Microsoft Corp could re-energize its advertising business with a huge supply of video if it follows through on acquiring TikTok's US operations from ByteDance.

Reuters reported on Friday, citing a source familiar with the matter, that Microsoft is in exploratory deal talks as the US government prepares to force China-based ByteDance to divest its video app TikTok over data security concerns.

India has yet again witnessed the highest single-day spike of 57,117 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, and its tally has neared the 17 lakh mark, informed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

With this latest spike, the total cases in the country stand at 16,95,988. Among these cases 5,65,103 are active. A total of 10,94,374 patients have been cured/discharged/migrated.

Reliance Jio reported a pre-tax profit of Rs 3,375 crore in the April to June quarter of financial year 2020-21, driven by 33.7 per cent growth in revenue. In the same period last year, the operator had reported pre-tax profit of Rs 1,369 crore, showing a jump of almost 147 per cent.

Revenue growth was driven by a tariff hike undertaken last December. Limited customer churn and customer recharges during the lockdown also played a part. Jio, which raised over Rs 1.52 trillion through a series of stake sales from 13 investors in the June quarter, reported operating revenue of Rs 16,557 crore in the same quarter.

Private equity (PE) player Tata Capital is set to pick up a minority 0.85 per cent stake for $30 million in the biologics arm of biopharmaceutical major Biocon, the Bengaluru-based company said on Friday.

This new round of equity infusion will happen at a valuation of around $3.5 billion for Biocon Biologics.

Gold prices jumped on Tuesday to Rs 53,000 from Rs 52,700 per 10 gram, while silver fell to Rs 63,000 from Rs 66,050 per kilogram, according to Good Returns website.

Gold jewellery prices vary across India, the second-largest consumer of the metal, due to excise duty, state taxes, and making charges.

Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri has confirmed that the new 2020 iPhones may not launch in September as they usually do.

According to Maestri, Apple last year started selling iPhones in late September but this year, Apple projects supply will be available a few weeks later.

Chinese government-linked hackers targeted biotech company Moderna Inc, a leading US-based coronavirus vaccine research developer, earlier this year in a bid to steal valuable data, according to a U.S. security official tracking Chinese hacking activity.

Last week, the U.S. Justice Department made public an indictment of two Chinese nationals accused of spying on the United States, including three unnamed U.S.-based targets involved in medical research to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

A leading candidate of Covid-19 vaccine developed by global healthcare company Johnson & Johnson raised neutralising antibodies and robustly protected monkeys against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

This vaccine led to robust protection against SARS-CoV-2 in rhesus macaques and is now being evaluated in humans, said study researcher Dan H. Barouch from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in the US.

Making the latest taunt on rebel Sachin Pilot camp, chief minister Ashok Gehlot said that horse-trading rates in Rajasthan have gone higher as new rates have been announced soon after the Assembly session date was finalised on Wednesday.

Gehlot on Thursday met the MLAs camping in Fairmont Hotel and said that they will have to stay in the hotel till August 14 as the Governor has given his nod to call a special assembly session from the said date.

India has yet again witnessed the highest single-day spike of 55,079 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, and its tally has breached the 16 lakh mark on Friday, informed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

With this latest spike, the total cases in the country stand at 16,38,871. Among these cases 5,45,318 are active. A total of 10,57,806 patients have been cured/discharged/migrated.

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