Uber's sales growing faster than losses
SAN FRANCISCO -- Uber Technologies Inc. isn't required to report its finances publicly, but the privately held company has decided to forgo that luxury for the first time. Uber said its revenue growth is outpacing losses.
The ride-hailing giant more than doubled gross bookings in 2016 to $20 billion, according to financial information Uber shared with Bloomberg. Net revenue was $6.5 billion, while adjusted net losses were $2.8 billion, excluding the China business, which it sold last summer.
Uber declined to report first-quarter numbers, saying they were in line with expectations but that the company hasn't yet presented them to investors.
The company said it's pleased to see revenue growth far exceeding losses last year and that its business is still performing well this year.
In recent months, Uber has seen an exodus of top executives as it investigates claims of sexual harassment and a toxic work culture. Uber is facing a lawsuit over self-driving car technology from Alphabet Inc.'s Waymo, backtracked on a program called Greyball that was used to identify regulators and deceive government officials, and apologized after its chief executive officer was videotaped arguing with a driver.
-- Bloomberg News
Tesla seeks directors not tied to Musk
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Tesla said it's searching for independent directors after an influential group of investors pressured the electric-car maker's board to add two members who don't have ties to Elon Musk.
Five of Musk's six fellow board members have personal or professional connections to the Tesla chief executive officer, which could jeopardize their independence, the California State Teachers' Retirement System and four other investors wrote in a letter last week to Tesla's lead independent director. The managers of a combined $721 billion in assets also pushed for yearly director elections, rather than votes staggered every three years.
"Directors should be held to a higher standard of independence given the conflicts of interest that permeate this board," the letter to Tesla director Antonio Gracias said.
Pressure to strengthen management oversight is rising as Tesla's market value climbs and rivals some of the world's biggest automakers.
-- Bloomberg News
Facebook tackles Germany's fake news
BERLIN -- Facebook published full-page ads in Germany's biggest newspapers advising readers on how to detect fake news, after Angela Merkel's government pressured the company to do more to combat such content on its network.
The ads, which were printed last week by dailies including the mass-selling tabloid Bild as well as South German Newspaper and Axel Springer's The World, contains 10 tips for how users can identify news as fake.
Merkel's governing coalition has been upping the pressure on social networks to curb the spread of fake news and malicious posts ahead of Germany's federal election on Sept. 24. Her Cabinet this month backed a bill that threatens social networks with fines of as much as $53 million if they fail to give users the option to complain about hate speech and fake news, or refuse to remove illegal content.
The ad's tips, which include advice on scrutinizing the headline and the source's Internet address, and to look for other stories on the same topic, are also being pushed to Facebook's more than 29 million users in Germany, said Klaus Gorny, a spokesman for the company. He declined to comment on the budget for the ads.
-- Bloomberg News
Uber's top PR official announces exit
NEW YORK -- Uber's head of communications is leaving, the latest in a string of executive departures for the ride-hailing company.
In a memo to employees, Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick called Rachel Whetstone a "force of nature" who was "was way ahead of the game when it came to many of the changes we needed to make as a company."
Whetstone, who joined Uber in 2015 after a decade at Google, did not give a reason for her departure. Her deputy, Jill Hazelbaker, is replacing her.
"I am incredibly proud of the team that we've built -- and that just as when I left Google, a strong and brilliant woman will be taking my place," Whetstone said in a statement.
Uber President Jeff Jones quit the company last month. A top engineering executive, Amit Singhal, also resigned earlier this year, as did Ed Baker, Uber's vice president of product and growth, and Charlie Miller, Uber's top security researcher.
-- The Associated Press
Germany's solar manufacturers upbeat
BERLIN -- Germany's solar industry's business climate improved the most this decade as consumers increase purchases of cheaper rooftop systems and batteries, a quarterly survey shows.
The German Solar Industry Association's business climate index rose in the first quarter to the highest since 2010 in a sign that companies are confident of boosting sales this year, the Berlin-based group said last week. BSW contacted 77 companies active in all parts of the industry from March 20 to March 31.
Prices for rooftop solar panels and batteries in Germany are falling faster than payments made in the nation's feed-in-tariff program. The government this year preserved so-called feed-in tariffs, or guaranteed payments for small clean power units, after introducing auctions for utility-scale projects.
Retail consumers can install high-quality solar systems on their roofs and link to subsidized batteries for a few thousand dollars after unit prices dropped by 70 percent in a decade, said Carsten Koernig, the association's managing director.
-- Bloomberg News
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