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February 15, 2019, 8:30 PM
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| Matthew Gardner / ITEP: |
Amazon has made $11.2B in profits in 2018 but will pay no federal income tax and will receive a rebate of $129M due to unspecified tax credits — Amazon, the ubiquitous purveyor of two-day delivery of just about everything, nearly doubled its profits to $11.2 billion in 2018 from $5.6 billion …
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Fortune, The Guardian, The Week, The Register, Business Insider, Bloomberg, The Week, HuffPost India, The Hill, Business Insider, Xconomy, and The Seattle Times
Tweets: @fortunemagazine, @sensanders, @forbes, @aoc, @bbgvisualdata, @shaig, @benhowe, @harryh, @mrapptech, @sensanders, @sensanders, @evgenymorozov, @juddlegum, @mdudas, @alexeheath, and @jafurtado
| Jason Del Rey / Recode: |
Amazon launched its HQ2 contest before some politicians made it a corporate villain and it overreached in NYC by extracting huge tax breaks behind closed doors — The HQ2 contest was very Amazonian. So was its refusal to back down. — No one looks good in the wake of Amazon's decision …
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The Verge, New York Times, CNN, Vox, and Business Insider
Tweets: @delrey, @delrey, @nytopinion, @delrey, @nytopinion, @karaswisher, and @tsgiles
| Brad Stone / Bloomberg: |
After Amazon misread New York's politics, pulling out was a typical Bezos power play of belligerently confronting opposition he views as unfair or unjust — In retrospect, the helipad was probably a bad idea. — The proposed transportation hub for senior Amazon executives was supposed …
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Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Wired, Business Insider, Financial Times, CNBC, and New York Post
| J. David Goodman / New York Times: |
Amazon says it has canceled plans to build HQ2 in New York City, focusing instead on Northern Virginia and Nashville, following backlash — Amazon on Thursday canceled its plans to build an expansive corporate campus in New York City after facing an unexpectedly fierce backlash from lawmakers …
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The Guardian, New York Times, NBC News, New York Times, CNET, The Digital Reader, The Amazon Blog, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, CNBC, GeekWire, Recode, The Atlantic, Continuations, Forbes, New York Times, Reuters, Curbed NY, Business Insider, PYMNTS.com, Fortune, Gothamist, TechCrunch, Bloomberg, Washington Post, Fox News, The Intercept, Axios, New York Times, AOL, Telecoms.com, Mashable, Hit & Run, Axios, Silicon Republic, Inquirer, Haystack.vc, Geek.com, and Pocketables
Tweets: @aoc, @jdavidgoodman, @lloydblankfein, @delrey, @nycmayor, @aoc, @tomgara, @caseynewton, @kyweise, @gilbertjasono, @techledes, @aoc, @dylanbyers, @kylecyuan, @gaberivera, @danprimack, @albertwenger, @reformedbroker, @pkafka, @johnstossel, @danlinden, @technyc, @kevinroose, @anandwrites, @nattgarun, @alexeheath, @obrien, @alexburnsnyt, @ashleyfeinberg, @lmatsakis, @petersterne, @davewiner, @mikiebarb, @shiraovide, @evgenymorozov, @mchenryjd, and @ddayen
| Axios: |
Sources: Apple buys Pullstring, an SF-based enterprise voice app developer, for up to $40M; Pullstring has raised around $44M in venture capital — Apple has agreed to buy Pullstring, a San Francisco-based startup that enables the design and publishing of voice apps, Axios has learned.
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MacRumors, Business Insider, TechCrunch, The Verge, 9to5Mac, Cult of Mac, Fortune, The Mac Observer, iDownloadBlog.com, and SlashGear
Tweets: @thekenyeung, @stephennellis, @rrhoover, @danprimack, @chrismessina, @inafried, @techcrunch, and @joshconstine
| Kia Kokalitcheva / Axios: |
Uber reports Q4 revenue of $3B, up 24% YoY, gross bookings of $14.2B, up 37% YoY, and adjusted EBITDA losses of $842M, up 88% YoY and 60% QoQ — Uber on Friday released its latest quarterly financials, likely its last before formally filing to go public. showing continued growth and investment in areas like UberEats.
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New York Times, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, CNBC, and Crunchbase News
Tweets: @shiraovide, @eliotwb, @markets, @alex, @ericnewcomer, @jonerlichman, @shiraovide, and @ericnewcomer
| Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter: |
US Copyright Office has refused a copyright claim for the “Carlton Dance”, a potential blow to performers seeking rights to dance emotes in games like Fortnite — A government examiner also questioned the submission of the actor's performance on ABC's “Dancing With the Stars,” … | Stefan Etienne / The Verge: |
Samsung unveils 10.5-inch Galaxy Tab S5e, its lightest and thinnest tablet and the first with Bixby built-in, starting at $399, launching in the second quarter — It's $399 and comes in three “millennial friendly” colors — There isn't a single Android tablet we can currently wholeheartedly recommend …
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Samsung US Newsroom, Engadget, ZDNet, AnandTech, Android Authority, Greenbot, Softpedia News, 9to5Google, BGR, Gotta Be Mobile, MSPoweruser, Liliputing, Ars Technica, Digital Trends, Thurrott, and TechCrunch
Tweets: @dangrabham, @dcseifert, and @tomwarren
| Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter: |
Pokémon Go creator Niantic agrees to settle class action with property owners for unsanctioned PokéStop and Gym placements; monetary damages up for mediation — After fighting over the meaning of “trespass” in the digital age, Niantic agrees to a system for resolving nuisance complaints …
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Variety, AppleInsider, Android Authority, The Verge, Comic Book, 9to5Mac, New York Law Journal, and SlashGear
Tweets: @eriqgardner, @ammonmiller, @tsimonite, and @appleinsider
| Abner Li / 9to5Google: |
Google rolls out ARCore 1.7 with a new Augmented Faces API for the front-facing camera that can overlay effects on a user's face even without a depth sensor — ARCore is Google's platform for mobile augmented reality which does not require specialized hardware.
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Google Developers Blog, Android Police, Engadget, VentureBeat, and Google Developers
Tweets: @claybavor, @danmillerdev, @9to5google, @googledevs, and @thevrara
| Todd Spangler / Variety: |
SEC filing: Spotify paid ~$337M to buy Gimlet Media and Anchor; Spotify told investors it expects to spend $400M-$500M in total on podcast acquisitions in 2019 — Streaming-audio giant Spotify shelled out around €300 million, or about $337 million, to buy podcasting companies … | Josh Horwitz / Reuters: |
Source: Didi to lay off ~2,000 people, or 15% of its workforce, from non-essential business units this year, as it focuses on its core ride-hailing services — SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Didi Chuxing will lay off 15 percent of its staff or about 2,000 people this year, a source said …
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Reuters, Forbes, The Star Online, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, CNBC, and Agence France-Presse
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