Daily Tech Snippet: Friday, May 13th

• Facebook, Facing Bias Claims, Shows How Editors and Algorithms Guide News:  Facebook, the largest social media network, published internal editorial guidelines on Thursday, the company’s latest attempt to rebut accusations that it is politically biased in the news content it shows on the pages of its 1.6 billion users. The 28-page document details how both editors and computer algorithms play roles in the process of picking what should appear in the “Trending Topics” section of users’ Facebook pages. Facebook describes a list of processes it uses to display some of the most popular content across the network, including relying on algorithms to detect up-and-coming news trends as well as a team of editors who, much like a newsroom, direct how those topics are presented and decide what should be displayed to people who regularly use the service. As the guidelines make clear, at practically every point in the process, a human editor is given the leeway to exercise his or her editorial influence. The document was released just days after a report on the tech news siteGizmodo said Facebook editors had intentionally “suppressed” news topics from conservative publications trending across the network. The report also said editors were able to artificially inflate the importance of other topics by “injecting” them into the Trending section of users’ Facebook pages. Since those claims surfaced, Facebook has been questioned by news sites across the political spectrum and by legislators in Washington. On Thursday, critics urged the company to consider the biases of its editors. “As long as Facebook is hiring editors who lean left politically, those stories are going to get preferential treatment,” Erick Erickson, former editor in chief of the conservative website RedState and founder of another conservative site called The Resurgent, said in an email. “I’d hope that Facebook would take care to consider all views and all news.” The company has continued to deny accusations of political bias and pointed to editorial rules that discourage Trending Topics staff members from taking one viewpoint or another.

• Alibaba Bears Retreat as Sales Growth Endures China Slump: Chart: Bearish bets against Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. have dropped to the lowest level since January after the Chinese e-commerce leader’s quarterly revenue beat analysts’ forecasts even as the nation’s economy grows at the slowest pace in 25 years. Short interest fell to 7.1 percent this week after peaking at a two-year high of 8.5 percent two months ago, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and Markit Ltd. The U.S.-traded stock has risen 4.4 percent since the company reported its quarterly results, while its main competitor JD.com Inc. tumbled 12 percent after reporting a slowdown in sales volume.

• Intel Sells $2.75 Billion of Bonds to Refinance 2016 Debt: Intel Corp. sold $2.75 billion of bonds on Thursday to refinance debt due this year and a portion of notes maturing in 2017. The world’s biggest chipmaker issued debt three parts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The longest portion was $1.25 billion of 30-year notes yielding 1.55 percentage points above comparable government debt. That’s down from an initial offer of 1.7 percentage points, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. managed the sale.S&P Global Ratings gave the bonds an A+ grade, according to a statement on Thursday. Intel is the latest U.S. blue-chip company to offer notes in what’s poised to be second-busiest week for issuance this year. In its last multibillion-dollar deal, Intel sold $7 billion of bonds in July to finance part of its $16.7 billion takeover of Altera Corp. The company plans to repay its $1.5 billion of 1.95 percent notes due in October and a portion of the $3 billion of 1.35 percent bonds due next year. Investment-grade companies have sold more than $49 billion worth of bonds so far this week as they take advantage of low borrowing costs after posting earnings for the quarter ended March 31. Companies are also front-loading issuance before the summer slowdown, according to Ben Emons, a money manager at Leader Capital Corp. in Los Angeles.

• Apple invests $1 billion in Chinese Uber rival ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing: Apple said on Thursday it has invested $1 billion in Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing, a move that Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said would help the company better understand the critical Chinese market. The investment comes as Apple is trying to reinvigorate sales in China, its second-largest market. Apple recently has come under pressure from Chinese regulators, with its online book and film services shut down last month, and Cook is traveling to the country this month. The investment gives Apple, which has hired dozens of automotive experts over the past year, a sizeable stake in Uber Technologies Inc's chief rival in China. Cook said in an interview that he sees opportunities for Apple and Didi Chuxing to collaborate in the future.

• Strong demand for graphics chips to boost Nvidia's revenue: Nvidia Corp forecast better-than-expected revenue for the current quarter as it sees robust demand for its chips that power complex computer graphics. Shares of the company, which also reported profit and revenue above analysts' estimates, were up 7.5 percent in extended trading. The chipmaker last week unveiled its GeForce GTX 1080 and 1070 graphics processors based on its Pascal technology.Revenue from its gaming business, which designs graphics cards such as GeForce for PCs, rose 17 percent to $687 million. The company has weathered a shrinking personal computer industry by focusing on game enthusiasts, who are willing to pay hundreds of dollars for processors used in playing graphically demanding games.Revenue from its data center business, which includes its Tesla processors, rose 62.5 percent to $143 million.Nvidia's net income rose to $196 million, or 33 cents per share, in the first quarter ended May 1 from $134 million, or 24 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, the company earned 46 cents per share, handily beating analysts' expectations of 32 cents. Revenue rose 13.4 percent to $1.31 billion, while analysts were expecting $1.26 billion. The company also said it intends to return about $1 billion to shareholders in fiscal 2017 through quarterly dividends and share buybacks.