Technology News (Reuters)

Belgian telephone, internet and television service provider Proximus reported higher than expected first-quarter net profit on Thursday, and said market regulator BIPT has granted it and four other companies temporary 5G licences.

A turnaround in France helped Orange post growing first quarter revenues, though store closures in Europe during the coronavirus outbreak dented equipment sales and hindered efforts to roll out new fibre optic broadband connections.

SoftBank Group Corp said it sees a loss of around 700 billion yen ($6.6 billion) for the year ended March on the portion of its WeWork investment held outside the Vision Fund, as the virus compounds woes at one of the firm's biggest bets.

State-controlled telecoms group Swisscom AG said on Thursday that the rollout of its new fifth-generation (5G) mobile technology was getting stalled due to the governments' resistance to installing upgraded antennas.

Japan's Nintendo Co Ltd is expected to extend its decade-high earnings streak when it reports fourth-quarter results next week, powered by the hit Switch console which is expanding its reach among locked-down consumers.

Amazon.com Inc has bought cameras to take temperatures of workers during the coronavirus pandemic from a firm the United States blacklisted over allegations it helped China detain and monitor Uighurs and other Muslim minorities, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Facebook Inc beat analysts' estimates for quarterly revenue on Wednesday and said it has seen "signs of stability" for sales in April after a plunge in March, in yet another signal that tech giants may weather the coronavirus-induced economic collapse better than other sectors.

SoftBank Group Corp said it sees a loss of around 700 billion yen ($6.6 billion) in the year ending March on the portion of its WeWork investment held outside the Vision Fund, extending the group's expected net loss to 900 billion yen.

Qualcomm Inc on Wednesday forecast current-quarter revenue largely in line with expectations as it signed more contracts for 5G phones, which use higher-priced chips, at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted production channels and led to a fall in demand for smartphones.

Self-driving cars, trucks, sidewalk robots and shuttles are rolling out of the labs and parking garages and onto American streets to help deliver groceries, meals, and medical supplies.

EBay Inc forecast current-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, as the e-commerce company benefited from a surge in online orders with people staying indoors because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Facebook Inc beat analysts' estimates for quarterly revenue on Wednesday, and said it has seen signs of stability in ad spending during the first three weeks of April.

Tesla Inc on Wednesday beat analysts' estimates for first-quarter revenue, as the electric carmaker reported a solid number of deliveries during the period despite disruptions due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Qualcomm Inc on Wednesday beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue and forecast current-quarter sales largely in line with expectations even though several other chipmakers had flagged concerns of a significant hit from the coronavirus outbreak.

Microsoft Corp reported quarterly revenue above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, powered by another strong performance from its cloud service Azure as the coronavirus outbreak and home sheltering lead to more people working from home.

No company's stock market value has benefited more from the coronavirus pandemic than Amazon.com's.

Several of Amazon.com Inc's foreign websites have been added to the U.S. trade regulator's "Notorious Markets" report on marketplaces known for counterfeiting and piracy concerns.

HBO Max, the upcoming streaming service from AT&T Inc owned WarnerMedia, will be available across Google platforms and devices when it launches on May 27, the company said on Wednesday.

More than half of all Americans either do not own smartphones or would not use apps backed by Alphabet Inc's Google and Apple Inc to trace who has been exposed to the new coronavirus, according to a poll by the Washington Post and University of Maryland released on Wednesday.

Spotify Technology SA's paid music subscribers surged to 130 million in the first quarter, driving shares in the Swedish music streaming firm higher as its business model proved more resilient than expected in the coronavirus lockdowns.