TECHNOLOGY
Microsoft pulls back on data centers from Chicago to Jakarta
Microsoft Corp. has pulled back on data center projects around the world, suggesting the company is taking a harder look at its plans to build the server farms powering artificial intelligence and the cloud. The software company has recently halted talks for, or delayed development of, sites in Indonesia, the UK, Australia, Illinois, North Dakota, and Wisconsin, according to people familiar with the situation. Microsoft is widely seen as a leader in commercializing AI services, largely thanks to its close partnership with OpenAI. Investors closely track Microsoft’s spending plans to get a sense of long-term customer demand for cloud and AI services. It’s hard to know how much of the company’s data center pullback reflects expectations of diminished demand versus temporary construction challenges, such as shortages of power and building materials. Some investors have interpreted signs of retrenchment as an indication that projected purchases of AI services don’t justify Microsoft’s massive outlays on server farms. Those concerns have weighed on global tech stocks in recent weeks, particularly chipmakers like Nvidia Corp. which suck up a significant share of data center budgets. Microsoft acknowledged making changes to its data center plans but declined to discuss most of the projects. “We plan our data center capacity needs years in advance to ensure we have sufficient infrastructure in the right places,” a spokesperson said. “As AI demand continues to grow, and our data center presence continues to expand, the changes we have made demonstrates the flexibility of our strategy.” — BLOOMBERG NEWS
MEDIA
Canadian newsprint exempted from Trump’s new tariffs
President Trump’s sweeping new tariffs that are roiling financial markets do not include Canadian newsprint, which had the potential to cripple many New England newspapers. The new round of tariffs did not affect a previous round that had been imposed on some Canadian and Mexican goods, which excluded newsprint and other goods that are compliant with an existing trade agreement between those two countries and the United States. Tariffs on those compliant goods were initially implemented in March and expected to be enacted on Wednesday, but were ultimately excluded from the new tariffs. The News/Media Alliance, an organization that advocates on behalf of newspapers and magazines, sent a note on Wednesday informing members of the exemption. The group has been advocating against the tariffs and will continue to monitor any new developments, said Holly Lubart, the organization’s vice president of government affairs. Some publishing companies had been stockpiling newsprint and warning customers of print cost increases. Jim Falzone, publisher of North of Boston Media Group, said the company would now not raise printing costs by the 10 to 16 percent they had projected to customers if the tariffs were enacted. “Hearing there would be no tariffs on newsprint was a pleasant surprise,” he said. “Probably now more than ever, it’s important to keep our communities informed of local news and how federal decisions may affect our communities.” — AIDAN RYAN
ENTERTAINMENT
MTV Video Music Awards head to CBS for the first time
The MTV Video Music Awards have a new home: This year, the music award show will be broadcast by CBS for the first time, organizers announced Thursday. The three-hour show will broadcast live on CBS on Sunday, Sept. 7, from the UBS Arena just outside New York City. It will also simulcast on MTV and be available to stream on Paramount+, the platforms that aired last year’s show. A one-hour, live pre-show will air across Paramount Media Networks. CBS is home to a number of award shows, including the Tony Awards and the American Music Awards. It has aired the Grammys since 1973, though that show will head to ABC in 2027. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
ECONOMY
Fewer Americans file for jobless benefits last week as labor market continues to show strength
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell modestly last week, remaining within the same range of recent years. Jobless claim filings fell by 6,000 to 219,000 for the week ending March 29, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s less than the 226,000 new applications analysts forecast. Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs, and have remained mostly in a range between 200,000 and 250,000 for the past few years. However, following the Trump administration’s announcement of widespread tariff hikes yesterday, economists are worried about a global economic slowdown that could upend what has been an incredibly resilient labor market. Like his pledge to institute tariffs, Trump’s promise to drastically downsize the federal government workforce is fully in motion. It’s not clear when the job cuts ordered by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, will surface in the weekly layoffs data, but some economists have suggested they could show up in the Labor Department’s March jobs report, which comes out Friday. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
LEADERSHIP
Radhika Jones, Vanity Fair’s top editor, steps down
Radhika Jones, the editor of Vanity Fair since 2017, said Thursday she would step down after seven years of leading the magazine. Jones, 52, said in an email to Vanity Fair’s staff that she was leaving to take on new challenges, adding that she didn’t want to experience the “horror of staying too long at the party.” “I began to feel, more powerfully, the pull of new goals in my life, around family and friends and writing and other ways to make an impact,” Jones wrote. Jones said in her email that her last day would be in the spring. Anna Wintour, the chief content officer of Condé Nast, the publisher of Vanity Fair, told staff Thursday that Jones would help with the transition “as we start the search for a new editor.” “We look forward to Vanity Fair’s exciting next chapter,” Wintour said. Jones is leaving one of journalism’s top jobs at a time of profound disruption for the magazine business. Although many magazines have been shuttered or sold over the last decades, as advertising pages shrank, Vanity Fair has held on as a staple of Condé Nast, which also publishes Vogue and The New Yorker. Jones started the job in December 2017, succeeding Graydon Carter, who retired that year after 25 years at the helm. Jones was something of a surprise choice to replace Carter. A former editorial director of the books department at The New York Times and a former top editor at Time magazine, Jones was picked for the top job over many of Carter’s top lieutenants. — NEW YORK TIMES
GROCERY
Bodega cats make New Yorkers’ hearts purr, even if they violate state regulations
New York City’s “bodega cats” are beloved fixtures in the Big Apple — but they’re on the wrong side of the law. The convenience store cats that live at many of the city’s bodegas and delis look innocent enough, spending their days lounging in sun-soaked storefronts or slinking between shelves of snack foods as they collect friendly pets from customers. Officially, though, state law bars most animals from stores that sell food, with bodega owners potentially facing fines if their tabby is caught curling up near the tins of tuna and toilet paper. The pets’ precarious legal position recently came into the spotlight again when a petition circulated online that advocated for the city to shield bodega cat owners from fines, racking up more than 10,000 signatures. But inspecting bodegas is a state responsibility. The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets said in a statement that its goal is to ensure compliance with food safety laws and regulations, though it noted that inspectors aim to offer “educational resources and corrective action timelines and options” before looking at fines. — ASSOCIATED PRESS