Happy Tech Tuesday! (Or whatever day it is… time is a blur in tech, anyway.)

Today’s tasty serves:

1. Meta plans to launch a search engine.

2. Big Tech earnings reveal divide in investor confidence.

3. The Washington Post loses 200K subscribers due to decision not to endorse a presidential candidate.

4. Indian iPhone exports surge to $6B in six months.

5. iOS 18.1 arrives with on-device AI features.

Markets Snapshot

Economic Calendar

What to watch this week 🗓️ 

This week has major announcements for the top economies in the world and US company earnings that are important to know. See calendar above for details.

1. U.S. economy meetings: 🇺🇸 

• September JOLTS meeting (Tue 29 Oct): Provides a comprehensive view of the U.S. labor market, measuring job openings, hires, and separations. Helps policymakers, economists, and investors gauge economic health and labor demand trends. 💼 

• QoQ GDP Growth Rate meeting (Wed 30 Oct): Provides insights into the overall health of the U.S. economy. Helps determine monetary policy, influencing interest rates that affect borrowing costs for consumers and businesses. 📈 

• September Core PCE meeting (Thu 31 Oct): Unlike CPI, PCE excludes volatile food and energy costs providing a clearer picture of underlying inflation. Important for setting monetary policy and economic forecasting. 🛒 

• October Non-Farm Payrolls (Fri 1 Nov): Crucial because they provide a comprehensive snapshot of the U.S. job market, excluding sectors like farming and non-profits. 🧑‍💼 

2. Company earnings: 💹 

Roughly 20% of the top 500 U.S. companies are going to report their earnings this week. This is important and can sway the financial markets. Wall street will be particularly active this week peeling their eyes over every number! 👀 

Today’s top stories

1. Meta building web crawler to power AI chatbot with 185M weekly users 🕷️

Google, Bing, Yahoo!, Yandex, Baidu, Naver, Daum and Duckduckgo make up the global search engine market share.

Key takeaways:

• Meta is creating its own search engine to reduce dependence on Google and Microsoft Bing.

• Company aims to use web crawler to provide current event updates through Meta AI.

• Meta AI has reached 185M weekly users versus ChatGPT's 250M.

• Reuters partnership secured to help answer news-related queries.

• Some websites like The New York Times are blocking Meta's crawler bot.

What this could mean for you:

• More current and real-time responses from Meta AI across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

• Changes in how you interact with Meta's products for information gathering.

• Website owners may need to decide whether to allow Meta's crawler access.

• Questions about data collection and usage across Meta's platforms.

What this could mean for the search engine industry:

• The search engine playground is getting crowded with another player joining in - Perplexity AI has been growing strongly and now MetaAI.

• New players could provide options for users and break Google’s monopoly.

• Traditional search providers might need to rethink their business models - Google and Bing watching Meta build a search engine is like watching your teenager pack for their first international trip. 🛫 

2. Big tech earnings week reveals stark divide in investor confidence 📊

Key takeaways:

• Mixed investor sentiment as five major tech companies prepare for earnings reports this week.

• Meta and Apple stocks near yearly highs, while Microsoft and Alphabet down 8.6% and 12% respectively.

• Meta expected to report 17% revenue growth, outpacing Google in digital advertising.

• Apple maintains premium trading despite modest 5.5% projected revenue growth.

• Investors show varying concerns about AI investments and their impact on different companies.

What this could mean for you and the tech industry:

• Your tech stock portfolio might need rebalancing based on how each company handles AI integration.

• The tech sector is splitting into AI spenders and AI conservatives, with no clear winner yet 🎲

• Google and Microsoft are burning cash on AI like teenagers with their first credit card, while Apple's playing it cool like that friend who still uses a flip phone 🔥

3. The Washington Post loses 200k subscribers after no-endorsement decision 📉

Key takeaways:

• About 200,000 digital subscribers (8% of total) canceled their Washington Post subscriptions after Bezos pulled out from endorsing a presidential candidate.

• This represents roughly $34 million in potential lost annual revenue.

• The loss amounts to just 2% of Amazon's daily revenue.

• Blue Origin executives recently met with Trump.

• Bezos published an opinion piece addressing the situation.

What you should know:

• Digital news subscriptions like the NY Times and TWP are taking a central stance by not endorsing candidates - this is different from the norm.

• As a tech firm owner, Bezos is taking a standard approach as Big Tech usually stays away from taking sides and promote freedom of opinion on their platforms.

• The relationship between tech billionaires and Donald Trump during this crucial time of elections seems more friendly as it looks like they want to be in Trump’s good books. 🤝 

What this could mean for the media industry:

• Major news organizations are prioritizing business interests over traditional editorial practices, leaving journalists scratching their heads. 🤔

• The dance between media ownership and political relationships is getting more complex than explaining cryptocurrency to your grandparents at Thanksgiving dinner. 🤷‍♀️ 

4. Indian iPhone exports surge 33% to $6 billion in six months 🚀

Key takeaways:

• iPhone exports from India hit $6 billion in April-September 2024, up by a third from 2023.

• Three suppliers (Foxconn, Pegatron, Tata Electronics) assemble iPhones, with Foxconn leading at 50% of exports.

• Tata Group exported $1.7 billion worth of iPhones from its Karnataka factory.

• Smartphone exports to US reached $2.88 billion in first five months of fiscal year.

• Apple's annual India revenue hit $8 billion through March, with $14 billion in iPhone assembly.

What this could mean for you and Apple:

• Your next iPhone might be "Made in India" instead of China, though quality and features remain unchanged.

• Possible faster availability of new iPhone models in global markets due to diversified manufacturing.

• The days of "all your manufacturing eggs in one Chinese basket" are numbered. 🎪

5. iOS 18.1 arrives with on-device AI features for iPhone 15 Pro users 🧠

Key takeaways:

• Apple released iOS 18.1 with AI features exclusively for iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models.

• New AI tools include text rewriting, notification summaries, and photo clean-up capabilities.

• AirPods Pro 2 can now function as hearing aids after clinical-grade hearing test.

• Features like ChatGPT and image generation are planned for iOS 18.2, expected in November 2024.

• The update requires users to join a waitlist for Apple Intelligence features.

What this could mean for the AI adoption:

• Apple's cautious AI rollout strategy might become the new standard for mobile OS updates - When other companies are sprinting to AI, Apple's doing the tech equivalent of a fashionably late entrance. 🎭

• The hearing aid feature could push other earbuds manufacturers to chase medical certifications. Every wireless earbud maker will suddenly discover they've been in the healthcare business all along! 🏥

Other reads

AI

MetaAI partners with Reuters for news content.

Meet the super users using AI to get ahead at work.

White House asks Pentagon to increase AI usage.

Tech

Google selling Pixel phones at discount with new refurbished program.

How Apple developed the first hearing health experience.

30th anniversary PS5 bundles back in stock after selling out.

Startup

Brett Taylor’s customer service AI startup raises $175M.

Read, an AI startup, raises $50M at a $450M valuation.

Digital health funding is stabilizing, per PitchBook.

Business

Boeing raises $21 billion to fix its issues.

Jeff Bezos wrote a note regarding why The Washington Post canceled their endorsement of a candidate before the presidential election.

Drop in oil prices due to weak global demand.

US Politics

Trump and Harris fight for swing-state votes while Musk sued for sweepstakes.

China's Xi pressed Biden to alter language on Taiwan issue.

US politicians, celebrities blast Trump-hired comedian for calling Puerto Rico 'garbage'.

Top Economies (non-US)

Germany’s economic challenges this year.

How Japan’s political uncertainty is linked to its market rally.

China’s economic data for the first three quarters this year.

India maintains economic growth forecast but flags risks.

Fascinating

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