Catch up on the weekend’s top five stories with this list compiled by The Fly:
1. Google (GOOG) is reducing the amount of revenue it keeps when customers buy software from other vendors on its cloud marketplace, as the top tech companies face increasing pressure to lower their so-called take rates, CNBC’s Jordan Novet reported. The Google Cloud Platform is cutting its percentage revenue share to 3% from 20%, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not be named in order to talk about internal policies.
2. Polestar is nearing a deal to go public through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company that would value the Swedish electric-vehicle maker at $21 billion, The Wall Street Journal’s Cara Lombardo reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Polestar, owned by Chinese car maker Zhejiang Geely, is in advanced talks with Gores Guggenheim (GGPI) and could reach a deal by Monday, the people said. Polestar focuses on high-performance electric cars, positioning itself as a rival to Tesla (TSLA) and Lucid (LCID). Zhejiang Geely is controlled by its billionaire chairman and founder Li Shufu. It owns Geely Automobile (GELYF), Volvo Car Group and several other electric-vehicle brands, the author noted.
3. In television, the dongle is dead, and set makers are suddenly gaining show-business swagger. Stock buyers should consider newly public Vizio, which completed “upfront” advertising negotiations with more than $100 million in commitments, up fourfold from last year, Jack Hough wrote in this week’s edition of Barron’s. Cheap, small devices like the Amazon Fire Stick (AMZN) or Google Chromecast, along with Apple TV (AAPL) set-top boxes, gave old sets sleek operating systems and provided access to Netflix (NFLX) and more, but that’s changing, the author notes. Only 7% of time spent watching a Vizio (VZIO) set isn’t spent on Vizio’s own operating system. Dongles are out, in other words, the publication says.
4. Disney’s (DIS) “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” remained atop the box office charts in its fourth weekend, earning another $13.3M as it became the top-grossing pic of the pandemic era in North America. The movie finished Sunday with a domestic gross of $196.5M and $166.9M overseas for a global total of $363.4M. “Shang-Chi” sports an A Cinemascore and unlike fellow Marvel Studios pic “Black Widow,” it has an exclusive 45-day theatrical release.
5. Scotts Miracle-Gro (SMG), Li-Cycle (LICY), and Volkswagen (VWAGY) saw positive mentions in this week’s edition of Barron’s.