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RIYADH (Reuters) -OpenAI's Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said in Riyadh on Wednesday that this week's deal with Microsoft allows the company to continue raising capital in a much less complex manner. Friar also said that OpenAI's intention to collaborate with governments globally to deploy its technology could enhance the United States' soft power. (Reporting by Federico MaccioniWriting by Tala RamadanEditing by David Goodman)

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(Reuters) -Norwegian telecom operator Telenor on Wednesday posted quarterly earnings slightly below market expectations and flagged a negative adjustment of 500 million Norwegian crowns ($49.8 million) related to rising costs in Malaysia. Telenor's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to 9.54 billion crowns in the third quarter, from 9.21 billion crowns a year earlier. Analysts polled by it had expected 9.60 billion crowns on average. Overall, the company's results were in line or a touch lower than the market consensus, helped by a solid performance in its core Nordic markets. In Asia, Telenor saw EBITDA growth of 4.1%, partially helped by growth in Bangladesh's leading telecom operator Grameenphone, in which the Norwegian group owns a 55.8% stake. "Still, consumers in Bangladesh continue to be highly prudent in the wake of last year's macro-economic setback," CEO Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer said in the earnings statement. In Malaysia, 5G-related costs and headwinds are increasing, she added. "Based on the latest public information, we make a 0.5 billion crown negative adjustment to our share of results from CelcomDigi this quarter related to its associated 5G network company in Malaysia," Schilbred Fasmer said. Telenor is the top shareholder in Malaysia's largest mobile network operator CelcomDigi together with Axiata, with a 33.1% stake each. ($1 = 10.0431 Norwegian crowns) (Reporting by Elviira Luoma in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)

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MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia's largest internet-company Yandex reported a 32% increase in third-quarter revenue to 366.1 billion roubles ($4.50 billion), with its 9 months revenue exceeding 1 trillion roubles for the first time. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, grew by 43% to 78.1 billion roubles, while adjusted net profit was up by 78% to 44.7 billion roubles, Yandex said. ($1 = 81.3000 roubles) (Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

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MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia's largest internet-company Yandex reported a 32% increase in third-quarter revenue to 366.1 billion roubles ($4.50 billion), with its 9 months revenue exceeding 1 trillion roubles for the first time. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, grew by 43% to 78.1 billion roubles, while adjusted net profit was up by 78% to 44.7 billion roubles, Yandex said. ($1 = 81.3000 roubles) (Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

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(Reuters) -CoStar, a commercial real estate data and analytics firm, raised annual revenue forecast and beat third-quarter estimates on Tuesday, driven by higher bookings and growth across its subscription-based platforms such as Homes.com. U.S. homebuilder sentiment has been recovering amid hopes that declining mortgage rates would revive housing demand, though persisting economic volatilities and a lackluster labor market are likely to temper some of the anticipated boost. The company expects full-year 2025 revenue to be between $3.23 billion and $3.24 billion, compared with $3.14 billion to $3.16 billion forecast earlier. Analysts on average were estimating $3.18 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Real estate agents and customers rely on platforms such as CoStar, which offers users access to detailed property listings, leasing and sales information, tenant profiles and up-to-date demand statistics. The company reported net new bookings of $84 million for the third quarter, a 92% jump over the year earlier. The Apartments.com owner reported revenue of $834 million for the three months ended September 30, above analysts' estimate of $813.1 million. Its adjusted earnings of 23 cents per share also beat the estimate of 18 cents. Shares of the Arlington, Virginia-based company, however, were down nearly 3% in extended trading. CoStar forecast fourth-quarter adjusted earnings between 26 and 28 cents per share, the midpoint of which is below analysts' estimate of 28 cents. Separately, the company has been involved in major litigations, including a lawsuit against Zillow for copyright violations and a dismissed consumer lawsuit claiming it helped high-end hotels illegally fix room prices. (Reporting by Nithyashree R B in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)

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(Removes reference to vehicle launching next year in paragraph 1) (Reuters) -Lucid Group said on Tuesday it plans to launch a mid-size Level 4 self-driving electric vehicle using computer systems from Nvidia, marking a step toward cars that can operate without driver input in most conditions. Automakers are developing AI-based self-driving technology with a focus on improving safety and reducing the need for human control or monitoring in most conditions. Lucid's upcoming car will require minimal human intervention, making it one of the closest to fully automated Level 5 technology. The mid-size model is expected to sit below the Lucid Air sedan in price and size, targeting a broader market segment. The launch is part of Lucid's plan to expand beyond luxury sedans into higher-volume electric cars. Lucid plans to use a combination of sensors, including cameras, radar and lidar, to enable its self-driving system. Market leader Tesla relies solely on camera-based vision technology for its driver-assistance features. The new model is expected to compete with Tesla's best-selling Model Y and Rivian's R2 SUV. Lucid, backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, said its next generation of cars will use Nvidia's DRIVE AGX Thor chips to power their driving systems. The EV maker also plans to use Nvidia's software tools in its factories to improve quality and speed up production. Commercializing self-driving tech has been much harder than anticipated, with high costs, tight regulations and federal investigations forcing many, including General Motors' Cruise, to shut down. Lucid's announcement builds on its efforts to expand its technology partnerships. Earlier this year, it began working with Uber and self-driving technology firm Nuro to provide premium electric cars for ride-hailing.  (Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)

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By Blake Brittain (Reuters) -The maker of celebrity video platform Cameo sued OpenAI in a California federal court on Tuesday, arguing that the new "Cameo" feature of OpenAI's Sora video generation app violates its trademark rights. Cameo said in the complaint that OpenAI's Cameo, which allows users to create and share their virtual likenesses on Sora, is likely to cause consumer confusion and dilute its brand. Spokespeople for OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the complaint. Cameo CEO Steven Galanis said in a statement that the company had tried to resolve the dispute "amicably" but OpenAI refused to stop using the Cameo name. Cameo, founded in 2017, allows users to hire celebrities to appear in short, personalized videos. Artificial intelligence giant OpenAI's Sora, launched as a standalone app on September 30, lets users create and share AI-generated videos. OpenAI calls Sora users' likenesses on the app "Cameos." Cameo said OpenAI chose the name "in blatant disregard for the obvious confusion it would create." Cameo also said that Sora allows users to create videos with celebrity "Cameos" including entrepreneur Mark Cuban and boxer and influencer Jake Paul, putting the AI giant in direct competition with Cameo's platform. "Users seeking a personalized celebrity video now have a choice—use Plaintiff's CAMEO service to book talent and receive an authentic, custom video prepared by that celebrity, or use Sora’s 'Cameo' service to create an extremely realistic AI-generated video featuring a celebrity’s likeness," the lawsuit said. Cameo requested an unspecified amount of monetary damages and a court order blocking OpenAI from using the "Cameo" name. (Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by Sam Holmes)

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ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he will speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping about Nvidia's state-of-the-art Blackwell artificial intelligence chip at their expected meeting on Thursday. Sales of the U.S. firm's high-end AI chips to China have been a key sticking point in protracted trade talks between the world's two largest economies this year. Beijing has long been irked by Washington's export controls that ban Nvidia from selling its most advanced AI chips to China. The U.S. has justified these restrictions by alleging the Chinese military would use the chips to increase its capabilities. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Gyeongju, South Korea, Trump praised Nvidia's Blackwell as the "super-duper chip" and said he might speak to Xi about them, without elaborating. "I think we may be talking about that with President Xi," Trump said, adding he was "very optimistic" about his meeting with Xi, the first since he returned to the White House. Reuters in May reported that Nvidia was preparing a new chip for China that was a scaled-down variant of its most recent state-of-the-art AI Blackwell chips at a significantly lower cost. Nvidia CEO Jesen Huang said on Tuesday his company had not applied for U.S. export licenses to send its newest chips to China because of the Chinese position. "They've made it very clear that they don't want Nvidia to be there right now," he said at a news conference during the company's developers event, adding it needs access to the China market to fund U.S.-based research and development. "I hope that will change in the future because I think China is a very important market." U.S. administrations have swung back and forth on allowing Nvidia's advanced chips into China, vacillating on whether access would make China more dependent on the U.S. technology or give its military and tech companies a competitive boost. Beijing has put pressure on Chinese firms to buy and further develop domestic chips in response to U.S. export controls targeting the sale of Nvidia chips to China. Despite that pressure, Chinese developers still want Nvidia's chips due to constrained supplies of products from domestic rivals such as Huawei, Reuters has previously reported. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Writing by Eduardo Baptista; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Stephen Coates)

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By Twesha Dikshit, Anuja Bharat Mistry and David Gaffen (Reuters) -Companies around the globe have ramped up job cuts, with blue-chips from Amazon to Nestle and UPS reining in spending while consumer sentiment dims and AI-focused tech companies start to replace jobs with automation. According to a Reuters tally, American companies have announced more than 25,000 job cuts this month, not including UPS's 48,000 figure, which dates from the beginning of 2025. In Europe, the total tops 20,000, with Nestlé accounting for the bulk after last week’s 16,000-role reduction.  With economy-wide numbers on job cuts not available given the U.S. government is in the middle of its second-longest shutdown in history, investors are paying extra attention to these anecdotal stories of layoffs. That's even if year-end layoffs are common and many of the eye-catching cuts will be stretched out over a prolonged period.   "Investors are asking themselves, what does this mean? And specifically, what's the overall picture since we can't see it?" said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park Investments in New York. Cuts like those at Amazon "tells me the economy is slowing down, not getting stronger. You don't have mass layoffs when the economy is strong." CEOs WANT A RETURN ON BIG AI SPENDING Amazon said it would cut up to 14,000 jobs from its corporate workforce, joining Target, Procter & Gamble and others in axing thousands of office roles. Reuters reported on Monday as many as 30,000 Amazon jobs could be eliminated. The reasons for the cuts vary. Some, like Target and Nestle, have new CEOs eager to restructure their operations. Baby-apparel company Carter's is slashing 15% of office jobs as it struggles with hefty import tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. What stands out is the focus by companies like Amazon and Target on white-collar roles seen as vulnerable to AI-driven automation, rather than those on shop or factory floors. Some analysts say Amazon's move could be an early sign of deeper structural shifts as companies push to justify billions spent on AI tools.  Target's cuts affect 8% of its corporate staff but Amazon's cuts affect just 14,000 positions within its 1.5 million-strong workforce. KPMG’s latest survey of U.S.-based executives released in September shows projected AI investment has jumped 14% since the first quarter to an average of $130 million over the next year. And 78% of executives say they are under intense pressure from boards and investors to prove AI is saving money and boosting profits. The occupations most likely to be affected would be where entry-level work is replaced with automation, Bank of America economists wrote on Oct. 22. So far, however, businesses loaded with white-collar workers such as those in the information, finance, and professional services sector have seen job growth in tandem with increased AI usage, they wrote. "I'm reticent to say it's AI just yet," said Allison Shrivastava, economist with Indeed Hiring Lab in Saratoga Springs, New York, who said the tech sector has been retrenching since a 2022 peak. "It has the potential to impact the labor market, but I don't think we're seeing that strong an impact right now."  LOW-HIRING, LOW-FIRING DOLDRUMS With the U.S. government shut, data is at a premium. Weekly state jobless figures so far do not show a measurable surge in layoffs, but job growth remains subdued. Payroll provider ADP on Tuesday estimated an increase of 14,250 jobs in the four-week period ended Oct. 11. Despite the headlines, economists say the labor market is stuck in a "low-hiring, low-firing phase", with firms quietly trimming headcount by not replacing vacated roles. If layoffs accelerate, they could further weaken consumer confidence and the broader U.S. economy, already under strain from tariffs and inflation above Federal Reserve targets. Fed officials concerned about the job market worry the “low-hiring, low-firing” environment could slip towards faster layoffs.  "I describe this as a 'hold-your-breath' environment," Shrivastava said. "'Low-hire, low-fire' almost makes it feel like we're in this new equilibrium, where really companies are just holding their breath, trying to figure out what's going on."  (Reporting by David Gaffen in New York and Twesha Dikshit, Anshuman Tripathy and Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru, Writing by Josephine Mason in London; Editing by Deepa Babington)

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By Twesha Dikshit, Anuja Bharat Mistry and David Gaffen (Reuters) -Companies around the globe have ramped up job cuts, with blue-chips from Amazon to Nestle and UPS reining in spending while consumer sentiment dims and AI-focused tech companies start to replace jobs with automation. According to a Reuters tally, American companies have announced more than 25,000 job cuts this month, not including UPS's 48,000 figure, which dates from the beginning of 2025. In Europe, the total tops 20,000, with Nestlé accounting for the bulk after last week’s 16,000-role reduction.  With economy-wide numbers on job cuts not available given the U.S. government is in the middle of its second-longest shutdown in history, investors are paying extra attention to these anecdotal stories of layoffs. That's even if year-end layoffs are common and many of the eye-catching cuts will be stretched out over a prolonged period.   "Investors are asking themselves, what does this mean? And specifically, what's the overall picture since we can't see it?" said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park Investments in New York. Cuts like those at Amazon "tells me the economy is slowing down, not getting stronger. You don't have mass layoffs when the economy is strong." CEOs WANT A RETURN ON BIG AI SPENDING Amazon said it would cut up to 14,000 jobs from its corporate workforce, joining Target, Procter & Gamble and others in axing thousands of office roles. Reuters reported on Monday as many as 30,000 Amazon jobs could be eliminated. The reasons for the cuts vary. Some, like Target and Nestle, have new CEOs eager to restructure their operations. Baby-apparel company Carter's is slashing 15% of office jobs as it struggles with hefty import tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. What stands out is the focus by companies like Amazon and Target on white-collar roles seen as vulnerable to AI-driven automation, rather than those on shop or factory floors. Some analysts say Amazon's move could be an early sign of deeper structural shifts as companies push to justify billions spent on AI tools.  Target's cuts affect 8% of its corporate staff but Amazon's cuts affect just 14,000 positions within its 1.5 million-strong workforce. KPMG’s latest survey of U.S.-based executives released in September shows projected AI investment has jumped 14% since the first quarter to an average of $130 million over the next year. And 78% of executives say they are under intense pressure from boards and investors to prove AI is saving money and boosting profits. The occupations most likely to be affected would be where entry-level work is replaced with automation, Bank of America economists wrote on Oct. 22. So far, however, businesses loaded with white-collar workers such as those in the information, finance, and professional services sector have seen job growth in tandem with increased AI usage, they wrote. "I'm reticent to say it's AI just yet," said Allison Shrivastava, economist with Indeed Hiring Lab in Saratoga Springs, New York, who said the tech sector has been retrenching since a 2022 peak. "It has the potential to impact the labor market, but I don't think we're seeing that strong an impact right now."  LOW-HIRING, LOW-FIRING DOLDRUMS With the U.S. government shut, data is at a premium. Weekly state jobless figures so far do not show a measurable surge in layoffs, but job growth remains subdued. Payroll provider ADP on Tuesday estimated an increase of 14,250 jobs in the four-week period ended Oct. 11. Despite the headlines, economists say the labor market is stuck in a "low-hiring, low-firing phase", with firms quietly trimming headcount by not replacing vacated roles. If layoffs accelerate, they could further weaken consumer confidence and the broader U.S. economy, already under strain from tariffs and inflation above Federal Reserve targets. Fed officials concerned about the job market worry the “low-hiring, low-firing” environment could slip towards faster layoffs.  "I describe this as a 'hold-your-breath' environment," Shrivastava said. "'Low-hire, low-fire' almost makes it feel like we're in this new equilibrium, where really companies are just holding their breath, trying to figure out what's going on."  (Reporting by David Gaffen in New York and Twesha Dikshit, Anshuman Tripathy and Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru, Writing by Josephine Mason in London; Editing by Deepa Babington)

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