The Facebook staff is working to further widen the gap with competitors between the main Twitter and Instagram, but also to repel the onslaught of newcomers, Snapchat and Telegram.
The latest idea could allow members to be paid for what is published.
US housing starts declined more than expected in March, while permits for future home construction slipped to a one-year low, indicating some cooling in the housing market in line with signs of a steep slowdown in economic activity in the first quarter. Housing starts plunged 8.8% from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.089 million in March, according to the Commerce Department. At the same time, new applications for building permits, a bellwether for forthcoming construction, dropped 7.7% to 1.086 million, from a revised February rate of 1.177 million. Demand for housing has been robust over the past year, with home prices up in many markets amid a shortage of inventory. Buyers could turn to new homes, which only account for about 10% of the overall housing market, as the supply of existing homes declines.
Intel, the US semiconductor giant, will cut 12,000 jobs worldwide by the middle of 2017, a quota equal to 11% of its workforce. The scissors kick is part of the restructuring plan, developed by the Santa Clara group to accelerate its transformation to a higher growth sectors, such as the cloud. The plan provides for the consolidation of the various subsidiaries, a combination of voluntary and mandatory exit and re-evaluation of certain programs. The restructuring plan is expected to generate savings of $ 1.4 billion a year when completed, of which 750 million this year. But immediately the plan will result in an extraordinary expenditure of about 1.2 billion which will weigh on second-quarter accounts.
Quarterly mixed results for Coca-Cola. The US giant of the most popular beverage in the world reported in the first three months of the year net income of $ 1.48 billion ($ 0.34 per share), down from 1.56 billion ($ 0.35 per share), in the corresponding period of 2015. Excluding exceptional items, net income amounted to $ 0.45 per share, above analyst estimates steady at $ 0.44. Slightly below expectations however the revenues were down 4% to 10.28 billion dollars (consensus 10.30 billion). For the entire 2016, Coca-Cola expects revenue growth of 4-5% and 4-6 percent growth in earnings per share on a constant-currency basis.
New York Fed President William Dudley said US economic environment is "mostly favourable", but the US central bank remains cautious in hiking interest rates as threats loom. Dudley reiterated he was confident that too-low inflation would climb to a 2% target over the next few years, with "economic conditions have finally warranted the start of U.S. monetary policy normalization." The policy maker repeated his view that the Fed should take a gradual and cautious approach to monetary policy tightening amid significant uncertainties and headwinds to growth stemming from the financial crisis, which have not fully abated.
US industrial production declined more than expected in March as output dropped broadly, the latest sign that economic growth faltered in the first quarter. Industrial output fell 0.6% last month following a downwardly revised 0.6% decrease in February, according to the Federal Reserve. Industrial production slipped at an annual rate of 2.2% in the first quarter. The report joined data on retail sales, business spending, trade and wholesale inventories in indicating that economic growth slowed at the turn of the year. Growth estimates for the first quarter are as low as a 0.2% annualized rate. The world’s number one economy grew at a 1.4% rate in the fourth quarter. However, given a strong labour market, the slowdown in growth is likely to be temporary.
US consumer prices climbed modestly in March for the first time in four months, meaning little urgency for the Fed to hike interest rates in the months to come. According to the Labor Department, its Consumer Price Index inched up 0.1% last month as a recovery in gasoline prices was partially offset by a decline in the cost of food. While the measure rose the most since November, it came in against economists’ expectations for a 0.2% gain. In the 12 months through March, the CPI increased 0.9% after rising 1.0% in February. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy costs, inched up 0.1%, the smallest since August and followed a 0.3% rise in February.
Panamanian authorities seized scores of digital files after a 27-hour raid on the offices of Mossack Fonseca, but officials said that no one was arrested. The government said it was seeking evidence of any illegal activities at the firm.
