Google improves voice, camera in new phones

Google on Thursday said its new Pixel phones will deliver improved voice and camera features while bringing back facial recognition for unlocking the device as it seeks to better compete with Apple and Samsung.

The company’s Pixel 7 and 7 Pro devices offer more affordable prices than the dominant duo of the mobile market, coming in at $599 and $899, respectively, and introduce the second generation of Google’s in-house Tensor chip. The 6.7-inch Pro version has an additional zoom camera, better display and more memory than the 6.3-inch Pixel 7.

The Pixel lineup had only 2% of the North American market in the second quarter, whereas Apple’s iphone commanded 52%, according to Canalys data.

Stocks lose ground, but still up for the week

A choppy day of trading ended with stocks broadly lower on Wall Street Thursday, though indexes have managed to hold onto most of their sizeable gains from a big rally at the start of the week.

The S&P 500 fell 1% after having been up 0.4% in the early going. The benchmark index is up 4.4% for the week following its best twoday rally since the spring of 2020.

The selling was widespread, with roughly 80% of the stocks in the S&P 500 ending in the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1% while the Nasdaq composite lost 0.7%. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks closed 0.6% lower.

Treasury yields gained ground and put more pressure on stocks. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which helps set rates for mortgages and many other kinds of loans, rose to 3.81% from 3.75% late Wednesday. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which more closely tracks expectations for Federal Reserve action, rose to 4.22% from 4.14% late Monday.

Investors were reviewing the latest data on jobs, which showed more Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week. Traders will be watching closely today when the government releases its monthly job market data..

Technology, financial and health care stocks were among the biggest weights on the market. Intel dropped 1.7%, Citigroup fell 1.8% and Johnson & Johnson fell 1.9%.

Energy stocks mostly rose as the price of U.S. crude oil increased 0.8%. Marathon Oil gained 3.9%.

Struggling Peloton cutting more jobs

Peloton Interactive is laying off a significant number of employees for the fourth time this year as part of an effort to save the struggling business, Chief Executive Officer Barry Mccarthy told staff Thursday.

The fitness technology company is cutting its workforce by roughly 500, or 12%, leaving it with about 3,825 employees. Mccarthy said the company is making the move, along with other reductions in operating expenses, in order to reach the break-even point on cash flow by the end of fiscal 2023.

“I know many of you will feel angry, frustrated and emotionally drained by today’s news, but please know this is a necessary step if we are going to save Peloton, and we are,” Mccarthy said in a memo. “Our goal is to control our own destiny and assure the future viability of the business.”

Peloton shares went up 4% to $8.83.

Peloton told staff that the latest round of job reductions marks the “bulk of our restructuring work” being complete. The company let about 2,800 employees go in February, part of a shakeup that included Mccarthy coming aboard as CEO. Peloton eliminated roughly 570 jobs in July as part of a move to outsource hardware manufacturing and then dismissed an additional 800 people in August to further lower expenses.