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| Japan to set bitcoin rules, stop banks and brokerages from handling Tuesday, Mar 04, 2014 06:34 PM PST  By Noriyuki Hirata TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will this week clarify the legal handling of bitcoin, people familiar with the matter said, the first sign that the government is taking action on regulating the virtual currency after the collapse last week of Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, once the world's largest bitcoin exchange. Bitcoin is a digital currency that, unlike conventional money, is bought and sold on a peer-to-peer network independent of central control. Japan has struggled to define its approach to bitcoin since the collapse of Mt. Gox, which filed for bankruptcy protection in Tokyo on Friday saying it had lost bitcoins and cash worth some half a billion dollars due to hacker attacks on what it said was its lax computer system security. Japan's Finance Ministry and Financial Services Agency have said bitcoin is not a currency and doesn't fall under their purview, while the Bank of Japan has said it was studying the bitcoin phenomenon with interest. Full Story | Top |
| Yahoo to stop user access of services with Facebook, Google IDs Tuesday, Mar 04, 2014 06:17 PM PST  By Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc will stop letting consumers access its various online services, including Fantasy Sports and photo-sharing site Flickr, by signing-in with their Facebook Inc or Google Inc credentials. The change, which will be rolled out gradually according to a Yahoo spokeswoman, will require users to register for a Yahoo ID in order to use any of the Internet portal's services. The move marks the latest change to Yahoo by Chief Executive Marissa Mayer, who is striving to spark fresh interest in the company's Web products and to revive its stagnant revenue. "Yahoo is continually working on improving the user experience," the company said in a statement, noting that the new process "will allow us to offer the best personalized experience to everyone". Full Story | Top |
| Bitcoin bank Flexcoin shuts down after theft Tuesday, Mar 04, 2014 03:13 PM PST  Flexcoin said in a message posted on its website that all 896 bitcoins stored online were stolen on Sunday. "As Flexcoin does not have the resources, assets, or otherwise to come back from this loss, we are closing our doors immediately," the company said. Full Story | Top |
| Apple's new finance steward Maestri takes over $160 billion cash haul Tuesday, Mar 04, 2014 02:12 PM PST  By Sruthi Ramakrishnan and Edwin Chan SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc's Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer will retire and hand the reins to Luca Maestri in September, entrusting to the Italian-born executive a cash pile the size of Vietnam's economy and the difficult task of guiding Wall Street's expectations. The 50-year-old born in Rome is taking over with Apple at a crossroads. Managing investors' outsized expectations may become more difficult as Apple - facing slowing revenue growth and more aggressive competition - dives deeper into lower-margin but higher-growth emerging markets like China, where cheaper local players Huawei and Xiaomi dominate. "Maestri will be assuming this role at an interesting time - when Apple is in the midst of launching more services and likely needs to convince investors that it has more consistent revenue streams in a commoditizing smart phone market," Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes wrote on Tuesday. Full Story | Top |
| Verizon in talks with content providers for online video service Tuesday, Mar 04, 2014 01:25 PM PST  By Marina Lopes NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon Communications is in talks with content providers to deliver web-based TV services to mobile platforms, chief executive Lowell McAdam, said at an investor conference on Tuesday. A day earlier, Dish Network Corp and Walt Disney Co announced a landmark deal that will allow the No. 2 satellite TV provider to deliver Disney-owned network content online, outside of a traditional TV subscription. Verizon's goal "is to work with the content providers," said McAdam at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference. ... Full Story | Top |
| Qualcomm's new CEO says smartphone innovation still strong Tuesday, Mar 04, 2014 12:48 PM PST  By Noel Randewich SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Steve Mollenkopf, the new chief executive of Qualcomm, said on Tuesday that the mobile chipmaker is developing technologies that will drive continued demand for smartphones even as others worry that the smartphone market's best days are behind it. Mollenkopf, 45, who was previously chief operating officer, officially took over as chief executive officer at the company's annual shareholders meeting on Tuesday. He was named in December to replace Paul Jacobs, the son of a Qualcomm co-founder. "A lot of people talk about the fact that everyone has a smartphone. Full Story | Top |
| BlackBerry suffers network outage in Canada, Asia-Pacific Tuesday, Mar 04, 2014 12:09 PM PST  By Alastair Sharp TORONTO (Reuters) - BlackBerry Ltd suffered a network outage affecting some users in Canada and the Asia-Pacific region that was resolved hours later, the smartphone and technology company said on Tuesday, at a sensitive time for the once-mighty tech titan. The outage hit Canada's leading mobile network, according to a memo sent to some customers of both BlackBerry and Rogers Communications Inc. Rogers later said the issue was affecting some customers with all domestic carriers and that it didn't affect those using BlackBerry's latest BB10 devices. Another major Canadian carrier, Telus Corp, said some of their customers were affected, and directed further inquiries to BlackBerry, which said it had identified a potential cause and was working on a fix. Full Story | Top |
| Japan to regulate and tax Bitcoin trades: Nikkei Tuesday, Mar 04, 2014 11:14 AM PST  (Reuters) - The Japanese government will set rules for trading bitcoin, including imposing taxes on transactions with the virtual currency, that will become the basis for guidelines applicable to similar currencies in future, the Nikkei reported. Japan's government is still trying to explain the collapse of Mt. Gox - once the world's once largest bitcoin exchange - and figure out how the Tokyo-based company could lose nearly half a billion dollars in bitcoins, Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Tuesday. Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan on Friday, saying it may have lost some 850,000 bitcoins due to hacking into its faulty computer system. The guidelines proposed by the Japanese cabinet will call for taxing bitcoin transactions, defining the virtual currency as a commodity rather than a currency, the Nikkei said. Full Story | Top |
| Comcast expands low-income Internet service as merger review nears Tuesday, Mar 04, 2014 10:50 AM PST  Comcast Corp on Tuesday said its discounted Internet service for low-income families will be available indefinitely, a move that should please U.S. regulators as the company seeks approval for its $45.2 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable. Internet Essentials is Comcast's broadband Internet program for some low-income families with children. Some 2.6 million U.S. families are eligible, according to Comcast. As part of Comcast's proposed merger, the offer will be available in 19 of 20 largest U.S. cities as Comcast expands into Time Warner Cable's markets, Comcast executives said, calling Internet Essentials the largest broadband adoption program by both geography and subscribers. Full Story | Top |
| UK lawyer says 'hundreds' ready for bitcoin class action Tuesday, Mar 04, 2014 10:45 AM PST  By Lionel Laurent PARIS (Reuters) - More than 400 people have signaled they would join a class action against Mt. Gox, the world's biggest marketplace for the digital currency bitcoin before its abrupt collapse, British-based law firm Selachii said. It would be the latest effort to try to recoup some of the $480 million in losses that Mt. Gox has blamed on a hacking attack that drove it into bankruptcy. Selachii has received over 400 expressions of interest in joining a class action, according to the law firm's co-founder Richard Howlett. After ending submissions on Friday the firm will tally the list of claimants and file a suit in London against the parent company of Mt. Gox, K K Tibanne, and Mt. Gox chief Mark Karpeles, he said. Full Story | Top |
| Facebook in talks to acquire drone company for $60 million: reports Tuesday, Mar 04, 2014 10:09 AM PST  Facebook Inc is in talks to buy drone maker Titan Aerospace for $60 million, according to media reports. The high-flying drones would give Facebook, the world's No.1 Internet social network, the ability to beam wireless Internet access to consumers in undeveloped parts of the world, according to the technology blog TechCrunch. TechCrunch first reported the deal late on Monday, citing an anonymous source. The effort would help advance Facebook's Internet.org effort, aimed at connecting billions of people who do not currently have Internet access in places such as Africa and Asia. Full Story | Top |
| Global PC shipments to fall 6.1 percent in 2014: IDC Tuesday, Mar 04, 2014 09:43 AM PST  Global shipments of personal computers fell 9.8 percent last year, the worst contraction on record, and are likely to decline by 6.1 percent in 2014 due to lackluster demand in developing countries, according to market research firm IDC. IDC had expected PC shipments to fall 10.1 percent last year but it said that the fourth quarter benefited from a slight boost as old computers running Microsoft's XP operating system, which the software company is due to stop supporting in April, were replaced. "Emerging markets used to be a core driver of the PC market, as rising penetration among large populations boosted overall growth," said IDC analyst Loren Loverde. "At the moment, however, we're seeing emerging regions more affected by a weak economic environment as well as significant shifts in technology buying priorities." Long-term growth in PC shipments is expected to remain just below zero, with shipments in 2018 expected to decline 0.2 percent, IDC said. Full Story | Top |
| SoftBank CEO to discuss US mobile industry after regulatory rebuff Tuesday, Mar 04, 2014 05:31 AM PST  SoftBank Corp CEO Masayoshi Son will present his views on the U.S. mobile industry in Washington D.C. next week, the Japanese mobile operator said, after U.S. regulators expressed skepticism towards a potential SoftBank bid for T-Mobile US Inc. Son's presentation to lawmakers, educators and business leaders is his first public speech to a U.S. audience since SoftBank's $21.6 billion acquisition of No.3 U.S. mobile carrier Sprint Corp last year. His comments on the competitive landscape, which have in the past been highly critical, will be watched after sources revealed that Sprint had held talks to buy T-Mobile, the fourth-largest U.S. mobile carrier. Son declined to comment at last month's earnings briefing about whether his company was in talks about buying T-Mobile, but had harsh words for the state of the U.S. mobile sector, which is dominated by AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications Inc. "What I can say is that the United States' mobile industry is not competitive compared with other countries and its network is not good," he said. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine hit by cyberattacks: head of Ukraine security service Tuesday, Mar 04, 2014 03:08 AM PST (Reuters) - Ukraine's telecommunications system has come under attack, with equipment installed in Russian-controlled Crimea used to interfere with the mobile phones of members of parliament, the head of Ukraine's SBU security service said on Tuesday. "I confirm that an IP-telephonic attack is under way on mobile phones of members of Ukrainian parliament for the second day in row," Valentyn Nalivaichenko told a news briefing. "At the entrance to (telecoms firm) Ukrtelecom in Crimea, illegally and in violation of all commercial contracts, was installed equipment that blocks my phone as well as the phones of other deputies, regardless of their political affiliation," he said. Full Story | Top |
| Sony says has sold 6 million PlayStation 4s as of March 2 Monday, Mar 03, 2014 11:17 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp said on Tuesday that it has sold 6 million PlayStation 4 game consoles as of March 2, well ahead of its target for the fiscal year to the end of this month. Sony has said it hoped to sell 5 million units by the end of March after releasing the PlayStation 4 on November 29 in the United States, Western Europe and Latin America and rolling it out across other Asian countries since then. It went on sale in Japan on February 22. (Reporting by Sophie Knight; Editing by Dominic Lau and Edmund Klamann) Full Story | Top |
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