Category: Biz Tech

Facebook Inc said on Monday, it was testing a feature that would let page administrators create job postings and receive applications from candidates, a move that could pressure LinkedIn Corp's recruiting business. "Based on behaviour we've seen on Facebook, where many small businesses post about their job openings on their Page, we're running a test for Page admins to create job postings and receive applications from candidates," a company spokesman told Reuters. LinkedIn makes most of its revenue from job hunters

By Jack Kim and Ju-min Park | SEOUL SEOUL South Korean prosecutors raided the offices of Samsung Electronics on Tuesday as part of a probe over a political scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and her friend who is alleged to have exerted improper influence in state affairs. A prosecution official told Reuters the search is related to the scandal involving the president's friend, Choi Soon-sil, but declined to comment further. South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported prosecutors are looking into whether Samsung improperly

By Julia Fioretti | BRUSSELS BRUSSELS Britain's privacy watchdog said on Monday that Facebook (FB.O) has agreed to suspend using data from UK users of its WhatsApp messaging app for advertisements or product-improvement purposes after the watchdog said consumers weren't properly protected. The watchdog said the social media giant faces action if it uses such data without valid consent. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) had said in August that it would monitor WhatsApp's new privacy policy, after WhatsApp, acquired by Facebook in 2014,

By Marcin Goettig | WARSAW WARSAW Poland's digital economy minister accused Facebook FN.O of censorship on Monday after the company suspended some users' profiles for using a little-known far-right symbol. The Falanga symbol, depicting a stylised hand holding a sword, was used by a banned radical nationalist group in the 1930s but is legal in Poland and other countries. It now serves as the logo of a far-right Polish group called ONR. The row follows a wider global dispute over Facebook's standards for

Samsung discontinued its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, which was prone to catching fire, last month. But the company’s safety problems have not ended: The manufacturer and a product safety regulator on Friday announced a recall for 2.8 million washing machines in the United States. The number of washing machines recalled, which includes 34 models of Samsung’s top-loading washers, exceeds the 1.9 million Galaxy Note smartphones that Samsung and the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled last month. The safety commission said

Carnegie Mellon University plans to announce on Wednesday that it will create a research center that focuses on the ethics of artificial intelligence. The ethics center, called the K&L Gates Endowment for Ethics and Computational Technologies, is being established at a time of growing international concern about the impact of A.I. technologies. That has already led to an array of academic, governmental and private efforts to explore a technology that until recently was largely the stuff of science fiction. In the last

By Naomi Tajitsu and Chang-Ran Kim | TOKYO TOKYO Toyota Motor Corp is looking at mass-producing long-range electric vehicles (EVs) that would hit the market around 2020, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Monday, in what would be a dramatic reversal of strategy for the world's top-selling automaker. Even as rivals such as Nissan Motor Co, Volkswagen AG and Tesla Motors have touted pure electric cars as the most viable zero-emission vehicles for the future, Toyota has said it would reserve EVs for

By Catherine Cadell | BEIJING BEIJING A top Baidu Inc executive, widely seen as a potential successor to chief executive Robin Li, has resigned after an internal company probe found conflicts of interest involving another firm acquired by the Chinese search engine giant. Li Mingyuan, 32, known as the "prince" of Baidu within China's tech community, stepped down following the investigation, according to an internal email seen by Reuters and independently confirmed by two people at the firm. The memo, sent to Baidu

  Microsoft Corp said it will be increasing pricing for its enterprise software and cloud services in the UK in the wake of the sterling's plunge since Britons voted to leave the EU.   The price increase, from Jan. 1 2017, will be 13 percent for its enterprise software and 22 percent for its enterprise cloud services, it said.   Pricing changes will not apply to consumer software or consumer cloud services, the company said in a blog post. bit.ly/2e1NPPc   The vote to leave the EU

  By Liana B. Baker   Berkshire Partners LLC is nearing a deal to acquire cloud networking firm Masergy, currently owned by another private equity firm, ABRY Partners, for more than $900 million, including debt according to sources familiar with the matter.   A deal could be announced as soon as this week, the people said on Sunday, asking not to be named because the matter is private.   Berkshire Partners declined to comment. Masergy and ABRY could not immediately be reached for comment.   Masergy, based in Plano,

By David Shepardson | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON AT&T Inc may bypass a powerful telecommunications regulator by offloading a Time Warner broadcast station, analysts say, as the telecommunications giant braces for what is expected to be a lengthy and tough antitrust review of its proposed $85.4 billion deal to buy Time Warner Inc. Dallas-based AT&T said late Saturday the deal would need approval of the U.S. Justice Department and the companies were determining which Time Warner U.S. Federal Communications Commission licenses, if any, would

  MUMBAI Samsung Electronics Co (005930.KS) on Friday offered alternative phones to its India customers who had pre-ordered its flagship Galaxy Note 7 devices, in a bid to appease loyal clients in one of its largest smartphone markets.   The world's largest phone maker has been hit by an avalanche of negative publicity, after being forced to recall millions of the fire-prone Note 7 devices and later scrap the high-end phone altogether.   India is one of the world's largest and fastest growing smartphone markets

By Sankalp Phartiyal and Anya George Tharakan | MUMBAI/BENGALURU MUMBAI/BENGALURU Infosys Ltd cut its annual revenue growth target for the second time in three months as India's software service exporters feel the pinch of major Western clients holding back on spending as they wait to see how November's U.S. presidential election and Europe's Brexit drama play out. While it reported second-quarter net profit grew 6.1 percent, the second-largest player in India's $150 billion-plus software services outsourcing industry said on Friday it now

By Mai Nguyen and My Pham | HANOI HANOI Samsung Vietnam will maintain its current staff numbers and its exports target this year, the firm said on Wednesday, despite the parent company scrapping its flagship Galaxy Note 7 phone following a series of battery fires. Samsung Electronics, which employs around 110,000 people in Vietnam, finally pulled the plug on the new Note 7 phone on Tuesday, less than two months after its launch, dealing a huge blow to the business as a

By Se Young Lee | SEOUL SEOUL Samsung Electronics Co slashed its quarterly profit estimate by a third on Wednesday, soaking up a $2.3 billion hit from ditching its flagship smartphone in what could be one of the costliest product safety failures in tech history. Quantifying the financial pain of Tuesday's move to scrap the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone after a global recall and weeks of mounting problems, the world's top smartphone maker said it expects its July-September operating profit was 5.2

By Julia Love and Deborah M. Todd Samsung Electronics’s abandonment of the Galaxy Note 7 due to safety concerns will likely touch off a turf war among Android smartphone makers, analysts said, presenting them a rare opportunity to gain share but with less room for archrival Apple Inc. Consumers tend to commit to their choice between Apple's iOS operating system for smartphones and Google’s Android, leaving Samsung’s fellow Android manufacturers such as LG Electronics and Alphabet Inc's Google in prime position to

By Se Young Lee | SEOUL SEOUL Samsung Electronics' (005930.KS) worst-ever recall could cost the company as much as $17 billion after it halted sales of its flagship Galaxy Note 7 for a second time, spelling an almost certain end for the ill-fated premium model. Samsung announced the recall of 2.5 million Note 7s in early September following numerous reports of the phones catching fire and on Tuesday the crisis deepened: The company told mobile carriers to stop sales or exchange of

By Greg Roumeliotis and Liana B. Baker Salesforce.com Inc (CRM.N) is still deliberating whether it should make an offer for Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) in the face of resistance from Salesforce shareholders over the strategic merits and valuation of such a deal, people familiar with the matter said on Monday. Twitter shares have lost as much as a third of their value since Oct. 5 on concerns the company has attracted less interest from potential acquirers than previously envisaged. It now has a

By Noel Randewich | SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) stock on Monday jumped 2.3 percent, reaching a high not seen since December, after rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) suspended production of its flagship Galaxy Note 7 smartphones following reports of fires in replacement devices. Fires in the smartphones that were meant to replace devices that had been recalled because of their propensity to explode could be a disaster for Samsung and a potential boon to Apple. Apple's stock was up

By Andrew Chung | NEW YORK NEW YORK A federal jury in Texas on Friday night ordered Apple Inc to pay more than $302 million in damages for using VirnetX Holding Corp's patented internet security technology without permission in features including its FaceTime video conferencing application. The verdict came in a new trial in Tyler, Texas that had been ordered by the judge in the case, Robert Schroeder, who last August threw out VirnetX's $625.6 million win over Apple from a previous

  By Alexandria Sage | SAN FRANCISCO   SAN FRANCISCO California will allow companies more leeway in testing self-driving cars on public roads while restricting how the nascent technology is advertised under revised draft regulations released on Friday. In one of the biggest changes, the new regulations would allow for the absence of a driver in some instances, provided there is two-way communication with the vehicle. The original draft regulations by the Department of Motor Vehicles were criticized by some tech companies, such as Alphabet

IT services provider Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (CTSH.O) said it was conducting an internal investigation into possible violations of U.S. anti-corrupt practices laws related to payments in India, sending its shares tumbling on Friday. The company also said President Gordon Coburn had resigned and would be replaced by Rajeev Mehta, the head of IT services. Cognizant, which gave no reason for Coburn's departure, did not respond to a query on whether it was linked to the probe. The company's shares closed down 13.4

  BEIJING Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, the world's biggest smartphone maker, said on Thursday more than 1 million people globally are now using Galaxy Note 7 smartphones with batteries that are not vulnerable to overheating and catching fire.   Samsung on September 2 initiated a voluntary global recall of at least 2.5 million Note 7 smartphones due to faulty batteries causing some of the flagship devices to catch fire, a deeply embarrassing crisis for a firm that prides itself for its quality control.

By Edward Taylor and Eric Auchard | PARIS/FRANKFURT PARIS/FRANKFURT Alarmed by the threat posed by Silicon Valley firms to their businesses in developing autonomous driving systems, it was evident at the Paris Motor Show this week that carmakers are seeking to fight back by cooperating in areas of technology development where previously they might have tried to compete. Three big carmakers - BMW (BMWG.DE), Daimler (DAIGn.DE) and VW's (VOWG_p.DE) Audi - announced earlier this week they would launch new traffic monitoring services

MUMBAI/HONG KONG Wal-Mart Stores Inc is in talks to buy a minority stake in India's largest e-commerce firm Flipkart, two people familiar with the matter said, as the world's biggest retailer aims to break into a fast growing but highly competitive online retail market. One of the sources said the U.S. retailer was looking to invest between $750 million and $1 billion in Flipkart, but the final value and size of the stake would depend on the outcome of talks about

FRANKFURT Europe's biggest software maker SAP has earmarked 2 billion euros ($2.2 bln) for investments in products that help companies to connect everything from washing machines to cars to the Internet. The German company said it would invest that amount by the end of 2020, targeting what it estimates to be a 250 billion-euro market in the so-called Internet of Things (IoT), in which regular objects are connected to networks to send and receive data. Such functions are increasingly used in manufacturing

By Adam Jourdan and Tom Westbrook | SHANGHAI/SYDNEY SHANGHAI/SYDNEY Apple Inc fans from Sydney to Shanghai, the first customers worldwide to snap the new iPhone 7 off the shelves, cheered as they left stores on Friday brandishing their purchases, flanked by applauding sales staff. But underneath the usual fanfare, the crowds of enthusiasts and overnight campers were smaller than in past years. Some customers complained after the larger version and models with the new jet-black colour sold out. In part, online pre-ordering has

By Mark Hosenball and Joseph Menn | WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO The Federal Bureau of Investigation is intensifying efforts to find enough evidence to enable the Justice Department to indict some of the Russians that U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded are hacking into American political parties and figures, U.S. law enforcement and intelligence officials said on Thursday. Building legal cases is difficult, largely because the best evidence against foreign hackers is often highly classified, they said. Still, some White House and State

By Ankur Banerjee Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) formally recalled 1 million Galaxy Note 7 smartphones sold in the United States, replacing or refunding the flagship phones, whose susceptibility to catching fire has damaged the image of the Korean powerhouse. Samsung received 92 reports of batteries overheating in the United States, including 26 reports of burns and 55 cases of property damage, the company said as it announced the recall in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The recall is

  By Se Young Lee | SEOUL   SEOUL Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's shares fell to their lowest level in nearly two months on Monday after the tech giant told customers to switch off and return their new Galaxy Note 7 smartphones due to fire-prone batteries.   Investors had wiped 15.9 trillion won (14.3 billion) off the South Korean firm's market capitalisation as of 0303 GMT, as a series of warnings from regulators and airlines around the world raised fears for the future of the

  Amazon.com Inc and Pandora Media Inc are planning to launch new versions of their streaming music services in coming weeks, the New York Times reported on Sunday, citing several anonymous people with knowledge of the matter.   Pandora could announce its plans this to expand its $5-per-month platform this week, with possible features including skipping more songs or storing several hours of playlists, the newspaper said. The company plans to launch a full-fledged on-demand platform by Christmas. Such a platform, priced at

FRANKFURT Volkswagen's luxury car unit Audi has agreed to deepen collaboration with Chinese internet technology groups to offer more digital services in the world's largest car market. Audi and FAW-Volkswagen, VW's joint venture with FAW Car Co Ltd, have signed letters of intent with Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent, Audi said on Sunday. Financial terms were not disclosed. Parent Volkswagen has been hobbled by a scandal over the rigging of emissions tests, distracting it in a race with global carmakers to develop computer-aided

/By MAYA KOSOFF/Vanity Fair/Apple, which reportedly spends more than a billion dollars a year to outsource its cloud infrastructure to Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, is working on a secret project to ditch its competitors. The internal initiative, code-named “McQueen”— yes, like that Steve McQueen—is Apple’s attempt to break its reliance on other cloud providers by creating its own platform,Re/code reports. Sources said Apple could break even on the project within three years, saving costs and avoiding the hassle of having

  By Se Young Lee and Jeffrey Dastin | SEOUL/NEW YORK   SEOUL/NEW YORK A U.S. government safety agency on Friday urged all consumers to stop using Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones, which are prone to catch fire, and top airlines globally banned their use during flights.   Following reports that the phones' batteries have combusted during charging and normal use, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said it was working on an official recall of the devices and that users should turn them off