Business

China’s Tencent to buy Finnish game-maker Supercell for $8.6bn

HONG KONG, China (AFP) – Chinese Internet giant Tencent on Tuesday announced it had agreed to buy Finnish game-maker Supercell Oy, creator of “Clash of Clans”, from Japanese mobile giant SoftBank for $8.6 billion. “The board is pleased to announce that on 21 June 2016, the consortium…has agreed to acquire a majority equity interest in Supercell,” a Tencent statement filed to the Hong Kong stock exchange said. Supercell is the creator of hugely popular mobile games […]

Nespresso to bring Cuban coffee to US

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Nestle-owned Nespresso announced Monday it will reintroduce Cuban coffee to the US for the first time in more than 50 years following the easing of United States sanctions on Cuba. The Swiss food giant’s company plans to sell Cuban coffee under its individual-capsule Nespresso brand, initially as a limited edition, starting in several months. “Nespresso is thrilled to be the first to bring this rare coffee to the US, […]

Twitter buys artificial intelligence firm Magic Pony

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Twitter said Monday it was acquiring British-based artificial intelligence startup Magic Pony to bolster its capacity for analysis of visual content. Magic Pony’s technology, based on research to create algorithms that can understand the features of imagery “will be used to enhance our strength in live and video and opens up a whole lot of exciting creative possibilities for Twitter,” said Twitter co-founder and chief executive Jack Dorsey in a […]

Asia stocks gain as Brexit fears ebb slightly

Asian stocks gained early on Monday (June 20) as rising expectations of Britain voting to remain in the European Union lifted risk sentiment and the pound jumped against its peers. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei climbed 1.5 percent, helped by a retreat in the recently bullish yen. The benchmark Nikkei gained 239.4 points to 15839.06 and the broader Topix rose 18.98 points to 1269.81. The safe-haven yen, which had soared to a 22-month high of 103.555 per […]

California surpasses France as world’s sixth largest economy

(REUTERS)  California is now the sixth largest economy in the world, surpassing France thanks to a robust state economy and the strength of the U.S. dollar. California was the world’s eighth-largest economy as of last year, according to Irena Asmundson, chief economist of the California Department of Finance. “California did exceptionally well in 2015,” said Asmundson. “Lots of sectors did well.” California is home to diverse strong economies, including Silicon Valley and Hollywood. Manufacturing has […]

Dead money: Battle for Japanese inheritances heats up

(REUTERS) Elderly Japanese, among the world’s richest retirees, are flocking to inheritance advisers, tackling historical taboos on discussing death and providing a rare avenue of growth for the country’s brokerages and banks. Trillions of dollars parked in savings accounts are set to be released in the coming years as Japan’s death rate climbs and new, more onerous inheritance tax rules kick in. The shift is attracting investment from companies such as Nomura Holdings, Daiwa Securities […]

Samsung to buy US cloud computing startup

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Samsung Electronics said Thursday it had agreed to buy US cloud computing company Joyent — the latest in a series of start-up acquisitions aimed at strengthening the South Korean giant’s software capacity. The purchase of the San Francisco-based firm would provide Samsung with its own cloud platform to support its main mobile business and connect with Samsung household appliances such as TVs, refrigerators and air conditioners, a company statement said. […]

Nokia moves to finalise acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent

HELSINKI, Finland (AFP) — Finnish telecom equipment giant Nokia announced Thursday a plan to complete the acquisition of its former rival, French-American Alcatel-Lucent during the third quarter. The world’s former top mobile phone maker had gained control of 80 percent of Alcatel-Lucent’s shares by January but has struggled to mop up the remaining shareholders to gain full control of the company. Nokia said Thursday it was settling the ownership issue “through privately negotiated transactions”. “Nokia […]

PAL Saipan–Manila service: A direct link to ‘home’

    The much – awaited direct service between Saipan and Manila beginning June 15 has yielded high passenger bookings. PAL President and Chief Operating Officer Jaime J. Bautista said, “Over the past decades, our kababayans have to take other routes to Manila via Guam. With this new offering, they now have a direct link to our home country. The high passenger count is proof that this new flight is keenly awaited. We look forward […]

Asian shares slip as Fed, Brexit loom

Asian stocks slipped on Tuesday (June 14) amid growing worries this month’s referendum in Britain could see it exit the European Union, while markets were also nervous ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting that begins later in the day. The pound and euro have suffered in recent sessions as economists fear that the so-called Brexit would tip Europe back into recession. Voters appear divided ahead of the June 23 referendum, with the “Out” […]

Leaner Xbox One model plays for gamers

by Glenn CHAPMAN LOS ANGELES , United States (AFP) — Microsoft on Monday unveiled a leaner Xbox One model and a lineup of coming games as it strived to make up lost ground on Sony’s market-leading rival PlayStation 4. Xbox team head Phil Spencer used a Microsoft press event on the eve of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) video game extravaganza to introduce an Xbox One S that will be priced at $299 when it […]