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| Sony, Lenovo in talks on possible PC business alliance: report Friday, Jan 31, 2014 11:41 PM PST  Japan's Sony Corp and Chinese technology company Lenovo Group are in talks about a possible joint venture to take over Sony's loss-making Vaio PC business overseas, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported on Saturday. "Sony continues to address various options for the PC business, but the press report on a possible PC business alliance between Sony and Lenovo is inaccurate," the company said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. retailer Michaels warns of possible payment card breach Friday, Jan 31, 2014 03:49 PM PST By Jim Finkle BOSTON (Reuters) - Michaels Companies Inc, the biggest U.S. arts and crafts retailer, said it is investigating a possible security breach on its payment card network and advised customers to check their financial statements for fraudulent activity. If confirmed, it would mark the second known data breach since 2011 at Michaels, which is preparing to sell shares in an initial public offering. "We are concerned there may have been a data security attack on Michaels that may have affected our customers' payment card information," Michaels Chief Executive Chuck Rubin said in a statement on Saturday. Full Story | Top |
| Nadella outran better-known candidates for Microsoft CEO Friday, Jan 31, 2014 03:31 PM PST  By Nadia Damouni and Bill Rigby NEW YORK/SEATTLE (Reuters) - The race to determine the next head of Microsoft Corp looks to have ended where it began, with the software giant poised to take the route of least risk and tap rising internal star Satya Nadella for the job. After a bruising, five-month selection process, the list of contenders was cut to six serious candidates, with the chief executive job nearly going to Ford Motor Co CEO Alan Mulally, an outsider favored by investors lobbying for radical change. If Nadella wins the day, as expected, it will be for his innovative work on Microsoft's growing server and tools business, which provides online computing and storage for companies, said a source briefed on the search process. Nadella is in discussions with the board, and is likely to ask that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates drop his chairman role and help Nadella more closely on technology, two sources said. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Wayfair raises around $150 million in funding Friday, Jan 31, 2014 11:52 AM PST Wayfair, the online home-furnishings site, is raising around $150 million at a valuation of around $2 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter, underscoring the appeal of select online retailers. T.Rowe Price led the Wayfair funding round, the person familiar with the investment told Reuters late on Thursday. Spokeswomen for Wayfair and T. Rowe Price declined to comment. Not all venture-backed online retailers are thriving. Full Story | Top |
| Experts predict Lenovo's U.S. buys will pass regulatory muster Friday, Jan 31, 2014 09:44 AM PST  By Diane Bartz WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. officials are likely to allow China's Lenovo Group to buy IBM's low-end server business and Google Inc's Motorola Mobility handset business if it agrees to concessions aimed at protecting U.S. national security, experts said. Computer maker Lenovo has advantages over other Chinese companies that should help it overcome the mutual suspicion between the United States and China over industrial spying and cybersecurity, such as its track record of successful U.S. acquisitions in the past. Lenovo said on Wednesday it would acquire Motorola Mobility, along with some 2,000 patents, for $2.91 billion. The deals will be reviewed by the inter-agency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, to ensure they do not threaten national security. Full Story | Top |
| In India, would-be Microsoft CEO showed inquisitive streak Friday, Jan 31, 2014 08:55 AM PST  By Sumeet Chatterjee MUMBAI (Reuters) - In his university days in India, Satya Nadella, likely the next chief executive officer of Microsoft Corp, was a relentless questioner. "When all other students will quietly listen to what I would teach, he will ask a lot of questions - 'why does it have to be like this, why can't we do it like this?'," said Harishchandra Hebbar, who taught digital electronics to Nadella at Manipal University. That questioning nature has served Nadella well in his 22-year career at Microsoft, the world's largest software company. His elevation to the top spot at Microsoft would end a five-month search for a tech-savvy heavy-hitter to lead the company co-founded by Bill Gates. Full Story | Top |
| Google's strength in advertising to drive growth: analysts Friday, Jan 31, 2014 07:20 AM PST  (Reuters) - Google Inc looks set to extend its leadership in online advertising as it sharpens its focus on its core business, analysts said after strong ad sales helped the No. 1 search company report stronger-than-expected quarterly revenue. Google's shares, which closed at $1,135 ahead of the results announcement on Thursday, opened about 3 percent higher after at least 12 brokerages raised their price targets on the stock to as much as $1,400. Broker Canaccord Genuity raised its target price by $370 to $1,370, noting that Google's website revenue growth accelerated to 22.1 percent in the fourth quarter, the third consecutive quarter of faster growth. Canaccord and others also said the sale of Google's loss-making Motorola handset unit to China's Lenovo Group Ltd would help it focus on its core internet business and boost margins. Full Story | Top |
| Amazon shares fall 9 percent after warning of possible loss Friday, Jan 31, 2014 06:54 AM PST  (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc shares fell more than 9 percent in early trading on Friday, after the online retailer warned of a possible loss in the current quarter and its quarterly results missed expectations in the holiday shopping season. At least seven brokerages cut their price targets on the stock, by as much as $30 to a low of $415. Another seven raised their price targets by as much as $100 to a high of $500. Amazon shares were down at $372.81 in early trading. Full Story | Top |
| Twitter buys patents, seals licensing pact with IBM Friday, Jan 31, 2014 06:08 AM PST  Twitter Inc has bought 900 patents and signed a cross-licensing agreement with IBM, making peace with Big Blue and bulking up on its intellectual property portfolio as it takes on larger rivals Google and Facebook. The agreement announced on Friday comes after International Business Machines Corp accused Twitter in November - on the eve of its high-profile initial public offering - of infringing three of its patents. At the time, it underscored how few patents the six-year-old social media company possessed in relation to more established rivals. A cross-licensing agreement will help safeguard Twitter against similar claims in the future. Full Story | Top |
| 'ChewBacca' hackers targeted retailers in 11 countries: RSA Friday, Jan 31, 2014 12:55 AM PST By Jim Finkle BOSTON (Reuters) - A cyber criminal ring targeting small retailers in 11 countries stole data on 49,000 payment cards using a malicious software known as "ChewBacca" before the operation was shut down, according to a cyber research firm. RSA FirstWatch disclosed the attacks on Thursday on its website. The report comes as the Secret Service investigates a major data breach at Target Corp that resulted in the theft of some 40 million payment card numbers, plus other data from some 70 million customers, along with a smaller breach at luxury department store Neiman Marcus. The findings from RSA show that the recent spate of attacks extend outside the United States. Full Story | Top |
| Facebook looks to nab Twitter's 'second screen' crown in Super Bowl Friday, Jan 31, 2014 12:06 AM PST  By Alexei Oreskovic and Gerry Shih SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - More than 100 million people will be glued to their TV screens on Sunday, when the Denver Broncos take on the Seattle Seahawks in America's premier sporting contest, the Super Bowl. But two fierce rivals, Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc, will also be clashing head-to-head on a "second screen" that TV viewers will tune in for the big game. The two social networks are jostling to be the venue of choice for fans to comment on big plays, the star-studded halftime show and of course the commercials - multimillion dollar productions by major brands that are often a draw in their own right. The Super Bowl is the biggest stage for a broader battle that has intensified over the past year between the two behemoths of social media. Full Story | Top |
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