Google is reconsidering its return-to-office plans again, saying that its US employees won’t have to adopt a hybrid work model come January 10th, as was previously indicated. A Google spokesperson told The Verge that the company’s current plan is to hold off on coming up with new plans until next year, with decisions regarding timelines still being left up to local offices. The company has changed its return to work plans several times as the pandemic evolved. In August, when the… Source link

Stock futures opened higher Thursday evening to hold gains after a recovery rally, with an initial wave of concerns over the economic impacts of the Omicron variant at least temporarily easing. Contracts on the S&P 500 advanced. The blue-chip index closed higher by 1.4% during the regular session, marking its biggest jump since Oct. 14 Thursday. The Dow and Nasdaq each also advanced. Volatility from earlier this week retreated, and the CBOE Volatility index (^VIX) dipped 10% to below 28. And… Source link

Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks during the Google I/O keynote session at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California on May 7, 2019. Josh Edelson | AFP | Getty Images Google will not be returning to offices as expected on Jan. 10 after all, according to a companywide email sent Thursday that CNBC has seen. The company’s security VP, Chris Rackow, stated in the email to employees that it will wait until the new year to assess when U.S. offices can safely return to its “stable, long-term… Source link

A man walks past a logo of Alphabet Inc’s Google in front of at an office building in Zurich, Switzerland July 1, 2020. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann Register now for FREE unlimited access to reuters.com Register Dec 2 (Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google is delaying its return-to-office plan in Europe, the Middle East and Africa on concerns over the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, Business Insider reported on Thursday, citing a company memo. Google had previously extended its voluntary… Source link

One month ago, gas prices—up 50% during the last year—were looking like the bane of Joe Biden’s presidency. Then three things happened: Combined, these developments have shaved oil prices by more than 20% since late October. Gas prices haven’t yet fallen by the same amount, but they most likely will. Gas prices lag oil prices whether going up or down, but only by a few weeks, as the following chart shows. So gas prices should be dropping by the end of the year. There’s already been a… Source link

Oil prices dropped more than 4% before rebounding on Thursday after OPEC+ announced it would continue its supply hike of 400,000 barrels per day per month, despite the threat of Omicron variant cases. Oil analysts had been split on whether the cartel would hold steady with its output hike or pause it amid uncertainty about demand given the threat of the new variant.  West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude (CL=F) touched $63 a barrel shortly after 9 a.m. ET. By 2 p.m. in the afternoon, future… Source link

Google is finally making its own in-house smartwatch that’s set to launch in 2022, according to a person familiar with the matter and a new report from Insider. While Google has made its own smartphones for years under the Pixel line (which has since extended to other accessories, like wireless headphones), the company has never designed its own smartwatch, despite the fact that Google has had a companion wearable platform for Android since 2014. The watch is being worked on by… Source link

Fresh weakness in Apple’s stock may offer a rare buying opportunity into the iPhone maker, says one money manager.  “We actually like Apple, and we are adding to our position,” said Victoria Fernandez, Crossmark Global Investments chief markets strategist, on Yahoo Finance Live, adding Apple’s fundamentals are “strong.” Traders are taking the other side of that call on Thursday. Apple’s stock fell more than 3% Thursday on a report from Bloomberg that the tech giant was indicating to component… Source link

It was a big day for Polestar in New York City today at the company’s investor day, where it unveiled a number of new initiatives. First and foremost, the company unveiled its 3-year business plan, in which the pure-play electric-vehicle (EV) maker is going to have 5 current and future models out in the global market by 2024. The exclusive Polestar 1 plug-in hybrid and Polestar 2 EV are already out, but Polestar also confirmed the Precept concept will now be called the Polestar 5, a… Source link

The stock market has been hit with a double whammy of unsavory news, explains Charles Schwab Chief Investment Officer Liz Ann Sonders. “I think at this stage in the economic cycle and the market cycle, the move from very loose policy to tighter policy has been a factor in the volatility [we are seeing]. You add that to an environment where we started to see a tremendous amount of speculative froth and then add to that Omicron [concerns], you get the double whammy catalysts that sometimes can… Source link