Oracle spending ‘billions’ on Nvidia chips this year – Ellison

By Stephen Nellis MENLO PARK, California (Reuters) – Oracle Corp is spending “billions” of dollars on chips from Nvidia Corp as it expands a cloud computing service targeting a new wave of artificial intelligence (AI) companies, Oracle founder and Chairman Larry Ellison said on Wednesday. Oracle’s cloud division is working to gain ground against larger…

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Smoke hangs over U.S. Midwest, East, hurting air quality

By Brendan O’Brien and Kanishka Singh CHICAGO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Hazy, smoke-filled skies from raging Canadian wildfires hovered Wednesday over the U.S. Midwest and East, where millions of Americans were urged to limit outdoor activities as the poor air quality made for dangerous, unhealthy conditions. Much of the Midwest – from western Iowa through Illinois and Wisconsin…

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Microsoft CEO says exclusive Activision games make ‘no strategic sense’

By Greg Bensinger and Diane Bartz SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The leaders of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard on Wednesday sought to allay antitrust concerns that a proposed $69 billion merger of the two companies would unlawfully concentrate power, with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella saying that making Activision games exclusive would make “no strategic sense.” The Federal…

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Russian general Surovikin was sympathetic towards Wagner rebellion -US officials

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – General Sergei Surovikin, the deputy commander of Russia’s military operations in Ukraine, was sympathetic to mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s weekend rebellion, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, though it was unclear if he actively supported it. Prigozhin startled the world by leading an armed revolt on Saturday that brought his Wagner Group fighters…

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Ukrainian forces advance ‘slowly but surely’ at front -official

(Reuters) – Ukrainian forces are advancing “slowly but surely” on the front lines in the east and southeast of the country as well as around the longstanding flashpoint of Bakhmut, senior military officials said on Wednesday. Since launching an anticipated counter-offensive this month, nearly 16 months into the war, Ukraine says it has reasserted control…

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Mexico airlines lost over $1 billion due to US safety downgrade –industry head

By Kylie Madry MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s two-year-old air safety rating downgrade by U.S. authorities has caused a more-than-billion-dollar hit to national airlines, an industry head said in an interview Wednesday. “It was a huge loss,” said Diana Olivares, head of Mexico’s air transportation chamber and LATAM Airlines’ country manager. Mexico was downgraded to…

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Factbox-Big banks stand strong against Fed’s commercial real estate gloom

By Michelle Price WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Big U.S. banks’ commercial real estate portfolios put in a surprisingly good performance during the Federal Reserve’s annual health checks, with losses declining slightly on last year, the central bank said on Wednesday. With risks growing in the commercial real estate (CRE) sector globally, analysts and investors were looking…

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BlackBerry reports surprise profit on cybersecurity strength

(Reuters) – BlackBerry posted a surprise profit for the first quarter on Wednesday as its cybersecurity business benefited from higher client spending, while its enterprise software continued to gain traction in automotive sector. U.S.-listed shares of the company rose 5.79% in extended trading. The Canadian technology company is banking on resilient demand for its cybersecurity…

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