Roundup – Musk’s Twitter trial delay woe and Crypto dip

Elon Musk attempt to delay Twitter trial denied

Elon Musk and Twitter bump heads yet again as Musk’s attempt to delay trial over pulling out of Twitter acquisition is denied. The decision follows a hearing this week where Musk’s attorneys requested a ‘meager’ few weeks to review new documents with claims made by former Twitter security chief Peiter Zatko ahead of the trial’s October 17^th start date. Twitter has since accused Musk of trying to drag out the trial and “sow chaos” with more document requests.

Musk initially said he aborted the Twitter deal because the social media has a far larger number of bots on the platform than he expected, but upon discovering the new Zatko documents, it’s likely that he will argue that Twitter concealed “material adverse effects” potentially beyond the scope of bots at the trial instead.

https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/7/23339673/musk-twitter-trial-delay-request-denied-whistleblower-claims-granted

Crypto market dips below $1 trillion

Bitcoin nears its lowest price of 2022 this week, falling to as low as $18,620 and marking its second-lowest price this year. Other Cryptocurrencies such as Ether also saw their prices drop, causing the global cryptocurrency market to fall below the $1 trillion mark.

The market dropped below $1 trillion when the collapse of cryptocurrency TerraUSD in May, it saw a short resurgence but has since fallen back down. While there are many reasons behind crypto’s struggle, it’s thought that surging interest rates are having the biggest effect on cryptocurrencies.

https://www.techspot.com/news/95892-cryptocurrency-market-dips-below-1-trillion-bitcoin-nears.html

US bans ‘advanced tech’ firms from building facilities in China for a decade

US technology firms that receive government funding will be banned from building “advanced technology facilities” in China for the next 10 years, the Biden administration has announced, as it plans to increase domestic production of semiconductors.

The US government has set out a near $53 billion plan to scale up manufacturing of semiconductor chips – which are predominantly produced in Asia. The US Chips and Science Act, approved by Congress in August, is part of the US’s response to a long-running technological dispute between Washington and Beijing, as US firms demand more government support to reduce reliance on components produced in Chinese factories.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/sep/07/us-bans-advanced-tech-firms-from-building-facilities-in-china-for-a-decade

Apple unveils new iPhones and Apple Watches

Apple’s annual launch event saw the debuting of the new iPhone 14 (as well as iPhone 14 Plus, Pro, and Pro Max), alongside new AirPod Pros and a collection of new Apple Watches, including the new Apple Watch Series 8 models, the Apple Watch Ultra,  and a revamped version of the Apple Watch SE.

The iPhone 14’s headline upgrades include a new 12 megapixel camera for the basic iPhone 14, a 48 megapixel camera for the Pro, improved battery life all round, and the US iPhone 14s will not use a SIM card tray and instead rely on eSIMS only.

The iPhone 14s and new Apple Watches also have new safety features which include crash detection, and a satellite-based ‘Emergency SOS’ which can contact emergency services as needed.

The phones will be available in colours midnight, starlight, blue, purple, and product red. Prices for the basic iPhone 14 start from $799 and will be available on September the 16^th. The rest of the Phones start from $899 and will be available on October 7^th.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/07/apple-event-live-updates-iphone.html