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By Mike Scarcella WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a bid by Europe's largest software maker SAP to avoid a lawsuit by U.S. data technology company Teradata that accused it of violating American antitrust law. The justices turned away SAP's appeal of a lower court's decision that let Teradata pursue claims that its larger German rival violated U.S. antitrust law by tying sales of business-planning applications to the purchase of a key SAP database that can perform transactional and analytical functions. San Diego-based Teradata makes a rival analytics database. Teradata filed its lawsuit against SAP in federal court in California in 2018. SAP has denied any wrongdoing. A judge has scheduled an April 2026 trial on Teradata's claims, as well as on a counterclaim that SAP lodged against Teradata accusing it of patent infringement. "We are disappointed the Supreme Court has declined to review these important legal issues. We remain confident in our position, reject Teradata's claims and look forward to resolving the matter in the trial court," SAP said in a statement. Teradata declined to comment. SAP sells "enterprise resource planning" software to companies that lets them manage data used in daily activities such as finance and supply-chain operations. Teradata makes a database that can provide analytics on such a substantial amount of data. The company said SAP customers relied on other tech companies like Teradata to handle the data that SAP's applications produced. The lawsuit accused SAP of illegally tying sales of its business operations software to a new product that was developed to compete with Teradata's database.  Two key legal standards guide how judges resolve whether conduct restrains competition: the "per se rule," under which alleged conduct is presumed illegal; and the "rule of reason," under which judges balance between anticompetitive effects and a defendant's procompetitive justification. SAP won in the district court, but the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals revived Teradata's case in 2024. The 9th Circuit said there was a material dispute between the companies that a jury could take up and decide. The 9th Circuit, using a version of the "per se rule," applied too stringent a standard in evaluating Teradata's claims, SAP told the Supreme Court in a filing. SAP said the 9th Circuit's ruling clashed with how another federal appeals court in Washington in 2001 resolved a landmark antitrust case against Microsoft. In its filing at the Supreme Court, SAP said its two products were integrated, and that such integration benefits consumers and allows companies to compete effectively. Teradata urged the justices to reject SAP's appeal. It disputed that SAP's two products were integrated and also denied there was any divide among the federal appeals courts about which rules judges should use to evaluate antitrust lawsuits. Meta Platforms and Microsoft jointly submitted a friend-of-the-court brief backing SAP at the Supreme Court. (Reporting by Mike Scarcella; Editing by Will Dunham)

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By Arriana McLymore and Neil J Kanatt (Reuters) -U.S. holiday online sales are expected to grow at a slower pace this year, according to projections by data firm Adobe Analytics released on Monday, as macroeconomic uncertainty continues to pressure consumer spending. Adobe expects U.S. online sales to rise 5.3% to $253.4 billion between November 1 and December 31, this year, compared with an 8.7% rise last year. Cyber Monday, a major online shopping event that takes place on the Monday after Thanksgiving, is expected to be the biggest online shopping day of the season and year, with sales rising 6.3% to $14.2 billion on the day, Adobe said. The holiday shopping period, a key driver of sales for retailers at the end of the year, will be even more critical this year as shifting trade policies under the Trump administration and persistent inflation take a toll on consumer spending. "You have consumers dealing with a lot in the broader economy," said Vivek Pandya, director at Adobe Digital Insights. "We anticipate them taking advantage of these major sales moments, and we still see them leaning on the online sector as an area to get better deals." Adobe Analytics expects shoppers to kick off some of their early holiday purchases during Amazon's October Big Deal Days, October 7 through October 8, and competing sales events. It forecasts $9 billion in spending between the two days, a 6.2% increase compared with last year. Retailers have issued mixed outlooks ahead of the holiday season. Target and Best Buy maintained their annual forecasts, while Walmart and Macy's raised theirs. Toymaker Mattel, however, reduced its expectations. Adobe's forecast, which relies on direct online transactions based on more than 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail websites, echoes similar expectations of a subdued holiday season, with shoppers prioritizing essentials, hunting for deeper discounts, and cutting back on discretionary purchases. The forecast sees shopping on mobile devices driving 56.1% of total online spending compared with desktop shopping, and a $2 billion increase in "buy now pay later" spending. Buy now, pay later services let shoppers expand their purchasing power by paying for merchandise in monthly installments spread out over as many as 36 months; however, the most common payments are four-installment plans. Adobe said discounts would likely reach up to 28%, similar to last year, as shoppers not just look for the lowest price, but trade up to higher-value items in categories, including sporting goods and electronics, as they seek more value out of their dollar. (Reporting by Arriana McLymore in New York City and Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

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London (dpa) – Artificial intelligence (AI) not only "hallucinates" false information, but also triggers something similar among vulnerable users, say health experts from leading universities researching the emerging phenomenon of "AI psychosis". Several recently published studies have found that AI can alter perceptions of reality as part of a "feedback loop" between chatbots and mental illness, reinforcing any delusional beliefs the patient may have. "While some users report psychological benefits, concerning edge cases are emerging, including reports of suicide, violence and delusional thinking linked to perceived emotional relationships with chatbots," a University of Oxford and University College London team said in a pre-print paper. "The rapid adoption of chatbots as personalised social companions" is not being scrutinized enough, the team warned. Another paper, by researchers at King’s College London and City University of New York, pointed to 17 cases of psychosis diagnosis following engagement with bots such as ChatGPT and Copilot. "AI may mirror, validate or amplify delusional or grandiose content, particularly in users already vulnerable to psychosis, due in part to the models’ design to maximise engagement and affirmation," the second team said. According to Nature, another science journal, psychosis can include "hallucinations, delusions and false beliefs" and "can be triggered by brain disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, severe stress and drug use." Other recently published research showed that chatbots appear to encourage people who gave it indications of contemplating suicide. AI has become notorious for "hallucinations" – generating inaccurate or exaggerated responses to queries and prompts, with still more recent research suggesting this trait cannot be eradicated from the chatbots. The following information is not intended for publication dpa spr coh

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