Tech

People walk on their lunch break at the Raffles Place financial business district in Singapore on May 5, 2021.Roslan Rahman | AFP | Getty ImagesSINGAPORE — Singapore has ordered Facebook, Twitter and a local publisher to correct what it says is a false statement circulating that implies a new coronavirus variant originated in the city-state and risks spreading to India.Under a law aimed at preventing the spread of falsehoods online — officially named POFMA, or Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act — Singapore’s Health Minister Ong Ye Kung instructed the two social media giants and SPH Magazines to issue a correction notice to their users in Singapore. SPH Magazines owns a popular forum called HardwareZone.”There is no new ‘Singapore’ variant of Covid-19. Neither is there evidence of any Covid-19 variant that is ‘extremely dangerous for kids,'” Singapore’s Ministry of Health said.”The strain that is prevalent in many of the Covid-19 cases detected in Singapore in recent weeks is the B.1.617.2 variant, which originated from India,” it added. “The existence and spread of the B.1.617.2 variant within India predates the detection of the variant in Singapore, and this has been publicly known and reported by various media sources from as early

Blend Images | Getty ImagesSo you want to play in crypto and become a millionaire overnight? Brace yourself for more days like Wednesday.Bitcoin plunged as much as 30% to about $30,000, according to Coin Metrics. Ether dropped more than 40% in less than 24 hours, breaking below $2,000 at one point. Both gained back substantial ground by the end of the day.But this is par for the course in the world of trading cryptocurrencies. Huge run-ups and equally drastic falls. Over and over.”Massive retracements are always scary, but seasoned investors tend to see them as buying opportunities,” said Mati Greenspan, portfolio manager and founder of Quantum Economics.Both crypto and market experts tell CNBC that this is the new normal of investing, and traders should just get used to it.Value and volatilityBitcoin’s volatility has to do with a lot of things.On Wednesday, for example, news of China cracking down on banks completing crypto transactions, plus the tailwinds of Tesla’s decision to no longer accept bitcoin as a form of payment, certainly helped drive the carnage among digital currencies. The overall crypto market was also probably due for a correction after weeks of tweet-inspired record climbs, courtesy of Elon Musk.But volatility is

In this articleAAPLCraig Federighi, Senior Vice President Software Engineering speaks during Apple’s annual world wide developer conference (WWDC) in San Jose, California, U.S. June 5, 2017.Stephen Lam | ReutersApple’s head of software, Craig Federighi, said in court on Wednesday that Apple is not pleased with the amount of harmful software, or malware, on its operating system for Mac computers, MacOS.Federighi said the ability Apple gives users to install software from the internet on Mac computers is “regularly exploited” and that the iPhone’s operating system, iOS, has a “dramatically higher bar” for customer protection.”Today, we have a level of malware on the Mac that we don’t find acceptable and that is much worse than iOS,” Federighi testified in the Epic Games v. Apple trial.The difference between iPhone and Mac security is important in the trial because Epic Games is seeking to force Apple to allow it to install alternative app stores, which are permitted on Mac computers, on iPhones.Epic Games argues that Apple can easily apply Mac software installation policies and security mechanisms to iPhones, while Apple says its App Store review process and rules keep users secure.On Wednesday, Federighi said that the user base of the Mac is about one-tenth

In this articleCSCOIn this image released on May 2, 2021, from left, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins and Chief Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability Officer of Coca-Cola Company Bea Perez speak onstage during Global Citizen VAX LIVE: The Concert To Reunite The World at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.Kevin Winter | Getty ImagesCisco shares fell 6% in extended trading on Wednesday after the data center networking hardware maker said it expects this quarter’s earnings to be lower than analysts had expected. The company revealed the news in its earnings report for the quarter ended May 1, its fiscal third quarter.Here’s how the company did:Earnings: 83 cents per share, adjusted, vs. 82 cents per share as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.Revenue: $12.80 billion, vs. $12.56 billion as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.Cisco reversed a five-quarter streak of revenue declines, posting nearly 7% growth year over year, although the quarter included 14 weeks, rather than 14 in the year-ago quarter.With respect to guidance, Cisco said it sees 81 cents to 83 cents in adjusted earnings per share and 6% to 8% revenue growth in the fiscal fourth quarter. Analysts had expected 85 cents in adjusted earnings per share and $12.82 billion

In this articleSQSPThe New York Stock Exchange welcomes Squarespace, Inc. (NYSE: SQSP), on May 19, 2021, in celebration of its Direct Listing.NYSEBy 2010, Anthony Casalena was seven years into bootstrapping his start-up Squarespace, which he’d grown from a dorm room project at the University of Maryland into a business with $10 million in revenue.That’s when Getty Images approached him to see if he wanted to sell.Casalena considered the offer long and hard, but he didn’t want to give up control. Instead, he opted to stay independent and bring in outside investors for the first time, allowing him to accelerate hiring and product development and also sell some of his stock.He didn’t know it at the time, but in raising a $38.5 million financing round, Casalena was making a billion-dollar decision for himself and a highly lucrative one for venture firms Index Ventures and Accel Partners.Squarespace, which sells tools for easy website creation and publishing, debuted on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday with a market value of $6.6 billion. Casalena, the company’s biggest stakeholder, owns shares worth $2.4 billion, while Index and Accel control holdings valued at $944 million and $750 million, respectively.Because Squarespace went public through a direct

In this articleAMZNAn Amazon worker inside a warehouse during coronavirus pandemicAmazon said Wednesday it will soon stop requiring face masks for fully vaccinated workers inside warehouses, except where required by law.Starting Monday, fully vaccinated operations employees in the U.S. will no longer be required to wear a face covering at work unless it is mandated by state or local regulations, according to a notice Amazon sent to workers that was obtained by CNBC.Amazon confirmed to CNBC that it’s updating its mask policies for fully vaccinated workers.Amazon said in the notice to workers that it considers them to be fully vaccinated once it has been 14 or more days since their final vaccine dose. Workers must also have a copy of their vaccine card, the company said.”A HUGE thank you to everyone who has and continues to prioritize our Covid-19 safety measures,” the company said in the notice to workers. “The last 14 months have not always been easy, but your dedication continues to be appreciated by leaders and customers across the country. We cannot wait to see your smile.”To verify that workers are vaccinated, Amazon will require employees to enter their vaccine information into an internal employee portal, called “A

In this articleTSPTuSimple self-driving truckSource: TuSimpleAutonomous vehicle company TuSimple on Wednesday claimed that its trucks shaved 10 hours off what’s normally a 24-hour job.The company tested its trucks by hauling fresh watermelons along a 951-mile route from Nogales, Arizona to Oklahoma City. The drive was part of a pilot project with TuSimple partners Giumarra, a produce grower and distributor, and the Associated Wholesale Grocers.The run normally takes 24 hours and 6 minutes with human drivers and traditional trucks, but TuSimple’s automated driving systems enabled a 42% faster run of 14 hours and six minutes, the company said.According to TuSimple, a human driver worked on the pick-up and delivery of the produce. But during the long middle segment of the drive — from Tucson, Arizona, to Dallas, Texas — TuSimple’s vehicle drove itself with a human safety driver on board.A spokesperson for TuSimple told CNBC the pilot was done with a safety driver on-board partly to comply with a patchwork of local regulations in the U.S. TuSimple aims to operate its trucks without needing a safety driver on-board at all by the end of 2024. Its trucks can be driven manually if and when needed.Today, federal regulation does not limit the use of automated driving systems

In this articleTSLAElon MuskMark Ralston | AFP | Getty ImagesTesla CEO Elon Musk doesn’t appear to be shying away from bitcoin, despite the crypto-wide sell-off, which cut the value of bitcoin in half at one point over the last 24 hours.In a tweet Wednesday morning, through a combination of text and emojis, Musk said that Tesla had diamond hands, implying that the electric vehicle maker would not be shedding its $1.5 billion stake in bitcoin.The world’s most popular cryptocurrency plunged as much as 30% on Wednesday to just above $30,000, its lowest level since late January, according to Coin Metrics. That means bitcoin has now erased all its gains following Tesla’s announcement that it would purchase $1.5 billion worth of the cryptocurrency.Musk’s messaging on Tesla’s bitcoin position has been mixed.On May 12, he said Tesla had suspended vehicle purchases using bitcoin, citing environmental concerns over the mining process. After that, $300 billion was wiped off the entire cryptocurrency market over the same day.Musk also suggested on Twitter over the weekend that Tesla might sell its bitcoin holdings, but later clarified that the company would not sell.Tesla itself is part of a broader tech sell-off, down about 4% so far Wednesday. Microstrategy, another company that holds a large

In this articleFBIn this photo illustration a Facebook logo seen displayed on a smartphone.Rafael Henrique | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty ImagesFacebook has a plan to turn its live online events product into a pay-per-view option for sports leagues broadcasting games on the platform.It’s a feature Facebook says will help businesses, including sports companies, make more money in a changing content consumption landscape.The social media giant envisions high school sports teams and smaller leagues using the feature that allows users to make money for virtual attendance, and keep ticket profits — for now. And Facebook plans to invest in paid online events, the livestreaming feature that lets you pay for a virtual “ticket” to watch, sort of like pay-per-view on cable.For decades, media networks such as HBO and Showtime have used the pay-per-view fees, especially for boxing. WWE and mixed martial arts company UFC also earned money from pay-per-view events. And the business model is precisely that — paying to watch an event, no subscription needed.”I think pay-per-view is by no means on any verge of extinction,” said Rob Shaw, Facebook director of sports media and league partnerships, in an interview with CNBC. “I think this is something that

In this articleCOINScreenshot of the Coinbase siteCoinbaseCrypto-exchange Coinbase has resumed services, the company said. The service was offline for some users earlier on Wednesday as digital coin prices plunged.”We’ve put a fix in place and are monitoring the results, however you shouldn’t run into any more trouble logging into Coinbase and Coinbase Pro. We sincerely apologize for any trouble caused by this issue, and we thank you for your patience with us today,” the company said in a tweet.Several social media users seemed frustrated at the app and site’s error while cryptocurrencies were plunging, looking to buy the dip.Bitcoin, the world’s largest digital token, was down 14% in 24 hours to $37,256, according to Coindesk. Ether, the digital currency that powers the Ethereum blockchain, was down 19% in the last 24 hours to $2,731. Dogecoin also plunged 20% to 38 cents apiece.Binance, another popular trading platform among retail investors, also had paused ethereum withdrawals earlier Wednesday and have since resumed.Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.