WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission warned Thursday that investors should “exercise caution” with cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, noting state and federal regulators may not be able to recoup any lost investments from illegal actors. Many promoters of initia...
Intel extends losses as worries over chip security linger
(Reuters) - Intel Corp (INTC.O) shares fell as much as 5 percent on Thursday, marking their biggest one-day drop in more than a year, a day after a report said mobiles and computers using its chips were vulnerable to being hacked. Intel’s shares were trading at $43.16 in heavy early morning tr...
Israel proposes ban on trading shares of cryptocurrency companies
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel may ban from trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange companies whose main business revolves around bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the Israel Securities Authority (ISA), the country’s markets regulator, said on Thursday. The regulator has proposed an amendment t...
India probes report on breach of national identity database
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India on Thursday began investigating a report that access to its database of the identity details of more than 1 billion citizens was being sold for just $8 on social media, in what could be one of the giant program’s biggest security breaches. The Tribune newspaper said...
Tesla falls on Model 3 production delay, but analysts upbeat
(Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) shares fell 3.5 percent in premarket trading on Thursday, setting the company up to lose nearly $1.9 billion in market value after it pushed back a production target for its much-anticipated Model 3 sedan yet again. Analysts, however, stayed upbeat, saying the electric...
As drone demand soars, New Jersey poised to bar drunken droning
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. drone sales in 2017 topped $1 billion for the first time ever, but don’t raise a glass too quickly if you’re in New Jersey, where lawmakers on Thursday are poised to outlaw drunken droning. It is one of a wave of U.S. states moving to bring the unmanned aircraft...
AT&T to launch 5G in U.S. by late 2018
(Reuters) - AT&T Inc, the No. 2 U.S. wireless carrier, said it would launch fifth-generation (5G) mobile network service in a dozen cities in the United States by late 2018, after international wireless standards for the network were finalised last month. The 5G technology is expected to provide...
Security flaws put virtually all phones, computers at risk
FRANKFURT/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Security researchers on Wednesday disclosed a set of security flaws that they said could let hackers steal sensitive information from nearly every modern computing device containing chips from Intel Corp (INTC.O), Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD.O) and ARM Holding...
BlackBerry surges on deal with Baidu for self-driving cars
(Reuters) - BlackBerry Ltd (BB.TO) and Chinese internet search firm Baidu Inc (BIDU.O) on Wednesday signed a deal to jointly develop self-driving vehicle technology, sending BlackBerry’s Toronto-listed shares up 13 percent to a four-year high. The deal follows similar agreements with firms inc...
SEC mixes message on Apple shareholder proposals, activists say
BOSTON (Reuters) - Apple Inc was allowed to disregard one activist shareholder proposal on greenhouse gas emissions but told to hold a vote on another concerning human rights issues, in closely watched securities rulings that tested new guidance from U.S regulators. The split decision in December le...
Apple's battery replacement offer to reduce 2018 iPhone sales: Barclays
(Reuters) - Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) offer to replace flagging batteries at a slashed rate could be a hurdle for iPhone unit sales in 2018 if more users take the deal over upgrading to a new device, Barclays analysts write in a note. Apple’s customers have not been very pleased since the com...
Uber is sued over payment for mobile ads it called fraudulent
(Reuters) - A British mobile advertising agency has sued Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] to force the ride-hailing company to pay millions of dollars of bills that Uber had refused to pay after claiming that ads being generated were fraudulent. Fetch Media Ltd filed its lawsuit on Tuesday in the sam...
Intel working to fix security flaw in its chips without slowing computers
FRANKFURT/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Intel Corp (INTC.O) on Wednesday acknowledged a report that a design flaw in its chips could let hackers steal data from computing devices but said that it was working on a solution that would not significantly slow computers. On Tuesday, tech publication The Regi...
Alphabet's Google explores sale of restaurant reviewer Zagat: sources
(Reuters) - Alphabet Inc’s Google is exploring a potential sale of Zagat, the U.S. restaurant review guide which the search giant bought for $151 million in 2011, people familiar with the matter said. A sale of Zagat would mark a course reversal for Alphabet’s once ambitious plans for th...
Brazilian agency requires Apple to inform consumers on batteries
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - A Brazilian state agency responsible for consumer issues notified Apple Inc (AAPL.O) on Wednesday that it must explain how Brazilian owners of iPhones will be able to buy battery replacements at lower prices. Procon-SP, an agency in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil’s riches...
Bitcoin may be king, but Ripple dark horse in crypto race
(Reuters) - Bitcoin was the star of the white-knuckle ride that cryptocurrencies offered in 2017 but lesser-known names, such as Ripple and Ethereum, are seen gaining prominence in 2018. While bitcoin jumped more than 1,200 percent last year, Ripple, created by the founder of bitcoin exchange Mt Gox...
Spotify makes confidential filing for U.S. IPO: source
NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Music streaming service Spotify has filed confidentially for an initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is moving ahead with a direct listing in the first half of the year, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesd...
Design flaw found in Intel chips; fix causes them to slow: report
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A design flaw has been found in microprocessors made by Intel Corp (INTC.O) that requires updates to computer operating systems, a tech publication reported, adding that the fix causes the chips to operate more slowly. The defect affects the so-called kernel memory on Intel pro...
Norway powers ahead (electrically): over half new car sales now electric or hybrid
OSLO (Reuters) - Sales of electric and hybrid cars rose above half of new registrations in Norway in 2017, a record aided by generous subsidies that extended the country’s lead in shifting from fossil-fuel engines, data showed on Wednesday. Pure electric cars and hybrids, which have both batte...
Amazon, Google cut speaker prices in market share contest: analysts
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google both discounted their virtual assistant speakers so deeply over the holiday shopping season that they likely lost a few dollars per unit, highlighting a sharply different strategy from Apple Inc as it prepares its HomePod speak...
More than half of new Norway car sales now electric or hybrid
OSLO (Reuters) - Sales of electric and hybrid cars exceeded half of new registrations in Norway in 2017, a record aided by generous subsidies that extended the Nordic nation’s lead in a shift from fossil-fuel engines, data showed on Wednesday. Pure electric cars and hybrids, which have both ba...
Mobileye deal boosts Israeli high-tech exits to $23 billion in 2017
TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israeli high-tech acquisitions and initial public offering activity soared to $23 billion in 2017 from $10 billion in 2016 due to the $15.3 billion purchase of Mobileye by Intel Corp, data published on Wednesday showed. The acquisition of Neuroderm by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma fo...
China central bank can tell local governments to regulate bitcoin miners' power use: source
BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s central bank told a top-level government internet finance group that the monetary authority can tell local governments to regulate the power usage of bitcoin miners to gradually reduce the scale of their production, a source said. While the People’s Bank of Ch...
Beijing to build $2 billion AI research park: Xinhua
BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing authorities will build a 13.8 billion yuan ($2.12 billion) artificial intelligence development project in the city’s west, the official Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday. The area will hold up to 400 enterprises and have an estimated annual output value of 50 bil...
Altice drops Starz, directs customers to its online service
(Reuters) - Cable company Altice USA Inc is employing a new negotiating tactic when it comes to reaching agreements with content providers on prices: pointing customers to programmers’ own streaming services. The New York-based cable company announced on Monday it would no longer carry Starz&r...
Spotify hit with $1.6 billion copyright lawsuit
(Reuters) - Music streaming company Spotify was sued by Wixen Music Publishing Inc last week for allegedly using thousands of songs, including those of Tom Petty, Neil Young and the Doors, without a license and compensation to the music publisher. Wixen, an exclusive licensee of songs such as &ldquo...
Aptiv, Lyft discuss engagement beyond self-driving ride partnership
(Reuters) - Aptiv Plc and ride-hailing firm Lyft are discussing further engagement beyond showcasing self-driving rides in Las Vegas during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this month, the U.S auto parts supplier said on Tuesday. Aptiv, formerly known as Delphi Automotive Plc, has partnered with ...
Amazon says over 5 billion items shipped in 2017 via Prime
(Reuters) - Online retailer Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) said on Tuesday it shipped over 5 billion items worldwide via its subscription based Prime service in 2017 while adding more new members than ever before. The e-commerce giant, which revealed its Prime shipment numbers for the first time, did not g...
Serial Swatter “SWAuTistic” Bragged He Hit 100 Schools, 10 Homes
The individual who allegedly made a fake emergency call to Kansas police last week that summoned them to shoot and kill an unarmed local man has claimed credit for raising dozens of these dangerous false alarms — calling in bogus hostage situations and bomb threats at roughly 100 schools ...
Serial Swatter “SWAuTistic” Bragged He Hit 100 Schools, 10 Homes
The individual who allegedly made a fake emergency call to Kansas police last week that summoned them to shoot and kill an unarmed local man has claimed credit for raising dozens of these dangerous false alarms — calling in bogus hostage situations and bomb threats at roughly 100 schools ...