TikTok’s journey from social star to Trump target

Microsoft faces tech challenges in TikTok move

Microsoft Corp's bid to carve out parts of TikTok from its Chinese owner ByteDance will be a technically complex endeavor that could test the patience of President Donald Trump's administration, according to sources familiar with the setup. Francis Maguire reports.

Trump Signs Executive Order That Will Effectively Ban TikTok in the US

China-based company ByteDance is the parent company of TikTok.

US Stocks Close Mixed

Reuters US equities closed mixed on Friday as traders weighed escalating US-China tensions against rosy labor-market data. President Donald Trump issued executive orders Thursday afternoon targeting TikTok-owner ByteDance and WeChat-owner Tencent. The orders ban US transactions with the apps in 45 days. The US on Friday placed sanctions on 11 Chinese officials and their counterparts in Hong Kong. On the economic data front, the US added 1.8 million jobs in July.

Democrats eye elusive presidential prize: Texas

[NFA] For the first time in 25 years a Democratic presidential candidate is running TV ads specifically targeting Texas, and Democrats say even a small investment in the Lone Star state could boost down-ballot contests and force Republicans to shift resources from other battlegrounds. This report produced by Zachary Goelman.

US election: Trump still trailing Biden by five points

A look at the seven-day rolling average of the approval rating of USPresidential candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump, courtesy ofRealClearPolitics.

U.S. health chief offers Taiwan 'strong' support

U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar offered President Donald Trump's strong support for democratic Taiwan on Monday, telling President Tsai Ing-wen that her government's response to the coronavirus pandemic had been among the world's best. Gloria Tso reports.

Trim exposure to Apple, Microsoft: strategist

Crossmark Global Investments' Victoria Fernandez is still bullish about tech stocks, but she says investors should take some profits on the big names. She tells Reuters' Fred Katayama investors should put the proceeds into Walmart, McCormick and JPMorgan Chase.

Microsoft joins hands with Samsung for special Xbox Game Pass on Android

With the launch of Samsung's new Galaxy Note 20 handset, the company has unveiled a unique Xbox Game Pass partnership. The tech company Microsoft has joined hands with Samsung to include a special version of the Xbox Game Pass app in Samsung's Galaxy Store. According to The Verge, this version will allow Xbox players to redeem tokens and make in-app purchases like buying skins or DLC items in the Xbox Store.The Xbox Game Pass app available on the Google Play Store will not support these types of in-app purchases. The special deal between Samsung and Microsoft likely undercuts the 30 per cent Google asks for, to enable them exclusively for the Galaxy Store version. The deal comes just as rumours suggest Google is trying to convince Samsung to promote its own Play Store over Samsung's alternative.The verge reported that alongside this Xbox Game Pass app, Samsung also offered agaming bundle for the Galaxy Note 20 that includes three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PowerA's MOGA XP5-X Plus. The controller is made with the game streaming (xCloud) part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in mind, and it can keep the user's phone charged while playing the game.Microsoft and Samsung's latest Xbox Game Pass partnership builds on the growing deal the two companies first revealed last year. Microsoft and Samsung partnered to bridge Android and Windows closer together with the Galaxy Note 10 last year, and they announced an xCloud partnership earlier this year. The Note 20 is the first device to take advantage of this closer Xbox Game Pass integration, and it is also assumed that Microsoft's ambitions to bring xCloud to TVs will likely involve Samsung at some point in the future.