The most important news from last week
Disney will close their Star Wars hotel
Walt Disney is set to close its Star Wars-themed luxury hotel in Orlando, known as the "Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser," in September, less than two years after its grand opening. The decision comes as Disney aims to cut costs across its entertainment and parks divisions. While the company did not provide a specific reason for the closure, CEO Bob Iger previously announced plans to reduce costs by 5.5 billion USD to improve the profitability of its streaming TV business.
Movement of Disney’s stocks in the last five years. (Source: Trading Economics) *
Meta announced AI training and chip project
Meta Platforms provided updates on its data centre projects aimed at enhancing artificial intelligence capabilities. In a series of blog posts, Meta revealed that it had internally developed a custom chip "family" as part of its Meta Training and Inference Accelerator (MTIA) program. The initial chip, created in 2020, was designed to improve efficiency in recommendation models used for delivering ads and other content in news feeds.
Toyota says there is not enough resources for EVs
Toyota's chief scientist, Gill Pratt, stated that battery electric vehicles (BEVs) alone cannot be the sole solution for addressing climate change in the automotive industry due to limited resources. He warned that an exclusive focus on BEVs could result in some drivers holding onto high-polluting vehicles. Toyota has faced criticism for its slower adoption of BEVs compared to companies like Tesla, but the automaker contends that hybrids offer a more practical alternative for certain markets and drivers.
Volkswagen completed a sale of Kaluga
Volkswagen has successfully sold its Kaluga production plant in Russia, along with its local subsidiaries, after resolving disputes with Russian authorities. The German carmaker announced that it has transferred its shares to Art-Finance LLC. The transaction encompasses the manufacturing facilities in Kaluga, the importer structure including distribution and after-sales operations, as well as warehousing and financial services activities, along with the associated workforce.
FDA backed Pfizer’s maternal RSV vaccine
A panel of advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expressed support for Pfizer's experimental vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), increasing the likelihood of it becoming the first maternal vaccine available to protect infants from the illness. The FDA advisory committee unanimously agreed that the available data demonstrated the vaccine's effectiveness in preventing lower respiratory tract infection and severe disease in infants up to 6 months of age.
Sources: CNBC, Reuters, Trading Economics
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