1 BILLION: ACTIVE iPHONES & THE FIRST $100 BILLION QUARTER

At Apple’s recent record-breaking earnings call, CEO Tim Cook revealed that the Cupertino company had not only beaten sales expectations in today’s highly volatile market but that there were now more than one billion active iPhones. It not only demonstrates Apple’s brand power and continued growth but sets the firm on a new trajectory as we continue into 2021.

FACEBOOK Q4 RESULTS SOAR; ZUCKERBERG HITS APPLE OVER PRIVACY

Facebook capped a tumultuous 2020 with soaring earnings in the final quarter, but the company forecast challenges in 2021 that include a coming privacy update by Apple that could limit the social network’s ad targeting capabilities.

IN DUEL WITH SMALL INVESTORS OVER GAMESTOP, BIG FUNDS BLINK

Across most of America, GameStop is just a place to buy a video game. On Wall Street, though, it’s become a battleground where swarms of smaller investors see themselves making an epic stand against the 1%.

iPhone12

Now the big question appears to be whether Apple will be able to keep up with the iPhone demand. Some processors and other components may still be in short supply as factories continue to try to catch up with the backlog caused last year’s pandemic-driven shutdowns.

MICROSOFT KEEPS CHUGGING AS PANDEMIC CONTINUES

As the pandemic raged through the U.S., Microsoft’s business continued chugging ahead and beat Wall Street expectations for the last three months of 2020, powered by ongoing demand for its workplace software and cloud computing services as people worked from home.

SAMSUNG REPORTS PROFIT JUMP DRIVEN BY STRONG CHIP DEMAND

Samsung Electronics Co. said its operating profit for the last quarter rose by more than 26% as it capped offa robust business year where its dual strength in parts and finished products allowed it to thrive amid the pandemic.

CYBERCOPS DERAIL MALWARE BOTNET, FBI MAKES RANSOMWARE ARREST

European and North American cyber cops have joined forces to disrupt what may be the world’s largest network for seeding malware infections. The operation appears to strike a major blow against criminal gangs that have used that network for years to install ransomware for extortion schemes and to steal data and money.

DEBATE HEATS UP OVER HOW COUNTRIES TAX BIG TECH COMPANIES

An international debate over how countries tax big U.S. technology companies such as Google, Amazon and Facebook is heating up, presenting a challenge for President Joe Biden’s new administration.

APPLE TO CRACK DOWN ON TRACKING iPHONE USERS IN EARLY SPRING

Apple says it will roll out a new privacy control in the spring to prevent iPhone apps from secretly shadowing people. The delay in its anticipated rollout aims to placate Facebook and other digital services that depend on such data surveillance to help sell ads.

CHINESE APP TIKTOK CUTS JOBS IN INDIA FOLLOWING BAN

Popular short-video Chinese app TikTok is cutting its workforce in India after hundreds of millions of its users dropped it to comply with a government ban on dozens of Chinese apps amid a military stand off between the two countries.

APPLE POSTS BIG QUARTER ON FAST SALES START FOR iPHONE 12

Apple’s delayed launch of its latest iPhones unleashed a holiday buying frenzy that propelled sales of the trendsetting company’s most popular product to its fastest start in years.

Amazon Offers Assist With Us COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution

Amazon is offering its colossal operations network and advanced technologies to assist President Joe Biden in his vow to get 100 million COVID-19 vaccinations to Americans in his first 100 days in office.

MORGAN STANLEY PROFITS RISE 48%, HELPED BY STRONG MARKETS

Morgan Stanley saw its fourth-quarter profits surge 48% from a year earlier, as the Wall Street bank benefited from the market’s upward swing and investors jubilation for tech stocks and IPOs late last year.

BURIED TREASURE, IMPENDING WAR AND LOSS IN ‘THE DIG'

Just before the outbreak of the World War II, a small-time archeologist was hired by a local woman to excavate her land. The thought was that it possibly contained some Viking remnants. But what was unearthed in the mounds out in the fields was far more significant than they could have imagined: Buried in the grounds of Sutton Hoo was actually a ship that would end up providing a deeper understanding of the sophistication of the early Anglo-Saxon period.

ELON MUSK: DIG TUNNELS AS SOLUTION FOR MIAMI'S TRAFFIC JAMS

As a solution to Miami’s notoriously congested traffic, Tesla Inc. founder Elon Musk is proposing to dig tunnels with The Boring Company, one of his many business ventures. Experts say the idea would be costly and is fraught with engineering obstacles, but it’s not outright crazy.

NETFLIX'S BIG 4Q LIFTS VIDEO SERVICE ABOVE 200M SUBSCRIBERS

Netflix’s video streaming service has surpassed 200 million subscribers for the first time as its expanding line-up of TV series and movies continues to captivate people stuck at home during the ongoing battle against the pandemic.

NHL PULLED MICROCHIPS ‘TRACKING' PUCKS 6 DAYS INTO SEASON

The NHL is temporarily ditching microchipped pucks six days into the season after concerns were raised about their performance.

UNITED AIRLINES POSTS $1.9 BILLION LOSS IN PANDEMIC-LADEN 4Q

United Airlines said that it finished one of the worst years in its history by losing $1.9 billion in the last three months of 2020, and it predicted more of the same in the first quarter of this year.

CYBERSECURITY FIRM: BOOTING HACKERS A COMPLEX CHORE

Efforts to assess the impact of a more than seven-month-old cyberespionage campaign blamed on Russia — and boot the intruders — remain in their early stages, says the cybersecurity firm that discovered the attack.

‘LOCKED DOWN' MIRRORS OUR QUARANTINE EXPERIENCES

Doug Liman’s “Locked Down,” one of the first and most ambitious films to be conceived and shot during the pandemic, is, like our own quarantine experiences, erratic, a little absurd and sporadically delightful.

BEHIND THOSE DANCING ROBOTS, SCIENTISTS HAD TO BUST A MOVE

The man who designed some of the world’s most advanced dynamic robots was on a daunting mission: programming his creations to dance to the beat with a mix of fluid, explosive and expressive motions that are almost human.

Apple Announces New Projects As Part Of Its Racial Equity And Justice Initiative (REJI)

It’s all part of the company’s $100 million pledge

Whatsapp Growth Slumps As Rivals Signal, Telegram Rise

Encrypted messaging apps Signal and Telegram are seeing huge upticks in downloads from Apple and Google’s app stores.

'it Was So Frenetic:' Hbo Max Follows Wolfgang Puck Catering

Cooking a meal for a big group is always stressful. So just imagine cooking for over 1,000 guests. Now make those guests white-hot celebrities like Brad Pitt.

US SPACE COMMAND SITE TO BE LOCATED IN HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA

The U.S. Air Force announced that the new U.S. Space Command headquarters will be in Huntsville, Alabama, after the state was selected over five others competing for the project, including Colorado, where Space Command is provisionally located.

ITALIAN ‘PINOCCHIO' TAKES THE PUPPET TO ITS ROOTS

The latest cinematic rendering of “ Pinocchio, ” from Italian director Matteo Garrone, is informed not by the friendly 1940 Walt Disney retelling, but the original source material.

SAMSUNG PROMISES NEW PHONES WILL DELIVER MORE FOR LESS MONEY

Samsung’s next crop of smartphones will boast bigger screens, better cameras, and longer-lasting batteries at lower prices than last year’s lineup that came out just before the pandemic toppled the economy.

US UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS JUMP TO 965,000 AS VIRUS TAKES TOLL

The number of people seeking unemployment aid soared last week to 965,000, the most since late August and a sign that the resurgent virus has likely escalated layoffs.

INTEL REPLACES ITS CHIEF EXECUTIVE AFTER A ROCKY STRETCH

Intel is replacing its CEO after only two years in what had been a rough stretch for the chipmaker.

CALLS TO REOPEN CLASSROOMS GROW AS TEACHERS GET VACCINATED

State leaders around the U.S. are increasingly pushing for schools to reopen this winter — pressuring them, even — as teachers begin to gain access to the vaccine against the raging pandemic.