Tech
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Irish health service shuts down IT systems after 'sophisticated' ransomware attack
- May 14, 2021
- Posted by: Stratford Team
- Category: Tech
No CommentsIn this articleHSEP-GBHSEF-GBAn ambulance arrives at the A and E department of the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in Dublin on Monday, 18 January, 2021.Artur Widak | NurPhoto via Getty ImagesLONDON — Ireland’s health service shut down its computer systems on Friday after being hit with a “sophisticated” ransomware attack.The Irish Health Service Executive (HSE) said there was a “significant ransomware attack” on its IT systems, without commenting further on specifics.”We have taken the precaution of shutting down all (of) our IT systems in order to protect them from this attack and to allow us (to) fully assess the situation with our own security partners,” the HSE said in a tweet Friday.”We apologise for inconvenience caused to patients and to the public and will give further information as it becomes available.”The HSE said Covid vaccinations were not affected by the attack would go ahead as planned and that its ambulance service was operating normally with no impact on emergency ambulance call handling and dispatch.”It’s very sophisticated,” Paul Reid, HSE’s chief executive, told RTE Radio 1. “It is impacting all of our national and indeed local systems that would be involved in all of our core services.””We did become aware of it
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Goldman Sachs banker quits after making millions on cryptocurrency
- May 14, 2021
- Posted by: Stratford Team
- Category: Tech
In this articleDOGE.CM=ETH.CM=BTC.CM=A collection of bitcoin, litecoin and ethereum tokens.Chris Ratcliffe | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesLONDON — A Goldman Sachs executive has resigned after earning a fortune from a cryptocurrency investment, according to industry sources.Aziz McMahon, Goldman’s managing director and head of emerging market sales in London, quit after making millions of pounds from a bet on the digital currency ether, three former employees at the investment bank told CNBC.The former employees, who all know McMahon personally, preferred to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the discussions. McMahon is believed to have cashed in at least £10 million ($14 million) worth of cryptocurrency, the sources said.Earlier reports from eFinancial Careers and The Guardian had said McMahon had left Goldman after making money from dogecoin.It is possible McMahon may have had some holdings in dogecoin, too. He is thought to have now set up his own hedge fund, eFinancialCareers reported.When approached by CNBC, Goldman Sachs confirmed McMahon’s departure but declined to comment any further. McMahon was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC via LinkedIn.Ether, the digital asset McMahon is said to have invested in, has risen more than 400% since the start of 2021. Created some
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A Toshiba business unit says it has been attacked by hacking group DarkSide, report says
- May 14, 2021
- Posted by: Stratford Team
- Category: Tech
In this article6588.T-JPToru Yamanaka | AFP | Getty Images A division of Toshiba said on Friday that its European business has been hit by a cyberattack, according to a Reuters report.Toshiba Tec France said in a statement seen by Reuters that it was hacked on the evening of May 4. by DarkSide, the same group the U.S. FBI blamed for the Colonial Pipeline attack.The Toshiba unit, which sells self-checkout technology and point-of-sale systems to retailers, did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.Toshiba Tec reportedly said that a “minimal” amount of work data was stolen in a ransomware attack. No leaks of the data have been detected so far and protective measures were put in place after the cyber-attack, the company said.Ransomware is a type of malicious software that’s designed to block access to a computer system the victims pay the hackers a sum of money. It is not known if Toshiba Tec France has paid a ransom to the hackers.
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Chinese electric car company Xpeng predicts chip shortage will last another quarter
- May 14, 2021
- Posted by: Stratford Team
- Category: Tech
In this articleXPEVXpeng Motors launches the P5 sedan at an event in Guangzhou, China on April 14, 2021. The P5 is Xpeng’s third production model and features so-called Lidar technology.Arjun Kharpal | CNBCBEIJING — Chinese electric car start-up Xpeng expects the global chip shortage will persist for at least another three months.Automakers around the world have had to cut production due to a shortfall in semiconductors, or chips. High demand for electronics, U.S.-China trade tensions and a major factory fire have affected the highly specialized industry’s ability to manufacture enough chips.”What we’ve seen is that this tight situation will continue for the next quarter or so,” Brian Gu, vice chairman and president of Xpeng, said Friday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.”The challenge is “the visibility of chip supplies is by the minute,” Gu said. “We are paying very, very close attention to the situation. Right now, the impact is limited and it’s reflected in our guidance.”Xpeng’s U.S.-listed shares fell nearly 4.9% in Thursday’s trading session despite the start-up reporting greater-than-expected revenue of 2.95 billion yuan ($456.7 million) for the first quarter.The stock is now down nearly 45% for the year so far, but still holds gains of more than 50%
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Tesla's Model Y slumps in China sales rankings, data shows
- May 14, 2021
- Posted by: Stratford Team
- Category: Tech
In this articleTSLAZang Yi charges her Tesla car at a charging point in Beijing, China, April 13, 2018.Thomas Peter | ReutersBEIJING — Sales of Tesla’s newest model for the Chinese market lost steam in April, according to data from China’s Passenger Car Association.The budget Wuling Hongguang Mini EV held onto its rank in April as the best-selling new energy vehicle in China, the association said Wednesday.Tesla’s Model 3 ranked second, followed by BYD’s “Han” luxury sedan.But Tesla’s Model Y, which launched to customers in China in January, fell to sixth place, down from third earlier this year, the data showed.Elon Musk’s automaker has faced growing scrutiny from regulators in China, with mounting negative press reports of brake failures, crashes and explosions.U.S.-listed Chinese electric car start-up Li Auto sold more of its SUV — which comes with a fuel tank to extend the battery’s driving range — than Tesla’s Model Y in April, according to the report.However, Chinese electric car start-up Nio’s ES6 ranked even lower, in 13th place. The company has said the global chip shortage would affect its deliveries in the second quarter.U.S.-listed Xpeng’s P7 sedan ranked 14th, the association said. Some in the industry have cast doubt on
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Disney+ subscriber growth is slowing like Netflix — with one worrisome difference
- May 14, 2021
- Posted by: Stratford Team
- Category: Tech
In this articleDISA performer dressed as Mickey Mouse entertains guests during the reopening of the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California, U.S., on Friday, April 30, 2021.Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesDisney seems to have picked up a bit of Netflix-itis.Just as Netflix added fewer than 4 million global subscribers in the first quarter, disappointing investors, Disney announced it now has 103.6 million Disney+ subscribers, far less than the 109 million analysts estimated. Disney shares slumped about 4 percent in after-hours trading.Superficially, both Disney and Netflix can explain away the disappointing growth by citing the surge in viewers earlier in the pandemic. The logic is simple: Far more people signed up for Disney+ and Netflix in the first six months of the pandemic than the companies had counted on. Given the surge, it’s only natural that growth would pull back to more “normal” levels as the pandemic winds down.Further, both Disney and Netflix can safely assume that subscriber growth will accelerate in the second half of the year as show production begins again in earnest and high-profile content — such as “Loki” and “Luca” for Disney — come to streaming video later this year.But there’s one significant difference between the
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Airbnb says first-quarter revenue rose 5% as vacationers return to travel
- May 14, 2021
- Posted by: Stratford Team
- Category: Tech
In this articleABNBAirbnb CEO Brian Chesky attends the Cannes Lions on June 20, 2016, in Cannes, France.Richard Bord | Getty ImagesAirbnb said revenue increased 5% in the first quarter, beating analysts’ estimates, as the rapid pace of vaccinations led to more travel. The company’s net loss tripled because of debt repayments and restructuring costs.Here’s how the company did:Earnings: Loss of $1.95 per shareRevenue: $886.9 million, vs. $714.4 million as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.The increase in year-over-year revenue followed a 22% decline in the fourth quarter.The coronavirus pandemic considerably curtailed rental activity on Airbnb, but the business appears to be recovering as vaccines becomes more widely available and governments lift travel restrictions. The company reported 64.4 million nights and experiences booked, up 39% from the fourth quarter and up 13% year over year. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected 62.5 million nights and experiences booked.Booking nights dropped in every quarter last year compared with the same period in 2019.Gross booking value, Airbnb’s way of tracking host earnings, service fees, cleaning fees and taxes, totaled $10.3 billion, up 52% year over year and above the $7.87 billion FactSet consensus.Airbnb’s net loss tripled as it repaid debt for loans it took out early
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Disney misses on subscriber expectations, parks revenue still hurt by Covid restrictions
- May 14, 2021
- Posted by: Stratford Team
- Category: Tech
In this articleDISIn this handout photo provided by Walt Disney World Resort, guests stop to take a selfie at Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort on July 11, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.Matt Stroshane | Walt Disney World Resort | Getty ImagesDisney reported second quarter results Thursday, posting lower-than-expected revenue and subscriber counts for its streaming service.The company’s stock dipped around 3.5% in after-hours trading.Earnings per share: 79 cents vs 27 cents expected in a Refinitiv survey of analystsRevenue: $15.61 billion vs $15.87 billion expected in the surveyStreamingThe company missed on subscriber estimates for Disney+, coming in at 103.6 million paid subscribers. It was expected to post 109 million, according to FactSet.The streaming service had been bolstering the company’s success as it was losing out on business from Covid restrictions, but it seems the rapid growth is starting to slow. Still, the company reiterated its plans to see between 230 million to 260 million subscribers to Disney+ by 2024.”This quarter’s numbers were exactly as we projected internally, so no disappointment here,” CEO Bob Chapek told CNBC’s Julia Boorstin.Average monthly revenue per user dipped 29% year over year to $3.99, which the company attributed to the launch of
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DoorDash shares rise as delivery company boosts outlook, investors shrug off driver shortage
- May 14, 2021
- Posted by: Stratford Team
- Category: Tech
In this articleDASHSign reading We Deliver With Doordash, referencing the Doordash food delivery service, San Ramon, California, September 12, 2020.Smith Collection/Gado | Archive Photos | Getty ImagesDoorDash on Thursday reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss, blaming a short-term shortage of delivery drivers as consumer demand outstripped its forecast.But the company raised its forecast, cheering up investors. The stock rose more than 6% in extended trading after hitting an all-time low earlier on Thursday. DoorDash shares began publicly trading in December.Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:Loss per share: 34 cents vs. 26 cents expectedRevenue: $1.08 billion vs. $993.3 million expectedThe delivery company reported fiscal first-quarter net loss of $110 million, or 34 cents per share, narrower than the loss of $129 million, or $2.92 per share, a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting a loss per share of just 26 cents.Delivery drivers were in short supply, dragging margins down further, but the issue was resolved by the end of the quarter, the company said.”Stronger-than-expected consumer demand, along with extreme weather events and the impact of stimulus checks, resulted in a meaningful undersupply of Dashers in the latter
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Disney's 'Shang-Chi' and 'Free Guy' will have 45-day theatrical run, CEO says
- May 14, 2021
- Posted by: Stratford Team
- Category: Tech
In this articleDISSimu Liu stars as Shang-Chi in Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”DisneyDisney said “Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings” and “Free Guy” will play exclusively in theaters for 45 days.The decision to release the two movies exclusively in theaters comes “amidst recent signs of consumer confidence and moviegoing,” said CEO Bob Chapek during an earnings call Thursday.The news comes just hours after the company said its blockbuster film “Jungle Cruise” would debut in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access on July 30. Disney has used a similar tactic for “Mulan” and “Raya and the Last Dragon” and plans to use it for the debut of the upcoming films “Cruella” and “Black Widow.””Free Guy,” a Ryan Reynolds feature, is slated to hit theaters Aug. 13, while “Shang-Chi,” a new Marvel film starring Simu Liu, is slated for Sept. 3.”Without a doubt, this is welcome news for theater owners in a world where shorter, but reasonable, windows are no longer taboo,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice. “Today’s news emphasizes an upside to Disney’s case-by-case approach when it comes to short-term hybrid releases and long-term game plans by providing stability in expectations for the studio’s commitment to both the

