Business

Facebook says 87 million may be affected by data breach

by Rob Lever Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States – Facebook said Wednesday personal data on as many as 87 million users was improperly shared with British political consultancy Cambridge Analytica. The new figure eclipses a previous estimate of 50 million in a further embarrassment to the social network roiled by a privacy scandal. The announcement came as Facebook unveiled clearer terms of service to enable users to better understand data sharing, and as a congressional […]

China to inject $9.7bn into troubled Anbang

SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — Anbang Insurance Group said Wednesday that China’s government will inject 60.8 billion yuan ($9.7 billion) into the troubled conglomerate, whose rapid acquisition binge triggered a takeover by regulators worried about the firm’s solvency. China’s insurance regulator announced an unprecedented commandeering of Anbang in February, and a Shanghai court last week accused former chairman Wu Xiaohui of defrauding the company of more than $10 billion. No verdict has been announced yet. The government’s swoop […]

Skills shortage hampers Portugal’s economic recovery

  by Daniel Silva  Agence France-Presse LISBON, Portugal (AFP) — When French technology consultancy Altran needed to hire staff for a new center in Porto, it held a recruitment fair on board a boat docked in the northern Portuguese city’s colorful riverside area. Dozens of recent graduates mingled with Altran staff as they enjoyed sweeping views of Porto’s iconic double-deck metal arch bridge. At the end of the day Altran managed to fill just over 20 […]

Spotify soars in $26 billion stock debut

  by Shaun Tandon / Ali Bekhtaoui Agence France Presse   NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Spotify soared Tuesday to a value of more than $26 billion in its long-awaited stock debut as the market delivered a ringing endorsement of the future of music streaming. In one of the largest public offerings ever in the tech sector, Spotify on its first day topped the market capitalization of other high-profile recent market entrants, including Twitter, […]

Intel shares dive on report Apple making own Mac chips

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Intel shares dove on Monday after Bloomberg reported that Apple intends to switch to chips of its own for Mac computers in two years. Intel shares were down more than 7.5 percent to $48.12 in late afternoon trading on the Nasdaq exchange in New York. Apple declined to comment on the report, which cited unnamed sources as saying Apple is designing its own chips for Mac computers and could […]

Trade war fears push Asian stocks lower

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian stocks dropped sharply at the open Tuesday, following Wall Street lower as fears of a trade war between the United States and China battered market sentiment. Tokyo led the declines, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 index shedding 1.51 percent in early trade. China followed suit, with the main Shanghai Composite Index falling 1.05 percent. Seoul was down more than half a percentage point and Hong Kong was off one […]

Alibaba acquisition values meal-deliverer Ele.me at $9.5 bn

SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba said Monday it was acquiring full ownership of leading food-delivery firm Ele.me in a deal that values the Shanghai-based start-up at $9.5 billion. The deal is the latest salvo in the intensifying turf battle between tech heavyweights Alibaba and Tencent in the fast-growing Chinese markets for online food ordering and digital payments. Alibaba and its financial arm Ant already owned 43 percent of the app-based Ele.me and said […]

Tokyo stocks firm in early trade

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo stocks firmed in early trade on Monday as Japan kicked off a new fiscal year in a solid business climate, shrugging off fresh data indicating Japan’s corporate sentiment weakened. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index started the day in negative territory, but quickly emerged above water and added 0.23 percent or 50.41 points to 21,504.71 in early trade. The broader Topix index also gained 0.17 percent or 2.92 points at 1,719.22. […]

Tesla recalls 123,000 cars for power steering fix

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Tesla on Thursday issued a voluntary recall of 123,000 Model S cars to replace a power steering bolt that could corrode due to salt used on winter roads. No accidents or injuries have been caused by a flaw that prompted the decision to replace the part in all Model S vehicles built before April of 2016, according to the Silicon Valley-based company. “If the bolts fail, the driver is […]

BMW sued in US over diesel emissions

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — German luxury carmaker BMW has been sued in the United States over “defeat devices” installed in tens of thousands of vehicles in order to cheat diesel emissions tests, lawyers for the plaintiffs said Tuesday. The case, filed in federal court in New Jersey, will become a class-action suit once it is certified by a judge. The suit singles out the BMW X5 and 335D model diesel cars sold between […]

Oracle’s big-money case against Google gets new life

by Glenn Chapman Agence France Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — An appeals court on Tuesday gave Oracle another shot at wringing billions of dollars from Google in a keenly watched legal battle over the use of freely available Java software code. A federal appellate court revived Oracle’s case, ruling that the application programming interface (API) code at issue is protected by copyright law and sending the case back to the original judge to […]

Asian markets tumble again as US tech sell-off spreads

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets resumed their downward spiral on Wednesday following a sell-off on Wall Street, with technology firms tracking their US counterparts, while trade war fears continue to niggle at investor confidence. The volatility that has raked trading floors since the start of February shows no sign of abating as heavy, across-the-board selling followed Tuesday’s rally. Confirmation North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had visited Beijing this week to meet President […]