iPhone Users May End Up Paying More For Twitter Blue, EU Court Asks Google To Remove False Data, New York Times Employees Stage Walk Out On Pay Dispute: Top Stories Thursday, Dec. 08

Benzinga

Elon Musk-Tim Cook Spat Not Over? iPhone Users May End Up Paying More Than $8 For Twitter Blue

• Elon Musk's Twitter is reportedly planning to increase the price of Twitter Blue for Apple Inc AAPL users.
• Some Twitter employees have been informed that the platform is planning to increase the pricing of Twitter Blue Subscription for iPhone users.
• If users pay for the subscription through the web, they'll have to pay $7 for a Twitter Blue subscription. Similarly, people using the Twitter app for iPhone will have to pay $11.

Apple Bolsters iCloud Security With 3 New Features To Thwart Sophisticated Hackers

• Apple Inc introduced the "Advanced Data Protection" feature for its iCloud service to provide end-to-end encryption for user data such as documents and photos.
• The Tim Cook-led company said in a statement that it was introducing the feature and two others focused on protecting users against threats in the cloud to "provide users with even stronger ways to protect their data."
• Apple said it would introduce "iMessage Contact Key Verification" and "Security Keys" as other mechanisms to bolster cloud security.

British American Tobacco Provides Trade Update; Says US Consumers Wary Of Inflation

• British American Tobacco PLC BTI expects FY22 revenue growth of 2% - 4% at constant currency rates and a mid-single figure adjusted diluted EPS growth at constant currency rates, including a transactional FX headwind of 2%.
• In the U.S., the company said industry volumes remain under pressure due to ongoing macroeconomic factors and post-COVID normalization of consumption patterns.

Jack Ma Gives Up Position In China's Prestigious Guild - Read Why

• Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA co-founder Jack Ma stepped down as the General Association of Zhejiang Entrepreneurs president, a position he has held since 2015.
• Ma, now 58, continued his post-retirement tour of food-related businesses and farms worldwide.
• Nan Cunhui, the chairman of the electric parts maker Chint Group, succeeded Ma as the head of the prestigious guild in his home province.

Reuters

EU Court Of Justice Orders Google To Omit False Data To Protect User Privacy

• Europe's top court ordered Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL Google to remove data from online search results if users can prove it is faulty.
• The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) lawsuit concerned two executives from a group of investment companies who had asked Google to remove search results linking their names to specific articles slamming the group's investment model.
• The proof does not have to come from a judicial decision against website publishers, and users only have to provide evidence that can reasonably be required of them to find, CJEU ruled.

Airbus CEO Expects Positive Demand For Wide-Body Jets In the Next Two Years

• In an interview with reporters, Airbus SE EADSY EADSF CEO Guillaume Faury said he expects 2023 and 2024 will be positive years for wide-body jet demand.
• Speaking to the AJPAE aerospace media association, Faury also said that the competitive impact of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which includes support for alternative fuel, was "a real subject of concern."

Financial Times

Google, Oracle, Amazon, And Microsoft Jointly Win US DoD Cloud Contract Worth $9B

• The Pentagon has split a six-year $9 billion contract for cloud computing services among Alphabet Inc GOOG, GOOGL Google, Oracle Corp ORCL, Amazon.com Inc AMZN, and Microsoft Corp MSFT
• The U.S. Department of Defense's move came a year after scrapping a previous contract marred by accusations of political interference by the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump and bogged down by legal challenges.

Bloomberg

Warren Buffett Backed BYD Forays Malaysia With $113M Deal

• BYD Co Ltd BYDDF BYDDY, the Chinese EV company backed by Warren Buffett, forged a 500 million ringgit ($113 million) tie-up with Sime Darby Motors Sdn Bhd as it made its electric vehicle debut in Malaysia.
• Sime Darby will be BYD's exclusive distributor in Malaysia, with the first showroom to open later this month.
• They plan to have 20 dealerships by next year and 40 by 2024.

New York Times Employees Stage Walk Out Saying Pay Increase Not Enough

• Several New York Times Co NYT employees are preparing for a one-day walkout on Thursday, the first full-day work stoppage at the Times in over four decades, saying the management's proposed wage increase isn't enough.
• The unionized employees are calling for, among other things, wage increases that keep pace with rising inflation and for the company to preserve health care and retirement benefits.

Wall Street Journal

With Jeff Bezos Blessings, Washington Post Weighs Divesting Tech Business

• Washington Post is reportedly looking for strategic alternatives for its software business dubbed Arc XP.
• The top executives said the tech business needed to explore a spinoff or sale to realize its potential.
• Arc has some 250 staff.

Google Combines Maps & Waze Teams To Control Costs Without Any Layoffs

• Alphabet Inc's Google looks to merge Waze's more than 500 employees with the company's Geo organization, which supervises the Maps, Earth, and Street View products, beginning on Friday.
• Waze CEO Neha Parikh will exit her role following a transition period.
• Google said it planned to preserve Waze as a stand-alone service and did not eye any layoffs under the reorganization.