1.DAIMLER: Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler AG on Thursday reported preliminary adjusted group earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of 5.42 billion euros ($6.42 billion) for the second quarter, with car and truck divisions beating analyst targets.
Mercedes-Benz Car and Van results were helped by pricing and cost discipline, helping to offset any impact from a global shortage of semiconductors. Adjusted EBIT for Mercedes-Benz cars and vans was 3.60 billion euros, versus consensus of 3.1 billion euros, it said.
2.AMAZON:- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said on Wednesday it has sued Amazon.com Inc to force the retailer to recall hundreds of thousands of hazardous products that it had distributed on its platform.
By a 3-1 vote, the CPSC voted to file an administrative complaint saying the Seattle-based e-commerce giant was legally responsible to recall the products as they posed a serious risk of injury or death to consumers.
The products included 24,000 carbon monoxide detectors that failed to go off, nearly 400,000 hair dryers that lacked required protection against shock and electrocution, and “numerous” children’s sleepwear garments that could catch fire, according to the CPSC.
3.NETFLIX:- Netflix stock was up 2.7% in Thursday’s premarket trading amid increasing chatter it may add video games to its streaming platform.
A signal to this effect came Wednesday with the news of the company hiring Mike Verdu as vice president of game development, reporting to Chief Operating Officer Greg Peters.
Verdu was previously Facebook’s vice president in charge of working with developers to bring games and other content to Oculus virtual-reality headsets, according to Bloomberg.
Netflix plans to offer video games on its streaming platform within the next year, Bloomberg said. The games will appear with the existing portfolio as a new programming genre.
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4. BLACK ROCK:– BlackRock Inc , the world’s largest asset manager, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday as investors poured more money into the company’s funds, driving robust fee growth and boosting its assets under management to a record high.
BlackRock’s assets under management jumped to a record $9.49 trillion in the second quarter from $7.32 trillion a year earlier.
“More than ever, our voice is resonating deeper and more broadly with our clients worldwide,” BlackRock’s chief executive, Larry Fink, said in an interview.
The company continued to gather assets at a robust pace as investors deployed money across BlackRock’s product types and asset classes.
Global equity markets’ strength during the second quarter helped boost both assets under management as well as fee growth.
The U.S. economy displayed signs of a recovery over the past quarter, helped by large government stimulus and steady vaccination programs. Global financial markets continue to display strength a year after the coronavirus pandemic crashed asset prices and hurt risk sentiment.
.5. TOYOTA MOTORS –Toyota Motor Corp’s research arm said on Thursday it acquired U.S.-based Carmera, a provider of maps and data for driverless vehicles, marking the Japanese car maker’s latest investment in autonomous technology.
The purchase, through newly created subsidiary Woven Planet for an undisclosed sum, underscores Toyota’s push to bulk up its self-driving arsenal as traditional automakers compete with the autonomous ambitions of tech giants including App and Amazon.
Buying Carmera will give Toyota access to real-time, high-definition maps and crowdsourced inputs that are essential for autonomous vehicles to locate and navigate themselves, the companies said in a statement.
