget the first time I took a ride in a car without anyone sitting in the driver’s seat.

MICROSOFT REPORTS BOOST IN PROFITS, REVENUE, AS IT PUSHE'S AI

Microsoft reported a 9% increase in profit for the January-March quarter, as growth in cloud computing sales helped bolster its plans to expand its use of artificial intelligence.

APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS APPLE'S CONTROL OF IPHONE APP STORE

An appeals court upheld Apple’s exclusive control over the distribution of iPhone apps, rejecting the latest attempt to force one of the world’s most powerful companies to dismantle the digital walls protecting its most lucrative product.

FAMOUS TWITTER USERS DISAVOW MUSK OVER VERIFICATION RETURN

Celebrities, professional athletes and other high-profile Twitter users are once again being verified by the social media platform and they don’t know why their blue check marks reappeared — nor do they seem too happy about it.

Prompt:You

THE SEED OF AI’S PROMPT TO ASSIST ALL ASPECTS OF YOUR LIFE

INFINITE BANKING HAS TIKTOK BUZZING, BUT IS IT FOR YOU?

Scroll through TikTok’s finance feed and you’ll come across viral videos on “infinite banking.” The concept is making a splash on social media, fueled by celebrities like rapper Waka Flocka Flame.

CITIES REVIVING DOWNTOWNS BY CONVERTING OFFICES TO HOUSING

On the 31st floor of what was once a towering office building in downtown Manhattan, construction workers lay down steel bracing for what will soon anchor a host of residential amenities: a catering station, lounge, fire pit and gas grills.

THINKING OF STARTING A BUSINESS? CONSIDER BUYING ONE INSTEAD

Starting a business can be an enticing dream. It’s also notoriously difficult to come up with an original idea, find the right team and fund its growth.

AFTER WEAK START TO YEAR, AIRLINES EXPECT PROFITABLE SUMMER

Most U.S. airlines lost money in the first quarter, traditionally the weakest time of year for travel, but they are all eagerly looking ahead to a summer of full planes and high fares.

AMAZON AXES 'HALO' FITNESS DEVICES IN COST-CUTTING MOVE

Amazon is winding down its health-focused Halo devices and membership as the tech giant continues to cut costs.

AMID LAYOFFS, DISNEY TOUTS UPCOMING FILM SLATE AT CINEMACON

Amid a week of massive layoffs at Disney, the leadership team of its film arm gathered in Las Vegas on Wednesday to tout its successes and upcoming slate of films to a crowd of theater owners and exhibitors.

SPACEX GIANT ROCKET EXPLODES MINUTES AFTER LAUNCH FROM TEXAS

SpaceX’s giant new rocket exploded minutes after blasting off on its first test flight Thursday and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.

US INVESTS IN ALTERNATIVE SOLAR TECH, MORE SOLAR FOR RENTERS

The Biden administration announced more than $80 million in funding Thursday in a push to produce more solar panels in the U.S., make solar energy available to more people, and pursue superior alternatives to the ubiquitous sparkly panels made with silicon.

MOVIE THEATERS AND STREAMERS MAY END UP FRIENDS, AFTER ALL

After Ben Affleck and Matt Damon test screened their Nike drama “Air,” the film executives at Amazon Studios threw them a curveball.

CALIFORNIA RESEARCHERS ATTEMPT OCEAN CLIMATE SOLUTION

Atop a 100-foot barge tied up at the Port of Los Angeles, engineers have built a kind of floating laboratory to answer a simple question: Is there a way to cleanse seawater of carbon dioxide and then return it to the ocean so it can suck more of the greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere to slow global warming?

US TAX BREAKS LURE EUROPEAN CLEAN TECH COMPANIES AS EU LAGS

Norwegian startup Freyr will first build batteries to power electric vehicles and store clean energy in a remote town near the Arctic Circle. Up next? An Atlanta suburb.

WHY ARE TEEN GIRLS IN CRISIS? IT'S NOT JUST SOCIAL MEDIA

Anxiety over academics. Post-lockdown malaise. Social media angst.

MONEY: HOW TO EASE YOUR KIDS INTO ESTATE PLANNING

When parents talk with their kids at the dinner table, estate planning probably doesn’t come up. But considering we aren’t immortal, it should. It’s worth having age-appropriate conversations to introduce children to the idea of estate planning.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF UNDERDOG STORY IN 'AIR'

The new movie “ Air “ is technically about a shoe. There is nothing especially extraordinary about this shoe.

NETFLIX SET TO EXPAND PASSWORD SHARING CRACKDOWN TO THE U.S. IN Q2 2023

Netflix announced in its Q1 2023 earnings report that it will be expanding its “paid sharing” plan, which targets password sharing, to more countries in the second quarter, including the United States.

NAME-THAT-TUNE GAME HEARDLE DROPPED BY SPOTIFY AFTER A YEAR

Heardle, the name-that-tune game inspired by the Wordle craze, is being dropped by Spotify less than a year after the music-streaming giant acquired it.

MICROSOFT AGREES TO BUY $50M FOXCONN PARCEL IN WISCONSIN

Microsoft has agreed to buy a $50 million parcel of land in southeastern Wisconsin meant for Foxconn after the world’s largest electronics manufacturer failed to fulfill grandiose promises to build a massive facility that would employ thousands of workers.

ARE YOU A FACEBOOK USER? YOU COULD GET SOME SETTLEMENT CASH

Anyone in the U.S. who has had a Facebook account at any time since May 24, 2007, can now apply for their share of a $725 million privacy settlement that parent company Meta has agreed to pay.

SEE THE EVS ELIGIBLE FOR TAX CREDITS- AND WHY MOST AREN'T

Ten electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles will be eligible for a $7,500 U.S. tax credit, while another seven could get $3,750 under new federal rules.