Google Shares Fall Ahead of 60 Minutes Feature on Antitrust Threat

The CBS news magazine 60 Minutes will lead its show Sunday with a segment on “The Power of Google,” and promises to talk to the company’s critics, who say it stifles competition, as well as the European Union’s antitrust chief. Shares in Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc., dipped about 1.7 percent in early trading Friday after the news was announced. Google, along with other U.S. tech giants like Facebook Inc., Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., have come under scrutiny in recent months for becoming too big, and too dominant in many aspects of people’s daily lives.

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  Google has been waiting for years to put Don't Be Evil out of its misery (GOOG, GOOGL)

  Business Insider
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  Crisis management expert: Here's what Google should do about '60 Minutes'

  Yahoo Finance

Starbucks Announces New Policy: Treat Even Nonpaying Guests Like Customers

Starbucks today announced that it is now official policy to allow all guests in its stores to use its facilities, including restrooms, whether they buy anything or not. The coffee chain had previously lacked a clear policy on the question. That ambiguity

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  New Starbucks policy: Sit in cafes, use restrooms for free

  The Columbus Dispatch
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  New Starbucks policy: No purchase needed to sit in stores

  KTRK – Houston

Money moves you want to make as the Fed raises interest r...

Financial advisor Ted Jenkin, CEO of Oxygen Financial, discusses what consumers need to think about as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates this year.

Baidu’s top AI exec is stepping down

Baidu’s stocks took a hit earlier today after the company announced that its Qi Lu is stepping down his job as President/COO after just a year and a half. “Baidu is a great company with strong talent and deep technologies,” Lu said in the statement. The former Microsoft executive, who will maintain his position on Baidu’s board, was seen as the driving force in the company’s AI ambitions, leading the charge into self-driving cars and other emerging technologies.

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  Qi Lu steps down as Baidu COO

  ZDNet
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  Why Baidu, GameStop, and Opko Health Slumped Today

  Motley Fool

United Continental (UAL) Unit CFO Andrew Levy Calls it Quits

United Continental Holdings, Inc.’s UAL wholly owned subsidiary United Airlines announced Gerry Laderman as the acting chief financial officer (CFO) following the resignation of Andrew Levy. United Airlines will soon begin looking for Levy’s permanent

Tesla Shareholders Urged to Separate Chairman's Role From Musk

The largest proxy advisory firm is recommending that investors reject two of Tesla Inc.’s board members, while also supporting a proposal to split the role of chairman and chief executive officer -- jobs now held by Elon Musk, the public face of the electric-car maker. By opposing directors Antonio Gracias and James Murdoch, and seeking to install an independent chairman, Institutional Shareholder Services is ratcheting up the pressure on Tesla to reform its nine-member board in the wake of production delays on its mass-market Model 3. "Shareholders would benefit from the strongest form of independent board oversight in the form of an independent chair," ISS wrote in a report to clients.

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  Tesla Model 3 dual motor, AWD specs revealed by Elon Musk

  CNET
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  ISS sides against two Tesla directors, backs split of Musk's roles

  Reuters

Sports Gambling's Next Hurdle Is Credit Cards After Court Ruling

For U.S. states ready to legalize gambling, banks hold many of the cards. The Supreme Court ruled this week that states can allow betting on individual sporting events, but gamblers who want to place those wagers using a credit card face a major hurdle: The largest U.S. issuers, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and American Express Co., don’t yet allow their cards to be used for sports gambling. “We will closely watch developments from the ruling and will consider any implications to our policy as the states put their own processes in place,” Mary Jane Rogers, a spokeswoman for JPMorgan, said in an emailed statement.

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  BETTING ON GAMBLING: Sports leagues will cash in big time thanks to Supreme Court ruling

  New York Daily News
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  Sports Betting with Credit Cards

  Bloomberg

Will Altria (MO) Stock Recover on RRPs and Shareholder Moves?

In fact, this has been a fundamental factor helping Altria to combat industry hurdles. On that note, let’s delve into few of the aspects that Altria has kept its eyes on. Apart from consumers’ avoidance of harmful tobacco products, strict FDA regulations have been a major deterrent in marring cigarette sales.

Cowen's big call on chip stocks

The "Halftime Report" traders debate Cowen's bullish call on U.S. chipmakers.

Chesapeake Energy (CHK) Catches Eye: Stock Jumps 9.2%

Chesapeake Energy Corporation CHK was a big mover last session, as the company saw its shares rise more than 9% on the day. The company has seen a mixed track record when it comes to estimate revisions of one increase and six decreases over the past month, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate moved lower in the said time period. Chesapeake Energy currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), while its Earnings ESP is 0.00%.

Top Research Reports for Walmart, AT&T & Novo Nordisk

Friday, May 18, 2018The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Walmart (WMT), AT&T (T) and Novo Nordisk (NVO). These research reports

Apple started paying $15 billion European tax fine

It took a couple of years, but Apple has started to pay back illegal tax benefits to the Irish government. Apple has to pay $15 billion in total (€13 billion). In August 2016, the European Commission said that Apple benefited from illegal tax benefits in Ireland from 2003 to 2014.

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  Apple pays first batch of $15.3B back taxes to Ireland

  The Hill
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  Apple pays Ireland first tranche of disputed taxes

  Reuters

PG&E Judge Says `No Basis' to Rule Out Huge Fire Cost Claim

PG&E Corp. suffered another legal setback with a judge saying he won’t release the company from a key legal claim over the most destructive wildfires in California history. PG&E has been challenging a California law allowing private property owners to hold the utility 100 percent responsible for any losses caused by its equipment or power lines even if it didn’t act negligently. Edison International, owner of the dominant utility in southern California, is also facing the prospect of multibillion-dollar payouts under the same law over a record-setting blaze near Los Angeles.

JetBlue Names New President as CEO Shifts to Long-Term Strategy

JetBlue Airways Corp. is promoting Joanna Geraghty to president, tasking her with running day-to-day operations while freeing up Chief Executive Officer Robin Hayes to focus on long-term planning. Geraghty, 45, will also oversee the airline’s commercial team, JetBlue said in a statement Friday. Hayes, 51, will manage efforts to improve profit margins and the company’s expansion into related travel and vacation businesses.

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  Top executive behind Baidu's artificial intelligence drive steps aside

  Reuters
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  Baidu Inc Takes a Hit on COO Departure

  InvestorPlace

AP Explains: What's changing under new data privacy rules

Europe's new data and privacy rules take effect a week from Friday, clarifying individual rights to the personal data collected by companies around the world for targeted advertising and other purposes. Years in the making, the rules are prompting companies to rewrite their privacy policies and in some cases, apply the European Union's tougher standards even in the U.S. and other regions where privacy laws are weak. Although they take effect as Facebook faces an enormous privacy crisis , that timing is largely coincidental.

Tepper Posts 7% Hedge Fund Gain While Tackling Football Deal

David Tepper, who won the bidding contest for the Carolina Panthers this week, has been beating most of his hedge fund rivals too. Many hedge funds have struggled to find their footing this year as concern over interest-rate hikes and trade wars churned markets. Miami-based Appaloosa made money by betting against Treasuries and going long on stocks such as Micron Technology Inc., the person said.

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  Gold markets flat on Friday as we continue to see interest rate sensitivity

  FX Empire
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  What rising interest rates mean for savers, borrowers

  Associated Press