Amazon has been accused by the US of misleading people into signing up for Prime subscriptions that automatically renew and making it tough to cancel.

The allegations were made in a complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer rights watchdog.

It referred to purportedly “manipulative” internet layouts.

The claims were dismissed by Amazon, which referred to them as “false on the facts and the law.”

Over 200 million people worldwide are Prime subscribers. The programme costs $139 a year or $14.99 a month in the US and £95 a year in the UK. It includes shipping benefits, access to streaming films and other advantages.

According to the FTC, Amazon employed website layouts that pressured users to sign up for Prime and have their subscriptions renew automatically when they made purchases.

Because “those changes would also negatively affect Amazon’s bottom line”, the agency claimed in the complaint, which was filed in federal court in Seattle, the corporation tried to make it impossible for consumers to opt out of auto-enrolment.

The FTC said that Amazon subjected consumers who wanted to cancel to a lengthy “four-page, six-click, fifteen option” procedure that was internally referred to as “Iliad” in honour of the Greek classic about the “long, arduous Trojan War”.

The FTC claimed that while Amazon changing the cancellation process just before the lawsuit was filed, the company’s methods violated regulations meant to safeguard consumers.

According to FTC Chair Lina Khan, “Amazon tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent, frustrating users and costing them significant money.”

The FTC is requesting both a court order requiring Amazon to alter its practises and unspecified monetary penalties.

Amazon claimed that when the case was unexpectedly filed, it was in the middle of resolving the problems with the agency.

Customers adore Prime, and we intentionally make it easy and simple for them to join up for or cancel their membership, according to the business.

Online businesses have received many warnings from the FTC not to use “dark patterns” to trick customers.

Since 2021, it had been looking into the Amazon Prime scheme.

It said that the business had repeatedly tried to stall the investigation, including by failing to submit documents on time.

Insider Intelligence senior analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf claimed that the FTC was “making an example of Amazon” by doing this.

She noted that it was typical for businesses to make it more challenging to cancel an account than it is to open one.

vigourous policing

President Joe Biden selected Ms. Khan to her position, and she gained notoriety for criticising US competition law in relation to Amazon.

She has pledged to act more firmly to check internet sales and the influence of American IT corporations.

The case represents the third FTC action against Amazon in recent weeks.

In order to resolve allegations that it had broken child privacy regulations by retaining recordings made by kids on Alexa, the corporation agreed to pay $25 million last month.

It agreed to pay an additional $5.8 million to settle allegations that Ring, the doorbell business Amazon bought in 2018, had broken privacy laws by granting workers unlimited access to customer footage and failed to take security measures against hackers.

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Alibaba, a leading technology company in China, has revealed intentions to release Tongyi Qianwen, a ChatGPT-like artificial intelligence (AI) product.

The chatbot will be integrated throughout Alibaba’s businesses in the “near future,” according to its cloud computing section, which did not provide specifics on when this will happen.

Technology firms from all around the world have recently revealed their own “generative AI chatbots” in recent months.

Alibaba stated earlier this year that it was developing a ChatGPT competitor.

Although Alibaba has not provided an English translation of the name, Tongyi Qianwen loosely translates as “seeking an answer by asking a thousand questions.”

Tongyi Qianwen was introduced with a statement from Alibaba’s chairman and chief executive, Daniel Zhang, that “we are at a technological watershed moment driven by generative AI and cloud computing.”

Tongyi Qianwen, which can operate in both Chinese and English, will initially be added to DingTalk, Alibaba’s office messaging app, according to the business.

The company stated that it will carry out a variety of activities, including as recording meeting interactions into notes, composing emails, and creating business proposals.

Alibaba claimed that it would also be incorporated into Tmall Genie, a smart speaker with Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant.

Since the November release of ChatGPT by Microsoft-backed OpenAI, interest in generative AI has increased.

Generative AI has the capacity to learn from the past to produce content that is indistinguishable from that produced by humans.

Using the internet as it was in 2021 as its database, ChatGPT may replicate various writing styles and respond to questions in a manner that is natural and human-like.

The technology, on which Microsoft has spent billions of dollars, was included into its Bing search engine in February.

The US software behemoth also said that it would incorporate ChatGPT into its Office suite of programs, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

Both Chinese tech giant Baidu and Alphabet’s Google have made announcements about their own AI models and comparable chatbots.

China’s cyberspace authority issued drafted regulations for controlling generative AI on Tuesday.

According to the proposed regulations, businesses would be in charge of ensuring the reliability of the data used to train the technology, according to China’s Cyberspace Administration.

The general public has until May 10 to comment on the suggestions.

A group of prominent tech sector professionals demanded last month that training for potent AI systems be stopped out of concern for the safety of mankind.

Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, and Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, were among those to sign an open letter warning of potential dangers and claiming that the race to develop AI systems is out of control.

A recent analysis from the investment bank Goldman Sachs claimed that 300 million full-time jobs might be replaced by AI.

Early this month, Italy became the first Western country to block ChatGPT, citing privacy concerns from the nation’s data protection body.

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McDonald’s also asked employees to cancel all in-person meetings with vendors and other outside parties at its headquarters.

McDonald’s Corp. is temporarily closing its U.S. offices this week as it prepares to notify corporate employees of layoffs as part of a larger company restructuring, according to the Wall Street Journal on Sunday.

According to the report, McDonald’s asked U.S. employees and some international staff to work from home from Monday to Wednesday so that it could make staffing decisions virtually. It is unknown how many employees will be laid off.

“During the week of April 3, we will communicate key decisions related to roles and staffing levels across the organisation,” the Chicago-based company said in a message obtained by the Journal.

Also read: McDonald’s may lay off employees; ‘key announcements’ due by April 3

According to the report, McDonald’s has also asked employees to cancel all in-person meetings with vendors and other outside parties at its headquarters.

McDonald’s did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

The fast-food company announced in January that it would review corporate staffing levels as part of an updated business strategy, which could result in layoffs in some areas and expansion in others.

McDonald’s is expected to begin making major announcements on Monday.

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Reliance Industries’ shares rose nearly 5% to Rs 2,343 in Friday’s BSE trade after the company called for a meeting of creditors and shareholders to begin the process of demerging its financial services business.

On May 2, 2023, a meeting of Reliance Industries’ creditors and shareholders will be held to consider and approve the proposed scheme of arrangement between Reliance Industries and Reliance Strategic Investments (RSIL). Reliance Strategic Investments will be renamed Jio Financial Services following the demerger.

Reliance Industries shareholders will receive one share of the demerged entity for every one share held in the company.

Reliance Industries, led by Mukesh Ambani, announced last year the separation of its financial services business into a separate entity and subsequent listing on stock exchanges. The demerger will be accomplished through a share-swap agreement. RIL shareholders will receive one share of Jio Financial Services for every share they own.

As of March 31, 2022, the financial services business had a turnover of Rs 1,387 crore. The new company’s non-executive chairman would be KV Kamath.

Jio Financial Services plans to launch a consumer and merchant lending business to complement and supplement the traditional credit bureau-based underwriting.

Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Limited, Reliance Payment Solutions Limited, Jio Payments Bank Limited, Reliance Retail Finance Limited, Jio Information Aggregator Services Limited, and Reliance Retail Insurance Broking Limited are all part of Reliance’s financial services business.

“Further growth and expansion of the Financial Services Business would require a differentiated strategy aligned to its industry-specific risks, market dynamics, and growth trajectory.” The nature and competition involved in the financial services business is distinct from the other businesses, and it is capable of attracting a different set of investors, strategic partners, and customers.

Reliance Industries had also said that the creation of an independent company focusing exclusively on financial services can help “attract different sets of investors, strategic partners, lenders and other stakeholders having a specific interest in the financial services business; a financial services company can have a higher leverage (as compared to the demerged company) for its growth; and unlocking the value of the demerged undertaking for the shareholders of the demerged company.”

JM Financial, a brokerage firm, reiterated its Buy rating on the oil-to-telecom behemoth, with a target price of Rs 2,900. This implies a potential upside of 26% from current market prices.

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through a private placement on Thursday in an exchange filing. The Committee of Directors approved 28,500 senior, secured, rated, listed, redeemable NCDs with a fixed coupon of 8.30% of face value Rs 1,00,000 each.

The NCDs will be listed on the BSE Limited’s Wholesale Debt Market Segment. The NCDs will have a three-year maturity date of March 23, 2026. The first coupon will be paid on March 23, 2024, the second on March 23, 2025, and the final on March 23, 2026.

Shares of Mahindra Finance

At 2:19 p.m. IST on Thursday, Mahindra Finance Services Limited’s shares were trading at Rs 231.20, up 0.33 percent.

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Clean Science & Technology is rated neutral by Motilal Oswal Financial Services, with a target price of Rs 1345. Clean Science & Technology is currently trading at Rs 1365.6.

Clean Science & Technology, founded in 2003, is a Small Cap company (with a market cap of Rs 14473.27 Crore) in the Chemicals sector.

For the fiscal year ending 31-Mar-2022, Clean Science & Technology’s key products/revenue segments include speciality chemicals, export incentives, electricity, and scrap.

Financials For the quarter ended 31-12-2022, the company reported a Consolidated Total Income of Rs 249.91 Crore, a decrease of -.16% from the previous quarter Total Income of Rs 250.31 Crore and an increase of 32.74% from the same quarter last year Total Income of Rs 188.27 Crore. In the most recent quarter, the company reported a net profit after tax of Rs 83.79 crore.

Mr.Pradeep Ramwilas Rathi, Mr.Ashok Ramnarayan Boob, Mr.Siddhartha Ashok Sikchi, Mr.Krishnakumar Ramnaray Boob, Mr.Sanjay Kothari, Mr.Ganapati Dadasaheb Yadav, Mr.Keval Navinchandra Doshi, Ms.Madhu Dubhashi. BSR & Co. LLP serves as the company’s auditors. The company had 11 crore shares outstanding as of December 31, 2022.

Justification for Investment
Continuing its R&D pursuit, the company has entered the HALS series (estimated global market size of USD1 billion), becoming the first company in India to develop the HALS series, as well as other new products in its R&D pipeline. The company is also expected to generate FCF of INR4.8b over FY23-25, with a capex of INR4.8b planned. It will remain net cash positive by funding this capex with internal accruals.

FII/Promoter Holdings
As of December 31, 2022, promoters owned 78.5 percent of the company, while FIIs owned 3.99 percent and DIIs owned 4.65 percent.

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Individual taxpayers have a deadline of July 31 each year for filing ITR, while businesses and other entities have deadlines that vary depending on their category.
If their returns are filed after the due date, they face penalties ranging from Rs.1,000 to Rs.10,000.

ITRs are forms used to declare net tax liability, claim tax deductions, and report gross taxable income. Individuals and entities whose income exceeds the Income Tax Department’s exemption limit must file an ITR. When applying for loans, visas, or other financial transactions, it is also used as proof of income.

Firms or corporations, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs), and self-employed or salaried individuals are all required by the Income Tax Department of India to file an ITR. Individual taxpayers have a deadline of July 31 each year, while businesses and other entities have different deadlines based on their category.

The following points should be kept in mind when filing income tax return forms:

• Determine the appropriate ITR form (from ITR-1 to ITR-7).
• Verify that the details in the pre-filled data, such as PAN, address, e-mail address, bank account information, and so on, are correct.
• Use AIS and Form 26AS to calculate the actual TDS/TCS/tax paid. If you notice a discrepancy, talk to your employer/tax deductor/bank about it.
• Gather and thoroughly examine the documents you will need to file your ITR, such as bank statements/passbooks, interest certificates, receipts to claim exemptions or deductions, Form 16, Form 26AS (Annual Information Statement), investment proofs, and so on.
• Include in the return all pertinent information such as total income, deductions (if any), interest (if any), taxes paid/collected (if any), and so on.
• Submit your ITR by the due date.
• The return of income can be filed once all of the details in it have been filled out and confirmed.
• After filing electronically, e-verify the return.

How Can I Check the Status of My Tax Return?
The status of the Income Tax Return can be found on the official website of the Income Tax Department of India. To check the status, you must enter your Permanent Account Number and password. Send a signed physical copy of the ITR-V Acknowledgement if you want to manually verify your return (by speed post).

Penalty for failing to file an ITR
Penalties apply if the returns are not filed by the due date. In addition to penalties, the individual may face additional inconveniences and consequences. If their returns are filed after the due date, they face penalties ranging from Rs.1,000 to Rs.10,000.

Documents needed to file an ITR
Form 26AS – Pan card – Forms 16A, 16B, and 16C

• Pay stubs – Bank statements
• Certificates of interest
• TDS certificate – Evidence of tax-saving investments.

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The Australian share market has recovered slightly from yesterday’s heavy losses, while the Australian Energy Regulator has revealed that power prices in several states will rise by around 20%.

Wall Street recovered overnight as largely on-target inflation data and fading fears of banking sector contagion calmed investors’ nerves.

On our live blog, you can follow the trading day as it happens.

The Australian share market has finished trading with solid gains, essentially mirroring Wall Street’s relief rally.

The ASX 200 finished 0.9% higher, at 7,068 points.

PEXA (+6.4%), Link Administration (+6%), Xero (+4%), and Block (+3.9%) were among today’s best-performing stocks, as were coal miners Coronado Global Resources (+5.4%) and Whitehaven Coal (+3.7%).

On the other hand, miners such as Evolution Mining (-3.2%) and Chalice Mining (-1.8%), as well as Domino’s Pizza (-1.7%), Allkem (-1.5%), and Imugene (-4%), were among the worst performers.

Investors re-entered the stock market as concerns about banking sector contagion abated (following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank last week).

Investors were also relieved after the US inflation report for February, released on Tuesday (local time), showed consumer prices rising by 0.4% (a 6% year-on-year increase).

Rate hike bets in the United States
This was consistent with analyst expectations, as there were concerns that stronger-than-expected data would prompt the Fed to pursue jumbo-sized (50 basis point) hikes to combat inflation.

Markets were bracing for the return of large Fed hikes as recently as last week, but the rapid collapse of SVB has changed those expectations, with the market pricing in an 80% chance of a 25 basis point hike next week.

The US bond market has recovered from its recent slump.
Following sharp declines at the start of the week, US Treasury yields extended their gains into Asia-Pacific trading hours.

The 10-year Treasury note yield rose 3.8 basis points to 3.674%.

The two-year US Treasury yield, which typically moves in lockstep with interest rate expectations, rose 6.9 basis points to 4.294% (still well below last week’s peak of 5.084%).

This was an improvement from yesterday, when the US two-year bond yield fell by the most in three days since 1987 (as investors fled to safety in the aftermath of Silicon Valley Bank’s failure).

China’s data lifted the Australian dollar, confirming economic recovery.

By 3:10pm AEDT, the Australian dollar had risen 0.2% to 66.95 US cents.

It had risen as high as 67.1 US cents earlier today before falling slightly.

The boost came after China released its most recent data, which confirmed that the country’s economy was recovering from the effects of prolonged COVID lockdowns.

Retail sales increased 3.5% year on year in the first two months, reversing a 1.8% annual decline in December. The outcome was consistent with analysts’ expectations.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that industrial output was 2.4% higher in January-February than the previous year. (This was slightly below expectations for a 2.6% gain, according to a Reuters economist poll).

However, despite a slew of supportive government policies, property investment fell again in January-February as home buyers and developers remained cautious.

This mixed data showed an uneven recovery in economic activity following China’s abrupt abandonment of its three-year-long campaign to control COVID-19 late last year.

It indicated “consistent rather than accelerating momentum,” according to Zhou Hao, chief economist at Guotai Junan International. It indicated that strong policy support was required to unlock the potential for growth, he said.

OpenAI is about to release a new AI model.

OpenAI, a startup tech company, has announced that it will begin to release a powerful artificial intelligence model known as GPT-4, paving the way for more competition between Microsoft and Alphabet’s Google.

OpenAI, the company behind the chatbot sensation ChatGPT, stated in a blog post that its latest technology was “multimodal,” implying that it could generate content in response to both image and text prompts.

The text-input feature will be available with a waitlist to ChatGPT Plus subscribers and software developers, while the image-input capability will remain a preview of its research.

The EPA’s concerns about Woodside’s emissions timeline

West Australia’s environmental watchdog is concerned that a major petrol plant in the Pilbara will not reduce its carbon dioxide emissions quickly enough to contribute to the global effort to limit global warming.

The Environmental Protection Authority has expressed concern that Woodside’s Pluto Liquid Natural Gas facility (on the Burrup Peninsula, approximately 1,500 kilometres north of Perth) is only making minor reductions to its proposed emissions between 2030 and 2050.

The regulator also states that there is a “urgent” need for an investigation into imposing conditions on the facility to ensure that its emissions do not hasten the weathering of World-Heritage-listed rock art on the peninsula.

On Monday, the EPA issued a report outlining its concerns about how quickly Woodside would reduce emissions at Pluto and the five-year targets it set to meet milestones.

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Retail inflation is expected to be 6.5 percent in 2022-23, with 5.7 percent in the January-December quarter.

According to government data released on Monday, retail inflation fell marginally to 6.44 percent in February, owing primarily to a slight decrease in food and fuel prices.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate was 6.52 percent in January and 6.07 percent in February 2022.

In February, the food basket inflation rate was 5.95 percent, down from 6 percent in January.

Retail inflation has remained above the RBI’s upper tolerance level of 6% since January 2022, with the exception of November and December 2022.

Retail inflation is expected to be 6.5 percent in 2022-23, with 5.7 percent in the January-December quarter.

The government has mandated the central bank to maintain retail inflation at 4% with a 2% margin of error on either side.

To keep rising prices in check, the RBI has raised interest rates by 250 basis points since May of last year. The most recent rate increase, of 25 basis points in February, raised the benchmark policy rate to 6.50 percent.

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“Mohit Joshi joins Tech Mahindra from Infosys, where he is currently President,” the company said in a statement. Joshi received his MBA from Delhi University. He graduated from St. Stephen’s College in Delhi with a bachelor’s degree in history.

On Saturday, Tech Mahindra named former Infosys President Mohit Joshi as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), according to a regulatory filing. Joshi will succeed C P Gurnani, who will retire on December 19.

“The appointment of Mr. Mohit Joshi as Managing Director (Designate) of the Company effective from his date of joining the Company until December 19, 2023,” the company said in a statement.

“Mohit Joshi joins Tech Mahindra from Infosys, where he is President. “Mohit has over two decades of experience in the Enterprise technology software and consulting space, and has worked with the world’s largest corporations to drive digital transformation and build thriving businesses,” the company added.

ALSO READ: Narayana Murthy of Infosys on India’s work culture, favouritism, and some advice…

Who exactly is Mohit Joshi? 5 stars

1. According to the company website, Mohit Joshi was in charge of the Financial Services and Healthcare/Life Sciences businesses at Infosys.
2. He has held various positions at Infosys since joining in 2000. He was also the chairman of Edgeverve Systems Ltd., where he oversaw the software division, which included Finacle, Infosys’ global banking platform.
3. Joshi attended Delhi University and earned an MBA. He graduated from St. Stephen’s College in Delhi with a bachelor’s degree in history.
4. He previously worked in corporate and investment banking for ANZ Grindlays and ABN AMRO.
5. Mohit Joshi is the Vice Chair of the Confederation of British Industry’s Economic Growth Board and a member of the Young Presidents Organization.

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