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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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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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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Virgin Galactic set to launch its first commercial rocket plane spaceflight

By Jose Luis Gonzalez and Steve Gorman TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, New Mexico (Reuters) – A three-man crew from Italy is set on Thursday to board a passenger rocket plane operated by Virgin Galactic, the venture British billionaire Richard Branson founded in 2004, for the company’s first commercial flight to the edge of space. The two…

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Canadian Broadcasting Corp must face WE Charity defamation lawsuit, U.S. court rules

By Jack Queen (Reuters) – The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) must face a defamation lawsuit by a U.S. charity alleging the publicly funded news outlet repeatedly aired false claims that it deceived its donors, a Washington, D.C., federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss on Tuesday rejected the CBC’s bid to dismiss…

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Exclusive-Nissan installed camera to monitor No. 2’s home, sources say

By Daniel Leussink and Norihiko Shirouzu (Reuters) – Nissan installed a camera surveillance system at the home of former executive Ashwani Gupta so the automaker’s internal security team could monitor him, according to the preliminary findings of an investigation into the surveillance, two people with knowledge of the report said. Nissan has been investigating a…

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