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| Apple says security flaw could allow hackers to beat iPhone encryption Friday, Feb 21, 2014 05:23 PM PST  By Joseph Menn SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A major flaw in Apple Inc software for mobile devices could allow hackers to intercept email and other communications that are meant to be encrypted, the company said in a Friday afternoon announcement. "It's as bad as you could imagine, that's all I can say," said Johns Hopkins University cryptography professor Matthew Green. Apple did not say when or how it learned about the flaw in the way iOS handles sessions in what are known as secure sockets layer or transport layer security, nor did it say whether the flaw was being exploited. Apple did not reply to requests for comment. Full Story | Top |
| Online learning company 2U files for IPO of up to $100 million Friday, Feb 21, 2014 03:15 PM PST (Reuters) - 2U Inc, which builds online learning platforms, filed with U.S. financial regulators on Friday to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering of common stock. The Landover, Maryland-based company provides cloud-based online learning platforms that help nonprofit colleges and universities in student enrollment, education, support and other services. Goldman Sachs & Co and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC are the lead underwriters to the offering, the company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Full Story | Top |
| Ergen balks at treatment under LightSquared's restructuring plan Friday, Feb 21, 2014 01:51 PM PST  By Nick Brown NEW YORK (Reuters) - Charlie Ergen, the largest creditor of bankrupt wireless venture LightSquared, on Friday objected to a framework of the company's restructuring plan that would pay him in the form of a note while giving other lenders cash payouts. In papers filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, Ergen, through his investment vehicle SP Special Opportunities, asked Judge Shelley Chapman to rule that the plan is not financially feasible, and to do so before parties devote resources to obtaining creditor support for it. LightSquared's $33 million bankruptcy loan is set to run out around the end of March. Ergen is the chairman of Dish Network Corp, but insists he amassed his roughly $1 billion chunk of LightSquared's senior loan debt on his own behalf. Full Story | Top |
| Dish profit rises, chairman criticizes Comcast/TWC deal Friday, Feb 21, 2014 01:34 PM PST  (Reuters) - Satellite TV provider Dish Network Corp reported a 38 percent rise in fourth-quarter profit on Friday and the company's chairman said he saw "nothing good" for competitors if U.S. regulators approve the merger of Comcast Corp and Time Warner Cable. Dish shares rose 1.6 percent to $57.97 after it reported earnings-per-share of 63 cents, beating the 41-cent consensus forecast of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen said the combination of Comcast and Time Warner Cable would concentrate broadband, video and content in a "nationwide player." "That's going to send a seismic shift across our industry in ways that maybe we can't predict today," he said on a conference call after the satellite TV provider released its results. Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, said on February 13 that it had agreed to acquire No. 4 Time Warner Cable in an all-stock deal for $45.2 billion. Full Story | Top |
| Dish Chairman: Comcast, Time Warner deal to cause 'seismic shift' Friday, Feb 21, 2014 01:13 PM PST  Dish Networks Inc Chairman Charlie Ergen said the proposed merger between Comcast Corp and Time Warner Cable Inc will cause a "seismic shift" in the media business and his company is considering how to respond. Ergen said the transaction would concentrate broadband, video and content in a "nationwide player." "That's going to send a seismic shift across our industry in ways that maybe we can't predict today," he said on Friday on a conference call after the satellite TV provider released quarterly earnings. Comcast, the largest U.S. cable operator, said on February 13 it had agreed to acquire Time Warner Cable in an all-stock deal for $45.2 billion. Comcast has argued the combination would not reduce competition because the two cable providers do not compete in any markets. Full Story | Top |
| Not a typo, monopsony in spotlight in U.S. cable deal Friday, Feb 21, 2014 12:21 PM PST  By David Ingram WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If U.S. antitrust enforcers decide to challenge the proposed $45 billion merger of Comcast Corp and Time Warner Cable Inc, it may be because of an idea with a funny-sounding name that has been gaining currency in government offices. The idea is monopsony power, the mirror image of the better-known monopoly power but a concept that is just as old. A monopoly is one seller with many buyers, while a monopsony (pronounced muh-NOP-suh-nee) is one buyer with many sellers. The U.S. Justice Department's Antitrust Division is all but certain to examine the potential monopsony power, or buying power, that a combined Comcast and Time Warner Cable would have over media companies that provide TV programming, according to lawyers with expertise in antitrust law. Full Story | Top |
| G Asset offers to buy majority stakes in Barnes & Noble or Nook Friday, Feb 21, 2014 12:09 PM PST  Investment firm G Asset Management said on Friday that it had offered to buy a 51 percent stake in either Barnes & Noble Inc or in the bookseller's Nook digital business. The little known firm said the proposal for Barnes & Noble as a whole would be for $22 per share, which would value the top U.S. bookstore chain at $1.32 billion. G Asset, which not did detail how it would finance a deal, also made an alternative offer to buy Nook for $5 per share, saying spinning off the digital books and device business would create "substantial shareholder value." The latest offer for the whole company would value Barnes & Noble at $1.32 billion, while the proposal for Nook would value that unit at about $300 million. The firm has previously pressed the company to spin off its Nook unit from Barnes & Noble's bookstore and college units. Full Story | Top |
| Cable TV operator Charter to 'wisely' pursue deals Friday, Feb 21, 2014 10:48 AM PST Charter Communications Inc, whose bid to take over Time Warner Cable Inc was thwarted earlier this month, plans to grow its subscriber base through more deals, its chief executive said on a call with analysts on Friday. Charter CEO Tom Rutledge made few remarks about the company's failed pursuit of Time Warner Cable after having mounted a proxy battle last week. Charter was outmaneuvered in its $37.3 billion bid to acquire Time Warner Cable when Comcast Corp offered $45.2 billion. Rutledge declined to comment when asked if he was worried about the size of Comcast, already the No. 1 cable provider in the United States, if regulators allow the Time Warner Cable deal to go through. Full Story | Top |
| SEC's Aguilar sees cyber-threat risk to 'transfer agents' Friday, Feb 21, 2014 07:11 AM PST  By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should consider updating its rules to protect against technology failures or cyber attacks of "transfer agent" firms charged with maintaining millions of shareholder accounts, SEC Democratic Commissioner Luis Aguilar said Friday. Transfer agents are critical gatekeepers in U.S. markets, though they do not often receive much public attention. They are used by public companies and mutual funds to help track changes in stock ownership, and they also offer a line of defense to help protect against fraudulent acts such as selling unregistered shares in public markets. "A technological failure or processing glitch by a transfer agent could have serious consequences, including the loss of shareholder information," said Aguilar, who made his pitch for additional reforms at the Practicing Law Institute's "SEC Speaks" annual conference. Full Story | Top |
| For WhatsApp, keeping things simple is both a draw and a handicap Friday, Feb 21, 2014 04:12 AM PST  By Gerry Shih SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - In recent years, a bevy of messaging apps has fought for global domination, with many boasting a lucrative combination of communications features, online shopping and games. But this week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg spent a staggering $19 billion to buy WhatsApp, the contender with perhaps the simplest functionality and negligible revenue. WhatsApp, which has 450 million users, has stuck to basic messaging, but also a simple business model of charging users an annual subscription fee of just $1. Zuckerberg's bet may ultimately prove to be a strategic masterstroke: shutting rival Google Inc out of an upstart phenomenon with a unique "mobile graph" and gaining swathes of users - and their data - in emerging markets. Full Story | Top |
| Google deal is no 'gentlemen's agreement', says EU antitrust chief Friday, Feb 21, 2014 03:59 AM PST  By Foo Yun Chee PARIS (Reuters) - The EU antitrust chief defended a deal with Google over how it displays web search results, following criticism from rival firms and his own colleagues, saying there had been no gentlemen's agreement to close the case. The world's most popular search engine has been under investigation for three years by the European Commission, which acts as the bloc's antitrust regulator, over complaints it was blocking competitors in search results. More than a dozen companies, including Microsoft, price comparison site Foundem and online mapping company Hotmaps, have accused it of squeezing them out of the market. Earlier this month, Google agreed to make concessions to display rivals' links more prominently, hoping to end a case that could have led to a fine of up to $5 billion (3.6 billion euros). Full Story | Top |
| HP reins in revenue slide as turnaround progresses Friday, Feb 21, 2014 02:15 AM PST  In the midst of a multi-year turnaround effort intended to revive growth, the Silicon Valley company is trying to reduce its reliance on personal computers and move toward computing equipment and networking gear for enterprises. Chief Executive Office Meg Whitman told analysts that the company saw corporations and agencies beginning to replace ageing computers in the quarter, while Microsoft's decision to soon end support for its Windows XP operating system also prompted PC upgrades. Chief Executive Officer Meg Whitman said growth in revenue and operating margins in that crucial division was "possible," provided demand from enterprises holds up. It's a knife fight every single day out there, but we feel we've got the right ammunition," she told analysts later. Full Story | Top |
| With WhatsApp deal, Sequoia Capital burnishes reputation Thursday, Feb 20, 2014 11:47 PM PST  By Sarah McBride SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shortly after moving to Silicon Valley in 2004, the young Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg pulled a prank on Sequoia Capital by making an investment pitch in his pajamas. The discussion never got serious and Sequoia never invested in Facebook. But now, Sequoia is getting the last laugh. With the sale of its protégé company message service WhatsApp to Zuckerberg's Facebook for $19 billion, Sequoia found a way to make money from Facebook as well as solidifying its position as a titan of venture capital. Full Story | Top |
| In Asia, WhatsApp posts mixed message for Facebook Thursday, Feb 20, 2014 11:42 PM PST  By Jeremy Wagstaff Singapore (Reuters) - WhatsApp may be hugely popular but its forays into Asia, the world's biggest mobile market, have had mixed success, raising questions about whether it can sustain the explosive growth Facebook Inc cited to justify its $19 billion price tag. Data from app metric company App Annie, for example, shows that WhatsApp ranks as the top communications app in only three of 13 Asian countries tracked - Hong Kong, India and Singapore. "WhatsApp has been a strong player in Asia, but in the past year has faced strong competition from LINE and WeChat," said Neha Dharia, India-based analyst for Ovum, a technology consultancy. "WhatsApp has not been displaced by these players, but has seen stiff competition in growing its market share." Facebook said on Wednesday it would buy WhatsApp for $19 billion in cash and stock, in a deal worth more than Facebook raised in its own IPO. Full Story | Top |
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