TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before Congress on Thursday, responding to various questions on how the company handles the data of U.S. users and if the company is influenced by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). U.S. lawyers grilled Chew on numerous issues, including TikTok’s content moderation policies and its algorithm recommendations. More: - Chew stressed that TikTok was a separate entity from its parent company, China-based ByteDance.
- Chew repeatedly noted that TikTok was headquartered in Los Angeles and Singapore.
- Chew noted that TikTok is committed to protecting U.S. user data through its Project Texas initiative, which aims to store U.S. user data on U.S. soil.
- The project promises to prevent all unwanted foreign access to U.S. user data and keep content shown to U.S. users from being manipulated by any government.
- The hearing comes days after the Biden administration demanded that TikTok’s Chinese owners divest their stakes in the popular social media platform or risk TikTok getting banned in the U.S.
In related news: - Hours before Chew’s testimony, the WSJ reported that China would strongly oppose any forced sale of TikTok.
- China’s Commerce Ministry said that a sale or divestiture of TikTok would involve exporting technology and would need to be approved by the Chinese government.
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Block shares fell more than 15% in pre-market trading on Thursday after short-seller Hindenburg Research released a report accusing the payments company of fraud. Hindenburg claims it conducted a two-year probe into Block, formerly called Square, and found that the company is taking advantage of the demographic it claims to help. More: - Hindenburg claims that Block product Cash App inflates its user numbers with fake and duplicate accounts.
- Hindenburg claims Block is taking advantage of the demographics its claims to be helping — lower-income people and minorities — with predatory loans and fees.
- As of Dec. 31, Cash App had more than 51 million monthly active users.
- The service reported more than $203B of inflows in 2022.
- Hindenburg is a forensic-research company; it often shorts the stock of its research targets.
- Past Hindenburg-researched companies include India’s Adani Group and Nikola Corp.
- Nikola Corp founder Trevor Milton was convicted of defrauding investors in October.
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 A message from CONSTRUCTOR Future-proof your ecommerce shopping experiences using AI-first search and product discovery Success in 2023 will demand that you protect revenue centers while staying agile enough to keep pace with global trends and evolving consumer needs. But how? Creating an eye-catching, up-to-date, and revenue-driving digital shelf often requires a lot of manual work that many ecommerce teams don't have. The answer lies in ecommerce-first, glass-box AI technology. Over 75% of consumers are unsatisfied with the personalized interactions ecommerce companies offer. AI can help solve that.
Over 40% of merchandising and ecommerce teams spend 20+ hours per week on manual activities. AI can help reduce that. AI is the competitive edge that retailers and brands are turning to for: - reducing manual merchandising activities
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- linking real-time physical and digital product discovery
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A person believed to be Do Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform Labs, was arrested in Montenegro on Thursday. Kwon is wanted by authorities in South Korea, the U.S., and Singapore and has been in hiding since last year following the collapse of the company’s algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD and sister coin, Luna. More: - Kwon was arrested at the Podgorica airport with falsified documents.
- In September, South Korean authorities issued an arrest warrant for Kwon and obtained a red notice for him from Interpol.
- Last month the SEC sued Kwon and Terraform Labs for securities fraud in connection with the collapse of TerraUSD.
- Kwon has repeatedly denied committing fraud, saying he believed in TerraUSD and personally lost money when the project collapsed.
- TerraUSD collapsed in May 2022, wiping more than $40B in value from the crypto sector and causing a chain reaction that led to the failure of other crypto firms.
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Ford expects to lose $3B on its EV business this year. The U.S. automaker made the announcement while unveiling its new financial-reporting structure. Ford plans to report its financial performance along its three business units: Model e, its EV business; Ford Blue, its combustion engine business; and Ford Pro, its commercial vehicle business. More: - Ford CFO John Lawler referred to the company’s EV business as a startup.
- Lawler added that startups lose money as they invest in capability, build volume, and gain market share.
- The automaker lost $2.1B in its EV business in 2022.
- Ford currently sells three EV models in North America – the F-150 Lightning pickup truck, the Mustang Mach-E SUV, and the E-Transit cargo van.
- Ford shares closed at $11.42 on Thursday, down 0.52% for the day.
- YTD, the company is down 2.23%.
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 A message from FORTE GROUP ChatGPT, "when it comes to whether 'ilities' should be prioritized in software engineering, who is right, the CTO or the CEO?" To learn the answer firsthand, join Forte Group on March 30th, 2023, for a virtual panel discussion, "The balance between business expectations and CTOs' software sustainability needs." This webinar is ideal for CTOs, IT managers, project managers, software developers, and anyone involved in making technology decisions within their organization. At this event, you will learn the following: - The key challenges arise when balancing business expectations with software sustainability needs.
- Real-world examples of how companies have struggled to strike this balance and the consequences of making short-sighted decisions.
- Practical tips and strategies for finding a better balance between these competing needs.
- How to communicate the importance of software sustainability to business leaders.
- How to prioritize investments in innovative and sustainable technologies.
- How to foster collaboration across different parts of the organization.
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Toshiba has agreed to a $15B deal to take the company private and under full Japanese control. The buyout group is led by Tokyo-based investment fund Japan Industrial Partners and includes 17 domestic companies and six banks. More: - The buyout group will pay 4,620 yen ($35.32) a share, which represents a 10% premium on Toshiba’s Thursday close price on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
- The amount is less than the 5,000 yen per share CVC Capital Partners offered to Toshiba shareholders in April 2021.
- Toshiba shareholders rejected the deal at the time, saying it was too low.
- Last March, Toshiba shareholders rejected a management plan to split the company into two separate entities.
- The buyout is expected to begin in late July following regulatory approval.
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Professional services company Accenture plans to cut 19,000 jobs or 2.5% of its workforce over the next 18 months as it seeks to lower costs and streamline its operations. The company said most of the jobs impacted would be in its nonbillable corporate roles. More: - Accenture said it still plans to hire for roles that support its strategic growth priorities.
- Accenture expects its plan to cost about $1.5B, primarily from employee severance, in the current fiscal year and fiscal 2024.
- Accenture has about 738,000 employees globally.
- Accenture shares rose more than 7% on Thursday following the announcement.
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie writes the daily Inside Business newsletter. Her interests include finance, technology, and entrepreneurship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending concerts and music festivals, traveling, and exploring. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or on LinkedIn. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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