Facebook's virtual reality unit Oculus shutters film studio

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Facebook Inc's virtual reality content production unit, Oculus' Story Studio, is shuttering its doors to shift focus on supporting external content makers, the company said on Thursday, two years after the in-house studio launched.

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Facebook nears ad-only business model as game revenue falls

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc's growth into a digital advertising power is showing a flip side: The social network is more dependent than ever on the cyclical ad market, even as its rival Google finds new revenue streams in hardware and software.

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Families of San Bernardino shooting sue Facebook, Google, Twitter

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Family members of three victims of the December 2015 shooting rampage in San Bernardino, California, have sued Facebook, Google and Twitter, claiming that the tech giants permitted Islamic State to flourish on social media.

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Alexa: where is Amazon opening a new R&D center? Cambridge, England

LONDON (Reuters) - Amazon plans to open a new center in the university city of Cambridge for scientists developing technologies including the Alexa digital assistant used in its Echo speakers.

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Imagination Tech starts dispute process with Apple

LONDON (Reuters) - Imagination Technologies said it had started a "dispute resolution procedure" with Apple, its biggest customer, after failing to resolve a standoff over licensing between the two companies.

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Facebook shares dip from high as investors fret over costs, future profit

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc reported surging quarterly profit and revenue on Wednesday, helped by its fast-growing mobile ad business, but its shares dipped from a record high in after-hours trading as investors showed some nervousness about future earnings.

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WhatsApp faces worldwide outage, says is fixing it

(Reuters) - WhatsApp suffered a widespread global outage on Wednesday and was working to fix it as soon as possible, the Facebook Inc messaging service said.

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Tesla's revenue more than doubles, helped by record deliveries

(Reuters) - Electric-car maker Tesla Inc reported quarterly revenue that more than doubled and also trumped analysts' expectations, driven by record deliveries of its Model X sports utility vehicles and Model S sedans.

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Google Docs warns customers about spam with malicious links

(Reuters) - Alphabet Inc said on Wednesday it was investigating widespread reports about a spam campaign in which recipients received emails from known contacts that asked them to click on a link to review a Google Docs document.

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Nokia plans to sell its undersea cables division: sources

PARIS (Reuters) - Finland's Nokia plans to sell its undersea cables unit, a business that underpins the global Internet, two union sources and a French government source told Reuters.

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Kings and dragons drive Apple in China, even as iPhone sales stall

BEIJING (Reuters) - Apple Inc has a new China growth driver: animated dragons and warring royals.

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Apple posts surprise dip in iPhone sales, shares fall

(Reuters) - Apple Inc reported a surprise fall in iPhone sales for its second quarter on Tuesday, indicating that customers may have held back purchases in anticipation of the 10th-anniversary edition of the company's most important product later this year.

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Uber in U.S. court reckoning on possible shutdown of self-driving program

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] goes before a U.S. judge on Wednesday to fight for the right to continue work on its self-driving car program, the latest phase in a courtroom battle over trade secrets that threatens to topple a central pillar of Uber's growth strategy.

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Weak iPhone sales hit shares of Europe's Apple suppliers

LONDON (Reuters) - Shares of European suppliers of microchips, sensors and circuitry to Apple fell on Wednesday after the smartphone company's much-awaited iPhone sales missed expectations in the second quarter.

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Italy tax chief says close to deal with Google over tax dispute: paper

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy and Alphabet Inc's Google are close to reaching a deal to settle a tax dispute, the head of the Italian tax authority Rossella Orlandi told Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

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Peugeot gears up with nuTonomy for self-driving car test

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - French carmaker Peugeot is partnering with Boston, Massachusetts-based tech firm nuTonomy to test self-driving cars in Singapore.

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Google success in U.S. schools forces Microsoft, Apple to scramble

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp's announcement of a suite of new education products on Tuesday shows the company's determination to reverse a major shift that has taken place in U.S. classrooms in recent years: for most educators and school districts, Google's Chromebook is now the computer of choice.

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NSA collected Americans' phone records despite law change: report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. National Security Agency collected more than 151 million records of Americans' phone calls last year, even after Congress limited its ability to collect bulk phone records, according to an annual report issued on Tuesday by the top U.S. intelligence officer.

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Microsoft unveils Windows 10 S for its Surface laptops

(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp on Tuesday unveiled Windows 10 S, a streamlined version of its popular operating system, geared toward low-cost laptops for students, as it tries to take share from Google's Chrome OS-run computers.

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Privacy group sues NYPD for release of facial-recognition documents

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A privacy group sued the New York Police Department on Tuesday to demand the release of documents related to its use of facial-recognition technology, which rights groups have criticized as discriminatory and lacking in proper oversight.

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Wall St. eyes Apple and Facebook to fuel new leg of tech rally

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple and Facebook may expand their already outsized share of U.S. technology revenue when they report their earnings this week, as investors look for evidence to justify this year's U.S. stock market rally.

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Bitcoin soars above $1,400 to all-time high

LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin surged to an all-time high above $1,400 on Tuesday, after more than tripling in value over the past year, with its most recent rise attributed to strong demand in Japan, where the digital currency has been deemed a legal means of payment.

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Samsung Electronics gets South Korea nod to test driverless car carrying its parts, software

SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd has got permission from South Korean authorities to domestically test a driverless vehicle fitted with its electronic parts and software, as the tech giant aims to muscle into the automotive industry in search of a new growth driver.

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Infosys plans to hire 10,000 U.S. workers after Trump targets outsourcing firms

SAN FRANCISCO/MUMBAI (Reuters) - India-based IT services firm Infosys Ltd said it plans to hire 10,000 U.S. workers in the next two years and open four technology centers in the United States, starting with a center this August in Indiana, the home state of U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.

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Tencent steps up AI push with research lab in Seattle

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese social media and gaming giant Tencent Holdings said on Tuesday it will open an artificial intelligence (AI) research facility in Seattle in the United States, to be led by former Microsoft scientist Yu Dong.

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Twitter adds WNBA games, news shows, concerts in try for live viewers

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Twitter Inc is expanding its live broadcasting portfolio with 12 new offerings that include WNBA games, a 24-hour Bloomberg News network and a show about gadgets from the tech news website The Verge, the company said on Monday.

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Opel to build new Corsa model with Peugeot technology: paper

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Car maker Opel, which PSA Group has agreed to buy from General Motors, will use the French carmaker's technology in the next generation of its best-selling Corsa model, a company spokesman said, confirming a newspaper report.

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Autonomous car start-up Zoox hires ex-Ferrari exec Lanzone

(Reuters) - Autonomous vehicle start-up Zoox said on Monday Corrado Lanzone, former operations director of Ferrari SpA's racing division, has joined the California-based company as its vice president of manufacturing operations.

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Trump says China could have hacked Democratic emails

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said China may have hacked the emails of Democratic officials to meddle with the 2016 presidential election, countering the view of U.S. intelligence officials who have said Moscow orchestrated the hacks.

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UK lawmakers criticize social media over response to extremist content

LONDON(Reuters) - Social media were heavily criticized by a committee of British lawmakers on Monday for failing to do enough to remove illegal and extremist material posted on their sites, and for not preventing it appearing in the first place.

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Siemens, SAP sign cooperation deals with Saudi Arabia: officials

JEDDAH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia wants German companies Siemens and SAP to play an important role in furthering the kingdom's "digital transformation", company officials said on Sunday during German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to the country.

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Amazon's moves beyond retail get Wall Street thumbs up, for now

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc's ventures far beyond online retail, from cloud computing to movie making, are raising questions among corporate strategy experts about its focus.

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Turkey blocks access to Wikipedia website: monitoring group

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish authorities on Saturday blocked access to online encyclopedia Wikipedia, an internet monitoring group said, the latest in what government critics say is a crackdown on free speech on the internet.

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Google gets Australian tax office demand to pay more, says to fight it

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's Google said it will challenge amended tax assessments issued by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), which is trying to claw back billions of dollars from multinational corporations citing unpaid taxes.

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Google's search for non-ad revenue puts spotlight on cloud, Pixel

(Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's non-advertising business, which houses its cloud unit, Pixel smartphones and the Play store, has long been sandwiched between Google's advertising juggernaut and its moonshot ventures that have captured popular imagination.

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Tesla must complete brake fix to regain top safety rating: Consumer Reports

DETROIT (Reuters) - Tesla Inc needs to complete fixing its Model S sedan emergency braking system to regain Consumer Reports' top safety rating, the magazine said on Friday, noting that a recent update by the luxury electric car maker was not enough.

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Twitter CEO Dorsey snaps up shares worth about $9.5 million

(Reuters) - Twitter Inc Chief Executive Jack Dorsey snapped up more than half a million of the company's shares for about $9.5 million, a regulatory filing on Friday showed.

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Tesla recruiting engineers in Mexico for California plant

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Tesla Inc is recruiting engineers from Mexico to work on robotics and other automated equipment at its California factory, according to LinkedIn postings viewed by Reuters, part of a hiring push to ready the plant for mass production of the upcoming Model 3.

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ASML files patent countersuit against Japan's Nikon

(Reuters) - ASML, the world's third largest semiconductor equipment maker, said on Friday it had counter-sued rival Nikon, after the Japanese company launched a wide-ranging patent battle against the Dutch company this week.

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Apple, Tesla ask California to change its proposed self-driving car testing policies

(Reuters) - Apple Inc asked the state of California to make changes in its proposed self-driving car policies, the latest sign the company is pursuing driverless car technology.

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Huawei under fire over phone chips as tight supply bites

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese smartphone maker Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL] has come under fire from users for "cutting corners", after it said it used a mix of less advanced and powerful chips in its flagship P10 model due to tight supplies of the parts.

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Tech firms race to spot video violence

SINAGPORE (Reuters) - Companies from Singapore to Finland are racing to improve artificial intelligence so software can automatically spot and block videos of grisly murders and mayhem before they go viral on social media.

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Qualcomm says Apple to stop paying royalties, cuts profit forecast

(Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc said on Friday Apple Inc will not pay royalties to its contract manufacturers, that are owed to the chipmaker, for sales made in the first quarter of 2017.

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Russian prosecutor demands jail time for man who played Pokemon in church

YEKATERINBURG, Russia (Reuters) - A Russian state prosecutor asked a court to jail a blogger who played Pokemon Go inside a church for three-and-a-half years on Friday, saying he was guilty of inciting religious hatred, a court employee told Reuters by phone.

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Sony expects 73.2 percent annual profit jump as it recovers from quake damage

TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp said on Friday it expects operating profit to rise 73.2 percent in the financial year through March 2018 as its cash-cow image sensor business recovers from earthquake damage that had suspended a key plant in southern Japan.

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Google parent Alphabet's profit up 29 percent on strong ad sales

(Reuters) - Google parent Alphabet Inc posted a surge in profit and revenue on Thursday as its core advertising business continued to grow at an extraordinary rate and problems such as an advertiser boycott of YouTube had little impact.

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Microsoft's quarterly revenue falls short of estimates

(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp on Thursday reported quarterly revenue that slightly missed analysts' estimates, as robust demand for its cloud computing services failed to offset weak growth in its personal computing division.

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Microsoft's quarterly profit rises 27.8 percent

(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp reported a 27.8 percent increase in quarterly profit on Thursday, lifted by robust demand for its cloud computing services.

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Amazon's first-quarter profit, revenue beat estimates

(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc reported first-quarter revenue and profit that topped analysts' estimates, driven by sustained growth in online retail sales and its profitable cloud business, sending its shares up more than 4 percent in extended trading on Thursday.

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Alphabet CEO touts results of corporate restructuring

(Reuters) - Alphabet Chief Executive Larry Page said on Thursday the holding company structure for search unit Google and a host of new businesses is working well.

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Apple in talks to launch money-transfer service: Recode

(Reuters) - Apple Inc has held talks with payments industry partners about launching a money-transfer service, technology news website Recode reported on Thursday.

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Comcast profit tops views on strong subscriber growth, movie hits

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Comcast Corp's quarterly profit topped estimates on strong growth in cable and internet subscribers and hits such as "Fifty Shades Darker" and "Get Out" boosted movie revenue, the No. 1 U.S. cable operator said on Thursday.

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Samsung Elec flags stronger second quarter; Elliott welcomes share cancellation

SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Thursday flagged stronger earnings and announced a cancellation of treasury shares after posting a solid first-quarter profit boosted by the memory chip business, sending its shares to a new high.

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Vietnam says Facebook commits to preventing offensive content

HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam's government said Facebook has committed to work with it to prevent content that violates the country's laws from appearing on its platform.

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U.S. FCC chairman to propose reversing 'net neutrality' rules

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday proposed overturning the landmark 2015 Obama-era net neutrality rules that prohibit broadband providers from giving or selling access to certain internet services over others.

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Hackers exploited Word flaw for months while Microsoft investigated

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - To understand why it is so difficult to defend computers from even moderately capable hackers, consider the case of the security flaw officially known as CVE-2017-0199.

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Digital ad spend jumps 22 percent to $72.5 billion in 2016: report

(Reuters) - Marketers spent $72.5 billion on digital advertising last year, an increase of 22 percent from 2015, as Google and Facebook once again booked the lion's share of new revenue, a report released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau said on Wednesday.

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PayPal's profit, revenue beat on higher processing volumes

(Reuters) - Payment processor PayPal Holdings Inc reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue on Wednesday, helped by an increase in payment processing volumes and customer additions.

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Twitter posts strong user growth, shares soar

(Reuters) - Shares of Twitter Inc jumped on Wednesday after the microblogging service reported better-than-expected user growth in the first quarter, although its revenue fell for the first time.

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Canadian police investigate Facebook beating video in murder case

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Canadian police said on Wednesday they are investigating whether a beating captured on video, reported to have been distributed through social networking site Facebook Inc, may be connected to a young woman's murder.

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Anti-Putin protesters get a smart phone app to help get out of jail

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Anti-Kremlin protesters who run the regular risk of being detained by the police are being given a helping hand: A smart phone app that allows them to instantly inform others where and when they have been arrested.

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GE fixes bug in power software as researchers warn of grid hacks

(Reuters) - General Electric Co said on Wednesday it is fixing a bug in equipment used in electric power systems after three New York University researchers said they identified a vulnerability that could be exploited to shut down parts of the electric grid.

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UK complains to Twitter over withdrawal of access to user data

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has protested to Twitter over restricting the government's access to data, a spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday.

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South Korea court says Uber violated transport law, latest setback for U.S. firm

SEOUL (Reuters) - A South Korean court on Wednesday ruled that the ride-hailing group Uber Technologies Inc illegally used private vehicles for commercial purposes, in the latest legal setback for the U.S. firm in Asia's fourth biggest economy.

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Canon raises annual profit outlook on Toshiba medical unit acquisition

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Canon Inc on Wednesday lifted its full-year operating profit forecast after reporting strong first-quarter results on the back of earnings from a medical equipment unit it bought from Toshiba Corp last year.

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Thai police to review procedures for taking down content after Facebook killing

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Police in Thailand on Wednesday said they would discuss how to speed up taking down "inappropriate online content" after a man broadcast himself killing his 11-month-old daughter in a live video on Facebook.

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Palantir settles U.S. lawsuit charging bias against Asians

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The data analytics and security company Palantir Technologies Inc has agreed to pay nearly $1.7 million to resolve charges it discriminated against Asian applicants for engineering jobs at its Palo Alto, California, office, the U.S. Labor Department said on Tuesday.

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Automakers ask California to ease rules for self-driving car tests

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Automakers on Tuesday urged the state of California to further ease its proposed regulations for autonomous vehicles, saying the state did not respond to their earlier objections by making enough revisions to its planned set of rules for self-driving cars.

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U.S. FCC to launch 'comprehensive review' of media regulations

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai on Tuesday said the top U.S. telecommunications regulator will launch a "comprehensive review" of regulations that restrict consolidation among media companies, potentially opening the door to a new wave of deals among broadcasters and newspapers.

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Alibaba's Ma champions U.N. e-commerce drive for development

GENEVA (Reuters) - Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma said on Tuesday the Internet should be a utility available to the whole world, putting his weight behind a U.N. call for e-commerce to boost developing economies and help fight poverty.

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Waymo testing self-driving car ride service in Arizona

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's Waymo autonomous vehicle group will begin testing a self-driving car program for hundreds of families in Phoenix, Arizona and is buying 500 Chrysler minivans to do so, the companies said on Tuesday.

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Thyssenkrupp plans to open 3D printing center this year

HANOVER, Germany (Reuters) - German industrial group Thyssenkrupp plans to open its own 3D printing center this year to manufacture products for its customers, a company executive said on Tuesday.

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Wikipedia founder aims to 'fix the news' with collaborative website

LONDON (Reuters) - Jimmy Wales, the founder of online encyclopedia Wikipedia, has launched a website aimed at countering the spread of fake news by bringing together professional journalists and a community of volunteers and supporters to produce news articles.

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ABB, IBM team up on industrial artificial intelligence

ZURICH (Reuters) - ABB has sealed a collaboration agreement with International Business Machines Corp, the Swiss engineering company said on Tuesday, the latest step in its efforts to ramp up its presence in digital technology and the internet of things.

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Thyssenkrupp sees connected elevators lifting profit

HANOVER, Germany (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp sees the connection of elevators to the internet potentially lifting its profits by a double-digit million-euro amount, the head of its elevator business told Reuters in an interview.

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Tesla’s big Model 3 bet rides on risky assembly line strategy

(Reuters) - Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk took many risks with the technology in his company's cars on the way to surpassing Ford Motor Co's market value. Now Musk is pushing boundaries in the factory that makes them.

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China targets 35 million vehicle sales by 2025, NEVs to make up one-fifth

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China is targeting 35 million vehicle sales by 2025 and wants new energy vehicles (NEVs) to make up at least one-fifth of that total, the industry ministry said on Tuesday.

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Apple delays release of first original series 'Carpool Karaoke'

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Apple Inc's Apple Music has delayed the release of its first original video series, an adaptation of comedian James Corden's popular "Carpool Karaoke" segment, the company said.

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Microsoft's Nadella banks on LinkedIn data to challenge Salesforce

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp is rolling out upgrades to its sales software that integrates data from LinkedIn, an initiative that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told Reuters was central to the company's long-term strategy for building specialized business software.

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EU states push back against 25-year wireless spectrum licenses

(Reuters) - Germany and Italy are among 15 European Union member states pushing back against a proposal to set a 25-year minimum on wireless spectrum licenses, thwarting the telecoms industry's hopes for a more coordinated approach across the bloc.

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Nikon files patent case against ASML, Carl Zeiss over lithography tech

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Japan's Nikon filed lawsuits against Netherlands-based ASML, the world's third-largest chip equipment maker, and Germany's Carl Zeiss [CZTOP.UL], saying its lithography technology was illegally used by the two.

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U.S. Homeland Security probes possible abuse in Twitter summons case

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The U.S. Homeland Security Department's inspector general said on Friday he was investigating possible abuse of authority in a case that triggered a lawsuit against the department by Twitter Inc .

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German cyber crime rose 80 percent in 2016: report

BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government registered 82,649 cases of computer fraud, espionage and other cyber crimes in 2016, an increase of just over 80 percent from 2015, a German newspaper reported on Sunday.

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Apple self-driving car testing plan gives clues to tech program

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc outlined a plan to train operators of self-driving cars in documents submitted to California regulators earlier this month, the latest clues to the company's autonomous vehicle technology aspirations.

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Elon Musk on mission to link human brains with computers in four years: report

(Reuters) - Tesla Inc founder and Chief Executive Elon Musk said his latest company Neuralink Corp is working to link the human brain with a machine interface by creating micron-sized devices.

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KKR, INCJ plan joint bid for Toshiba's chip unit: Nikkei

(Reuters) - U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co LP and Japanese government-backed fund, Innovation Network Corp of Japan (INCJ), will submit a joint offer for Toshiba Corp's memory chip unit, the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday.

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Singapore researchers turn water into 'virtual lemonade' but is it tart enough?

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - It looks like lemonade, tastes like lemonade, but it's simply water.

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Sony lifts annual profit estimate on lower amortization costs

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Sony Corp raised its operating profit estimate for the year ended March 31 thanks to lower amortization costs for its financial services segment.

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Uber extends sexual harassment probe; expects report by end-May

(Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc said it has extended its internal investigation into sexual harassment claims in its own organization, and a report is expected by the end of May.

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Flying car costing more than $1 million goes on show in Monaco

MONACO (Reuters) - A Slovakia-based company unveiled the commercial design for a flying car priced at more than $1 million on Thursday, saying it was ready for pre-orders with first deliveries expected by 2020.

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Uber could face higher license fees in London under new proposals

LONDON (Reuters) - Taxi app Uber could face an increase in operator license fees in London under proposed changes by the city's transport authority, the latest in a series of moves by regulators to rein in a firm that has disrupted the traditional taxi industry.

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Spotify and Merlin agree multi-year license deal

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Music streaming service Spotify said on Thursday it had struck a multi-year license agreement with Merlin, a digital rights agency for the independent label sector.

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Western Digital CFO: Would consider bid with INCJ, DBJ for Toshiba chip unit

TOKYO (Reuters) - Western Digital Corp, the U.S. partner of Toshiba Corp in a semiconductor venture, is in talks with state-backed fund Innovation Network Corp of Japan (INCJ) and the Development Bank of Japan and would consider a joint bid with them for the chip business, a senior official said on Thursday.

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EBay's second-quarter profit forecast falls short of estimates

(Reuters) - EBay Inc on Wednesday forecast second-quarter profit that fell short of analysts' estimates, as it spends heavily on revamping and marketing its e-commerce platform amid stiff competition from much larger rival Amazon.com Inc .

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Facebook gives peek inside unit studying brain-to-text technology

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Reuters) - Facebook Inc on Wednesday pulled aside the curtain on a secretive unit headed by a former chief of the Pentagon's research arm, disclosing that the social media company is studying ways for people to communicate by thought and touch.

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Amazon rolls out chatbot tools in race to dominate voice-powered tech

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc's chief technology officer is working toward a day when people can control almost any piece of software with their voice.

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Chipmaker Qualcomm's revenue, adjusted profit beat estimates

(Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc , the largest maker of chips used in smartphones, reported higher-than-expected quarterly adjusted profit and revenue, helping allay concerns about the company's patent-licensing business.

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Beijing cyber regulators to summon Apple over live streaming: Xinhua

BEIJING (Reuters) - Internet regulators in China's capital plan to summon Apple Inc to urge the American firm to tighten its checks on software applications available in its Apple Store, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.

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Bose headphones spy on listeners: lawsuit

(Reuters) - Bose Corp spies on its wireless headphone customers by using an app that tracks the music, podcasts and other audio they listen to, and violates their privacy rights by selling the information without permission, a lawsuit charged.

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Imagination likely to see Apple royalties slashed, then end: UBS

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Apple Inc is likely to pay graphics chip designer Imagination Technologies just one third of its current royalty rate as the smartphone giant wind downs their supply deal over the next two years, UBS estimated on Wednesday.

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China's Ant Financial targets brand boost in SEAsia with helloPay deal

BEIJING (Reuters) - Ant Financial, the payment affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd , has acquired Singapore-based payment service helloPay Group, part of the Chinese firm's drive to boost its Alipay brand and presence in Southeast Asia.

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Yahoo's first-quarter revenue jumps 22 percent

(Reuters) - Yahoo Inc reported a 22.1 percent increase in quarterly revenue on Tuesday, ahead of the sale of its core internet business to Verizon Communications Inc .

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China EV makers to take on Tesla's Model 3 through price, local manufacture

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - It's not due to arrive in China until next year, but already Chinese-funded, smart, connected plug-in car start-ups are scrambling to launch cars to go head-to-head against Tesla Inc's "mass market" Model 3 sedan.

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Baidu to launch autonomous car technology in July

(Reuters) - Baidu Inc said on Tuesday it would open its self-driving car technology for restricted environment in July this year.

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Inspired by Pokemon Go, Facebook pushes augmented reality

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Reuters) - Facebook Inc is trying to seize on the technology known as augmented reality, a mix of the real and digital worlds best known from the hit smartphone game Pokemon Go, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Tuesday.

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IBM posts first revenue miss in five quarters, shares drop

(Reuters) - International Business Machines Corp reported a bigger-than-expected drop in revenue for the first time in five quarters due to weak demand in its technology services business, its biggest.

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Verizon, Corning agree to $1.05 billion fiber deal

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc has agreed to buy optical fiber from Corning Inc for at least $1.05 billion over the next three years as the No. 1 U.S. wireless carrier aims to improve its network infrastructure, the companies said on Tuesday.

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Uber eyes EU expansion despite Denmark setback, looming EU court ruling

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Uber Technologies [UBER.UL] sees opportunities to expand in the Europe Union, despite withdrawing its ride-hailing service from Denmark and facing the possibility of an EU court ruling that could mean tougher rules for the firm, an Uber executive said.

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Netflix shares head for new high after strong subscriber outlook

(Reuters) - Netflix Inc made a bullish forecast for subscriber additions by mid-year, a positive sign for its push to expand around the world that sent its shares toward an all-time high.

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INCJ looking at Toshiba chip unit auction; didn't bid in first round

TOKYO (Reuters) - The state-backed fund Innovation Network Corp of Japan is looking at the auction of Toshiba Corp's chip unit but did not participate in first-round bidding, INCJ Chairman Toshiyuki Shiga said on Tuesday.

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Snap stock falls as alleged CEO comments rile some on social media

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares of Snap fell 1.5 percent on Monday as the Snapchat owner faced criticism for comments allegedly made by its CEO about not prioritizing growth in India and Spain because they were "poor" countries.

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Google to open up Android to rivals in out-of-court deal with Russia

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's Google will open up its popular Android mobile operating system to rival search engines in Russia as part of a deal to settle a two-year dispute with Russian competition authorities.

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New York City taxi commission plans to force Uber to add driver tipping feature

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Ride-services company Uber Technologies Inc may be required to provide passengers a way to tip their drivers, despite its longstanding resistance, if a plan by New York City's taxi regulator is implemented.

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Buffett's Berkshire, Chinese property portal Juwai.com team up

(Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices on Monday said it entered a marketing agreement with Juwai.com, China's largest international property website, to attract wealthy Chinese buyers looking to purchase homes in the United States.

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Hacker documents show NSA tools for breaching global money transfer system

HONG KONG/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Documents and computer files released by hackers provide a blueprint for how the U.S. National Security Agency likely used weaknesses in commercially available software to gain access to the global system for transferring money between banks, a review of the data showed.

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China's Ant Financial raises offer for MoneyGram to $1.2 billion

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - China's Ant Financial has raised its offer for electronic payment firm MoneyGram International Inc and the deal was unanimously approved by the U.S. firm's board, outbidding rival Euronet Worldwide Inc.

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Facebook shareholders propose reports on 'fake news', pay equality

(Reuters) - Shareholders have proposed that Facebook Inc prepare a report on the threat to democracy and free speech from so-called fake news spread on the social media forum, and the dangers it may pose to the company itself, according to a proxy filing made on Friday.

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Uber's revenue hits $6.5 billion in 2016, still makes large loss

(Reuters) - Ride-hailing service Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] generated $6.5 billion in revenue last year and its gross bookings doubled to $20 billion, the ride-hailing service said on Friday.

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Hackers release files indicating NSA monitored global bank transfers

(Reuters) - Hackers released documents and files on Friday that cybersecurity experts said indicated the U.S. National Security Agency had accessed the SWIFT interbank messaging system, allowing it to monitor money flows among some Middle Eastern and Latin American banks.

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Apple considers bidding for big stake in Toshiba chip business: report

TOKYO (Reuters) - Apple Inc is considering teaming up with its supplier Foxconn to bid for Toshiba Corp's semiconductor business, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported on Friday - the latest twist in the sale of the world's second-biggest flash memory chipmaker.

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Sao Paulo judge rules Uber drivers are employees, deserve benefits

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - A judge in Brazil's biggest city ruled this week that a driver using the Uber [UBER.UL] ride-hailing app is an employee of the San-Francisco-based company, threatening its business model in one of its biggest markets.

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Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars: DMV

(Reuters) - Apple Inc has secured a permit to test autonomous vehicles in California, the state Department of Motor Vehicles said on Friday.

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Italy court lifts block of Uber services in Italy

ROME (Reuters) - A Rome court on Friday suspended a lower court ruling that had blocked the use of smart phone apps for Uber cars in Italy.

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Toshiba creditors likely to approve chip unit collateral for $9.2 billion finance: sources

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Toshiba Corp is likely to win creditors' approval for offering its prized memory chip business stake as collateral for new loans and loan commitments worth around 1 trillion yen ($9.2 billion), sources briefed about the matter said on Friday.

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T-Mobile, Dish bid combined $14 billion in U.S. airwaves auction: FCC

NEW YORK (Reuters) - T-Mobile US Inc bid $8 billion and Dish Network Corp $6.2 billion to win the bulk of broadcast airwaves spectrum for sale in a government auction, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission said on Thursday.

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A Samsung Group building evacuated on report of explosives: media

SEOUL (Reuters) - A Samsung Group [SAGR.UL] office building in southern Seoul was being evacuated following a report of explosives being planted inside, South Korea's MoneyToday reported on Friday.

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Uber may face $1 million fine over California drunken-driving complaints

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Uber's popular ride-sharing network has repeatedly failed to promptly suspend and investigate its California drivers when passengers report them driving drunk, state regulators charged in an enforcement action, recommending $1.13 million in fines.

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Microsoft says U.S. foreign intelligence surveillance requests more than doubled

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it had received at least a thousand surveillance requests from the U.S. government that sought user content for foreign intelligence purposes during the first half of 2016.

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Samsung putting Note 7 behind it as S8 pre-orders surpass S7's

SEOUL (Reuters) - Pre-orders for Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's flagship Galaxy S8 smartphone have exceeded those of its predecessor S7, the firm's mobile chief said on Thursday, suggesting many consumers are unfazed by last year's Galaxy Note 7 fires.

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Tesla jumps after Elon Musk teases commercial truck, pickup

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares of Tesla jumped nearly 3 percent on Thursday after Chief Executive Elon Musk said the electric car company expects to unveil its planned commercial truck in September.

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Uber CEO's iron grip poses challenge in COO search

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Help Wanted: A chief operating officer to help change a Silicon Valley giant's now-notorious "bro" culture, but who can thrive in a power dynamic that hands the boss overwhelming control.

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Facebook failed to remove reported extremist posts - The Times

LONDON (Reuters) - Facebook failed to remove dozens of instances of extremist and child pornography even after the social network's moderators were directly informed of the potentially illegal content, an investigation by The Times showed on Thursday.

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Self-driving 'arms race' complicates supplier alliances

FRANKFURT/DETROIT (Reuters) - The race to develop and exploit autonomous vehicle technology is reshaping the hierarchy of the automotive industry, replacing traditional top-down manufacturing relationships with complex webs of alliances and acquisitions.

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Burger King debuts Whopper ad that triggers Google Home devices

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fast-food chain Burger King said on Wednesday it will start televising a commercial for its signature Whopper sandwich that is designed to activate Google voice-controlled devices, raising questions about whether marketing tactics have become too invasive.

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Automakers unveil new SUVs at New York auto show but also focus on EVs

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Automakers unveiled new sport utility vehicles at the New York auto show on Wednesday, boosted by low fuel prices and increasing demand, but said they were also moving ahead with new U.S. electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles for the U.S. market.

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Apple hires secret team for treating diabetes: CNBC

(Reuters) - Apple Inc has hired a team of biomedical engineers as part of a secret initiative, initially envisioned by late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, to develop sensors to treat diabetes, CNBC reported citing three people familiar with the matter.

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Japan automakers look to robots to keep elderly on the move

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese automakers are looking beyond the industry trend to develop self-driving cars and turning their attention to robots to help keep the country's rapidly graying society on the move.

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Cyber breaches have cost shareholders billions since 2013: report

LONDON (Reuters) - Cyber security breaches erode companies' share prices permanently, with financials the worst hit, a study issued by IT consultant CGI and Oxford Economics has found.

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Brexit referendum website might have been hacked: UK lawmakers

LONDON (Reuters) - A website which allowed Britons to register to vote in last year's European Union referendum might have been targeted by foreign hackers causing it to crash before the deadline, a committee of British lawmakers said on Wednesday.

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China live streaming: Would-be internet stars boost billion-dollar market

BEIJING (Reuters) - Jing Qi, a part-time presenter on the live streaming platform Huajiao, underwent cosmetic surgery in March to improve her chances of becoming an internet celebrity.

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Uber's communication head Rachel Whetstone to depart

(Reuters) - Ride services company Uber Technologies Inc said on Tuesday its head of communications, Rachel Whetstone, will leave the company.

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Apple may ditch Dialog, analyst says, hitting chipmaker's shares

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Dialog Semiconductor risks losing a crucial supply deal with Apple Inc , according to a financial analyst who cut his rating on the stock on Tuesday, sending the Anglo-German chipmaker's shares down by as much as one-third.

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Yahoo's EU regulator to issue recommendations on email security within weeks

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Yahoo's European regulator said it is preparing to give the U.S. Internet firm the results of an investigation into the 2014 theft of data from 500 million users, including possible remedial action to avoid a repeat of the breach.

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China's Huawei targets Amazon, Alibaba in public cloud service push

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese telecoms equipment and smartphone maker Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] on Tuesday said it aims to compete with Amazon.com Inc and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd as a global provider of public cloud services.

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Qualcomm hits back at Apple's lawsuit, accuses iPhone maker of false statements

(Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc hit back at Apple Inc's charges that were made in a U.S. lawsuit in January, saying the iPhone maker breached agreements with the firm and encouraged regulatory attacks on its business in various jurisdictions around the world by making false statements.

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Symantec attributes 40 cyber attacks to CIA-linked hacking tools

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Past cyber attacks on scores of organizations around the world were conducted with top-secret hacking tools that were exposed recently by the Web publisher Wikileaks, the security researcher Symantec Corp said on Monday.

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China draft cyber law mandates security assessment for outbound data

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's top cyber authority on Tuesday released a draft law that would require firms exporting data to undergo an annual security assessment, in the latest of several recent safeguards against threats such as hacking and terrorism.

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Boeing Dreamliner cost to drop $2-$3 million per plane from 3-D printed titanium

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Boeing Co hired Norsk Titanium AS to print the first structural titanium parts for its 787 Dreamliner, the Norwegian 3-D printing company said on Monday, paving the way to cost savings of $2 million to $3 million for each plane.

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Banks scramble to fix old systems as IT 'cowboys' ride into sunset

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bill Hinshaw is not a typical 75-year-old. He divides his time between his family – he has 32 grandchildren and great-grandchildren – and helping U.S. companies avert crippling computer meltdowns.

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Ciber files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

(Reuters) - Information technology company Ciber Inc said on Monday that it and some of its U.S. units filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 in the U.S. bankruptcy court in the District of Delaware.

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Turkey's Vestel in talks to buy Toshiba television unit: official

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's Vestel is in talks to buy the television unit of Japan's Toshiba Corp, a Vestel official said on Monday, a deal that could be worth a few hundred million dollars and could expand the Turkish firm's global presence.

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Computer hack sets off 156 emergency sirens across Dallas

(Reuters) - A computer hack set off all the emergency sirens in Dallas for about 90 minutes overnight in one of the largest known breaches of a siren warning system, officials in the Texas city said on Saturday.

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Fidelity becomes first asset manager to join blockchain group IC3

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fidelity Investments Inc has become the first financial institution to join the Initiative for CryptoCurrencies & Contracts, a group of academic institutions and technology companies looking to develop blockchain-based technology.

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New York regulator wants other states to model cyber laws after its rules

DENVER (Reuters) - A group of U.S. state insurance regulators should use New York's sweeping cyber security rules as a model for how insurers must protect their networks from hackers and when they must disclose cyber events, New York's financial regulator said on Sunday.

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Google offers at least $880 million to LG display for OLED investment: Electronic Times

SEOUL (Reuters) - Google Inc has offered to invest at least 1 trillion won ($880.29 million) to help South Korea's LG Display Co Ltd boost output of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens for smartphones, the Electronic Times reported on Monday citing unnamed sources.

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Snapdeal founders move to calm employees amid takeover speculation

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The founders of India's Snapdeal told employees in an email on Sunday that the e-commerce company will ensure there is no disruption to staff "as the way forward becomes clear," as speculation of a takeover swirls.

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Twitter CEO forgoes compensation; long-time board member to leave

(Reuters) - Twitter Inc's chief executive, Jack Dorsey, continued to forego direct compensation and Peter Fenton, a board member since 2009, will leave after the company's annual meet in May, a regulatory filing showed on Friday.

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U.S. net neutrality advocates blast Pai effort to reverse rules

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Advocates of landmark net neutrality rules on Friday blasted Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai's plans to roll back the Obama era legal framework.

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Twitter pulls lawsuit over anti-Trump account, says summons withdrawn

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Twitter Inc on Friday dropped a lawsuit it filed the previous day against the U.S. Homeland Security Department, saying the government had withdrawn a summons for records about who was behind an account critical of President Donald Trump.

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Uber says never used Waymo files on self-driving

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc said on Friday its self-driving sensor technology was "fundamentally different" from Waymo's, blasting Waymo's assertion that its ride-services rival profited from confidential stolen files, in the latest salvo in a high-profile dispute between the two rivals.

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Facebook virtual reality unit Oculus faces lawsuit over imaging patent

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc's virtual reality unit Oculus VR is facing a lawsuit alleging it incorporated without authorization a smaller competitor's patented technology into its Rift headset.

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Twitter refuses U.S. order to reveal user behind anti-Trump account

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Twitter Inc on Thursday filed a federal lawsuit to block an order by the U.S. government demanding that it reveal who is behind an account opposed to President Donald Trump's tough immigration policies.

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Cloud software provider Okta surges 44 percent in debut

(Reuters) - Cloud software provider Okta Inc's shares jumped as much as 44 percent in its debut on Friday, giving the tech unicorn a market capitalization of about $2.22 billion.

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LG Electronics estimates first quarter profit surged, likely best in nearly eight years

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's LG Electronics Inc estimated on Friday its first-quarter operating profit rose 82 percent to its highest in nearly eight years, handily beating market expectations on healthy sales of appliances and televisions.

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Adidas to mass-produce 3D-printed shoe with Silicon Valley start-up

HERZOGENAURACH, Germany/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Adidas launched a new sneaker on Friday with a 3D-printed sole that it plans to mass-produce next year, part of a broader push by the German sportswear firm to react faster to changing fashions and create more customized products.

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U.S. FCC chairman plans fast-track repeal of net neutrality: sources

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission is moving quickly to replace the Obama administration's landmark net neutrality rules and wants internet service providers to voluntarily agree to maintain an open internet, three sources briefed on the meeting said Thursday.

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YouTube tweaks ad strategy to curb content stealing

(Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's YouTube said on Thursday it would place ads on channels only if they reach 10,000 views as it tries to weed out people who make money on the site by stealing content from other sources.

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Samsung forecasts best quarterly profit in over three years as chips soar

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd forecast on Friday its best quarterly profit in more than three years in the January-March period, beating expectations on the back of robust demand for memory chips.

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Twitter dips after co-founder says selling some of his shares

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares of Twitter dropped about 1 percent on Thursday after co-founder Ev Williams said he is selling a minority of his shares in the social media company, which has been losing ground to Facebook and other fast-growing rivals.

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Lyft valued at $7.5 billion in new funding round: source

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Ride services company Lyft Inc has nearly completed a funding round of at least $500 million, valuing the company at $7.5 billion, according to a source close to the company.

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Comcast enters U.S. wireless business with unlimited data plans

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Comcast Corp , facing pressure in its core business, said on Thursday it is launching a wireless service with an unlimited data plan, making it the first major U.S. cable provider to enter the highly competitive wireless market.

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How artificial life spawned a billion-dollar industry

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists are getting closer to building life from scratch and technology pioneers are taking notice, with record sums moving into a field that could deliver novel drugs, materials, chemicals and even perfumes.

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Australian regulator sues Apple alleging iPhone 'bricking'

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's consumer watchdog has sued Apple Inc alleging it used a software update to disable iPhones which had cracked screens fixed by third parties.

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China court orders Samsung units to pay $11.6 million to Huawei over patent case

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A Chinese court has ordered Samsung Electronics's mainland subsidiaries to pay 80 million yuan ($11.60 million) to Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL] for patent infringement, the China firm's first victory against Samsung on its legal challenges over intellectual property.

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Twitter creates 'lite' version for data-starved users

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Twitter Inc is launching a faster version of its mobile service on Wednesday aimed at people with sporadic connections or little data on their smartphone plans, hoping to pick up users in harder-to-reach emerging markets.

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Financial institutions risk 24 percent revenue loss from fintech: PwC

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Large financial institutions across the world could lose 24 percent of their revenues to financial technology companies over the next three to five years, according to a new study by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

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Taser changes name to Axon in shift to software services

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Taser International Inc , maker of the eponymous device used by police to stun and incapacitate a person temporarily, is changing its name to Axon as it pushes further into the software business.

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U.S. judge warns Uber in Waymo self-driving car case

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Wednesday warned Uber Technologies Inc it could face a court injunction that would bar a key Uber executive from working on its self-driving car project, in a high-profile case filed by Alphabet Inc's Waymo unit.

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Boeing forms venture group, invests in two tech startups

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Boeing Co said on Wednesday it had launched a venture capital arm and invested in two startup companies in a bid to stay abreast of rapidly evolving aircraft designs and factory technology.

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AT&T adds HBO to unlimited wireless plan for free

(Reuters) - AT&T Inc said on Wednesday customers of its unlimited mobile data plan would get Time Warner Inc's HBO, home to hit shows such as "Game of Thrones" and "Veep", as part of the service at no additional cost.

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Apple aims for more control, less cost as it accelerates in chip design

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc's decision to stop licensing graphics chips from Imagination Technologies Group Plc is the clearest example yet of the iPhone maker's determination to take greater control of the core technologies in its products - both to guard its hefty margins and to position it for future innovations, especially in so-called augmented reality.

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Amazon acquires right to buy stake in fuel cell maker Plug Power

(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc has acquired the right to buy up to 23 percent of hydrogen fuel cell maker Plug Power Inc , in a deal giving the retailer powerful batteries that promise to speed up work in its warehouses, Plug Power said on Wednesday.

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Kim Dotcom announces new Bitcoin venture for content uploaders to earn money

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Controversial New Zealand-based internet mogul Kim Dotcom plans to launch a Bitcoin payments system for users to sell files and video streaming as he fights extradition to the United States for criminal copyright charges.

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Samsung to ride soaring chip profits in first quarter, Galaxy S8 aura in 2017

SEOUL (Reuters) - Record earnings at Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's chip division are set to propel the tech giant's first-quarter profit to a three-and-a-half-year high, and the quarters ahead could be even better if its newest smartphone, Galaxy S8, is a success.

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New York's top court rejects Facebook search warrant challenge

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York state's highest court on Tuesday rejected Facebook Inc's challenge to 381 search warrants to uncover suspected widespread Social Security disability fraud by its customers.

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Uber executive has 'no basis' to believe criminal probe underway: court filing

(Reuters) - An Uber executive at the center of a high-profile legal dispute with Alphabet Inc's Waymo self-driving-car unit has "no basis to believe" any criminal investigation is underway over allegations of trade secret theft, the executive's lawyer said in a court filing.

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Spotify and Universal Music agree multi-year license deal

(Reuters) - Music streaming service Spotify said on Tuesday it had signed a global, multi-year license agreement with Universal Music Group (UMG).

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Toshiba seeks new loan, offers memory chip unit stake as collateral: sources

TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp asked creditor banks for a new loan and offered as collateral a stake in its memory chip unit that is being split off, sources said, underlining the firm's growing financial woes as it braces for a multi-billion dollar loss.

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Mercedes joins forces with Bosch to develop self-driving taxis

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler and supplier Robert Bosch [ROBG.UL] are teaming up to develop self-driving cars in an alliance primarily aimed at accelerating the production of "robo-taxis".

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WhatsApp mulls foray into digital payments with India launch

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Instant messaging app WhatsApp, owned by Facebook Inc, is mulling a foray into digital payment services in India, its first such offering globally, and has advertised to hire a digital transactions lead in the country.

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Waymo targets second senior executive in Uber self-driving dispute

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Alphabet's self-driving car unit Waymo initiated private legal proceedings against two former executives who launched a rival company acquired by Uber [UBER.UL], court records show, accusing them of trying to recruit Waymo employees to the new startup that aims to revolutionize the auto industry.

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Elon Musk mocks short sellers after Tesla stock surge

(Reuters) - As Tesla Inc's strong quarterly vehicle deliveries sent its stock to a record high on Monday, Chief Executive Elon Musk took a swipe at traders betting the luxury electric car company is on a road to ruin.

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Imagination Technologies' shares plunge 70 percent after Apple ditches firm

LONDON (Reuters) - Imagination Technologies has been told by Apple , its biggest customer, that the maker of iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches is to stop using its graphics technology in its new products, sending shares in the company crashing by more than 70 percent on Monday.

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FCC reverses Charter Communications 'overbuild' requirement

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted to reverse a requirement imposed under the Obama administration that Charter Communications Inc extend broadband service to 1 million households that currently have service, a source briefed on the matter said.

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AIG taps into consumer fears with new cybersecurity product

NEW YORK(Reuters) - American International Group Inc is joining insurers offering products that offer consumers safeguards against hackers and cyber criminals who might steal personal data.

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Tesla delivers quarterly record of 25,000 vehicles in first quarter

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tesla Inc , the U.S. luxury electric car maker, said on Sunday first-quarter vehicle deliveries jumped 69 percent from a year ago to a quarterly record of 25,000 vehicles, bouncing back from delays in the previous quarter.

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Ride-hailing firm Grab agrees to buy Indonesian payment startup Kudo

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Southeast Asian ride-hailing firm Grab on Monday said it has agreed to buy Indonesian online payment startup Kudo, marking the first investment under a recently announced plan to commit $700 million to its largest market.

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Toshiba shares tumble after sources say third earnings postponement likely

TOKYO (Reuters) - Shares in Toshiba Corp tumbled on Monday after sources told Reuters that the troubled Japanese conglomerate would likely miss a third deadline to report its quarterly business results.

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In self-driving car race, winners get all the way around track

WILLOWS, Calif. (Reuters) - Nine self-driving cars did not quite zoom around a 2-mile (3.2-km) course in Northern California over the weekend in a race involving students and entrepreneurs from startup companies where the real goal was just to make it around the track.

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Major internet providers say will not sell customer browsing histories

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Comcast Corp, Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T Inc said Friday they would not sell customers’ individual internet browsing information, days after the U.S. Congress approved legislation reversing Obama administration era internet privacy rules.

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Chicago teen arrested in Facebook Live sex assault, others sought

(Reuters) - Chicago police have arrested a 14-year-old boy and expect to charge a second youth in connection with the sexual assault of a teenage girl by multiple young men that was seen on Facebook Live in March, officials said on Sunday.

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New York Post apologizes after app apparently hacked

(Reuters) - The New York Post apologized early on Sunday hours after its app was apparently hacked with what was reported to be alerts about President Donald Trump.

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Snapchat adds more accessible search feature

(Reuters) - Snap Inc said on Friday its Snapchat messaging app would add an option for users to search through photos and videos that users have posted to the public.

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BlackBerry's profit beats expectations, shares surge

(Reuters) - BlackBerry Ltd reported better-than-expected adjusted earnings for the sixth straight quarter, as the smartphone pioneer's shift to the higher-margin software business paid off, sending shares soaring more than 15 percent.

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Toshiba likely to miss quarterly earnings deadline for third time: sources

TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp will likely miss a third deadline to report its quarterly business results, two sources told Reuters, forcing the Japanese conglomerate to ask for a fresh extension or face a possible delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

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Waymo-Uber judge says may grant injunction if key witness doesn't testify

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The U.S. judge overseeing a blockbuster case over self-driving car technology suggested Uber could face an injunction if a key Uber executive does not testify for fear of exposing himself to criminal prosecution, according to a transcript seen by Reuters.

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Big in Japan? Hope at home for Toshiba's nuclear arm after U.S. debacle

TOKYO (Reuters) - The bankruptcy of Westinghouse Electric Co may be a blow to Toshiba Corp's international nuclear ambitions, but the Japanese conglomerate still has a profitable business at home.

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FCC to vote to reform $45 billion business data market

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican head of the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday proposed easing regulatory requirements in the $45 billion business data services market, a win for companies like AT&T Inc, CenturyLink Inc, Verizon Communications Inc and others.

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Toshiba offered $17.9 billion for chip unit by Silver Lake and Broadcom: Nikkei

TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. private equity firm Silver Lake Partners LP [SILAK.UL] and U.S. chipmaker Broadcom Ltd have offered Toshiba Corp about 2 trillion yen ($17.9 billion) for its chip unit, the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday.

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Verizon looking to launch online TV service: sources

(Reuters) - The No. 1 U.S. wireless carrier Verizon Communications Inc has been buying streaming rights from television network owners ahead of a nationwide launch of an online TV service, according to people familiar with the matter.

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U.S. judge clears Toshiba's Westinghouse to tap bankruptcy loan

(Reuters) - A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Thursday cleared Westinghouse Electric Co, a unit of Japan's Toshiba Corp , to borrow an initial $350 million to support the company's global operations while it restructures operations.

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Uber settles with Pennsylvania regulator following record fine

(Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc has reached a settlement with Pennsylvania's taxi regulator to end the ride-sharing company's appeal of a record $11.4 million fine for operating illegally.

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Investors bet on a quiet tech revolution in Europe

LONDON (Reuters) - It's not banking or mining shares, but rather technology stocks, that have come up trumps in Europe this year and are poised to end the first quarter as the best-performing sector.

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Blockchain startup Chain teams with Thales to bolster security

NEW YORK(Reuters) - U.S. blockchain startup Chain Inc has teamed with security firm Thales Group to make it easier for large companies that use blockchain technology to safely store their security credentials, the two companies said on Thursday.

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Exclusive: Bullying, bonuses and a red flag that BT missed in Italy - sources

MILAN (Reuters) - Three employees of BT Group's Italian unit warned their Madrid-based supervisor in November 2015 about possible accounting problems at BT Italy, one of the three said, a year before the phone company revealed financial irregularities at the division.

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Toshiba's shareholders approve chip unit split off, paves way for sale

TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp's shareholders on Thursday approved a proposal to split off the Japanese company's NAND flash memory unit, paving the way for the sale of most of its prized business.

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Hyundai Motor working on dedicated platform for electric vehicles: executive

YONGIN, South Korea (Reuters) - South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co is developing its first dedicated architecture for electric vehicles, an executive told Reuters, preparing a major push into the growing segment by offering multiple models with longer driving ranges.

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Waymo self-driving unit sought arbitration over engineer now at Uber

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's Waymo self-driving unit sought to arbitrate claims last year against a former employee at the center of its lawsuit against Uber, court records released on Wednesday showed, in what Uber said strengthened its bid to get the case out of court and into arbitration.

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Amazon moving staff at Quidsi parenting products unit after losses

(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc said on Wednesday it was moving staff out of its Quidsi nursery, beauty and pet products subsidiary after the business failed to turn a profit.

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White House says Trump to sign broadband privacy repeal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump plans to sign a repeal of Obama-era broadband privacy rules as a bigger fight looms over rules governing the openness of the internet, the White House said on Wednesday.

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Vote to repeal U.S. broadband privacy rules sparks interest in VPNs

(Reuters) - The vote by the U.S. Congress to repeal rules that limit how internet service providers can use customer data has generated renewed interest in an old internet technology: virtual private networks, or VPNs.

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Samsung launches Galaxy S8 and dreams of recovery from Note 7

(Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd unveiled its Galaxy S8 flagship smartphone as it battles to regain the market leadership it lost to Apple Inc after the embarrassing withdrawal of the fire-prone Note 7s.

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Turkish court halts activities of Booking.com over breach of competition law: association

ANKARA (Reuters) - A Turkish court halted the activities of online travel agent Booking.com in a court case alleging the website had violated Turkish competition law, the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TURSAB) said on Wednesday.

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A scramble at Cisco exposes uncomfortable truths about U.S. cyber defense

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - When WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange disclosed earlier this month that his anti-secrecy group had obtained CIA tools for hacking into technology products made by U.S. companies, security engineers at Cisco Systems swung into action.

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Bangladesh Bank heist was 'state-sponsored': U.S. official

MANILA (Reuters) - The heist of $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank's account at the New York Federal Reserve last year was "state-sponsored," an FBI officer in the Philippines, who has been involved in the investigations, said on Wednesday.

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BlackRock cuts fees and jobs; stockpicking goes high-tech

NEW YORK (Reuters) - BlackRock Inc on Tuesday said it would overhaul its actively managed equities business, cutting jobs, dropping fees and relying more on computers to pick stocks in a move that highlights how difficult it has become for humans to beat the market.

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Tesla deal boosts Chinese presence in U.S. auto tech

DETROIT (Reuters) - China's Tencent Holdings Ltd has bought a 5 percent stake in U.S. electric car maker Tesla Inc for $1.78 billion, the latest investment by a Chinese internet company in the potentially lucrative market for self-driving vehicles and related services.

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Uber discloses workforce diversity numbers

(Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc disclosed workforce diversity numbers for the first time on Tuesday, as the ride hailing services company looks to repair its tarnished image following a series of embarrassing setbacks.

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White House backs repeal of broadband privacy rules

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Tuesday that the Trump administration strongly supports a bill to repeal regulations requiring internet service providers to do more to protect customers' privacy than websites like Alphabet Inc's Google or Facebook Inc.

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With new phone due, Samsung dials down on safety message

SEOUL (Reuters) - After the damaging recall of its fire-prone Note 7 smartphone, you could be forgiven for thinking Samsung Electronics Co Ltd would make a song and dance about battery safety in its new flagship phones, due to be launched in the United States on Wednesday.

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Amazon clinches deal to buy Middle East online retailer Souq.com

DUBAI (Reuters) - Amazon.com has agreed to buy Middle East online retailer Souq.com, thwarting a last-minute bid by Dubai billionaire Mohamed Alabbar's Emaar Malls .

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Facebook adds camera features, moving closer to Snapchat

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc is giving the camera a central place on its smartphone app for the first time, encouraging users to take more pictures and edit them with digital stickers that show the influence of camera-friendly rival Snapchat.

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AI to become main way banks interact with customers within three years: Accenture

LONDON (Reuters) - Artificial intelligence (AI) will become the primary way banks interact with their customers within the next three years, according to three quarters of bankers surveyed by consultancy Accenture in a new report.

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Uber to end services in Denmark after three years

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Ride-hailing group Uber Technologies [UBER.UL] will withdraw services in Denmark next month due to a taxi law that sets out new requirements for drivers such as mandatory fare meters, the company said on Tuesday.

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Chinese tech giant Tencent signs $4.65 billion loan deal

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings has signed a $4.65 billion loan deal, Basis Point reported, amid a flurry of fund-raising by China's internet giants.

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Samsung Electronics says to sell refurbished Galaxy Note 7s

SEOUL (Reuters) - Tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Monday it plans to sell refurbished versions of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphones that were pulled from markets due to fire-prone batteries.

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Comcast to expand streaming service amid cord-cutting trend

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Comcast Corp is planning to rebrand and expand a streaming video option for broadband subscribers who do not want to pay for a traditional cable package, sources told Reuters on Monday.

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Facebook's Messenger app to allow live location-sharing

MENLO PARK, Calif. (Reuters) - Facebook Inc will add a feature to its Messenger app on Monday to allow users to share their locations, the company said, ramping up competition with tools offered by Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google Maps.

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Snap shares rise as underwriters start coverage with 'buy'

(Reuters) - Snap Inc , owner of messaging app Snapchat, received top ratings from a number of its IPO underwriters on Monday, sending its shares up more than 3 percent in premarket trading.

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Activist hedge funds press Tangoe to sell itself: sources

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two activist hedge funds are pressing directors of Tangoe Inc. to sell the company, according to people familiar with the matter, citing a weakness in the IT company's business and falling stock price.

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Toshiba wants Westinghouse to file for bankruptcy as early as Tuesday: source

TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp wants its U.S nuclear unit to file for Chapter 11 protection from creditors as early as Tuesday, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter, seeking a quick ringfencing of losses before the Japanese parent's financial year ends.

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Chinese court rules in favor of Apple in local design patent disputes

BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese court has ruled in favor of Apple in design patent disputes between the Cupertino, California company and a domestic phone-maker, overturning a ban on selling iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus phones in China, Xinhua news agency reported.

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Uber suspends self-driving car program after Arizona crash

(Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] suspended its pilot program for driverless cars on Saturday after a vehicle equipped with the nascent technology crashed on an Arizona roadway, the ride-hailing company and local police said.

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Uber tells U.S. court customers must arbitrate disputes

(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court in New York on Friday weighed arguments over whether Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] customers gave up their right to sue the company when they registered for its popular taxi hailing service.

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Trump says Charter to invest $25 billion in U.S., hire 20,000 workers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Friday that Charter Communications Inc has committed to investing $25 billion and hiring 20,000 workers over four years.

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YouTube's bid to grab TV dollars imperiled by advertiser revolt

(Reuters) - The decision by a handful of high-profile consumer brands to pull advertising from Google’s YouTube over offensive content could threaten the site’s long-term strategy of stealing ad dollars from television, analysts and ad industry professionals said Thursday.

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U.S. Senate votes to overturn Obama broadband privacy rules

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted narrowly to repeal regulations requiring internet service providers to do more to protect customers' privacy than websites like Alphabet Inc's Google or Facebook Inc .

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Twitter explores premium version after 11 years as a free service

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Twitter Inc is considering whether to build a premium version of its network aimed at professionals, the company said on Thursday, raising the possibility that it could collect subscription fees from some users for the first time.

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Amazon.com wins $1.5 billion tax dispute over IRS

(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc on Thursday won a more than $1.5 billion tax dispute with the Internal Revenue Service over transactions involving a Luxembourg unit more than a decade ago.

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J&J latest to suspend ads from YouTube over offensive videos

(Reuters) - U.S. healthcare conglomerate Johnson & Johnson became the latest company to suspend all digital advertising on Google's YouTube, over concerns that its ads may have appeared on channels that broadcast offensive videos.

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Accenture's profit slips as costs rise

(Reuters) - Consulting and outsourcing services provider Accenture Plc reported a smaller quarterly profit on Thursday, hurt in part by higher costs.

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China's Chery files trademark complaint against Mercedes over green car brand

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese automaker Chery Automobile Co Ltd [CHERY.UL] has filed a complaint with the country's trademark regulator over Mercedes-Benz's use of the "EQ" name for a line of green-energy vehicles, throwing up a potential road block for the Daimler AG unit in the world's largest electric car market.

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China's ZTE posts fourth-quarter net loss after U.S. sanction case fine

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE Corp on Thursday reported a net loss of 5.22 billion yuan ($760 million) in fourth-quarter profit, as it booked a $892 million charge to settle a U.S. sanctions case.

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Verizon, AT&T suspend ads from Google over offensive videos

(Reuters) - U.S. wireless carriers Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T Inc said on Wednesday they have suspended digital advertising on Google's YouTube and other advertising platforms not related to search over concerns that their ads may have run next to extremist videos.

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Exclusive: Westinghouse's clients gear up for bankruptcy fight - sources

(Reuters) - The U.S. utilities that are clients of Toshiba Corp's nuclear power plant construction subsidiary, Westinghouse Electric Co LLC, have hired advisers to prepare for its potential bankruptcy, according to people familiar with the matter.

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Canada seeks to end Uber's tax advantage over taxi companies

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The new national budget unveiled Wednesday by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government took aim at ride-sharing providers such as Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL], looking to end a tax advantage they have over traditional taxi companies.

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Google adds audio-only calls to Duo, file sharing to Allo

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Google said on Wednesday it would offer an audio-only option on its Duo video calls service to help users communicate using poor-quality connections, and was adding a feature to permit file sharing in group chats on its Allo messaging App.

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EU's Vestager says analyzing Facebook reply to WhatsApp probe

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said on Wednesday she was reviewing Facebook's response to charges the U.S. social network provided misleading information during its bid for messaging service WhatsApp which may result in a hefty fine for the company.

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Snap pops 9 percent after winning second 'buy' recommendation

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares of Snap Inc jumped 9 percent on Wednesday after the owner of messaging app Snapchat received a second analyst "buy" rating following a red-hot public listing this month and with Wall Street skeptical about its lofty valuation.

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Mobileye deal to fuel investment in late-stage Israeli start-ups

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Intel's $15.3 billion acquisition of Mobileye has catapulted Israeli hi-tech into the global league, and is likely to stimulate investment in the sector's other late-stage startups, where funds are most needed.

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Google allows users to share their locations in mapping app

(Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's Google announced on Wednesday that it will revamp its popular maps app to allow users to share their locations, in order to boost engagement on a product of increasing strategic importance to the search giant.

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LinkedIn tries to hook more users with business news section

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - LinkedIn on Wednesday plans to launch a section on its network dedicated to business news, seeking to draw users onto the service more frequently to read and talk about current events, company officials said.

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Instagram says advertising base tops one million businesses

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Instagram is expected to announce on Wednesday that it has reached more than 1 million monthly active advertisers, as the Facebook Inc-owned photo-sharing app tries to become a center of online commerce.

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China's Tencent fourth-quarter profit rises 47 percent on payment, cloud services

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Tencent Holdings Ltd, China's biggest social media and online entertainment company, posted a 47 percent rise in quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by strong growth in new revenue streams such as payment and cloud services.

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Online advertisers sign up to better standards

BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A broad coalition of advertising trade groups, ad buyers and sellers from Western Europe and the United States have urged the industry to stop using annoying online marketing formats that have fuelled the rapid rise of ad-blockers.

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Uber board backs CEO Kalanick, still looking for chief operating officer

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] plans to keep co-founder Travis Kalanick as chief executive following a series of damaging events at the ride services company, a member of its board said on Tuesday in a rare call with reporters.

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Apple drives further into Facebook, Snap territory with video app

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - With the release of a new video app called Clips, Apple Inc is inching one step closer to fully engaging in the messaging world, where its huge base of iPhone users could help it compete with Snap Inc's Snapchat and Facebook Inc's Messenger.

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Twitter suspended more than 636,000 accounts since 2015 to tackle extremism

(Reuters) - Twitter Inc said on Tuesday it had suspended more than 636,000 accounts since the middle of 2015 as the company steps up efforts to tackle "violent extremism" on its microblogging platform.

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Amazon to expand counterfeit removal program in overture to sellers

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc is expanding a program to remove counterfeit goods from its website this spring as part of a broader push to assure brand owners that the online retailer is an ally rather than a threat.

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Google to revamp policies, hire staff after UK ad scandal

LONDON (Reuters) - Google vowed on Tuesday to police its websites better by ramping up staff numbers and overhauling its policies after several companies deserted the internet giant for failing to keep their adverts off hate-filled videos.

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Reddit rolls out user profiles amid site makeover

(Reuters) - Social media network Reddit announced on Tuesday that it will begin rolling out public profiles for users, the latest in a series of changes aimed at boosting engagement on the hugely popular site.

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Google sister company Jigsaw offers free security tools to election groups

FRANKFURT/AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Google and its sister company Jigsaw, are stepping up efforts to help keep elections free of online interference after helping to defend one of two important voter information websites that came under cyber attack during last week's Dutch national election.

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Apple unveils new iPad starting at $329

(Reuters) - Apple Inc unveiled an updated version of its iPad tablet on Tuesday, starting at $329 and available to order from Friday.

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Alibaba buys online ticketing platform Damai

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has fully acquired online ticketing platform Damai.cn, the e-commerce giant said on Tuesday, marking a further push into entertainment by the firm.

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SoftBank invests $300 million in shared-office startup WeWork: source

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp has invested $300 million in shared-office space company WeWork, the first installment of a multi-billion-dollar bet, according to a source familiar with the matter.

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Adobe, Microsoft team up to share sales and marketing data

(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp and Adobe Systems Inc are joining to make their respective sales and marketing software products more potent competitors to Salesforce.com Inc and Oracle Corp offerings, the two firms said Monday.

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Bitcoin steadies after biggest three-day tumble in over two years

LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin regained its footing on Monday, having suffered its heftiest falls since early 2015 between Thursday and Saturday as investors sold the digital currency on worries about its future.

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Uber president Jeff Jones quits, deepening turmoil

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Ride services company Uber Technologies Inc has been thrust deeper into turmoil with the departure of company president Jeff Jones, a marketing expert hired to help soften its often abrasive image.

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Snap snaps back after analyst assigns first 'buy' rating

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Snap Inc stock rose on Monday after the Snapchat owner received its first "buy" rating from a Wall Street analyst following a $3.4 billion public listing this month that raised the eyebrows of many on Wall Street.

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Google apologizes to ad clients for YouTube content fiasco

(Reuters) - Google apologized on Monday for allowing ads to appear alongside offensive videos on YouTube as more high-profile firms such as Marks & Spencer and HSBC pulled advertising for British markets from Google sites.

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As part of Asia pivot, Netanyahu pushes Israeli hi-tech in China

JERUSALEM/BEIJING (Reuters) - China's economy may be 35 times larger than Israel's, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hoping to use that to advantage during a three-day visit to Beijing as he looks to reorient Israel's economy toward Asia over Europe and the United States.

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Vodafone to merge India operations with Idea Cellular

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Britain's Vodafone Group will merge its Indian subsidiary with local rival Idea Cellular within two years, Idea said on Monday, creating a new market leader better able to contest a brutal new price war.

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IBM launches enterprise-ready blockchain service

NEW YORK (Reuters) - International Business Machines Corp has launched a service that will allow businesses to build applications on its cloud using blockchain code from the Hyperledger Project, the cross-industry group led by the Linux Foundation.

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South Korea Netmarble Games says IPO to be worth up to $2.35 billion

SEOUL (Reuters) - Netmarble Games Corp, South Korea's largest mobile game company, said on Monday it plans an initial public offering (IPO) worth up to 2.66 trillion won ($2.35 billion) in what could be the country's second-largest listing ever.

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Experian partners with tech firm to speed up lending

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Credit bureau Experian Plc has teamed up with technology firm Finicity to launch a new product aimed at speeding up the consumer lending process in the United States making it more digital.

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MoneyGram to give Euronet confidential info to firm up bid: sources

(Reuters) - U.S. electronic payments company MoneyGram International Inc will share confidential information with peer Euronet Worldwide Inc , after the latter made a $1 billion acquisition offer, according to people familiar with the matter.

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IBM and Wanda form China cloud computing partnership

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - IBM and a unit of China's Dalian Wanda Group, a property and entertainment conglomerate, agreed on Sunday to team up to provide cloud services to Chinese companies, the U.S. technology provider said.

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G20 to jointly fight bank sector hacking

BADEN-BADEN, Germany (Reuters) - The world's biggest economies will pledge to jointly fight cyber attacks on the global banking system, one of the biggest coordinated efforts yet to protect lenders since an $81 million heist of the Bangladesh central bank's account last year.

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Jack Ma to launch Alibaba's regional distribution hub in Malaysia: sources

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Limited plans to set up a regional distribution hub in Malaysia to cater to its fast-growing business in the region, two sources aware of the discussions said.

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French advertising group Havas denies it wants to pull adverts from Google

PARIS (Reuters) - French advertising group Havas denied on Friday that it would pull advertising from Google platforms, contradicting comments attributed to the head of its British business after Britain raised concerns over government advertising on the U.S. company's YouTube website.

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Porsche invests in tech services to offset possible sales decline

STUTTGART, Germany (Reuters) - Porsche will invest hundreds of millions of euros in digital services to generate the revenue needed to offset an expected decline in car sales in the coming years, its finance chief said on Friday.

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UK to question Google after adverts appear alongside extremist videos

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain on Friday will question executives from Google over why adverts marketing the government's services were appearing alongside videos carrying hate speech and extremist content on its YouTube website.

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Japan not considering support for Toshiba, sharing information with U.S.

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japanese government said it was not considering steps to support embattled Toshiba Corp and will share information with Washington on developments involving the firm and its U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse.

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Baidu leads investment into green car start-up NextEV

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Baidu Inc said on Friday it had led an investment round into green car start-up NextEV, as the Chinese search engine giant looks for new growth drivers and as competition heats up in the fast-growing electric vehicles market.

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Apple says to add two more R&D centers in China

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Apple will set up two new research and development centers in Shanghai and Suzhou in China, it said in a statement in its Chinese website on Friday.

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South Korea court to reassign Samsung chief bribery case to another judge

SEOUL (Reuters) - A South Korean court said on Friday it is reassigning the bribery case of Samsung Group chief Jay Y. Lee to a different judge.

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U.S. financial firms embrace cloud, 'fat fingers' notwithstanding

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Only two years ago, an outage similar to the one that struck Amazon's cloud services last month would have reinforced U.S. financial firms' view that shifting data and systems onto the public cloud was just too risky.

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Snap shares drop 4 percent, fall below $20 for the first time

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Snap Inc shares tumbled below $20 on Thursday for the first time since the company's $3.4 billion public listing after the Snapchat owner received another "sell" rating from an analyst.

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EU consumer authorities to take on Facebook, Google, Twitter

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European consumer protection authorities will ask social media companies Facebook, Google and Twitter to amend their terms of service within one month or possibly face fines, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

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Car industry players diverge on timescale for self-driving cars

BERLIN (Reuters) - Carmakers and suppliers gave widely differing timelines for the introduction of self-driving vehicles on Thursday, showing the uncertainties surrounding the technology as well as a split between cautious established players and bullish new entrants.

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Uber tells judge it will seek to have Waymo case go to arbitration

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A lawyer for Uber [UBER.UL] told a federal judge on Thursday he intended to file a petition to compel arbitration in the Waymo trade secrets case within two weeks.

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Swatch to launch Swiss smartwatch operating system by 2018

BIEL, Switzerland (Reuters) - Swatch Group is developing a Swiss-made operating system as it seeks to offer a smaller, more flexible alternative to the dominant systems which connect items such as smartwatches to the internet, its chief executive said on Thursday.

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U.S. judge rejects Google email scanning settlement

(Reuters) - A federal judge has rejected Google's proposed class-action settlement with non-Gmail users who said it illegally scanned their emails to Gmail users to create targeted advertising.

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U.S. authorities charge Russian spies, hackers in huge Yahoo hack

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday charged two Russian intelligence agents and two hackers with masterminding the 2014 theft of 500 million Yahoo accounts, the first time the U.S. government has criminally charged Russian spies for cyber offences.

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Britain asks regulator to investigate Sky takeover by Murdoch's Fox

LONDON (Reuters) - The British government said on Thursday it would refer Rupert Murdoch's planned takeover of European pay-TV group Sky to regulators to decide if the deal was in the public interest.

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Vietnam urges firms to stop YouTube and Facebook ads

HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam on Thursday called on all companies doing business in the country to stop advertising on YouTube, Facebook and other social media until they find a way to halt the publication of "toxic" anti-government information.

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U.S. tech group urges global action against Chinese "mercantilism"

BEIJING (Reuters) - A U.S. technology group said in a report on Thursday that China's mercantilist industrial policies were a risk to the global economy and trading system, and called for international pressure on China to force a policy "reset".

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Shenzhen-listed shares of China's ZTE surge 10 percent in resumed trade

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Shenzhen-listed shares of Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp jumped 10 percent on Thursday, resuming trading after a nine-day halt and catching up with gains in its Hong Kong shares that were sparked by the settlement of a U.S. sanctions case.

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Apple, Google, Facebook skip legal challenge to new travel ban

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc, Alphabet Inc's Google and Facebook Inc are among more than 60 technology companies that appear to have backed away from the legal fight against U.S. President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban, deciding not to put their weight behind a lawsuit seeking to block the second version of his executive order.

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U.S. charges Russian spies, hackers in massive Yahoo hack

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday charged two Russian intelligence agents and two criminal hackers with masterminding the 2014 theft of 500 million Yahoo accounts, marking the first time the U.S. government has criminally charged Russian spies for cyber offenses.

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Uber has until April 7 to respond to Waymo preliminary injunction bid: judge

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday extended the deadline for Uber to respond to a motion filed by Waymo, Alphabet's autonomous car unit, for a preliminary injunction in a high-stakes trade secrets case.

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Tesla to raise about $1.15 billion from stock and notes offering

(Reuters) - Tesla Inc said on Wednesday it expects to raise about $1.15 billion from stock and senior notes offering, as the electric car maker accelerates the launch of its new Model 3 electric sedan.

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Nasdaq CEO says tech partnership can help win $100 billion Saudi Aramco IPO

BOCA RATON, Fla. (Reuters) - Nasdaq Inc is touting its technology credentials in its effort to win the listing of Saudi Aramco's upcoming initial public offering, the exchange operator's chief executive said in an interview.

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WhatsApp, Telegram patch flaws in instant messaging applications

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - WhatsApp and Telegram patched flaws in their popular instant messaging applications after security researchers showed that they could seize control of user accounts.

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