Riverbank&CO, 20200 W Dixie Highway, Aventura, FL (2026)

06/21/2024

Snapdragon Chips Could Dominate 50% of Windows PCs by 2029
At Computex 2024, Qualcomm announced ambitious plans for its new Arm-based Snapdragon chips, predicting they could capture over 50% of the Windows PC market within the next five years. These chips are designed to enhance performance and efficiency, posing a significant challenge to traditional x86 processors from Intel and AMD.

06/21/2024

Autonomous Drone Navigation Revolutionized by AI
The University of Missouri is leading a project to equip drones with autonomous visual navigation capabilities. This involves integrating AI that allows drones to navigate complex environments without human intervention, potentially transforming industries such as delivery services, surveillance, and agriculture.

06/21/2024

Scientists Create "Unbreakable" New Material
A team of researchers has created a new class of materials known as glassy gels, which combine the hardness of glass with the stretchability of gels. This material has potential applications in various industries, including aerospace, construction, and medical devices, due to its unique properties that offer both durability and flexibility.

06/21/2024

New Photonic Chip Transforms Machine Vision
Researchers have developed an ultrafast photonic chip that processes images at nanosecond speeds, significantly faster than current methods. This breakthrough enhances edge intelligence by integrating photonic capabilities directly into the chip, allowing for real-time image processing and analysis. Such advancements are expected to revolutionize fields like machine vision and autonomous systems, where rapid data processing is critical.

06/21/2024

MSI Introduces the World's First AI Gaming Monitor at Computex 2024
MSI unveiled the MSI MEG 321URX QD, the world's first AI gaming monitor, at Computex 2024. This 32-inch monitor features MSI's A.I. Sky Sight technology, which utilizes machine learning to detect enemy positions during gameplay and highlight them on screen, providing gamers with a competitive edge. This innovation highlights the increasing integration of AI in consumer electronics, particularly in enhancing the gaming experience.

06/10/2024

🔹 Turkey competition board fines Google 482 million lira over hotel searches

The Turkish competition authority said on Monday that it imposed a fine of around 482 million lira ($14.85 million) on Google over its failure to fulfill obligations related to hotel searches.

The authority said the fine was imposed over Google's failure to address the competition board's concerns over fair competition with other local search engines.
($1 = 32.4513 liras)

06/10/2024

🔹 Cognizant to acquire Belcan for $1.3 billion

Information technology services provider Cognizant Technologies said on Monday it has agreed to acquire digital engineering firm Belcan for nearly $1.3 billion in cash and stock.

The deal would expand Teaneck, New Jersey-based Cognizant's footprint in the aerospace, defense, space and automotive sectors. Cincinnati-based Belcan, which has been owned by private equity firm AE Industrial Partners since 2015, employs 10,000 people across 60 locations globally. Some of its clients include Boeing, General Motors, Rolls-Royce, the U.S. space agency NASA and the U.S. Navy.

"I'm excited about the fact that Belcan operates in a sector (aerospace and defense) which is actually growing faster than the sector we are operating in, which is IT services. So, it gives us an opportunity to evolve on that growth," Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar said in an interview with Reuters.

"The capabilities that Belcan has - which is engineering, and which is in aerospace - can actually be cross-pollinated into the Cognizant strength area, which is primarily industrial manufacturing and automotive. So, it's a cross-pollination of services on both sides and the leverage of distribution networks on both sides," Kumar added. " ... That's the synergy we see."

Cognizant said that as part of the deal, Belcan would continue to be led by its CEO Lance Kwasniewski and operate as a unit of Cognizant.

Cognizant, which has a market value of $33 billion, is looking to strengthen its offerings in specialized areas as it braces for a slowdown in spending from clients. It has cut its annual revenue forecast in the range of $18.9 billion to $19.7 billion, below prior expectations of $19.0 billion to $19.8 billion.

06/10/2024

🔹 Apple WWDC 2024: AI technology to be integrated across suite of apps

Apple unveiled its AI technology, called Apple Intelligence, on Monday, which will be integrated across its suite of apps, as it aims to become the face of generative AI for consumers and gain an edge over rival Microsoft.

The company said the technology will power new tools including those that can generate text and images and have the ability to retrieve and analyze information across its range of apps.

The company is also expected to showcase a revamped Siri voice assistant and a possible tie-up with ChatGPT owner OpenAI at its annual developers conference.

Apple began the event by offering details on the latest operating system for its Vision Pro mixed-reality headset and iPhone. It said that iOS 18, the software powering its flagship device, makes the iPhone home screen more customizable and includes improved versions of its in-house apps.

The new software will also come with a "lock an app" feature that will help people protect sensitive information. Users can opt to lock specific apps and keep data more tightly controlled in the OS.

Apple also said it would group messages in its email client starting later this year, categorizing them in a primary folder, a transactions folder, a promotions folder and other more specific groupings, for instance communications by an airline. The high-level categorizations are similar to a now-old feature in competitor Google's Gmail.

Apple said it would make its mixed-reality headset Vision Pro available in eight more countries including China and Japan. The new VisionOS 2 software for the headset will use machine learning to create natural depth photos and come with new gestures.
Shares of the company were down 1.1% on Monday afternoon.

Apple uses the developer conference at its Cupertino, California, headquarters each year to showcase updates to its own apps and operating systems as well as to show developers new tools they will be able to use in their apps.

But more is at stake at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2024) than in previous such events, as the iPhone maker seeks to reassure investors that it has not lost the AI battle to Microsoft even though it may have forfeited a few rounds.

Apple will have to show the vast majority of its more than 1 billion users - most of whom are not tech aficionados - why they would want the new breed of AI that has swept Silicon Valley, analysts said.

06/10/2024

🔹 Arm, Qualcomm legal battle seen disrupting AI-powered PC wave

A two-year legal battle pitting two tech titans threatens to disrupt an emerging wave of new personal computers powered by artificial intelligence, tech industry executives and experts say.

A parade of executives from Microsoft, Asus , Acer and others joined Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon on stage last week at the annual Computex trade show in Taipei to pitch a new generation of AI-powered PCs.

But the talk in hallways, at dinner and over drinks at the show was over how a contract dispute between Arm Holdings and Qualcomm, which work together to make the chips powering these new laptops, could abruptly halt the shipment of new PCs that are expected to make Microsoft and its partners billions of dollars.

Rough projections suggest Microsoft expects to take roughly 5% of the market with the Arm-based laptops by the end of the year, selling about 1 million to 2 million units.

Nearly two dozen models ranging from Microsoft, Dell and Samsung are expected to ship to consumers June 18.

An Arm victory in the litigation could force Qualcomm and its roughly 20 partners, including Microsoft, to halt shipments of the new laptops.

"It's definitely a real risk," said Doug O'Laughlin, the founder of chip financial analysis firm Fabricated Knowledge. "The more successful (the laptops are), the more fees Arm can get eventually."

The British company, which is majority-owned by Japan's SoftBank Group, sued Qualcomm in 2022 for failing to negotiate a new license after it acquired a new company. The suit revolves around tech that Qualcomm, a designer of mobile chips, acquired from a business called Nuvia that was founded by Apple chip engineers and which it purchased in 2021 for $1.4 billion.
Arm builds the intellectual property and designs that it sells to companies such as Apple and Qualcomm, which they use to make chips. Nuvia had plans to design server chips based on Arm licenses, but after the acquisition closed, Qualcomm reassigned its remaining team to develop a laptop processor, which is now being used in Microsoft's latest AI PC, called Copilot+.

Arm said the current design planned for Microsoft's Copilot+ laptops is a direct technical descendant of Nuvia's chip and since the product is now destined for laptops, it should be coupled with a separate royalty rate.

"Arm's claim against Qualcomm and Nuvia is about protecting the Arm ecosystem and partners who rely on our IP and innovative designs, and therefore enforcing Qualcomm's contractual obligation to destroy and stop using the Nuvia designs that were derived from Arm technology," an Arm spokesperson said.

06/10/2024

🔹 Nvidia sparks chatter over possible Dow inclusion after stock split

Nvidia's 10-for-1 stock split aimed at luring retail investors has taken effect, sparking speculation over chances of the artificial intelligence bellwether's inclusion in the blue-chip Dow index.

The split, aimed at lowering per-share value to make it more affordable for employees and investors, increases the company's outstanding shares without changing its market valuation.

"A side-effect of Nvidia's stock split will be to put it in the running to follow Amazon and Apple into the Dow, potentially pushing out fellow chip stock Intel that currently has the lowest weighting," said Ben Laidler, global markets strategist at digital brokerage eToro.

The stock dipped 0.2% on Monday, after having climbed nearly 27% since the company announced the share split and a strong forecast last month. The dominant AI chip maker also clinched $3 trillion in market value last week and surpassed Apple to become the second-most valuable firm in the world, trailing only Microsoft "Historically, when we see runs like this into a split, there is often a hangover effect afterwards and I'd expect some buyer exhaustion this week," Dennis Dick, market structure analyst at Triple D Trading, said on Nvidia shares.

Market analysts said stock splits tend to attract individual investors that trade in smaller lots and have lesser capital to deploy than institutional investors.
However, Goldman Sachs strategists led by David Kostin said in a note most recent stock splits have not generated a significant increase in retail trading activity, but there have been some notable exceptions such as Amazon's split in 2022 and Nvidia's 2021 split.

Moreover, "investors typically assign higher valuations to liquid stocks because of their low trading costs and flexibility in a variety of market environments", the strategists said.

Over the last several years, trading volumes have briefly increased following stock split announcements but evidenced little change during and after the splits took effect, according to Goldman's analysis of 45 Russell 1000 stock splits since 2019.

Nvidia's stock was last trading at $120 per share post-split, compared with $1,200 on Friday, making it a potential contender for the 30-member price-weighted Dow index An S&P Dow Jones Indices spokeswoman late in May said it does not comment or speculate on index additions or deletions.

06/10/2024

🔹 US Supreme Court to hear Facebook bid to scuttle shareholder lawsuit

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear a bid by Meta's Facebook to scuttle a private securities fraud lawsuit accusing the social media platform of misleading investors in 2017 and 2018 about the misuse of its user data by the company and third parties.

The justices took up Facebook's appeal of a lower court's decision allowing a shareholder lawsuit brought in California and led by Amalgamated Bank to proceed. The court will hear the case in its next term, which begins in October.

The plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit in 2018 after Facebook's stock fell following media reports that the British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica had used improperly harvested Facebook user data in connection with Donald Trump's successful presidential campaign in 2016. The Cambridge Analytica breach exposed the data of as many as 87 million users.
The plaintiffs amended their lawsuit in 2018 to add a second stock decline that year on reports that Facebook had shared data with dozens of third parties without the express consent of users. The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages.

The plaintiffs accused Facebook and top company officials of violating the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by making false and misleading statements in 2017 and 2018, including that user data could be compromised when the company was aware in 2015 that Cambridge Analytica had violated its privacy policies.

U.S. District Judge Edward Davila dismissed the lawsuit by the shareholders in 2021 but the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 ruling restored their claims.

"The problem is that Facebook represented the risk of improper access to or disclosure of Facebook user data as purely hypothetical when that exact risk had already transpired," Judge Margaret McKeown wrote in the 9th Circuit decision.
Facebook urged the justices to take up its appeal, arguing that the 9th Circuit's ruling would "force public companies to inform investors of past incidents that pose no known threat to the business."

The Cambridge Analytica data breach fueled government investigations into Facebook's privacy practices, lawsuits and a U.S. congressional hearing where Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg was grilled by lawmakers.

Facebook paid more than $5 billion in penalties to U.S. authorities over the Cambridge Analytica scandal and paid $725 million to settle a separate class action lawsuit by Facebook users.

06/09/2024

🔹 New York lawmakers pass measure to protect youths on social media

New York state lawmakers on Friday passed legislation to bar social media platforms from exposing "addictive" algorithmic content to users under age 18 without parental consent, becoming the latest of several states moving to limit online risks to children.

A companion bill to restrict online sites from collecting and selling the personal data of underage users also gained final legislative approval in the New York Assembly on Friday, a day after both measures cleared the state Senate.

Governor Kathy Hochul is expected to sign both into law.

She hailed the two measures as a "historic step forward in our efforts to address the youth mental health crisis and create a safer digital environment for young people."
Social media companies such as Meta Platforms, whose platforms include Facebook and Instagram, could take a hit to their revenues.

Supporters of the legislation pointed to a recent Harvard University study that found the six largest social media platforms generated $11 billion from advertising to minors in 2022.

The bills' sponsors also cite studies linking higher rates of depression, anxiety, sleep disorders and other mental health woes to what they define as excessive social media use by adolescents.

The industry association NetChoice condemned the legislation, calling it in a statement an "assault on free speech and the open internet" by "forcing websites to censor all content unless visitors provide an ID to verify their age."

The organization said it had successfully challenged similar measures from three other states in court as unconstitutional.
A spokesperson for the governor said the law would not censor a site's content and said it provides for using one or more age-verification methods that retains a user's anonymity.

Meta, whose chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg co-founded Facebook, offered some support for the bill.

"While we don’t agree with every aspect of these bills, we welcome New York becoming the first state to pass legislation recognizing the responsibility of app stores," the company said in a statement.

Under the bill dubbed the SAFE (Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation) for Kids Act, social media users under 18 must obtain parental consent to view "addictive" feeds. This is generally defined as content that comes from accounts they do not follow or subscribe to but is delivered by algorithms designed to keep them on a platform for as long as possible.

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06/21/2024

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06/09/2024

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