Finance

Chinese tech giant Tencent is launching its artificial intelligence model “Hunyuan” for business use at an annual summit on Thursday.
That’s according to Dowson Tong, CEO of the cloud and smart industries group at Tencent, who spoke with CNBC’s Emily Tan in an exclusive interview ahead of the event.
The gaming and social media giant was also set to release an AI chatbot on Thursday, according to an online post.

Chinese tech giant Tencent is launching its artificial intelligence model “Hunyuan” for business use at an annual summit on Thursday, Dowson Tong, CEO of the cloud and smart industries group at Tencent, told CNBC in an exclusive interview ahead of the event.
The news comes days after Baidu revealed a slew of AI-powered applications on Tuesday in the wake of more supportive regulation.

Tencent has said it was internally testing its Hunyuan AI model on advertising and fintech. The gaming and social media giant is also set to release an AI chatbot on Thursday, the company said in an online post.
Tencent is integrating Hunyuan’s capabilities with its existing products for video conferencing and social media, Tong told CNBC.
The company operates WeChat, a widely used messaging and payments app in China, and video conference platform Tencent Meeting.

Baidu and several other Chinese companies received the green light in the last few weeks to release AI-powered chatbots to the public.
Similar to ChatGPT, the bots purport to respond to queries in a human-like, conversational fashion — but primarily in Chinese. Some, such as Baidu’s Ernie bot, also convert text to images and video, with the help of plugins.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT isn’t officially available in China. The chatbot releases follow new Chinese regulation on generative AI that took effect Aug. 15.
When asked about the rules, Tong pointed out that such artificial intelligence is so new that no one knows what impact it will have on society.

“It’s prudent to put in some guardrails in place,” he said. That will help make sure the technology or the services being offered are of high enough quality so they don’t create and distribute false information, he said.
Chinese authorities said the “interim” rules that took effect last month would not apply to companies developing the AI tech as long as the product was not available to the mass public.
That’s more relaxed than a draft released in April that said forthcoming rules would apply even at the research stage.

Development constraints

While Beijing has shown it is more supportive of generative AI than initially feared, Chinese companies also face U.S. restrictions on obtaining advanced semiconductors. The most cutting edge versions of the high-tech chips, known as graphics processing units (GPUs), allow companies to train AI models.
“The constraint that we’re facing will hinder the progress, the speed of development,” Tong told CNBC in response to a question about U.S. restrictions.

He noted demand for computing power overall far exceeds supply in China. To mitigate the shortage, he said companies are “focusing on specific use cases, building models of the appropriate size.”
“And we are hoping that the supply of the GPU compute will be larger in the coming months, and therefore the development of these technologies can get faster.”

AI for business

Tencent is just one of many companies in China — ranging from startups to phone maker Huawei — that have rushed to announce AI products this year. In August, Alibaba announced it was opening its own AI model to third-party developers.
Artificial intelligence requires industry-specific training for the technology to generate value, Tencent’s Tong said. He listed business use cases in tourism, finance, public services and customer service.
“We believe many different customers, in fact, would benefit more by leveraging open-source models and use their own enterprise data to train for their own models to meet the very specific needs in their industrial use cases,” he said.
That designated use can also help with data protection, he said. More

A man passes by a GameStop location on 6th Avenue in New York, March 23, 2021.
View Press | Corbis News | Getty Images

Check out the companies making headlines in extended trading.
GameStop — The video game retailer surged 5% after posting an increase in sales for its latest quarter. GameStop reported revenue of $1.164 billion in the second quarter, up from $1.136 billion in the year-ago period.

American Eagle Outfitters — Stock in the clothing retailer slipped 2.6% after American Eagle reported second-quarter results. Revenue came in at $1.2 billion, meeting Wall Street estimates, according to LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv. American Eagle’s earnings beat expectations, coming in at 25 cents per share, while analysts called for 16 cents per share.
C3.ai — Shares slipped as much as nearly 6% in extended trading after C3.ai forecast a larger-than-expected operating loss for the fiscal second quarter. The company is calling for an operating loss of $27 million to $40 million, while analysts polled by StreetAccount anticipated a loss of $20.5 million. For the latest quarter, C3.ai posted a loss of 9 cents per share, excluding items, on revenue of $72.4 million, while analysts called for a loss of 17 cents per share on revenue of $71.6 million, according to LSEG.
ChargePoint Holdings — ChargePoint stock slipped 10% after the company reported a fiscal second-quarter revenue miss. The electric vehicle charging infrastructure company noted $150 million in revenue while analysts polled by LSEG forecast $153 million. ChargePoint also said it would cut its global workforce by about 10%.
Verint Systems — The analytics company shed 13% in extended trading after missing on earnings and revenue in its second quarter. Verint posted adjusted earnings of 48 cents per share, while analysts polled by FactSet forecast 57 cents per share. Revenue came in at $210.2 million, falling short of the estimated $57.4 million.
Dutch Bros — The drive-through coffee chain lost more than 5% in after-hours trading after announcing a public offering of $300 million in shares of its Class A common stock.
— CNBC’s Ethan Kraft and Darla Mercado contributed reporting. More

The Tesla logo is seen on a charging station in Virginia, Aug. 16, 2023.
Celal Gunes | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

Check out the companies making the biggest moves midday.
Roku — Shares popped 2.94% after the streaming company announced it would lay off 10% of its staff, consolidate office space and look to trim other expenses. Roku also boosted its third-quarter revenue guidance to between $835 million and $875 million, versus prior guidance of $815 million.

Tesla — The electric vehicle maker shed 1.78%, falling along with other major tech-related names. The Wall Street Journal also reported late Tuesday that Tesla CEO Elon Musk borrowed $1 billion from SpaceX the same month he acquired Twitter.
AMC Entertainment — Shares tumbled 36.8% after AMC said it plans to sell up to 40 million new shares to raise cash. The issuance of additional shares was expected after it converted preferred APE shares into AMC common stock in August.
Apple — The tech giant dropped nearly 3.58% following a report by the Journal that China banned the use of iPhones and other foreign-branded devices by government officials at work. Bank of America estimates up to a five million to 10 million unit headwind if such a ban went through and was enforced.
AeroVironment — The maker of unmanned aircrafts soared 20.74% after it reported adjusted earnings per share of $1, well above the 26 cents expected from analysts polled by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv. Revenue also beat expectations, coming in at $152 million, versus the $129 million expected.
NextGen Healthcare — The stock rallied 14.65% after private equity firm Thoma Bravo said it would acquire the health-care software provider for $23.95 per share, 17% higher than where the stock closed Tuesday.

Enbridge, Dominion Energy — Enbridge’s stock fell 5.89% after Dominion, which slipped 1.8%, said Tuesday it would sell its three natural gas distribution companies to the pipeline operator for $9.4 billion.
Harley-Davidson — The motorcycle maker gained 3.16% after it authorized the repurchase of up to an additional 10 million shares.
GitLab — The technology platform stock added about 0.5% on the back of better-than-expected second-quarter results. Adjusted earnings per share came in at 1 cent, versus the 3 cent loss expected from analysts polled by LSEG. Revenue was $140 million, topping the $130 million expected.
Zscaler — The cloud security stock dropped 2.7% despite beating analysts’ expectations for the fiscal fourth quarter and issuing strong guidance. Zscaler reported adjusted earnings of 64 cents per share, excluding items, on revenue of $455 million. Analysts surveyed by LSEG expected 49 cents in earnings per share and $430 million in revenue. The company also said current-quarter and full-year earnings and revenue should beat Wall Street’s respective consensus estimates.
Asana — Shares fell 13.17% after Asana’s management noted weakness from the technology sector and the disproportionate exposure the company has to pullbacks from companies in the space.
Dexcom — Shares of the medical device company, which focuses on continuous glucose monitoring, rose 6.53% after Dexcom revealed data in an investor presentation Tuesday that CGM adoption increased after patients initiated GLP-1 obesity drugs. The stock has been under pressure this year due to the attention being paid to the weight-loss drugs.
Southwest Airlines — Shares of Southwest Airlines fell 2.6% after the company narrowed its unit revenue outlook for the current quarter. The air carrier said it expects revenue to fall between 5% and 7% for the quarter ending Sept. 30, compared to the same period a year ago. In July, Southwest said revenue could drop as little as 3% this quarter from last year.
— CNBC’s Tanaya Macheel, Alex Harring and Michael Bloom contributed reporting. More

The bonanza could not last for ever. After reaching record volumes in recent months, despite Western embargoes, dwindling domestic production and the risks of navigating the Black Sea, Russia’s crude shipments fell to 3m barrels a day (b/d) in August, some 800,000 lower than the April-May average and below pre-war levels. They are likely to remain sub-par. On September 5th Russia said it would extend a “voluntary” 300,000 b/d cut first announced for August to the end of 2023 (the baseline for this reduction is unclear).Sagging exports deprive the Kremlin of treasure just when it wants to replenish its military arsenal. In August federal-tax revenues from crude sales dropped to just $8bn, down from $10bn in July and $13bn in August last year, according to estimates by Viktor Kurilov of Rystad Energy, a consultancy (see chart). The rouble, which was for a long time another symbol of Russian resilience, has crashed to near 100 to the dollar, its cheapest since the invasion. Both slumps have injected urgency into Russia’s efforts to earn more money from every drop of crude it pumps out. Three types of tactics feature in its new playbook.image: The EconomistThe first—chasing higher prices for the fewer barrels it sells—has faced difficulties. Between January and August, the price of Urals, Russia’s main grade of crude, averaged $59 a barrel, down from $83 in the first eight months of last year. In large part this was because of a lower global oil price, which fell from $104 to $81 over the period. But Western embargoes, which make it easier for other buyers, such as China and India, to negotiate probably played a part, too. So did the g7’s “price cap”, which bans Western shippers and insurers from facilitating Russian crude exports unless the fuel is sold below $60 a barrel.More recently, though, the strategy of chasing higher prices has seen some success. Expectations of peaking interest rates in America, as well as production cuts both by Russia and Saudi Arabia, have helped lift the global oil price, which rose above $90 a barrel for the first time this year on September 5th. This benefits Russia, which in recent months has built a “grey” fleet of tankers—often ageing ships owned by obscure intermediaries in the Gulf, Hong Kong or Turkey—and a state-backed insurance system that insulates much of its distribution network from the price cap’s effects. It is also shipping less from the Black Sea and more from its Baltic and far-eastern ports, where breaches of sanctions are harder to detect. Since mid-August Urals has been trading above $70 a barrel.The West is unlikely to push for stricter enforcement of its price cap: it wants to keep Russian oil flowing to avoid supply shortfalls later this year if the global economy rebounds. Therefore gains in the price of Urals look secure, even if it will be difficult to persuade customers to accept smaller discounts relative to the global oil price. India insists that the rising price of Urals has eroded the grade’s competitive edge, especially compared with Gulf crude. This is a little disingenuous. Urals continues to trade at a solid $7 rebate to the cheapest grade of Saudi crude, reckons Kpler, a data firm, although it is a superior blend. India’s obduracy hints that it probably has the upper hand in talks.As Russia sells less crude, it is also trying to sell more of its premium refined oil—its second tactic for keeping proceeds afloat. To do so, it can process more crude through its refineries by mobilising idle capacity, which Kpler estimates at 10% of the total. Analysts reckon it will postpone much of the maintenance scheduled for this month to autumn next year. And it is maximising yields of diesel, a highly profitable product, to the detriment of jet fuel. In August the country exported more such “clean” products than during the same month in any of the past five years.The third way that Russia is trying to compensate for lower crude shipments is by developing new channels to distribute its oil. Exporters are discreetly cranking up piped flows to those European countries that still can, and do, buy Russian oil: namely, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Analysts expect this to continue until 2025, by when the Czech pipeline operator should have capacity to take more crude from a conduit linking it to Italy.Russia is also starting to send more cargoes through the Arctic, which could cut the cost of shipments to China. The route is 30-45% shorter than those departing from the Baltic and Barents seas. Kpler data show an eightfold rise in Russian crude tankers using this path in 2023. Navigating the Arctic is possible only in the summer and early autumn but Russia, betting on global warming, is targeting year-round sailing by 2025. That may come too late to support the war effort. Much of what will decide Russia’s export receipts in the interim—starting with the state of the global economy—remains beyond its control. ■ More

The European Commission on Wednesday listed six tech giants — Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft and ByteDance — as gatekeepers under its new Digital Markets Act.
The Digital Markets Act is a groundbreaking piece of legislation that aims to encourage greater competition in digital markets and ensure greater choice for consumers.
The rules could lead to some big changes for the platforms of Big Tech companies.

The logos of Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft displayed on a mobile phone with an EU flag shown in the background.
Justin Tallis | AFP via Getty Images

The European Commission on Wednesday said it designated six tech giants as “gatekeepers” under its new Digital Markets Act — a strict set of rules that could shake up the business models of large digital platforms.
Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft, Meta and ByteDance will have six months to bring their core platform services into compliance with the obligations laid out in the EU’s DMA, the commission, which is the executive arm of the European Union, said in a press release.

The commission said it deems Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft and China’s ByteDance as “gatekeepers.” The term refers to massive internet platforms which the EU views are restricting access to core platform services, such as online search, advertising, and messaging and communications.
The bloc also opened five new market investigations into U.S. tech giants Microsoft and Apple, evaluating whether some of the companies’ services should or should not qualify as gatekeepers.
As part of these probes, the EU will study submissions from Microsoft and Apple. The EU believes that Microsoft’s Bing, Edge and Microsoft Advertising platforms and Apple’s iMessage service meet the bar to be considered gatekeepers. Microsoft and Apple argue otherwise.
The EU will also investigate whether Apple’s iPadOS, the operating system behind the Cupertino, California, tech giant’s line of iPad tablets, should be pronounced as a gatekeeper, even though the European Commission says it does not meet the criteria.
The Digital Markets Act is a groundbreaking new EU law that aims to clamp down on anti-competitive practices from big tech players. Smaller internet firms and other businesses have complained of being hurt by these companies’ business practices.

For instance, the mobile operating systems of Google and Apple — which are the primary mobile OS platforms worldwide — charge a 30% fee for in-app purchases, which companies including Spotify and Epic Games have claimed are too high.
Apple said it remains “very concerned” about the privacy and data security risks that the Digital Markets Act poses for its users. The company has said that the DMA could lead to weakened security for its iMessage platform — the EU wants Apple to make it easier for iMessage to work with rival messaging services, such as WhatsApp.
“Our focus will be on how we mitigate these impacts and continue to deliver the very best products and services to our European customers,” an Apple spokesperson said in an emailed statement to CNBC on Wednesday. 
Notably, the EU also designated ByteDance as a gatekeeper. Its social media platform TikTok has come under greater scrutiny globally, with regulators fearing its growing popularity and its potential for spreading disinformation to a young audience.
EU lawmakers have also raised concerns about the prospect of influence from Beijing over TikTok, including the possibility that government authorities could use the app to spy on users. More

Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins on Wednesday advocated a patient approach to policymaking.
However, she noted that if the improvement in inflation data is fleeting, “further tightening could be warranted.”

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan Collins stands behind the Jackson Lake Lodge in Jackson Hole, where the Kansas City Fed holds its annual economic symposium, in Wyoming, August 24, 2023.
Ann Saphir | Reuters

Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins on Wednesday advocated a patient approach to policymaking while saying she needs more evidence to convince her that inflation has been tamed.
In remarks that aligned with sentiment from other key central bankers, Collins said the Fed may be “near or even at the peak” for interest rates.

However, she noted that more increases could be needed depending on how the data shakes out from here.
“Overall, we are well positioned to proceed cautiously in this uncertain economic environment, recognizing the risks while remaining resolute and data-dependent, with the flexibility to adjust as conditions warrant,” Collins said in prepared remarks for a speech in Boston.
Those sentiments mesh with recent statements from Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Governor Christopher Waller. Both also supported the patient approach while cautioning that they view recent positive developments on inflation with caution and are ready to approve additional rate hikes if needed.
In a CNBC interview on Tuesday, Waller contended the Fed can “proceed carefully” on policy while noting that it had been “burned twice before” in the past few years on inflation that appeared to be slowing but then turned around.
In her speech, Collins also noted some good news on inflation, as the Fed’s preferred gauge rose just 0.2% in July while wage growth also seems to have slowed.

However, she cautioned that “it is difficult to extract the signal from the noise in the data.” If the improvement is fleeting, “further tightening could be warranted,” she said.
“There are promising developments, but given the continued strength in demand, my view is that it is just too early to take the recent improvements as evidence that inflation is on a sustained path back to 2%,” said Collins, who is a nonvoting member this year on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee. Collins will vote again in 2025.
Collins also spoke on the lags with which Fed policy is thought to work.
Generally, economists believe it takes a year to a year and a half for rate hikes to seep through the economy. However, Collins said that Covid-related factors and the general strength of household and corporate balance sheets could lengthen those lags, calling for more caution on policy.
“The goal is an orderly slowdown that better aligns demand with supply, which is essential to ensure that inflation is on a sustainable trajectory back to target,” she said.
Market pricing points to a strong likelihood that the Fed will not raise rates at its Sept. 19-20 policy meeting, according to CME Group data. However, it’s a close call for the Oct. 31-Nov. 1, with traders assigning about a 43% probability of one last increase. More

The Roku app on a television in Hastings-On-Hudson, New York, US, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023.
Tiffany Hagler-Geard | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Check out the companies making headlines in premarket trading on Wednesday.
Roku — The streaming stock jumped 12.5% after announcing plans to lay off 10% of its staff. Roku also lifted its third-quarter revenue guidance, saying it now expects revenue to range between $835 million and $875 million, versus prior guidance of $815 million. Along with the workforce reductions, Roku said it plans to consolidate office space and review its content slate to trim expenses.

Zscaler — The cloud security company lost 1.2% after reporting better-than-expecting earnings in its fiscal fourth quarter and strong current-quarter guidance. Zscaler posted adjusted earnings of 64 cents per share while analysts polled by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv, expected 49 cents. Revenue also topped consensus by $25 million, coming in at $455 million. Additionally, the cybersecurity company said earnings and revenue should come in ahead of what analysts anticipate in the current quarter.
Enbridge, Dominion Energy — Enbridge shares lost 7.1% premarket after Dominion, which is down 1.1%, said Tuesday it would sell its three natural gas distribution companies to the pipeline operator for $9.4 billion.
ResMed — Shares added 2% after Needham upgraded the medtech device company to buy from hold. ResMed, which makes CPAP devices for sleep apnea, is down 30% in the third quarter over concerns about the potential impact of weight-loss drugs on the demand for its devices.
Gitlab — Shares of the technology platform jumped 6.5% in premarket trading following a strong second-quarter report postmarket Tuesday. GitLab posted adjusted earnings of 1 cent per share on $140 million in revenue, while analysts polled by LSEG anticipated a loss of 3 cents per share and revenue of $130 million. The company’s current-quarter revenue outlook beat analyst expectations.
Toast — Shares of the restaurant tech stock added 3.8% after UBS upgraded shares to buy from neutral in a Wednesday note, citing improved potential for quarterly net new additions as well as margin expansion.

Asana — The work management stock fell 5.7% despite a strong report and outlook. Asana posted an adjusted loss of 4 cents per share on revenue of $162.5 million, while analysts polled by LSEG anticipated a loss of 11 cents per share on $158 million in revenue. It also raised its full-year guidance to an expected loss of 39 to 43 cents per share, lower than a previously expected loss of 50 to 55 cents per share. 
Southwest Airlines — Shares of the Dallas-based carrier fell more than 4% after Southwest said August bookings were on the “lower-end” of expectations. Southwest expects third-quarter revenue per average seat mile to come in at the low end of its previous guidance, adding that fuel costs have risen.
C3.ai — The artificial intelligence software company rose 1.5% ahead of its earnings due after the close Wednesday. Analysts expect an adjusted loss of 12 cents per share on $73.8 million in revenue in the second quarter, and an adjusted loss of 4 cents per share on $78 million in revenue in the third.
Novo Nordisk — Shares of the pharmaceutical giant gained 0.8% premarket. The Danish company launched its Wegovy weight loss drug in the U.K. on Monday, advancing the drug’s rollout in Europe despite supply constraints.
AeroVironment — Shares of the unmanned aircraft systems maker rose 15.8% after AeroVironment beat analysts’ expectations in its fiscal first quarter. AeroVironment posted adjusted earnings of $1 per share on revenue of $152 million, while analysts polled by LSEG called for earnings of 26 cents per share on revenue of $129 million.
— CNBC’s Sam Subin, Michelle Fox Theobald and Jesse Pound contributed reporting. More

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The latest jump in Treasury yields is not “death to equities,” BofA Securities’ Savita Subramanian told CNBC’s “Fast Money” on Tuesday.
In fact, Subramanian sees the bond move as a positive signal — rather than an ominous sign for the economy.

“Companies are refocusing on efficiency and productivity rather than juicing up earnings through leverage buybacks and cheap financing costs,” the firm’s head of equity and quantitative strategy said. “Companies are finally focused on efficiency and they have new tools. They have AI [artificial intelligence]. They have automation.”
Subramanian describes herself as having the most positive view on stocks since the 2008 financial crisis, saying that productivity will drive the next leg of the bull market.
“We’re past this experiment of QE [quantitative easing] and zero interest rates and negative real rates and all of this really kind of unnerving stuff that has been hard to allow us to actually value equities appropriately,” she said. “Maybe we don’t see as strong of returns from here, but we see more real returns.”
In May, Subramanian hiked her S&P 500 year-end target by 7.5% to 4,300, with a range as high as 4,600. On Tuesday, the index closed at 4,496.83. The S&P is now up 17% year to date.
“Companies have actually gotten very disciplined about leverage,” Subramanian said. “That’s the lesson that everybody learned in ’08 and even consumers have gotten disciplined.”

She also finds industrials, energy and financials as sectors that should withstand the higher rates. “These are companies that were denied capital for the last 10 years and have gotten very, very lean and disciplined and now are at a better position to handle a higher interest rate environment,” Subramanian said.
Even though she believes the corporate America has learned to do more with less, Subramanian suggests stocks won’t go up in a straight line.
“I don’t think it’s just gravy forever. But I do think we are at a point where we have some visibility with what the Fed is going to do,” Subramanian said. “They’ve already done a lot of the hard work. We are at 5% on short rates. I think we should be happy about that because that means we have some … latitude to ease our way in the next downturn.”
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