(Reuters) – ChatGPT-owner OpenAI has recently considered developing a web browser that would combine with its chatbot and has separately discussed or struck deals to power search features, the Information reported on Thursday.

OpenAI has spoken about the search product with website and app developers such as Conde Nast, Redfin (NASDAQ:RDFN), Eventbrite (NYSE:EB) and Priceline, the report said, citing people who have seen prototypes or designs of the products.

Google and OpenAI did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

The move could pit the Sam Altman-led company against search giant Google, which commands the lion’s share of the browser and search market. OpenAI has already entered the search market with SearchGPT.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares were down 1% after the bell, after falling nearly 5% in regular trading on Thursday.

By Deborah Mary Sophia, Akash Sriram, Kenrick Cai

(Reuters) -Efforts by U.S. antitrust regulators to break up Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by forcing a sale of its Google Chrome browser and other proposals to limit its search dominance are likely to run into legal challenges on grounds the remedies are extreme. 

After a ruling in August that Google illegally monopolized the search market, U.S. Department of Justice prosecutors argued to a judge on Wednesday that the company must sell Chrome, share data and search results with rivals and possibly sell its Android smartphone software.

Alphabet shares closed nearly 5% lower on Thursday.

The proposals are part of a landmark case aimed at reshaping how users find information. But a new pro-business administration of President-elect Donald Trump next year could change that effort and legal proceedings could last years, experts said.

“It would strike me as an over-ask,” said Kevin Walkush at Jensen Investment Management, which holds Google stock and is skeptical a Chrome divestiture will happen. “You ask for everything possible, not necessarily with an eye towards what would be probable and proportional, and then see what sticks.”

The DOJ sought and won a breakup of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the early 2000s after alleging it illegally monopolized the web browser market. That ruling was overturned by an appeals court, and Microsoft and the DOJ eventually settled.

Walkush expects the Google case to take years to play out as the company appeals. “The wheels of justice do not turn quickly,” he said.

Google called the DOJ’s approach “unprecedented government overreach that would harm American consumers, developers, and small businesses,” giving as examples diminished user privacy and less funding for companies such as browser maker Mozilla when they feature Google search.

The case could also face challenges from Trump.

While Trump’s administration originally filed the search case against Google during his first term, he indicated in October he might not break up the company because it could hurt the American tech industry at a time competition is heating up with China in areas including AI. 

Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

‘SUBSTANTIAL HEADWINDS’

Chrome, the most widely used web browser, is a pillar of Google’s business, providing the company with valuable user data that helps it target ads. The search ads business brought in more than half of Alphabet’s total revenue of $88.3 billion in the latest quarter.

The value of Chrome, estimated to hold about two-thirds of the global browser market, diminishes sharply as a standalone browser.

“The reason why it’s valuable to Google is because Google uses it to enhance its ad business and its search business,” said Megan Gray, former general counsel at search rival DuckDuckGO who has also worked as an attorney at the Federal Trade Commission. “If you don’t have those, then Chrome would just be a data broker.”

A forced sale would not address several key issues raised in the DOJ lawsuit, including a search monopoly, critics say. U.S. antitrust enforcers, who are also pursuing Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) in other monopoly cases, would have to approve any potential Chrome buyer.

“DOJ will face substantial headwinds with this remedy,” because Chrome can run search engines other than Google, said Gus Hurwitz, senior fellow and academic director at University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. “Courts expect any remedy to have a causal connection to the underlying antitrust concern. Divesting Chrome does absolutely nothing to address this concern.” 

The DOJ proposed a blanket ban on Google offering incentives to give its search engine preferential treatment. That would include Google’s lucrative partnership with Apple, where it pays the smartphone maker billions of dollars annually to make Google Search the default on Apple smartphones.

Evercore analysts called the proposed curbs “draconian.”

Given Google Search’s popularity, Apple is likely to continue with Google as the default search engine even without any agreement or payments, Hurwitz said.

DOJ’s proposals also include demands for Google to license search results at a nominal cost and share the user data it gathers with competitors for free.

D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria said it was harder to ascertain the impact of Google having to open up its search data until the terms are clearer. The Center for Journalism & Liberty said Google licensing its search data would be “transformative” for news publishers because it would help them better understand their audiences.

After-Hours Stock Movers:

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) fell 4% despite publishing first quarter EPS that beat consensus, after it issued guidance that was worse than expected.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) rose 5% after it reported strong second quarter results and boosted its guidance. Net revenues was $1.66 billion for the second quarter, a 6% year-over-year increase.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) rose 5.8% after it reported third quarter EPS that topped consensus. Comparable store sales rose 1%.

GAP (GAP) rose 13% after it boosted its outlook for the year. It now sees net sales up 1.5% to 2.0% in 2024.

Replimune (REPL) rose 22% after it announced that it has submitted a biologics license application (BLA) to the FDA for RP1 (vusolimogene oderparepvec) in combination with nivolumab for the treatment of adult patients with advanced melanoma who have previously received an anti-PD1 containing regimen.

(Reuters) – Gap Inc (NYSE:GAP) raised its annual sales forecast on Thursday and said the holiday season was off to a “strong start”, sending its shares up nearly 14% in extended trade.

Gap’s reported sales grew for a fourth consecutive quarter, and the company also topped profit expectations as it executes a turnaround under CEO Richard Dickson, who took on the role in August 2023.

With shoppers budgeting to purchase trendy styles, Gap’s strategy of paring back discounts and stocking fresher, popular items in its stores has helped the company appeal to a broader customer base. 

Gap now expects full-year net sales to rise between 1.5% and 2%, compared with its earlier target of marginal growth.

Dickson has emphasized returning to the company’s roots as a “pop culture brand,” creating marketing campaigns for its casual wear that focus on music and fashion, such as “Get Loose.”

The holiday period was off to a “strong start,” Dickson said in a statement, as Gap’s third-quarter net sales rose 2% to $3.8 billion, aligned with estimates.

Athletic apparel maker Under Armour (NYSE:UA) also raised its annual profit forecast earlier in November as CEO Kevin Plank’s turnaround plan to offer popular designs at full price helps drive demand.

Gap’s Old Navy brand has also been gaining back lost ground with fresher styles for denim and dresses appealing to customers at full price, with similar gains reflecting in Athleta, its athletic wear unit.

The company has managed to maintain leaner inventory levels, driving costs lower. Inventory was down 2% in the reported quarter, following a 5% decrease in the preceding three-month period.

It raised its gross margin expansion target for the year by 20 basis points, after reporting a 140 basis point increase in gross margin for the quarter ended Nov. 2.

Gap earned third-quarter profit per share of 72 cents, compared with analysts’ estimate of 58 cents, as per data compiled by LSEG.

By Nate Raymond (NS:RYMD) and Mike Spector

BOSTON (Reuters) – McKinsey & Co is in the final stages of negotiating a deferred prosecution agreement to resolve a U.S. criminal investigation into the consulting firm’s work helping opioid manufacturers boost sales that allegedly contributed to a deadly addiction epidemic, people familiar with the matter said.

McKinsey is in talks to pay more than $600 million to resolve the longstanding U.S. Department of Justice probe, which also encompasses findings of civil violations, the people said.

The settlement, expected to be unveiled before the end of the year, would result in prosecutors seeking to dismiss criminal charges against McKinsey after a period of time as long as the company abides by the agreement’s terms.

The discussions are ongoing and the timetable for disclosing the settlement and the terms of the agreement could change, the sources said.

McKinsey and the Justice Department declined to comment.

As part of their investigation, prosecutors have also been looking at whether McKinsey obstructed justice in connection with its work advising opioid manufacturers, people familiar with the matter said. McKinsey said in 2021 it had fired two partners who had communicated about deleting documents.

McKinsey previously reached agreements totaling nearly $1 billion to settle widespread lawsuits and other legal actions alleging the company helped fuel the opioid epidemic through its work advising OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and other drugmakers. 

The settlements involved all 50 states, Washington, D.C., U.S. territories, various local governments, school districts, Native American tribes, and health insurers.

In 2019, McKinsey announced it would no longer advise clients on opioid-related businesses. The company has maintained that none of its settlements contain admissions of liability or wrongdoing.

Purdue pleaded guilty in 2020 to criminal charges covering widespread misconduct regarding its handling of prescription painkillers, including conspiring to defraud U.S. officials and pay illegal kickbacks to both doctors and an electronic healthcare records vendor. 

Purdue is currently involved in court-ordered mediation over a multibillion-dollar settlement reached in bankruptcy proceedings that the U.S. Supreme Court turned aside.

Prosecutors in Boston and Roanoke, Virginia, are involved in the McKinsey investigation alongside officials at Justice Department headquarters in Washington.

Investing.com – U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Utilities, Industrials and Basic Materials sectors led shares higher.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.06%, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.53%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.04%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), which rose 3.63% or 7.80 points to trade at 222.40 at the close. Meanwhile, Sherwin-Williams Co (NYSE:SHW) added 3.14% or 11.66 points to end at 383.32 and Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) was up 3.09% or 10.08 points to 335.78 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), which fell 2.22% or 4.50 points to trade at 198.38 at the close. Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) declined 1.83% or 2.67 points to end at 143.41 and McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) was down 0.85% or 2.47 points to 288.45.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were Super Micro Computer Inc (NASDAQ:SMCI) which rose 15.12% to 29.70, Amentum Holdings LLC (NYSE:AMTM) which was up 10.49% to settle at 24.76 and Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) which gained 8.05% to close at 437.54.

The worst performers were Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL) which was down 4.74% to 167.63 in late trade, Alphabet Inc Class C (NASDAQ:GOOG) which lost 4.56% to settle at 169.24 and Transdigm Group Incorporated (NYSE:TDG) which was down 4.10% to 1,240.13 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Scworx Corp (NASDAQ:WORX) which rose 116.33% to 2.12, Cerence Inc (NASDAQ:CRNC) which was up 106.74% to settle at 5.83 and Procaps Group SA (NASDAQ:PROC) which gained 94.23% to close at 1.11.

The worst performers were SKK Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:SKK) which was down 75.88% to 1.10 in late trade, TMT Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:TMTC) which lost 65.35% to settle at 2.20 and Wellchange Holdings Co Ltd (NASDAQ:WCT) which was down 62.35% to 1.25 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2135 to 662 and 91 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2206 rose and 1098 declined, while 126 ended unchanged.

Shares in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) rose to 52-week highs; rising 8.05% or 32.58 to 437.54. Shares in SKK Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:SKK) fell to all time lows; losing 75.88% or 3.46 to 1.10. Shares in TMT Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:TMTC) fell to all time lows; down 65.35% or 4.15 to 2.20. Shares in Wellchange Holdings Co Ltd (NASDAQ:WCT) fell to all time lows; losing 62.35% or 2.07 to 1.25.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 1.69% to 16.87.

Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.79% or 21.05 to $2,672.75 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in January rose 1.95% or 1.34 to hit $70.09 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract rose 1.98% or 1.44 to trade at $74.25 a barrel.

EUR/USD was down 0.66% to 1.05, while USD/JPY fell 0.58% to 154.53.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.38% at 107.03.

(Reuters) – Bitcoin neared $100,000 for the first time on Thursday as the election of Republican Donald Trump as president fuelled expectations that his administration will create a friendly regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies.    

The world’s biggest and best-known cryptocurrency has more than doubled from this year’s low of $38,505 and is up about 45% in the two weeks since Trump’s sweeping election win. 

Here are key events in bitcoin’s journey towards $100,000: 

2008: Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonym used by the cryptocurrency’s presumed developer, introduces the concept of bitcoin

2010: The first retail transaction takes place when a user pays 10,000 bitcoin for two Papa John’s (NASDAQ:PZZA) pizzas

2013: As bitcoin’s popularity grows, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, co-founders of crypto exchange Gemini, file their first application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to create a spot bitcoin ETF. 

Grayscale Investments launches the Bitcoin Investment Trust, an open-ended private bitcoin trust. 

2016: The Winklevoss brothers adjust their application numerous times, such as the exchange on which the product would be traded. They also file amendments naming State Street (NYSE:STT) as administrator. Grayscale files with the SEC to convert its bitcoin trust into a spot bitcoin ETF.

2017: The SEC rejects the Winklevoss application on the grounds bitcoin markets were not mature enough. Grayscale withdraws its first attempt to convert its trust into an ETF, saying the regulatory environment was not developed enough. 

2018: The SEC rejects the Winklevoss twins’ second application to launch a spot bitcoin ETF, saying cryptocurrency exchanges do not have the necessary controls to prevent manipulation.

2020: Grayscale transforms its trust into an SEC-reporting entity, and its shares begin trading on the pink sheets, for stocks that trade over the counter. Although not an ETF, it is the first publicly traded bitcoin fund in the U.S.

2021: The first spot bitcoin ETF launches in Canada. Gary Gensler replaces Jay Clayton as SEC chair in April. 

In October, the SEC approves the ProShares Bitcoin Trust listed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, noting the CME has a satisfactory mechanism for surveilling abuse in the futures market. It is the first U.S.-listed futures-based bitcoin ETF, accumulating $1 billion in assets within its first days of trading – faster than any other ETF.

Also in October, Grayscale again submits an application to the SEC to convert its trust into a spot bitcoin ETF. 

2022: The SEC rejects several applications from would-be spot bitcoin ETF issuers, including SkyBridge, Fidelity and Bitwise. The SEC also rejects Grayscale’s application, prompting the company to sue the agency. 

Amid crashing crypto prices, multiple crypto companies file for bankruptcy, including Three Arrows Capital, Celsius Network and FTX, whose founder Sam Bankman-Fried is also charged with fraud.

2023: 

May: Cathie Woods’ ARK Investments and CBOE Global Markets file for a spot bitcoin ETF, giving the SEC a maximum of 240 days to approve or reject the application.

June: BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) files a spot bitcoin ETF application with the SEC, raising industry hopes the agency may approve the product and sending the price of bitcoin to a one-year high. A flurry of other issuers and exchanges, including Fidelity and Invesco, file bitcoin ETF applications in the subsequent weeks and months. 

August: A federal appeals court in Washington D.C. rules in favor of Grayscale, saying the SEC did not justify why it had rejected its proposal. Europe’s first spot bitcoin ETF begins trading on the Euronext (EPA:ENX) Amsterdam stock exchange. 

October: The SEC opts not to appeal the court’s ruling in the Grayscale case and is required to reexamine the application. 

2024: 

Jan. 10: The SEC approves 11 proposals from issuers including BlackRock, Fidelity and VanEck, among others, to launch spot bitcoin ETFs.

February: Net inflows into the 10 largest ETFs hit $4 billion in the first month, according to LSEG data.    

March: Bitcoin tops $70,000 for the first time to hit a record high, having doubled in value in the five months.    

June: Trump pitches himself as a champion for cryptocurrency and slammed Democrats’ attempts to regulate the sector during a San Francisco fundraiser.    

July: Trump tells a bitcoin conference that, if elected, he will create a strategic national bitcoin stockpile and will ensure the United States is the “crypto capital of the planet.”     

October: The SEC grants “accelerated approval” to U.S. exchanges to list and trade options tied to 11 spot bitcoin ETFs.

Nov 6: Trump is declared winner of the presidential election, sparking a huge rally in a range of assets, with bitcoin being the standout gainer.

Nov 12: Total (EPA:TTEF) crypto market cap reaches $3 trillion for the first time. Year-to-date ETF net inflows hit $25.8 billion, according to LSEG data.

Nov 21: Bitcoin nears $100,000 for the first time in history, driven by a swell of buying from investors in anticipation of Trump dismantling a lot of the regulation around crypto investment. The price has risen by around 40% since the election.

By Sheila Dang

(Reuters) – Snap on Thursday filed a motion to dismiss a New Mexico lawsuit that alleged the tech company enabled child sexual exploitation on its messaging app Snapchat, arguing there were inaccuracies to the state’s investigation.

The lawsuit, brought by New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez in September, is among a series of efforts by U.S. lawmakers to hold tech companies accountable for harm to minors who use their services. In January, U.S. senators grilled the CEOs of Snap, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), TikTok, X and Discord, accusing the companies of failing to protect children from abuse and “sextortion,” in which predators coerce minors into sending explicit photos or videos.

As part of a months-long investigation, New Mexico set up a decoy account for a 14-year-old girl, which investigators said did not add any friends but quickly received suggestions from Snapchat to add users with explicit account names.

In a filing in the first judicial court of New Mexico, Snap said the allegations were “patently false” and that the decoy account proactively sent many friend requests to certain users, contrary to the state’s claims.

New Mexico’s lawsuit also accused Snap of failing to warn children and parents of the dangers of sextortion on Snapchat. The Santa Monica, California-based company responded that the claims were barred by the First Amendment because Snap cannot be compelled to speak.

“Not only would Snap be required to make subjective judgments about potential risks of harm and disclose them, but it would have to do so with virtually no guidance about how to avoid liability in the future,” Snap said in the filing.

The state’s lawsuit is also a clear violation of Section 230, a portion of a 1996 law that protects online platforms from civil liability over content posted by users and third parties, Snap said.

The company added it has doubled the size of its trust and safety team and tripled its law enforcement operations team since 2020.

By Abigail Summerville and Johann M Cherian

(Reuters) -Wall Street’s main indexes turned positive after choppy trading on Thursday, with the blue-chip Dow touching a one-week high.

Dow Jones Industrial Average gains were aided by cloud company Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)’s 5.2% advance after three brokerages lifted their price targets on the stock.

Shares of Wall Street’s biggest company, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), were up 0.8% after teetering following its earnings release on Wednesday. The chip company surpassed expectations for quarterly results, and projected fourth-quarter revenue above estimates.

“[Nvidia’s] earnings report was really, really good. Some of the whisper numbers were higher and they disappointed there, but the fundamentals of AI and Nvidia continue to fire on all cylinders and the outlook for next year is positive,” said Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP).

Some investors were unimpressed that the forecast was its slowest in seven quarters.

The broader Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index was up 1.5%.

At 2 p.m. ET, the Dow rose 516.64 points, or 1.19%, to 43,925.11, the S&P 500 gained 38.62 points, or 0.65%, to 5,955.73 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 42.92 points, or 0.22%, to 19,008.22.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) slid 5.4% to touch a more than two-week low after the Justice Department argued to a judge that Google must sell its Chrome browser and take other measures to end its monopoly on online search.

The stock’s losses weighed on the communication services sector, which fell 1.93% and was the biggest sectoral decliner on the S&P 500.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) lost 2% after a report said it will likely face an EU investigation next year into whether it favors its own brand products on its online marketplace.

On the data front, a weekly report on jobless claims showed they fell unexpectedly last week, suggesting a rebound in job growth in November.

Investors will be closely monitoring commentary from Federal Reserve officials before the mid-December FOMC meeting.

Money-market bets are in favor of a 25-basis-point interest rate cut by the Fed in December, according to the CME Group’s (NASDAQ:CME) FedWatch.

“We’ve moved on from the election a bit, we got the Nvidia report, so the next thing markets will look for is the Fed meeting, and some policy speak from Fed officials this week have pointed to maybe a pause in the making for December,” Saglimbene said.

Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said the United States is more vulnerable to inflationary shocks than in the past, according to a media report.

Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee said on Thursday he supports further interest rate cuts and is open to doing them more slowly.

Traders also monitored geopolitical tensions between Ukraine and Russia that sent crude prices higher and aided a 1.1% gain in the energy sector.

Shares of machinery manufacturer Deere (NYSE:DE) gained 9% after reporting an upbeat fourth-quarter profit, while AI company Snowflake (NYSE:SNOW) jumped 34% after raising its annual product revenue forecast.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.46-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.25-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 62 new 52-week highs and four new lows while the Nasdaq recorded 122 new highs and 127 new lows.

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen has introduced legislation seeking to halt American weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates until the United States certifies that the UAE is not arming the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan, according to an early version of his announcement seen by Reuters.

Van Hollen has filed a joint resolution of disapproval in the Senate, while fellow Democrat Sarah Jacobs has filed one in the House of Representatives. Their effort is unlikely to win significant support in Congress as U.S. administrations under presidents of both parties long have viewed the UAE as a vital regional security partner, but would draw attention to a conflict that has become one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.

“The UAE is an important partner in the Middle East, but the United States cannot sit idly by as it aids and abets the humanitarian disaster in Sudan – we must use our leverage to try to bring this conflict to a peaceful resolution,” van Hollen said in a statement.

U.S. law requires congressional review of major arms deals, and lets members of the Senate force votes on resolutions of disapproval that would block such sales. Although the law does not let House members force such votes, resolutions must pass both chambers of Congress, and potentially survive a presidential veto, to go into effect.

No resolution of disapproval has ever both passed Congress and survived a presidential veto. Such resolutions have at times led to heated debates that highlighted human rights concerns and lawmakers’ dissatisfaction over weapons sales.

The UAE has long been a major purchaser of U.S. weapons. In October, the Biden administration announced, for example, that it had approved a potential sale of GMLRS and ATACMS munitions, and related support, for $1.2 billion. GMLRS, or Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System rockets, are made by L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX)’ business unit Aerojet Rocketdyne. The long-range ATACMS are made by Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT).

The newly introduced resolutions seek to stop that sale. 

President Joe Biden, a Democrat, this year recognized the UAE as a major defense partner, and the Gulf state is host to the Al Dhafra Air Base with U.S. military aircraft and thousands of American personnel.

Sudan’s army has accused the UAE of providing weapons and support to the RSF in Sudan’s 17-month-old war. The Gulf state denies the allegations. U.N. sanctions monitors have described as credible accusations that the UAE had provided military support to the RSF.

The UAE has denied involvement in military support to any of Sudan’s rival parties.

War erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the RSF over a transition to free elections, with tens of thousands of people reported dead. The United Nations has said nearly 25 million people – half of Sudan’s population – need aid, famine is looming and some 8 million people have fled their homes.

“The UAE is one of the biggest outside actors fueling the violence in Sudan, and yet the U.S. is on the brink of selling the UAE another $1.2 billion in weapons that could end up in the hands of the RSF,” Jacobs, who met with Sudanese refugees on the border with Chad this year, said in a statement.