Italy's new government on Thursday approved its use of special powers in supply deals for fifth-generation (5G) telecom services by a number of domestic firms with providers including China's Huawei and ZTE Corporation.

Chinese TV maker TCL Electronics launched a low-cost smartphone on Thursday in a bet that it can harness its expertise in screens to win over consumers who are increasingly watching video on mobile devices.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Thursday said its first foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Fold, will be available in South Korea from Sept. 6 with fifth-generation (5G) mobile connectivity.

Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson's CEO Borje Ekholm told employees in an internal note this week that a recent media report of his imminent replacement was incorrect, a company spokesman said.

Prudential Financial Inc is set to buy online insurance startup Assurance IQ Inc for $2.35 billion, the latest in a series of moves by traditional insurers to up investment in technology and data crunching by buying Silicon Valley startups.

WeWork owner The We Company is considering slashing the valuation it will seek in an initial public offering (IPO) at a little over $20 billion, less than half the $47 billion valuation it achieved in a private fundraising round in January, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The House of Representatives' antitrust panel will hold a hearing next week to discuss the effect of consumer data collection by big tech platforms, like Alphabet's Google and Amazon , on online competition.

Italy's new government approved on Thursday the use of special powers in deals to purchase goods and services related to 5G technologies signed by a number of domestic telecoms group with suppliers including China's Huawei and ZTE Corporation.

Facebook Inc is launching its dating services in the United States, the social network said on Thursday, sending its shares up 2%.

Shares of Slack Technologies Inc tumbled 14%, wiping out nearly all their gains since the company's listing in July, after the workplace messaging firm warned of slower revenue growth amid intensifying competition.

Thousands of Yahoo email users took to Twitter on Thursday to complain that the internet company's services have been unavailable for more than six hours.

General Motors Co will use embedded Google technology to power navigation, voice activated controls and other vehicle infotainment functions starting in 2021, in a win for Alphabet Inc in the race with Amazon.com and other technology companies to control dashboards.

Facebook Inc is launching dating services in the United States, the social network said on Thursday.

Japan's Rakuten plans to push back the start of wireless carrier services by six months, hampered by delays in building out its network, the Nikkei business daily reported on Thursday.

Russian conglomerate Rostec has sold its stake in a sanctioned technology company that was embroiled in a scandal over the installation in annexed Crimea of turbines made by Germany's Siemens , Rostec told Reuters on Thursday.

WeWork owner The We Company is targeting an initial stock market valuation of less than half of estimates from earlier this year, according to a report on Thursday, another sign of growing skepticism among investors about big but unprofitable technology names.

Sony launched the Xperia 5, a slimline version of its flagship smartphone, at the IFA consumer electronics fair in Berlin on Thursday as it seeks to strengthen its appeal to its niche audience of video, film and music lovers.

AppLovin Corp, the U.S. mobile marketing firm backed by private equity firm KKR & Co Inc, said on Thursday it has invested in several gaming studios, as it adds to its library of games ahead of a potential initial public offering.

Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Investment Company is expected to invest in Japanese group SoftBank's Vision Fund 2 in the fourth quarter of 2019, which will focus on technology projects, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

WeWork owner The We Company is seeking a valuation of between $20 billion and $30 billion in its planned initial public offering, Streetinsider.com reported on Thursday, citing Bloomberg, well below the $47 billion it was worth at the start of the year.