News highlights for 12 October
The Amazon Echo, a voice-controlled virtual assistant. REUTER/Peter Hobson
Amazon challenges Apple and Spotify with new music streaming service
(Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc on Wednesday launched a full-fledged music streaming service with subscriptions as low as $3.99 per month for owners of its Amazon Echo speaker, accelerating the industry trend toward more flexible pricing after years of sticking to $9.99 subscriptions. Read more…
Samsung’s latest invention: a fireproof box for Note 7 returns
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is sending fireproof boxes and protective gloves to customers returning potentially explosive Galaxy Note 7 phones, sparking a firestorm of humor on social media about the new twist in the recall scandal. Read more…
Alibaba’s new payment system lets virtual reality shoppers pay by nodding
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Alibaba Group Holdings’ finance arm on Wednesday demonstrated a payment service that will allow virtual reality shoppers to pay for things in future just by nodding their heads. Read more…
Snapchat picks Morgan Stanley, Goldman to lead IPO: sources
(Reuters) – U.S. photo-sharing app Snapchat has chosen Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc as lead underwriters for an initial public offering that could come as early as March, a source familiar with the situation said on Wednesday. Read more…
Sprint plans to raise $3.5 billion via sale, lease-back of airwaves
(Reuters) – Sprint Corp, the No. 4 U.S. wireless carrier, said on Wednesday it planned to raise an initial $3.5 billion by mortgaging about 14 percent of its wireless airwaves. The company, majority owned by Japan’s SoftBank Group, estimates the airwaves are worth about $16.4 billion. Read more…
Vera Bradley says payment system hacked, delaying website upgrade
(Reuters) – Handbag maker Vera Bradley Inc said on Wednesday hackers may have accessed customer data from payment processing systems in its stores, partly contributing to a delay in an upgrade of its website that could hurt holiday-season sales. Read more…
Samsung Electronics cuts third quarter operating profit guidance on Note 7 impact
SEOUL (Reuters) – Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Wednesday cut its third-quarter operating profit guidance to 5.2 trillion won ($4.66 billion) from 7.8 trillion won due to the impact of pulling its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones off the market.
Fed’s George warns on cybersecurity; no comment on economy
(Reuters) – Cybersecurity threats are growing quickly for the payment networks of the U.S. financial system, Kansas City Federal Reserve President Esther George said in remarks that did not address the outlook for the U.S. economy. Read more…
Nokia sets new record for submarine cable capacity as demand jumps
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Nokia’s Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) said on Wednesday it set a new record for cable transmission capacity for communications traffic – doubling its previous levels – as the company responds to a pick-up in demand from Internet firms. Read more…
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