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| Target officials to brief House Oversight panel: source Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 10:45 AM PST Officials from Target Corp will participate in a telephone briefing on Thursday with members of a powerful House of Representatives committee, a source familiar with the issue told Reuters. In the briefing, Target representatives are expected to be questioned about details of recent data breaches that resulted in the theft of credit card records and personal information from millions of the retailer's customers. Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee earlier this month requested a hearing on the data thefts. An aide to committee chairman Republican Darrell Issa said at the time that the panel was likely to "so some follow up" on the breaches. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. attorney general confirms probe of Target data breach Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 10:12 AM PST  By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder confirmed on Wednesday that the Justice Department was investigating the massive hacking of consumer data from retailer Target Corp during the holiday shopping season. Testifying at a U.S. Senate hearing, Holder said the department would seek not only to find the perpetrators of the breach, but also "any individuals and groups who exploit that data via credit card fraud." Target has said a breach of its networks resulted in the theft of about 40 million credit and debit card records and 70 million other records with customer information such as addresses and telephone numbers. The United States Secret Service usually takes the lead in credit card breach investigations for the federal government. "While we generally do not discuss specific matters under investigation, I can confirm the Department is investigating the breach involving the U.S. retailer, Target," he said. Full Story | Top |
| Obamacare contractor CGI profit misses, shares slide Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 09:32 AM PST By Alastair Sharp TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian computer services provider CGI Group Inc, the contractor behind the troubled Obamacare enrollment website, reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results on Wednesday, sending its shares to a four-month low. The Montreal-based company said revenue and bookings - an indicator of future sales - were both strong in its first quarter despite losing the contract to manage the U.S. federal healthcare enrollment website it helped build. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Google close to settling EU antitrust probe - sources Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 08:22 AM PST  By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Google is close to settling a three-year European antitrust probe with "much better" concessions to allay concerns over blocking rivals such as Microsoft from internet search results, two sources said on Wednesday. A settlement with the European Union's regulator would mean that Google, the world's biggest internet search engine, would escape a possible fine of as much as $5 billion or 10 percent of its 2012 revenue. Such an outcome would mirror the company's success in the United States last year where it received only a mild reprimand from the Federal Trade Commission, which said Google had not manipulated its website results following a 19-month investigation. Google and the European Commission are close to a deal and a decision is expected in the next few days or in a couple of weeks at the latest, a senior European Union official told Reuters. Full Story | Top |
| Facebook teams up with Fox on Super Bowl Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 08:05 AM PST  By Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc is collaborating with Fox Sports for Sunday's Super Bowl broadcast, the social network's latest move to increase its role as a hub for real-time conversations around sports and news events. Fox will integrate content from Facebook into its pre-game television programming, including public comments from Facebook and Instagram users about the football game as well as fan statistics based on collective data from Facebook's members. The two companies have also created a website that will feature Facebook user data and videos of all the commercials that air during the game. Facebook is increasingly competing with Twitter Inc to establish itself as the go-to hub for online discussions about sporting events, television programs and celebrities. Full Story | Top |
| Yahoo shares fall as Mayer fails to stem revenue decline Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 06:49 AM PST  (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc's shares fell 7.5 percent as the company's declining revenue tempered investor confidence in CEO Marissa Mayer's turnaround efforts, prompting several analysts to cut their price targets on the stock. Yahoo's shares nearly doubled in the past year as investors pinned their hopes on Mayer and surging growth at Chinese online retailer Alibaba, in which Yahoo holds a big stake. At least four brokerages lowered their price targets on Yahoo's stock, which fell to a low of $35.30 in early trading on Wednesday. Yahoo on Tuesday reported a decline in online advertising prices and slower growth at Alibaba. Full Story | Top |
| Canon appoints first outside directors after years of resistance Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 05:51 AM PST  By Sophie Knight TOKYO (Reuters) - Canon Inc has appointed its first outside directors, ending years of high-profile resistance to opening up its boardroom as pressure mounts on Japan's big companies to improve governance and better manage risks. The camera maker's long-serving chief executive Fujio Mitarai, who headed Japan's powerful Keidanren business lobby from 2006 to 2010, had argued that only insiders could understand the company well enough to serve effectively on its board. Canon's surprise move follows similar shifts at Japanese bellwethers such as Toyota Motor Corp and Hitachi Ltd as globalization helps to prise open their decision-making structures to the outside world. Canon said on Wednesday its board would be joined by Kunitaro Saida, a lawyer who has served as chief prosecutor in Osaka, and Haruhiko Kato, a former commissioner of Japan's National Tax Agency who became one of Toyota's first independent board members last June. Full Story | Top |
| China's Tencent celebrates Year of Horse with mobile gifts Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 01:54 AM PST  By Paul Carsten BEIJING (Reuters) - More than a billion Chinese people will celebrate the Year of the Horse on Friday and for many that means giving or receiving traditional gifts of cash-filled red envelopes called "hongbao". China's Tencent Holdings Ltd is putting a twist on the practice with the launch last Sunday of a digital version of hongbao on WeChat, its smartphone messaging, mobile payment and gaming platform that has taken China by storm. The release of the hongbao feature triggered a surge in Tencent's WeChat Payment users to 100 million from 30 million last month, according to a note written on Wednesday by Standard Chartered technology analyst Wendy Huang. WeChat Payment user numbers could reach 200 million by the end of 2014, Huang wrote, which would see Tencent move ahead of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and its Alipay online payment affiliate. Full Story | Top |
| Canon trusts in Abenomics to deliver weak yen for 2014 growth Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 12:48 AM PST  By Sophie Knight TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Canon Inc said it expects modest growth in revenue this year, counting on the yen staying weak to boost the value of its exports while Europe's economic recovery fuels better sales of office equipment. One of the first of Japan's technology firms to report earnings, Canon on Wednesday forecast a 3.2 percent rise in revenue for 2014. It said it's expecting the yen to hover for some time around its current levels - about 23 percent weaker than a year ago - offsetting falling camera sales for now. With four-fifths of its sales overseas and nearly half of its production at home, Canon gets more of a boost than many other Japanese companies from "Abenomics", the reflationary economic policies of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that have weakened the yen. Full Story | Top |
| Nintendo looks to power-up Mario after not-so-super Wii U Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014 12:11 AM PST  By Sophie Knight and Reiji Murai TOKYO (Reuters) - Nintendo Co Ltd, facing a third year of losses, is getting lots of unsolicited advice on how to squeeze more out of its Mario franchise and revive its fortunes after admitting that its Wii U game console has been a flop. One thing, however, is certain - it will have to burn through a lot of its cash pile in the years it takes to try again with the Wii U's successor. The Nintendo that emerges could well be a more efficient company - better at marketing its beloved characters, but still wedded to its basic strategy of making hardware as the vehicle for software developed in-house. The Kyoto-based company has been slow to move online, falling behind Microsoft Corp and Sony Corp, which will launch a cloud-based streaming service this summer enabling users to play the same game across numerous platforms. Full Story | Top |
| Nintendo turns in drab quarterly results after slashing annual forecasts Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014 11:40 PM PST  Nintendo Co Ltd posted lackluster results for its traditionally strongest third quarter on Wednesday after disappointing sales for its flagship Wii U console forced it to slash its annual forecasts earlier this month. Writing by Shinichi Saoshiro; Full Story | Top |
| Once the preserve of youth, Indian IT staffing enters middle age Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014 06:47 PM PST  By Aradhana Aravindan MUMBAI (Reuters) - The executive suite is not the only place that is greying in India's 40-year-old information technology sector. Staffing at Indian IT companies has long been characterized by what human resources professionals call a "classic pyramid", with hordes of junior-level staff at the bottom and a steep narrowing as it goes higher. Full Story | Top |
| Qualcomm faces prospect of record antitrust fines in China Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014 06:11 PM PST  By Michael Martina and Matthew Miller BEIJING (Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc, the world's biggest cellphone chip maker, may be hit with a record fine exceeding $1 billion in a Chinese antitrust probe, raising the specter of harsh penalties for foreign firms facing an increasingly aggressive regulator. China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) initiated an investigation into Qualcomm last year and is currently holding talks with the U.S. company, which this month said it was still in the dark about the basis of the scrutiny. The probe and the potential fine - the amount of which could hinge on negotiations - come as the NDRC zooms in on information technology providers, especially companies that license patent technology for mobile devices and networks. Industry experts say the NDRC, the government's main economic planning body, is trying to lower domestic costs as China rolls out its faster 4G mobile networks this year. Full Story | Top |
| Yahoo's fourth-quarter revenue slides as ad prices dip again Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014 05:10 PM PST  By Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc's online ad prices slid again in the fourth quarter and Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant in which it owns a big stake, saw revenue growth decelerate from its recent rip-roaring pace. Yahoo's overall revenue fell 6 percent in the last three months of the year to $1.266 billion, marking four consecutive quarters of eroding revenue. "The core business is shrinking." Yahoo's efforts to revamp its slumping business have come to the forefront following Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer's decision to fire Chief Operating Officer Henrique de Castro this month, after only slightly more than a year on the job. The move marked the first major change of plans since Mayer took the helm in July 2012, and underscored Yahoo's ongoing challenge to rekindle revenue growth. Full Story | Top |
| AT&T CEO: met European officials, NSA affair affecting business Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014 02:53 PM PST AT&T Inc Chief Executive Randall Stephenson met with several European officials last week to discuss the U.S. spying scandal, which is affecting the telecommunications company's business, he said on Tuesday. Some European reports had speculated that Stephenson's meetings in Europe were focused on AT&T ambitions to buy Vodafone Group Plc. Stephenson declined to comment on mergers and acquisitions beyond a statement AT&T made on Monday that it did not intend to bid for Vodafone. But he commented on the effect on his company's business after former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden exposed widespread surveillance by the National Security Agency. Full Story | Top |
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