WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators said on Thursday they would make an announcement at 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT) about their long-running investigation of the Web search giant Google.
The Federal Trade Commission is expected to announce that Google will agree to end the practice of using reviews and similar data from rivals for its own products, and will allow advertisers to export data to independently evaluate ad campaigns, according to three sources.
Google is also expected to refrain from asking for sales bans when it files infringement lawsuits related to essential patents, except in exceptional cases, the sources said.
The three sources asked to not be named to protect business relationships.
(Reporting By Diane Bartz; editing by John Wallace)
This article is brought to you by COMPUTERS FOR SALE.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Hutchison closes deal to become No. 3 in Austria
VIENNA (Reuters) - Consolidation of Austria's cut-throat telecoms market moved ahead on Thursday when Hutchison Whampoa Ltd completed its 1.3-billion-euro ($1.7 billion) takeover of Orange Austria, making it the country's third-biggest mobile operator.
Its purchase from Mid Europa Partners (MEP) and France Telecom-Orange followed extensive negotiations that finally won European and Austrian regulatory approval last month.
'We are delighted that, after undergoing a lengthy regulatory process, we have finally been able to close this acquisition,' said Jan Trionow, head of local unit Hutchison 3G Austria.
'I am particularly looking forward to working ... to push forward with building a nationwide LTE network in Austria within the next two years,' he said, referring to the next-generation high-speed networks that will speed data delivery to users.
France Telecom said it would get around 70 million euros in cash from selling its 35 percent stake in Orange Austria. Private equity group MEP held the other 65 percent.
In a separate but related deal, market leader Telekom Austria wrapped up its purchase of discount brand Yesss from Orange Austria.
Both transactions have won regulatory approval, but Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile Austria unit has tried to throw a spanner in the works by lodging a court appeal against the accompanying re-allocation of radio frequencies.
Hutchison and Orange Austria are the country's two smallest operators and have a combined market share of about 24 percent. Their deal will cut the number of mobile operators in Austria from four to three.
Austrian operators serve a population of just 8.4 million and have been extremely competitive, with all-inclusive no-strings deals starting at 7 euros per month.
Telekom Austria agreed last February to buy frequencies, base station sites, mobile phone provider Yesss and other intellectual property rights from Orange Austria for up to 390 million euros.
It said in a statement it had also completed the acquisition of intellectual property rights for the 'One' brand on Thursday, while closing on the other assets 'follows gradually'.
(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Dan Lalor and Mark Potter)
This news article is brought to you by RELATIONSHIPS ADVICE - where latest news are our top priority.
Its purchase from Mid Europa Partners (MEP) and France Telecom-Orange followed extensive negotiations that finally won European and Austrian regulatory approval last month.
'We are delighted that, after undergoing a lengthy regulatory process, we have finally been able to close this acquisition,' said Jan Trionow, head of local unit Hutchison 3G Austria.
'I am particularly looking forward to working ... to push forward with building a nationwide LTE network in Austria within the next two years,' he said, referring to the next-generation high-speed networks that will speed data delivery to users.
France Telecom said it would get around 70 million euros in cash from selling its 35 percent stake in Orange Austria. Private equity group MEP held the other 65 percent.
In a separate but related deal, market leader Telekom Austria wrapped up its purchase of discount brand Yesss from Orange Austria.
Both transactions have won regulatory approval, but Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile Austria unit has tried to throw a spanner in the works by lodging a court appeal against the accompanying re-allocation of radio frequencies.
Hutchison and Orange Austria are the country's two smallest operators and have a combined market share of about 24 percent. Their deal will cut the number of mobile operators in Austria from four to three.
Austrian operators serve a population of just 8.4 million and have been extremely competitive, with all-inclusive no-strings deals starting at 7 euros per month.
Telekom Austria agreed last February to buy frequencies, base station sites, mobile phone provider Yesss and other intellectual property rights from Orange Austria for up to 390 million euros.
It said in a statement it had also completed the acquisition of intellectual property rights for the 'One' brand on Thursday, while closing on the other assets 'follows gradually'.
(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Dan Lalor and Mark Potter)
This news article is brought to you by RELATIONSHIPS ADVICE - where latest news are our top priority.
Barnes & Noble retail revenue falls, sells fewer Nooks
(Reuters) - Barnes & Noble Inc on Thursday reported a sharp drop in revenue in its Nook business as it sold fewer e-readers and tablets at its own stores.
The bookseller, which also saw fewer shoppers come in to its bookstores, has bet heavily on its Nook business, which includes e-readers and tablets as well as digital books, as a source of growth.
But the Nook segment saw revenue fall 12.6 percent from a year earlier during the nine weeks ended December 29 as it cut prices to compete with Amazon.com Inc's Kindle and Apple Inc's iPad.
'Clearly what management is trying to do is buy market share, expecting digital content to drive profits,' said Morningstar analyst Peter Wahlstrom.
But the facts that unit sales fell and that digital content sales rose 13.1 percent, a far slower pace than earlier in the year, raise questions about Nook's longer-term prospects against Kindle, Wahlstrom said.
Nook sales got off to a strong start over the Black Friday weekend, which follows Thanksgiving and kicks off the holiday season in earnest.
But for the rest of season they were weak, and Chief Executive William Lynch said in a statement that Barnes & Noble is 'examining the root cause' of the shortfall and will adjust its strategy.
Barnes & Noble, which had enjoyed a sales bump after onetime rival Borders Group liquidated in 2011, reported a 10.9 percent decrease in sales at its bookstores and on its website over the holiday period. Sales at stores open at least 15 months fell 3.1 percent, excluding Nook products.
The retailer still expects Nook segment sales of $3 billion this fiscal year, keeping a forecast it gave in October.
The results follow a warning from Barnes & Noble in a filing last week that holiday sales would come in below its expectations. The company will report full quarterly results in late February.
Last week, the company also announced that British education and media publisher Pearson Plc would take a 5 percent stake in Barnes & Noble's Nook Media unit for $89.5 million.
Shares were down 0.3 percent at $14.48 in early trading.
(Reporting by Phil Wahba in New York; editing by John Wallace and Nick Zieminski)
This article is brought to you by BUY A NEW COMPUTER.
The bookseller, which also saw fewer shoppers come in to its bookstores, has bet heavily on its Nook business, which includes e-readers and tablets as well as digital books, as a source of growth.
But the Nook segment saw revenue fall 12.6 percent from a year earlier during the nine weeks ended December 29 as it cut prices to compete with Amazon.com Inc's Kindle and Apple Inc's iPad.
'Clearly what management is trying to do is buy market share, expecting digital content to drive profits,' said Morningstar analyst Peter Wahlstrom.
But the facts that unit sales fell and that digital content sales rose 13.1 percent, a far slower pace than earlier in the year, raise questions about Nook's longer-term prospects against Kindle, Wahlstrom said.
Nook sales got off to a strong start over the Black Friday weekend, which follows Thanksgiving and kicks off the holiday season in earnest.
But for the rest of season they were weak, and Chief Executive William Lynch said in a statement that Barnes & Noble is 'examining the root cause' of the shortfall and will adjust its strategy.
Barnes & Noble, which had enjoyed a sales bump after onetime rival Borders Group liquidated in 2011, reported a 10.9 percent decrease in sales at its bookstores and on its website over the holiday period. Sales at stores open at least 15 months fell 3.1 percent, excluding Nook products.
The retailer still expects Nook segment sales of $3 billion this fiscal year, keeping a forecast it gave in October.
The results follow a warning from Barnes & Noble in a filing last week that holiday sales would come in below its expectations. The company will report full quarterly results in late February.
Last week, the company also announced that British education and media publisher Pearson Plc would take a 5 percent stake in Barnes & Noble's Nook Media unit for $89.5 million.
Shares were down 0.3 percent at $14.48 in early trading.
(Reporting by Phil Wahba in New York; editing by John Wallace and Nick Zieminski)
This article is brought to you by BUY A NEW COMPUTER.
Telekom Austria eyes 800 million euro hybrid bond: magazine
VIENNA (Reuters) - Telekom Austria is eyeing a hybrid bond issue of up to 800 million euros ($1.06 billion) to help finance major investments, Austrian magazine News reported, citing Chairman Rudolf Kemler.
In an interview published on Thursday, Kemler pointed to an Austrian auction of next-generation radio frequencies due in the second half of this year and the need to prolong existing frequency contracts.
'We presumably don't have (funds for this) in the Telekom group. That does not arise from current liquidity,' he was quoted as saying.
'But we will employ capital market instruments. We have also authorized management to take steps on this.'
Asked if he was referring to a hybrid issue of up to 800 million, Kemler said: 'That is the range.'
A Telekom Austria spokesman declined comment.
Telekom Austria shares fell 1.1 percent to 5.80 euros by 3:48 a.m. ET, the biggest decliners in the Stoxx 600 European telecoms sector index, which was barely changed.
Telekom Austria officials have previously played down prospects of raising fresh capital or selling assets to cut debt faster.
(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Hans-Juergen Peters)
This article is brought to you by AFFORDABLE COMPUTERS.
In an interview published on Thursday, Kemler pointed to an Austrian auction of next-generation radio frequencies due in the second half of this year and the need to prolong existing frequency contracts.
'We presumably don't have (funds for this) in the Telekom group. That does not arise from current liquidity,' he was quoted as saying.
'But we will employ capital market instruments. We have also authorized management to take steps on this.'
Asked if he was referring to a hybrid issue of up to 800 million, Kemler said: 'That is the range.'
A Telekom Austria spokesman declined comment.
Telekom Austria shares fell 1.1 percent to 5.80 euros by 3:48 a.m. ET, the biggest decliners in the Stoxx 600 European telecoms sector index, which was barely changed.
Telekom Austria officials have previously played down prospects of raising fresh capital or selling assets to cut debt faster.
(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Hans-Juergen Peters)
This article is brought to you by AFFORDABLE COMPUTERS.
Microsoft acquires start-up id8: source
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp bought start-up id8 Group R2 Studios Inc as it looks to expand further in technology focused on the home and entertainment, a person familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.
id8 Group R2 Studios was started in 2011 by Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor Blake Krikorian. It recently launched a Google Android application to allow users to control home heating and lighting systems from smartphones.
Krikorian's Sling Media - which was sold to EchoStar Communications in 2007 - made the 'Slingbox' for watching TV on computers.
Krikorian will join Microsoft with a small team, according to the Wall Street Journal, which reported the acquisition earlier on Wednesday. Microsoft also purchased some patents owned by the start-up related to controlling electronic devices, the newspaper added.
Krikorian and a Microsoft spokesman declined to comment.
Krikorian resigned from Amazon.com Inc's board in late December after about a year and a half as a director at the company, the Internet's largest retailer.
(Reporting By Alistair Barr; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
This news article is brought to you by INTERNET NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
id8 Group R2 Studios was started in 2011 by Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor Blake Krikorian. It recently launched a Google Android application to allow users to control home heating and lighting systems from smartphones.
Krikorian's Sling Media - which was sold to EchoStar Communications in 2007 - made the 'Slingbox' for watching TV on computers.
Krikorian will join Microsoft with a small team, according to the Wall Street Journal, which reported the acquisition earlier on Wednesday. Microsoft also purchased some patents owned by the start-up related to controlling electronic devices, the newspaper added.
Krikorian and a Microsoft spokesman declined to comment.
Krikorian resigned from Amazon.com Inc's board in late December after about a year and a half as a director at the company, the Internet's largest retailer.
(Reporting By Alistair Barr; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
This news article is brought to you by INTERNET NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Apple testing new iPhone, iOS 7: report
(Reuters) - Apple Inc has started testing a new iPhone and the next version of its iOS software, news website The Next Web reported.
Apple shares were up 2.6 percent at $546.06 in premarket trading. The stock closed at $532.17 on the Nasdaq on Monday.
Application developers have found in their app usage logs references to a new iPhone identifier, iPhone 6.1, running iOS 7 operating system, the website reported. (http://r.reuters.com/fyd94t)
Apple's iPhone 5 bears the identifiers 'iPhone 5.1' and 'iPhone 5.2' and is powered by iOS 6 operating system.
Developer logs show that the app requests originate from an internet address on Apple's Cupertino campus, suggesting that Apple engineers are testing compatibility for some of the popular apps, the website said.
'Although OS and device data can be faked, the unique IP footprint leading back to Apple's Cupertino campus leads us to believe this is not one of those attempts,' the website said.
Apple launched iPhone 5 in September and it has been reported that the new iPhone will be released in the middle of 2013.
(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bangalore)
This news article is brought to you by PERSONAL FINANCE BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
Apple shares were up 2.6 percent at $546.06 in premarket trading. The stock closed at $532.17 on the Nasdaq on Monday.
Application developers have found in their app usage logs references to a new iPhone identifier, iPhone 6.1, running iOS 7 operating system, the website reported. (http://r.reuters.com/fyd94t)
Apple's iPhone 5 bears the identifiers 'iPhone 5.1' and 'iPhone 5.2' and is powered by iOS 6 operating system.
Developer logs show that the app requests originate from an internet address on Apple's Cupertino campus, suggesting that Apple engineers are testing compatibility for some of the popular apps, the website said.
'Although OS and device data can be faked, the unique IP footprint leading back to Apple's Cupertino campus leads us to believe this is not one of those attempts,' the website said.
Apple launched iPhone 5 in September and it has been reported that the new iPhone will be released in the middle of 2013.
(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bangalore)
This news article is brought to you by PERSONAL FINANCE BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
T-Mobile confirms appeal over Austria telecom merger
VIENNA (Reuters) - T-Mobile Austria confirmed it had filed an appeal against the allocation of radio frequencies that will result from Hutchison Whampoa's takeover of Orange Austria, in a move that could derail the 1.3 billion euro ($1.7 billion) deal.
A source familiar with the matter had told Reuters last month that the Deutsche Telekom unit planned the appeal over fears it will be at a disadvantage to rivals who will have a head start of up to a year in building next-generation LTE networks.
The ability to build an LTE network, which will offer data speeds up to 10 times those now available, will be a key competitive advantage in Austria's hard-fought telecoms market.
The country's four operators are engaged in a price war as they fight over a population of just 8.4 million, with all-inclusive, no-strings offers available for as little as 7 euros per month.
T-Mobile said on Wednesday it had lodged an appeal on December 31 with Austria's higher administrative court against the decision of the country's telecom control commission, the TKK, for the transfer of frequencies that will accompany the merger.
It said it had asked for the transfer to be put on hold while its legal case is being heard. It said it expected the court to decide within days on whether to grant an injunction in the case, which it thought could last until March or April.
A court spokesman said the court had not yet received the appeal.
($1 = 0.7585 euros)
(Reporting by Angelika Gruber and Michael Shields; Editing by David Holmes)
This news article is brought to you by TAXES BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
A source familiar with the matter had told Reuters last month that the Deutsche Telekom unit planned the appeal over fears it will be at a disadvantage to rivals who will have a head start of up to a year in building next-generation LTE networks.
The ability to build an LTE network, which will offer data speeds up to 10 times those now available, will be a key competitive advantage in Austria's hard-fought telecoms market.
The country's four operators are engaged in a price war as they fight over a population of just 8.4 million, with all-inclusive, no-strings offers available for as little as 7 euros per month.
T-Mobile said on Wednesday it had lodged an appeal on December 31 with Austria's higher administrative court against the decision of the country's telecom control commission, the TKK, for the transfer of frequencies that will accompany the merger.
It said it had asked for the transfer to be put on hold while its legal case is being heard. It said it expected the court to decide within days on whether to grant an injunction in the case, which it thought could last until March or April.
A court spokesman said the court had not yet received the appeal.
($1 = 0.7585 euros)
(Reporting by Angelika Gruber and Michael Shields; Editing by David Holmes)
This news article is brought to you by TAXES BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)