U.S. lawmakers seek temporary extension to internet spying program

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives are working to build support to temporarily extend the National Security Agency’s expiring internet surveillance program by tucking it into a stop-gap funding measure, lawmakers said. The month-long extension of the...

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Facebook ads that let employers target younger workers focus of U.S. lawsuit

(Reuters) - Several U.S. employers engaged in age discrimination by placing recruitment ads on Facebook targeting younger workers, according to a lawsuit filed on Wednesday by a communications industry labor union. Companies including T-Mobile US Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Cox Communications Inc impose...

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U.S. lawmakers seek temporarily extension to internet spying program

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives are working to build support to temporarily extend the National Security Agency’s expiring internet surveillance program by tucking it into a stop-gap funding measure, lawmakers said. The month-long extension of the...

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Apple wins big with U.S. tax bill but faces snag on foreign patents

(Reuters) - The U.S. Republican tax overhaul passed by Congress this week will allow Apple Inc to bring back its $252.3 billion foreign cash pile without a major tax hit - a long-standing company goal. Other provisions of the bill, namely the cut in the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 perce...

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Twitter seeks business ad dollars with live news, CEO tweets

(Reuters) - Twitter Inc is turning its spotlight onto a new demographic in its bid to lure more advertising dollars to its social media platform: deep-pocketed business users. The microblogging service has 330 million monthly active users but has struggled to turn its popularity into profit, losing ...

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BoE's Carney sees problems with central-bank issued cryptocurrencies

LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Mark Carney sees "fundamental problems" with the idea of a digital currency issued by a central bank that could be used by the general public.

U.S. regulator plays down bitcoin fears, backs fintech charter

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. banking regulator said on Wednesday that bitcoin does not currently pose a threat to the country’s banking system and that there is “space” for innovative financial technology firms to operate in the traditional lending business. The marketplace is wat...

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Tax overhaul may add fresh fuel to red-hot tech rally

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The biggest overhaul of the U.S. tax system in more than 30 years, set to win final approval by lawmakers on Wednesday, may add fuel to a rally in technology stocks that has powered Wall Street to record highs this year. A lower corporate tax rate across the board and a one...

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Saudi sovereign fund chief says outlook for Uber is positive

RIYADH (Reuters) - The head of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, its top sovereign wealth fund, said on Wednesday that the outlook for ride-hailing firm Uber [UBER.UL] was positive and the company's revenues had doubled since the PIF invested in it.

Uber names ex-Orbitz executive as COO

(Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] on Wednesday named a former Orbitz executive to be chief operating officer as the ride-sharing service looks to fill key positions to help take the company public. It is Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi’s second significant hire after genera...

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U.S. regulator says bitcoin currently not a threat to banking system

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bitcoin currently does not pose a threat to the stability of the U.S. banking system because lenders have mostly steered clear of taking positions in the virtual currency, a top U.S. banking regulator said on Wednesday. Speaking during his first formal press briefing since bei...

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Third of Uber's UK drivers logged into app for more than 40 hours a week

LONDON (Reuters) - Nearly a third of Uber’s 50,000 drivers in Britain are logged into the app for more than 40 hours a week, whilst just under 8 percent are online for more than 60 hours, the company said in a letter to parliamentarians published on Wednesday. The app has been attacked by trad...

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Coinbase probes possible insider trading after sharp rise in bitcoin cash

(Reuters) - Major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase said on Wednesday it will investigate accusations of insider trading, following a sharp increase in the price of bitcoin cash hours before it announced support for the virtual currency. Bitcoin cash, a clone of bitcoin, jumped to $8,500 on Coinbase&...

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Amazon's allure may be tough to top this holiday: poll

CHICAGO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - More U.S. online shoppers plan to give Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) the bulk of their holiday business this year than in previous years, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll, despite costly efforts by traditional retailers to attract customers to their websites. The onli...

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Uber dealt blow after EU court classifies it as transport service

LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - Uber [UBER.UL] should be classified as a transport service and regulated like other taxi operators, the European Union’s top court said in a landmark ruling on Wednesday that could impact other online businesses in Europe. Uber, which allows passengers to summon a ride t...

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Indian authorities weighing how to regulate cryptocurrencies: SEBI chief

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India’s capital market regulator is talking with the government and central bank about how to regulate cryptocurrencies, its chairman said on Wednesday. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), plus officials from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Electronics an...

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Uber dealt blow by EU court ruling that it is transport service

LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - Ride-hailing app Uber provides a transport service and can be regulated like traditional taxis, the European Union’s top court said on Wednesday in a landmark ruling that will determine the rules Uber and peers have to respect in Europe. “The service provided by Ub...

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Saved by sensors, Sony aims to expand their use in robotics, self-driving cars

TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp is poised to report its highest-ever profit this year on strong sales of image sensors after years of losing ground in consumer electronics and hopes to develop the technology for use in robotics and self-driving cars as competition heats up. The results will mark a signi...

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South Korea's Samsung Elec develops 'world's smallest' DRAM chip

SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Wednesday it has developed the world’s smallest DRAM chip, widening its technical lead on competitors as it tracks toward a record operating profit in 2017 driven by the semiconductor business. The “second-generation” 10-nanometr...

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Be careful of lithium ion batteries, Europe warns Christmas air travellers

BERLIN (Reuters) - European aviation safety authorities have urged airlines to remind passengers about how best to transport electronic devices containing lithium ion batteries over the busy Christmas travel period. Lithium ion batteries, found in devices such as laptops, mobile phones, tablets, and...

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SEC halts trading in crypto firm after eye-popping rise

(Reuters) - U.S. securities regulators on Tuesday temporarily suspended trading in the shares of Crypto Company, a small firm that saw its stock rise more than 2,700 percent this month after signing a deal to buy a cryptocurrency data platform. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission cited conce...

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Facebook to notify users when photos of them are uploaded

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc said on Tuesday it would begin using facial recognition technology to tell people on the social network when others upload photos of them, if they agree to let the company keep a facial template on file. The company said in a statement that it was making the fe...

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U.S. says Facebook, Microsoft disabled North Korean cyber threats

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Facebook Inc and Microsoft Corp acted last week to disable a number of potential North Korean cyber threats, a senior White House official said, as the United States publicly blamed Pyongyang for a May cyber attack that crippled hospitals, banks and other companies. “Fac...

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SEC suspends trading in tiny firm after eye-popping rise

(Reuters) - U.S. securities regulators have temporarily suspended trading in the shares of Crypto Company, a small California firm whose stock sky-rocketed more than 2,700 percent this month. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in a press release on Monday raised concerns about the accuracy ...

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U.S. says Facebook, Microsoft disabled North Korean cyber actions

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Facebook Inc (FB.O) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) acted last week to disable a number of North Korean cyber actions, White House homeland security adviser Tom Bossert said on Tuesday as the United States publicly blamed Pyongyang for a May cyber attack that crippled hospitals, b...

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UPS pre-orders 125 Tesla electric semi-trucks, largest order yet

DETROIT (Reuters) - United Parcel Service Inc (UPS.N) said on Tuesday it is buying 125 Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) all-electric semi-trucks, the largest order for the big rig so far, as the package delivery company expands its fleet of alternative-fuel vehicles. Tesla is trying to convince the trucking commu...

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Facebook makes German marketing push as hate speech law bites

BERLIN (Reuters) - Facebook (FB.O) is making a big marketing drive in Germany just as the country starts to implement tough regulations designed to clamp down on online hate speech. The U.S. corporation has historically done little advertising of its own but has plastered billboards across Germany w...

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German cartel office says Facebook abused dominant position

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany’s cartel office has found that Facebook (FB.O) abused its dominant market position, in a ruling that questioned the U.S. social network’s model of monetizing the personal data of its 2 billion users through targeted advertising. Presenting preliminary findin...

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China's Didi, rival to Uber, looks to break into Taiwan market

HONG KONG (Reuters) - China’s Didi Chuxing on Tuesday said it was looking to bring its ride-hailing service to Taiwan via a local franchise partner, potentially marking its first expansion across waters as it looks to take on U.S. rival Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL]. Didi Chuxing in a statem...

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South Korea financial regulator says 'virtual currencies' are not currencies

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service said on Tuesday it does not consider bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to be currencies of any kind and would not seek to regulate their trade beyond rules announced last week. “All we can do is to warn people as we don&rsquo...

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