US utilities poised to ride data center demand wave in second half

(Reuters) - U.S. electric utilities sounded bullish on demand from data centers powering the artificial intelligence boom after striking several supply deals during the second quarter, reinforcing market expectations of sales growth through the year. Top utilities, including American Electric Power and NextEra Energy, signed contracts in the recently concluded quarter while others highlighted interest from...

Polish billionaire plans to sue Meta over fake advertisements

WARSAW (Reuters) - Polish billionaire Rafal Brzoska and his wife plan to sue Meta over fake advertisements on Facebook and Instagram that feature his face and false information regarding her circulating on the social media platforms. Their move would be another in a series of quests initiated globally to hold the internet giant accountable for ads...

Google says it is deactivating Russia-based AdSense accounts

(Reuters) - Alphabet's Google is deactivating AdSense accounts in Russia, saying on Monday that it would no longer be able to make payments to users of its advertising service in the country. AdSense allows website and content owners, including on YouTube, to make money from the placement of advertisements managed by Google. "Due to ongoing developments in...

Dance instructor who secretly filmed women undressing sentenced to decades in US state prison

A Norristown man who secretly recorded seven women changing inside his unlicensed dance studio was sentenced to 26 1/2 to 53 years in state prison by a Montgomery County Court judge who admonished him for taking advantage of women who trusted him. Francis “Frankie G” Laurenzi, 39, was convicted in May of invasion of privacy and...

Crypto exchange FTX ordered to pay $12.7 billion to customers, US CFTC says

(Reuters) -A U.S. court has ordered bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX to pay $12.7 billion in relief to its customers, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on Thursday. In March, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison for stealing $8 billion from customers. "The order requires FTX to pay $8.7 billion in restitution and...

Opinion: The ‘paedophile problem’ in kids’ video games

When my husband bought the then-5-year-old a Nintendo Switch, I made a list articulating all my reservations about my child having a gaming console so young. I worried about the dopamine of it all, about my son becoming accustomed to getting the immediate gratification that comes from a game and how it would impact his...

Tech giants faced major market cap drop in July on earnings worries

(Reuters) - Global mega tech companies' market capitalisation dropped sharply in July, in response to disappointing quarterly results and concerns over high valuations, prompting investors to shift their focus away from the AI sector. In the first half of 2024, investors pushed tech stocks higher on expectations that AI advancements would boost earnings. But the second-quarter...

Kakao billionaire arrested in K-pop market manipulation case

South Korean authorities have arrested Kakao Corp founder Brian Kim over allegations of market manipulation, making the Internet entrepreneur the most prominent business figure in the country in years to wind up in jail. The Seoul Southern District Court made the decision to take the 58-year-old into custody, citing “concerns of evidence destruction and flight”. The...

CrowdStrike CEO apologizes for tech outage, says systems should be recovering -NBC

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz apologized for a global tech failure that disrupted multiple industries on Friday, vowing to work with all of its customers as they work to get their operations back online. "We're deeply sorry for the impact that we've caused to customers, to travelers, to anyone affected by this, including our...