Amazon settles FTC Prime case for $2.5 billion

$2.5B

For $2.5 billion, Amazon has settled a case brought by the Federal Trade Commission in which the regulatory body alleged Amazon had tricked people into signing up for Prime and made it difficult to cancel. The sum includes $1.5 billion in redress to consumers, the Financial Times reports, and $1 billion in civil penalties — the most the organization has ever charged for violating its rules. However, it may be just a drop in the bucket to Amazon, which pulled in more than $12 billion in subscription revenue last quarter alone. Amazon will also have to alter its user interface to prevent mistaken sign-ups and to create an easier way to cancel. The stock doesn’t appear to be moving on the news.

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Rani Molla4h

Cipher reverses course after Google deal, sinks 10%

After rising nearly 10% premarket on news that Google was taking a 5.4% equity stake in the company, Cipher Mining is now trading down about 10% after market open. It’s unclear why.

The stock is still up more than 90% for the month and more than 175% for the year.

Cipher Mining soars after Google takes stake as part of AI hosting deal

Rani Molla4h

Tesla slips as BYD outsells Tesla in Europe again

Chinese EV maker BYD outsold Tesla in the European Union again in August, according to new data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).

Tesla’s stock is down nearly 3% today amid a broader sell-off of some tech-focused stocks, while BYD’s ADRs are up more than 2%.

BYD sold 9,130 vehicles last month versus Tesla’s 8,220, a feat BYD’s leadership has said it’s pulling off thanks to its wider array of offerings. Others have blamed Tesla’s declining sales in the region on CEO Elon Musk’s forays into European politics causing brand damage.

Tesla’s year-to-date sales have shrunk 43% in the EU compared with the same period last year, while BYD’s year-to-date sales grew 244%.

BYD began outselling Tesla in the region this April, but Tesla still has higher sales for the year, by nearly 20,000 units.

Jon Keegan

Musk’s xAI sues OpenAI, alleging theft of trade secrets

Following a recent lawsuit against a former employee over allegedly stealing trade secrets, Musk’s xAI is now suing the company that executive left to work for — OpenAI. The suit accuses OpenAI of “inducing” recruits that it poached to steal trade secrets from the company.

Rani Molla5h

Analyst boosts Google price target, saying it should be the most valuable company on the planet

Google is not the most valuable public company in the world; that distinction goes to Nvidia, which currently has a market cap of $4.3 trillion. But analyst Michael Nathanson of MoffettNathanson thinks it should be, thanks to its AI prowess.

The analyst says its “combination of market leadership, diversification, and scale positions Alphabet not only as a winner in the GenAI era but as a company that should rightly be considered for the title of most valuable company in the world.”

Nathanson raised his price target on the shares to $295 from $230 and laid out four ways AI will “separate Alphabet from peers.” Currently trading at about $242 and with a market cap of nearly $3 trillion, Google just has to rise another trillion-plus dollars in market cap and pass the likes of Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia to actually take the title of most valuable company.

Alphabet Is ‘Most Valuable Company’ on AI Strength, Moffett Says

Rani Molla7h

Cipher Mining soars after Google takes stake as part of AI hosting deal

Cipher Mining is up more than 8% in premarket trading on news that Google is taking a 5.4% equity stake in the company as part of a 10-year, 168-megwatt AI hosting deal with cloud computing company Fluidstack. The agreement secures approximately $3 billion in contracted revenue and includes two five-year extension options, which could take the total contracted revenue to approximately $7 billion.

“We are thrilled to be working with Fluidstack to develop HPC data centers, and we look forward to welcoming Google as an investor in Cipher,” Cipher CEO Tyler Page said in a press release. “We believe this transaction represents the first of several in the HPC space as we continue to scale our capabilities and strengthen our position in this rapidly growing sector.”

In a separate press release, Cipher Mining announced plans to raise $800 million through a private sale of convertible notes to help fund new data centers and expand its AI computing operations.

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