Financial News

Financial News:

Markets mixed…Big Tech war response…Toyota running again

UNDATED (AP) – World shares are mixed after talks between Russia and Ukraine aimed at ending the war just yielded an agreement to meet again. European markets opened mostly lower while Asian shares and U.S. futures were higher. Oil prices rose.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is forcing big tech companies to decide how to handle state-controlled media outlets that spread propaganda and misinformation. Officials in the European Union say they’re moving to ban the outlets, but no U.S.-owned tech platform has taken that step. Instead they’ve offered more modest changes: limiting the Kremlin’s reach, labeling more of its content and prohibiting Russian state media from making money off ads.

TOKYO (AP) – Production will resume Wednesday at all of Toyota’s 14 plants in Japan after they were idled for a day due to a cyberattack on a domestic supplier. Kojima Industries said it found a virus in its computer server and it was investigating. A Toyota spokeswoman, (Shiori Hashimoto, says the server problem was not yet resolved but the two companies had devised alternative ways to operate. Toyota says the physical mechanics of production were not affected by the virus.

TOKYO (AP) – Toshiba chief executive Satoshi Tsunakawa is stepping down as the embattled Japanese technology giant seeks to restructure and restore its reputation. The company said its board decided that Tsunakawa will be replaced by Taro Shimada, an executive officer and corporate senior vice president. Shimada was an executive at Siemens before joining Toshiba in 2018. Toshiba plans to split into two companies, one focused on infrastructure and the other on devices. An extraordinary shareholders’ meeting is set for March 24.

UNDATED (AP) – The National Hockey League is launching a faceoff probability stat that uses 10 years of data to determine the likelihood of each player in the circle winning the draw. The league and Amazon Web Services are unveiling the new feature . It will debut on Sportsnet in Canada this week and on ESPN and Turner in the U.S. later in March. The technology has potential implications for gambling and more.