UK to question Google after advertisements appear alongside extremist videos

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain on Friday will question executives from Google over why advertisements marketing the government's services were appearing alongside videos carrying hate speech and extremist content on its YouTube website.

Tesla raises $1.2 billion, 20 percent more than planned

(Reuters) - Tesla Inc said on Friday it had raised about $1.2 billion, roughly 20 percent more than it had planned, by selling common shares and convertible debt, ahead of the launch of the crucial Model 3 sedan.

Nokia's mobile networks head quits, to split business

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia's head of mobile networks, the division which accounted for more than half of Finnish telecom network equipment maker's sales last year, is leaving the company.

China's Ant confident of closing MoneyGram deal: exec

BEIJING (Reuters) - Ant Financial Services Group, the world's largest financial technology company, is confident of closing the acquisition of U.S. money-transfer firm MoneyGram International Inc but says it has other options if the deal falls through, a top executive told Reuters.

Japan not considering support for Toshiba, sharing information with U.S.

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japanese government said it was not considering steps to support embattled Toshiba Corp and will share information with Washington on developments involving the firm and its U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse.

Baidu leads investment into green car start-up NextEV

Baidu's company logo is seen at its headquarters in Beijing December 17, 2014. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Apple says to add two more R&D centers in China

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Apple will set up two new research and development centers in Shanghai and Suzhou in China, it said in a statement in its Chinese website on Friday.

South Korea court to reassign Samsung chief bribery case to another judge

SEOUL (Reuters) - A South Korean court said on Friday it is reassigning the bribery case of Samsung Group chief Jay Y. Lee to a different judge.

U.S. financial firms embrace cloud, 'fat fingers' notwithstanding

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Only two years ago, an outage similar to the one that struck Amazon's cloud services last month would have reinforced U.S. financial firms' view that shifting data and systems onto the public cloud was just too risky.

Japan minister agrees to share Toshiba case information with U.S.: Kyodo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Japan's industry minister said on Thursday he had agreed with the U.S. energy and commerce secretaries to share information on developments involving Toshiba Corp and its troubled U.S. nuclear affiliate, Westinghouse Electric Co., Japan's Kyodo news agency reported.

Judge approves $27 million driver settlement in Lyft lawsuit

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. judge gave the final approval on Thursday to a settlement agreement in a class-action lawsuit against Lyft, ending a legal case that challenged the independent contractor status of the company's drivers.

EU consumer authorities to take on Facebook, Google, Twitter

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European consumer protection authorities will ask social media companies Facebook, Google and Twitter to amend their terms of service within one month or possibly face fines, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Uber to seek arbitration in Waymo self-driving case

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A lawyer for Uber [UBER.UL] told a federal judge on Thursday he intended to file a petition to compel arbitration in the Waymo trade secrets theft case, citing an agreement signed by a former Waymo employee who is at the heart of the case.

Adobe reports 21.6 percent rise in quarterly revenue

(Reuters) - Adobe Systems Inc reported a 21.6 percent rise in quarterly revenue, the twelfth straight quarter of increase, as its Creative Cloud package of software tools, which includes Photoshop, added more subscribers.

Plan for Britain? Error messages blight new government website

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May's new "Plan for Britain" website stopped working on Thursday shortly after its launch, offering error messages in place of her vision for the country's future outside the European Union.

SWIFT messaging system cuts off remaining North Korean banks

LONDON (Reuters) - SWIFT, the inter-bank messaging network which is the backbone of international finance, said it planned to cut off the remaining North Korean banks still connected to its system, as concerns about the country's nuclear program and missile tests grow.

Snap shares drop 4 percent, fall below $20 for the first time

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Snap Inc shares tumbled below $20 on Thursday for the first time since the company's $3.4 billion public listing after the Snapchat owner received another "sell" rating from an analyst.

Car industry players diverge on timescale for self-driving cars

Two self-driving electric minibuses are seen on the 130-metre (142-yard) test route between Gare de Lyon and Austerlitz train stations, the first regular line opened by the Paris transport company RATP, in Paris, France, January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen

Illinois watchdog first U.S. regulator to join blockchain consortium R3

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has joined the blockchain consortium led by startup R3, as financial watchdogs around the world seek to better understand the opportunities and risks of the emerging technology.

Swatch to launch Swiss smartwatch operating system by 2018

BIEL, Switzerland (Reuters) - Swatch Group is developing a Swiss-made operating system as it seeks to offer a smaller, more flexible alternative to the dominant systems which connect items such as smartwatches to the internet, its chief executive said on Thursday.

U.S. judge rejects Google email scanning settlement

(Reuters) - A federal judge has rejected Google's proposed class-action settlement with non-Gmail users who said it illegally scanned their emails to Gmail users to create targeted advertising.

YouTube makes its biggest e-sports bet with FACEIT streaming deal

(Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's YouTube is doubling down on the lucrative business of competitive gaming, where players square off on virtual games for big prize money in tournaments.

Blockchain Capital to raise $50 million, partly with digital token sale

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S.-based venture capital firm Blockchain Capital LLC said on Thursday it plans to raise $50 million for a third fund through capital from its partners and a sale of its own digital tokens.

BMW says self-driving car to be level 5 capable by 2021

BERLIN (Reuters) - German carmaker BMW is on track to deliver a self-driving car by 2021, the company's senior vice president for Autonomous Driving, Elmar Frickenstein, said on Thursday.

IBM to integrate MedyMatch technology to help spot brain bleeding

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israel's MedyMatch Technology said on Thursday IBM Watson Health would integrate MedyMatch's technology into its offerings to imaging experts in hospitals to help doctors identify intracranial bleeding from head trauma and stroke.

Chipmaker Nvidia says working with Paccar on driverless trucks

(Reuters) - U.S. chipmaker Nvidia Corp said on Thursday it was working with truckmaker Paccar Inc to develop autonomous vehicles.

Britain asks regulator to investigate Sky takeover by Murdoch's Fox

LONDON (Reuters) - The British government said on Thursday it would refer Rupert Murdoch's planned takeover of European pay-TV group Sky to regulators to decide if the deal was in the public interest.

Baidu fires head of group-buying unit over kickbacks

BEIJING (Reuters) - Baidu Inc said on Thursday it fired the head of its Nuomi group-buying service over ethics violations, at a time when the internet giant is looking to retool its sluggish search business and streamline loss-making units including Nuomi.

Vietnam urges firms to stop YouTube and Facebook ads

HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam on Thursday called on all companies doing business in the country to stop advertising on YouTube, Facebook and other social media until they find a way to halt the publication of "toxic" anti-government information.

U.S. tech group urges global action against Chinese "mercantilism"

BEIJING (Reuters) - A U.S. technology group said in a report on Thursday that China's mercantilist industrial policies were a risk to the global economy and trading system, and called for international pressure on China to force a policy "reset".