Ride hailing firm Grab secures up to $700 million in debt facilities

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore-headquartered Grab, the main Southeast Asian rival of Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL], said on Friday it had secured debt facilities of up to $700 million to help expand its car rental program. FILE PHOTO: A Grab motorbike helmet is displayed during Grab's fifth anniv...

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Exclusive: Tech companies to lobby for immigrant 'Dreamers' to remain in U.S.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Nearly two dozen major U.S. companies in technology and other industries are planning to launch a coalition to demand legislation that would allow young, illegal immigrants a path to permanent residency, according to documents seen by Reuters. The Coalition for the American...

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SoftBank's big checks are stalling tech IPOs

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. (Reuters) - Big cash infusions for startups from an ever-expanding group of financiers, led by SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) and Middle East sovereign wealth funds, have extinguished hopes that the technology IPO market would bounce back this year. These deep-pocketed financiers,...

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PayPal tops profit estimates, lifts target on mobile payments growth

(Reuters) - Sharp growth in mobile payments led PayPal Holdings Inc (PYPL.O) to report a better-than-expected third-quarter profit on Thursday and lift its guidance for earnings through the rest of the year. The San Jose, California-based payments company has been working hard in recent years to exp...

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PayPal quarterly profit beats on higher mobile transaction volume

(Reuters) - Payment processor PayPal Holdings Inc (PYPL.O) reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday, helped by mobile payments volume that more than doubled. The company’s shares were up 3.4 percent at $69.55 in extended trading. San Jose, California-based PayPal has been e...

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U.S. lawmakers want crackdown on Facebook, Twitter political ads

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers, alarmed that foreign entities used the internet to influence last year’s election, introduced legislation on Thursday to extend rules governing political advertising on television, print and radio to also cover social media like Facebook Inc (FB.O). Democ...

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Billions in tax breaks offered to Amazon for second headquarters

(Reuters) - A public contest ending Thursday to bid over housing Amazon.com Inc’s (AMZN.O) second headquarters has drawn pitches from governors and a prime minister, marketing campaigns and offers of tax credits worth at least as much as $7 billion. The world’s largest online retailer ha...

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U.S. lawmakers want regulation of Facebook, Twitter political ads

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers, alarmed over hackers’ use of the internet to influence last year’s election, introduced legislation on Thursday to extend the rules that apply to political advertising on television and radio to social media like Facebook Inc (FB.O). Democratic Sena...

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Google offers bug bounty to clean up mobile apps

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google is offering security experts a bounty to identify Android app flaws as the Alphabet Inc unit seeks to wipe out bugs from its Google Play store. Each flaw will score at least $1,000 under the program announced on Thursday to back up automated checks that have failed t...

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Alphabet's CapitalG leads Lyft's $1 billion funding round

(Reuters) - Lyft Inc has raised $1 billion in fresh financing, the ride-services company said on Thursday, in a round led by one of Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) investment funds, further complicating the convoluted world of ride-hailing alliances and dealing a blow to rival Uber Technologies Inc. ...

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'Anemic' iPhone 8 demand drags Apple shares lower

(Reuters) - Signs of poor demand for the iPhone 8 fueled more questions on Thursday over Apple Inc’s strategy of releasing two phones within months of each other in 2017, sending its shares almost 3 percent lower. The chief executive of Canada’s largest mobile network Rogers Communicatio...

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Facebook, Twitter lawyers to testify in Congress on Russia meddling

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc will send their general counsels to testify on Nov. 1 before two Congressional panels investigating possible Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, the companies said on Thursday. An executive from Alphabet Inc’s Google unit also is expe...

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'Anemic' iPhone 8 demand drags Apple lower

(Reuters) - Signs of poor demand for the iPhone 8 fueled more market questions over Apple Inc’s double 2017 iPhone release strategy, sending its shares down as much as 2.6 percent on Thursday. The chief executive of Canada’s largest mobile network Rogers Communication said appetite for t...

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Facebook general counsel to testify before Congress on Nov. 1

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Facebook Inc’s general counsel will testify on Nov. 1 before a U.S. House of Representatives panel investigating possible Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, the company said on Thursday. Executives from Twitter Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google also were expec...

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Amazon offered billions in tax breaks for second U.S. headquarters

(Reuters) - U.S. cities are offering Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) at least as much as $7 billion in tax breaks ahead of a Thursday deadline as they compete to house its second headquarters. The world’s largest online retailer has won promises from elected officials who are eager for the $5 billion-...

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Samsung, Omnitracs expand tablet offering for U.S. truck fleets

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and U.S. truck fleet services company Omnitracs said on Thursday they are rolling out a tablet-software package to help smaller carriers comply with a looming federal regulation to log driver hours electronically. The platform combines Omnitracs measure...

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Apple shares drop on iPhone 8 demand worries

(Reuters) - Apple Inc’s shares fell 1.5 percent in premarket trading on Thursday on growing concerns about muted demand for the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. The company has cut orders for both models by about 50 percent for November and December, Taiwan-based Economic Daily News reported, citin...

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TSMC's third-quarter net profit falls 7 percent on supply constraints, beats estimates

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Apple Inc supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) on Thursday said supply-chain inventory constraints pulled down net profit in the third quarter, albeit by a lesser degree than analysts had estimated. The world’s largest contract chipmaker also forecast re...

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TSMC's third-quarter net profit falls 7.1 percent, beats estimates

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Apple Inc supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd on Thursday said net profit fell 7.1 percent in the three months through September, slightly better than analyst estimates. The world’s largest contract chipmaker booked third-quarter profit of T$89.925 billion ($2...

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Samsung Electronics shares fall 3 percent, easing from record-high on profit-taking

SEOUL (Reuters) - Shares of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd extended losses on Thursday, easing from a record-high reached on Tuesday due to profit-taking. Samsung Electronics shares fell as much as 3.2 percent to their lowest intraday level since Oct. 10. Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Dahee Kim