The daily business briefing: March 28, 2018
SoftBank announces plans for a massive Saudi solar power project, Zuckerberg reportedly decides to testify to Congress, and more
1. SoftBank announces plans for massive Saudi solar power project
SoftBank Group Corp. announced Wednesday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Arabia to build a $200 billion solar power project in the oil-rich country. If completed, the project will generate 200 gigawatts of electricity by 2030, making it by far "the world's biggest solar power generation" facility, said Masayoshi Son, the founder and chief executive of the Japanese company. The project is being planned in cooperation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is a partner in the SoftBank Vision Fund. Son said the project would help reduce Saudi Arabia's dependence on oil to produce electricity, allowing it to sell more crude on the international market.
The Associated Press Bloomberg
2. Zuckerberg reportedly agrees to testify before Congress
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has decided to testify before Congress to appease lawmakers and Facebook users who are clamoring for an explanation regarding the company's privacy practices, CNN Money reported Tuesday, citing unnamed "Facebook sources." Zuckerberg has been under intense scrutiny after a whistleblower stepped forward to reveal the platform had exploited personal data; Cambridge Analytica, a data firm with ties to President Trump's 2016 campaign team, allegedly accessed private information from 50 million Facebook users without permission. Zuckerberg has said he is "really sorry" about the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which he called a "breach of trust," but declined to testify before British lawmakers. He resisted going to Capitol Hill, reportedly discussing sending other Facebook executives instead, before being persuaded that he should go.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
3. Uber won't renew permit to test self-driving cars in California
A day after Arizona suspended Uber's testing of self-driving cars on its roads, Uber executives said they would not apply to renew their testing permit in California when it expires Saturday. The changes came after an Uber vehicle in self-driving mode, but with a human safety driver, hit and killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona, last week. "We decided to not reapply for a California DMV permit with the understanding that our self-driving vehicles would not operate on public roads in the immediate future," a spokesperson told The Verge. Uber has voluntarily suspended its self-driving programs nationwide pending an investigation.
4. Falling tech stocks drag down U.S. indexes
U.S. stocks gave back early gains to close sharply lower on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq composite index dropping by 2.9 percent as Apple, Amazon, and other tech stocks fell. The S&P 500 dropped by 1.7 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 1.4 percent to slip back into correction territory more than 10 percent below its early 2018 high. Microsoft was the Dow's worst performer. Twitter fell by 12 percent after a short-seller said he was betting against it, and Tesla fell by 8.2 percent after the National Transportation Safety Board said it would investigate a fatal crash that happened last week. European stocks fell early Wednesday, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index losing 1 percent as tech stocks continued to fall.
5. Court revives Oracle copyright case against Google
A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that Google unfairly used Oracle's Java programming technology in its Android smartphone operating system, sending the 2010 copyright infringement case back to court for a third trial to determine damages. In the last trial, Oracle asked for nearly $9 billion. The case stems from Google's decision to write its own version of the software instead of licensing it as it tried to make the Android platform compatible with apps written in the Java language. The coding still bore similarities with the Java platform, so Oracle sued for copyright infringement.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.
-
The Nutcracker: English National Ballet's reboot restores 'festive sparkle'
The Week Recommends Long-overdue revamp of Tchaikovsky's ballet is 'fun, cohesive and astoundingly pretty'
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Congress reaches spending deal to avert shutdown
Speed Read The bill would fund the government through March 14, 2025
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - December 18, 2024
Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons - thoughts and prayers, pound of flesh, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's shadow war in Europe
Talking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
By The Week UK Published
-
Cutting cables: the war being waged under the sea
In the Spotlight Two undersea cables were cut in the Baltic sea, sparking concern for the global network
By The Week UK Published
-
The nuclear threat: is Vladimir Putin bluffing?
Talking Point Kremlin's newest ballistic missile has some worried for Nato nations
By The Week UK Published
-
Russia vows retaliation for Ukrainian missile strikes
Speed Read Ukraine's forces have been using U.S.-supplied, long-range ATCMS missiles to hit Russia
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Has the Taliban banned women from speaking?
Today's Big Question 'Rambling' message about 'bizarre' restriction joins series of recent decrees that amount to silencing of Afghanistan's women
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Cuba's energy crisis
The Explainer Already beset by a host of issues, the island nation is struggling with nationwide blackouts
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published