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| Investor Khosla: '60 Minutes' cleantech segment full of errors Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 07:19 PM PST  Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla on Tuesday issued a harsh rebuke to "60 Minutes" a week after the news magazine TV show broadcast a report saying that Silicon Valley and Washington have little to show for their investments in clean technology. In an open letter to both "60 Minutes" and its network, CBS, Khosla said a January 5 segment for which he was interviewed "grossly misrepresented the state of the sustainable energy industry." The letter, which was posted on the website of Khosla's Menlo Park, California firm, Khosla Ventures, went on to list what he called "numerous" reporting errors in "60 Minutes." A spokesman for "60 Minutes" responded saying, "While we respect Mr Khosla's views, we are not in agreement with the points he makes about our story." "We began and ended the piece with him, and devoted time to his ideas and to one of the companies he backs." The news magazine's segment on investments in advanced energy, sometimes known as cleantech, characterized Khosla-funded biofuels maker Kior Inc as "riddled with delays." It quoted a biofuels specialist, Robert Rapier, as saying Khosla "overpromised and under-delivered" on his investments. Full Story | Top |
| NSA carves pathway into international computers: New York Times Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 06:54 PM PST  The U.S. National Security Agency has put software in almost 100,000 computers around the world allowing it to carry out surveillance on those devices and could provide a digital highway for cyberattacks, the New York Times reported on Tuesday. The NSA has planted most of the software through getting access to computer networks, but has also used a secret technology that allows it entry even to computers not connected to the Internet, the Times said, citing U.S. officials, computer experts and documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The Times said the technology had been in use since at least 2008 and relied on a covert channel of radio waves transmitted from tiny circuit boards and USB cards secretly inserted in the computers. "The radio frequency technology has helped solve one of the biggest problems facing American intelligence agencies for years: getting into computers that adversaries, and some American partners, have tried to make impervious to spying or cyberattack," the newspaper said. Full Story | Top |
| China's Huawei says unaudited 2013 operating profit rose over 40 percent Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 06:43 PM PST  By Paul Carsten BEIJING (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies Co Ltd posted an over 40 percent rise in annual operating profit as the Chinese telecom equipment maker expanded its presence in emerging markets, countering reduced revenue growth hit by accusations of cyber-espionage. Huawei, the world's No.2 telecom equipment maker, has had a turbulent year in which it was shut out of multi-billion dollar network opportunities in the United States and Australia and drew the scrutiny of British authorities over cyber security issues. To counteract this, the unlisted company has placed its hopes in developing markets and its business in Europe, where it has made headway building fourth-generation mobile networks. Full Story | Top |
| Target data breach could be costly for payment partners Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 06:33 PM PST  By Ross Kerber BOSTON (Reuters) - Companies that help Target Corp process payments could face millions of dollars in fines and costs resulting from the unprecedented data breach that struck the retailer over the holiday shopping season. Investigators are still sorting through just how thieves compromised about 40 million payment cards and the information of about 70 million Target customers. But people who have reviewed past data breaches believe Target's partners could face consumer lawsuits and fines that payment networks such as Visa Inc and MasterCard Inc often levy after cyber security incidents. Target's partners "have deep pockets and are intimately involved in certain aspects of how Target gets paid," said Jamie Pole, a cyber security consultant in Asheboro, North Carolina, who works for government agencies and the financial industry. Full Story | Top |
| Wells Fargo organizes meet to discuss Bitcoin rules: FT Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 03:12 PM PST  (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co has called finance executives, virtual currency experts and U.S. government representatives to discuss "rules of engagement" with Bitcoin amid concern about the money laundering risk of the currency, the Financial Times reported. (http://link.reuters.com/jen95v) The fourth-largest U.S. bank by assets has shown interest in dealing with a potential new Bitcoin economy, but regulatory uncertainty has deterred banks from offering services to virtual currency start-ups, the newspaper said on Tuesday. Wells Fargo's anti-money laundering chief, Jim Richards, has launched a group to examine how the bank might safely offer Bitcoin-related services or banking arrangements to virtual currency entrepreneurs, the Financial Times said, quoting people familiar with the matter. The bank aims to draw up a new set of anti-money laundering rules for financial institutions to follow when dealing with virtual currency start-ups, the paper said, citing a person familiar with the matter. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. appeals court strikes down FCC net neutrality rules Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 02:41 PM PST  By Alina Selyukh and David Ingram WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday rejected federal rules that required Internet providers to treat all web traffic equally, a decision that could allow mobile carriers and other broadband providers to charge content providers for faster access to websites and services. The Federal Communications Commission's open Internet rules, also known as net neutrality, required Internet service providers to give consumers equal access to all lawful content without restrictions or tiered charges. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit struck down the rules, which were passed in late 2010 and have been challenged by Verizon Communications Inc. Two judges, with partial support from a third, said the commission has the authority to regulate broadband access but had failed to show that it has a mandate to impose the anti-discrimination rules on broadband providers. The ruling is a victory for Verizon and other broadband providers, who saw the FCC rules as government overreach into how they operate their networks. Full Story | Top |
| Intel shelves cutting-edge Arizona chip factory Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 02:25 PM PST  By Noel Randewich SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Intel Corp , hit by slumping personal computer sales, has put off opening a major chip factory that President Barack Obama once held up as an example of U.S. manufacturing potential. The "Fab 42" facility built in Chandler, Arizona, originally slated as a $5 billion project that in late 2013 would start producing Intel's most advanced chips, will remain closed for the foreseeable future while other factories at the same site are upgraded, said Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy. Intel's decision not to open the chip plant was first reported by the Arizona Republic on Tuesday. Despite not opening the new factory, or fab, Intel has exceeded a target to hire over 1,000 employees since construction started in 2011, Mulloy said. Full Story | Top |
| Tesla demand surges, stock rises 16 percent Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 01:49 PM PST  By Deepa Seetharaman and Ben Klayman DETROIT (Reuters) - Electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc said on Tuesday deliveries of its Model S sedan in the fourth quarter blew past what the company had forecast, sending shares up nearly 16 percent. Tesla delivered almost 6,900 Model S sedans in the quarter, 20 percent above what the company had forecast, Jerome Guillen, vice president of global sales and service, said at the Detroit auto show. Full Story | Top |
| Canadian telecom shares climb after Wind leaves wireless auction Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 12:21 PM PST  By Alastair Sharp TORONTO (Reuters) - Shares of Canada's top telecom providers, BCE Inc, Rogers Communications Inc and Telus Corp, all climbed on Tuesday after Globalive's Wind Mobile withdrew from a major auction of wireless spectrum. But the gains were tempered by concerns among some investors that Canada's Conservative government, which has pushed to increase competition in the wireless space, could respond with more stringent regulation of the industry. The Conservative government has pitched itself to voters as fighting the dominant telecoms on their behalf to lower prices and improve service. Globalive's decision to bail out of the auction dealt a double blow to the government, which was also hoping that strong proceeds from the auction would help it lower the budget deficit heading into next year's federal election. Full Story | Top |
| GameStop's profit forecast misses St as older game sales lag Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 08:49 AM PST  GameStop Corp, the world's largest videogame retailer, warned of lower-than-expected profit as sales sagged for games played on older versions of Xbox and PlayStation consoles. Microsoft Corp launched the latest version of its Xbox in November, selling three million consoles by the end of December. Sony Corp has sold 4.2 million PlayStation 4 consoles as of December 2 after launching it in November. GameStop said on Tuesday that sales fell 22.5 percent in its new software business as a greater-than-expected decline in sales of older versions of the games offset strong demand for software for the new consoles. Full Story | Top |
| Google gains entry to home and prized team with $3.2 billion Nest deal Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 02:55 AM PST  By Alexei Oreskovic and Poornima Gupta SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc took its biggest step to go deeper into consumers' homes, announcing a $3.2 billion deal to buy smart thermostat and smoke alarm-maker Nest Labs Inc, scooping up a promising line of products and a prized design team led by the "godfather" of the iPod. Nest will continue to operate as its own distinct brand after the all-cash deal closes, Google said on Monday. The deal is the second largest in Google's history after the $12.5 billion acquisition of mobile phone maker Motorola in 2012. Like the Motorola deal, which marked Google's first major foray into hardware, the Nest acquisition gives Google a stepping stone into an important new market at a time when consumer appliances and Internet services are increasingly merging. Full Story | Top |
| Russia's Yandex to get access to Facebook content Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 02:23 AM PST  Russian internet group Yandex has signed an agreement with Facebook for access to content from some of the social networking site's users in a move to further improve its search results. Yandex leads the world's biggest search engine Google in Russia with a market share of more than 60 percent and derives the bulk of its revenues from text search-based advertising. In a statement on Tuesday, Yandex said it would get full access to public data from Facebook users in Russia, CIS countries including Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, and in Turkey. Apart from the users' posts, its search results will soon also display other users' comments on them. Full Story | Top |
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