(Reuters) - United Parcel Service Inc and FedEx Corp shares fell 2 percent on Friday, after a report said Amazon.com Inc is preparing to launch a delivery service for businesses, which would directly compete with the U.S. package delivery companies. The e-commerce company expects to roll out a new d...
U.S. transportation agency calls March 1 'summit' on autonomous cars
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Auto manufacturers, technology companies, road safety advocates and policy makers will attend a March 1 conference over potential government actions that could speed the rollout of autonomous cars, the U.S. Transportation Department said on Friday. Last month, Transportation S...
Waymo and Uber reach settlement in trade secret case
(Reuters) - Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Waymo self-driving vehicle unit and ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies Inc have settled their legal dispute over trade secrets, the two companies said on Friday. A trial to decide the case, which started earlier this week, has been dismissed by the judge. ...
English Premier League rights bonanza kicks off with focus on Amazon
LONDON (Reuters) - England’s multi-billion pound Premier League rights auction kicked off on Friday with soccer fans waiting to see if a digital giant such as Amazon would enter the fray against pay-TV players Sky and BT. Officials running one of the most lucrative rights auctions in the world...
Bitcoin may not be worth all the hoopla: N.Y. Fed blog post
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitcoin and other digital currencies have, so far, not been formidable competition for cash, checks or credit cards as a payment method in the United States and other major economies, according to two economists at New York Federal Reserve. Virtual currencies usually thrive as a...
Gibraltar moves ahead with world's first initial coin offering rules
LONDON (Reuters) - Gibraltar will introduce the world’s first regulations for initial coin offerings with dedicated rules for the cryptocurrency sector whose fast growth has triggered concern among central bankers. They are worried about financial stability and protecting consumers but regulat...
Google to use Getty Images content for its services
(Reuters) - Alphabet Inc’s Google will begin using content from Getty Images within its products and services as part of a multi-year licensing partnership, the photo agency said on Friday. Getty did not provide any more details. Reuters News, owned by Thomson Reuters Corp, competes with Getty...
Facebook launches $10 million community leader awards
LONDON (Reuters) - Facebook (FB.O) launched a community leadership program on Friday that will award $10 million in total to more than 100 people who have successfully built groups on the social network as part of its push to create “meaningful” interactions. The initiative, announced at...
Barclays in U.S. set to join cryptocurrency credit card ban: report
LONDON (Reuters) - Barclays (BARC.L) is likely to follow other major lenders in the United States in stopping customers from buying Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies with its credit cards, according to an interview with a senior executive at its credit card unit. “We are making the decision t...
Japan to let Coincheck resume yen withdrawals Tuesday: source
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese regulators will allow cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck Inc to resume yen withdrawals from Tuesday, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said. Coincheck, reeling from the theft of $530 million worth of NEM digital money by hackers last month, has received yen-withd...
China's Didi, SoftBank target Japan in taxi-hailing push
SHANGHAI/TOKYO (Reuters) - China’s Didi Chuxing and SoftBank Group Corp will roll out a venture in Japan later this year to provide ride-hailing services, amid a global battle to control the technology increasingly central to urban transport. The move into Japan underscores a recent push by Di...
Exclusive: China's Ant plans equity fundraising at potential $100 billion valuation - sources
HONG KONG (Reuters) - China’s Ant Financial Services Group is planning to raise up to $5 billion in fresh equity that could value the online payments giant at more than $100 billion, people familiar with the move told Reuters. A fundraising would bring Ant, in which e-commerce firm Alibaba Gro...
SoftBank, Yahoo Japan, Aeon plan to launch online retail business: NHK
TOKYO (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp, Yahoo Japan Corp> and Aeon Co Ltd plan to launch an online retail business, NHK reported on Friday. Slideshow (2 Images) The online business will sell products including food, clothes and everyday goods, NHK said citing unnamed sources, in what would be the ...
China's Didi, SoftBank to roll out taxi venture in Japan
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese ride hailing giant Didi Chuxing will set up a venture with SoftBank Group Corp to provide ride-hailing and other services for the Japanese taxi industry, the companies said in a statement on Friday. The move into Japan underscores a recent push by Didi to beef up its pre...
Salesforce investing $2 billion in Canada, as U.S. tech firms head north
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - U.S. business software developer Salesforce.com Inc (CRM.N) will pump $2 billion into its Canadian business over the next five years, it said on Thursday, the latest major U.S. technology investment across the border since early 2017. Toronto is a hub for artificial intelli...
Nvidia's upbeat forecast powered by data center, cryptocurrency demand
(Reuters) - Nvidia Corp’s (NVDA.O) upbeat current-quarter revenue forecast on Thursday underscored surging demand for its graphics chips used in data centers, gaming devices and cryptocurrency mining, sending its shares up as much as 12 percent in extended trading. The company, which also repo...
Qualcomm rejects Broadcom's revised buyout offer, proposes meeting
(Reuters) - U.S. semiconductor company Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) on Thursday rejected Broadcom Ltd’s (AVGO.O) revised $121 billion buyout offer, but proposed meeting its peer to see whether they can address what it called the bid’s “serious deficiencies in value and certainty.” Q...
Nvidia shares surge 11 percent as GPU chip demand skyrockets
(Reuters) - Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) reported a better-than-expected 34 percent jump in quarterly revenue on Thursday, underpinned by strong demand for its graphics chips used in data centers, gaming devices and in cryptocurrency mining. The company’s shares rose 11 percent to a high of $241 in ex...
Qualcomm rejects Broadcom's revised buyout offer
(Reuters) - Chipmaker Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) said on Thursday its board had unanimously rejected Broadcom Ltd’s (AVGO.O) revised $121 billion buyout offer. The board has determined that Broadcom’s proposal “materially undervalues” Qualcomm and falls short of the firm regulator...
'Call of Duty' drives big holiday quarter for Activision Blizzard
(Reuters) - Activision Blizzard Inc (ATVI.O) beat analysts’ expectations for revenue in the final quarter of 2017, helped by robust Christmas buying of its blockbuster “Call of Duty” videogame and higher digital sales. “Call of Duty: WWII”, which was released in Novembe...
FireEye reports first-ever adjusted quarterly profit
(Reuters) - Cyber security firm FireEye Inc (FEYE.O) on Thursday reported its first-ever quarterly adjusted profit since going public in 2013, helped by cost cutting and shift to a subscription-based model. On an adjusted basis, the company reported a profit of 1 cent per share for the fourth quarte...
Twitter surprises with revenue turnaround, shares surge
(Reuters) - Twitter Inc on Thursday delivered its first quarterly profit and an unexpected return to revenue growth helped by expansion outside the United States, pushing shares in the social network to more than two-year highs. Overall revenue rose 2 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlie...
Uber board got assurances on diligence ahead of self-driving deal: investor
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A key Uber investor testified on Thursday that the company’s board received assurances that due diligence had turned up no problems with a self-driving car startup which Uber acquired, differing from testimony by Uber’s former chief executive. Benchmark venture ...
U.S. Arrests 13, Charges 36 in ‘Infraud’ Cybercrime Forum Bust
The U.S. Justice Department announced charges on Wednesday against three dozen individuals thought to be key members of ‘Infraud,” a long-running cybercrime forum that federal prosecutors say cost consumers more than a half billion dollars. In conjunction with the forum takedown, 13 alle...
U.S. Arrests 13, Charges 36 in ‘Infraud’ Cybercrime Forum Bust
The U.S. Justice Department announced charges on Wednesday against three dozen individuals thought to be key members of ‘Infraud,” a long-running cybercrime forum that federal prosecutors say cost consumers more than a half billion dollars. In conjunction with the forum takedown, 13 alle...
French labor court backs Uber in driver contract dispute
PARIS (Reuters) - Uber [UBER.UL] won a rare French victory on Thursday against attempts to force the ride-hailing operator to recognize its drivers as employees, a prospect that would undermine its entire business model. In a decision likely to bring sighs of relief among gig-economy firms and inves...
Twitter delivers first profit, shares surge 22 percent
(Reuters) - Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) shares surged 22 percent at the market open on Thursday after it reported its first quarterly profit and better-than-expected revenue, helped by ads that better targeted users and sales growth outside the United States. Investors shrugged off zero growth in Twitter&r...
YouTube found no evidence of Russian interference in Brexit referendum
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - YouTube found no evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum, a senior executive told a British parliamentary committee inquiry into fake news. Britain’s Digital, Media, Culture and Sport Committee is taking evidence on Thursday at George Washington Un...
Twitter delivers first profit, shares surge 25 percent
(Reuters) - Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) shares surged 25 percent before the bell on Thursday after the social network reported its first quarterly profit and better-than-expected revenue, helped by ads that better targeted users and sales growth outside the United States. Investors shrugged off zero growth...
Twitter shares surge 15 percent on first quarterly profit
(Reuters) - Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) reported its first quarterly net profit and topped Wall Street targets on Thursday as video ad sales rose, while a clampdown on fake accounts brought the number of people using the social network in below expectations. Shares of the microblogging service rose about 1...