LBLV Hyundai and Via to set off robotic taxi in US 2020/28/10

LBLV provides an overview of economic news. Website LBLV is available at - https://lblv.com/ The main economic news for Wednesday, October 28: 0:00 Tech CEOs to defend Section 230 before Senate 0:59 Microsoft exceeds sales predictions as Azure surge 2:02 Airbnb prepares for major IPO and Nasdaq listing 2:54 Hyundai and Via to set off robotic taxi in US 1. Tech CEOs to defend Section 230 before Senate On Wednesday, executives from Twitter Inc, Facebook and Alphabet Inc will speak with US lawmakers about how federal Internet company protection law is critical to free speech on the Internet. Section 230, a provision of the Communications Decency Act 1996, exempts technology companies from liability for user-generated content and allows them to remove legitimate but unwanted messages. It has come under fire from Republican President Donald Trump, as well as Democratic and Republican lawmakers. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sundar Pichai will speak in the Senate with their views and proposals on Section 230. In addition to discussing the reform of the law, the hearings will touch upon issues of consumer privacy and media consolidation. 2. Microsoft exceeds sales predictions as Azure surge Microsoft beat Wall Street's quarterly revenue and earnings forecasts on Tuesday, thanks to a slight increase in the growth rate of its flagship cloud computing business Azure, which was 48%, higher than Wall Street's forecast of 43.45%. The pandemic has accelerated the already begun transition to cloud computing. Microsoft reported that revenue from the smart cloud segment grew 20% in the first quarter. The software maker continued to benefit from the global shift to work from home and online learning, resulting in profits roughly 30% above expectations, up to $ 13.893 billion. The personal computer business, which includes Windows software and Xbox game consoles, grew 6% to $ 11.8 billion. Microsoft shares fell 0.2% to $ 212.77 after the close of trading following the published results, although trading is often relatively muted until Microsoft executives provide financial advice. 3. Airbnb prepares for major IPO and Nasdaq listing Rental start-up Airbnb Inc plans to list its shares on the Nasdaq, setting the stage for one of 2020s biggest stock market debuts. Earlier this month, it was reported that the company intends to raise $ 3 billion in an IPO, which could give it a valuation of over $ 30 billion, and that it plans to list before the end of the year. The push for a public listing and its rising potential value underscore Airbnb's sharp recovery from the previous year, when it received emergency funding from investors and the outlook for the travel industry was uncertain. San Francisco-based Airbnb, which is enjoying the benefits as travelers avoid big hotels and prefer to travel on vacation rentals instead, reported in July that customers have booked over 1 million nights in a single day for the first time since March 3. 4. Hyundai and Via to set off robotic taxi in US Hyundai Motor Co's joint venture for self-driving cars Motional and public transportation company Via have teamed up to launch a joint robotaxi service in the United States next year, the companies said Tuesday. The partnership, which plans to launch rides in the first half of 2021, aims to combine Motional's self-driving cars with Via technology, which enables reservations, routing, passenger and vehicle assignments. Motional said last week that it would resume self-service with Lyft in Las Vegas following a shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They are working to ensure the health and safety of vehicle occupants. Motional, jointly operated by vehicle supplier Aptiv Plc, competes with Alphabet Inc.'s Waymo, General Motors Co's Cruise, and Pittsburgh's Argo AI, which are jointly controlled by Ford Motor Co and Volkswagen AG.

Added 24 May 2026