With growth slowing in the $358 billion handset market, Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. are developing digital watches that allow users to make calls, check map coordinates, or monitor their physical activity. They might want to talk to Tokyo-based Sony Corp., whose feature-laden SmartWatch, on sale for more than a year, isn’t mesmerizing the masses. Priced at $130, Sony’s 1.3-inch touchscreen watch wirelessly connects to Android smartphones using Bluetooth technology. The gadget alerts u

May 2, 2013

PARIS (AP) ― Italy’s new premier pressed on Wednesday for the creation of a full-fledged European banking union and said he wants results before the EU summit next month. Enrico Letta said at a news conference Wednesday with French President Francois Hollande that “we mustn’t waste time on this.” “We have decided it. We have to do it,” he said, adding it’s a way to create jobs by helping companies get lower interest rates. Letta was in Paris a day after taking office. He visited Germany on Tuesd

May 2, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) ― Apple Inc. sold $17 billion in bonds Tuesday in a record deal spurred by the company’s plan to placate its frustrated shareholders.The Cupertino, California-based company sold the bonds in its first debt issue since the 1990s to raise money to pass along to shareholders through dividend payments and stock buybacks. The payments are part of an effort to reverse a 37 percent drop in Apple’s stock price during the past seven months amid intensifying concerns about the company’s shri

May 1, 2013

BERLIN (AFP) ― European unemployment hit a new record on Tuesday and Moody’s cut Slovenia’s debt rating to junk status as German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended her crisis strategy, pushing for twin goals of fiscal rigor and growth.Merkel was speaking during a visit to Berlin by Italy’s new Prime Minister Enrico Letta, who said this week that “Italy is dying from austerity alone” but in Berlin also pledged to stick to the path of fiscal consolidation.The leaders met on a day when grim new data

May 1, 2013

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The Federal Reserve is poised to keep its foot firmly on the stimulus pedal as the U.S. economy shows signs of slowing, analysts said.The Fed policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, which will open a two-day meeting on Tuesday, is widely expected to maintain its extraordinary $85 billion a month bond-purchase program.The central bank also was seen holding its key interest rate at zero to 0.25 percent, where it has been since December 2008.The Fed has signaled it would no

April 30, 2013

TORONTO (AP) ― The Colorado Avalanche won the NHL draft lottery on Monday.The Florida Panthers own the second pick for June’s draft, while the Tampa Bay Lightning have the third selection.Colorado had an 18.8 percent chance of winning the lottery after finishing the regular season with a 16-25-7 record, worst in the Western Conference. The Panthers, who finished last in the NHL with a 15-27-6 mark, had the best odds of winning the lottery at 25 percent but had to settle for the No. 2 pick. Portl

April 30, 2013

As Nokia Oyj struggles to catch Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. in the market for smartphones costing $500 or more, it’s counting on a bare-bones handset that sells for just $20 to give it an edge. Priced 97 percent below the latest iPhone, the Nokia 105 features preloaded games, a color screen, a radio, a speaking clock and a flashlight. The phone, Nokia’s cheapest ever, has been available for a few weeks in India and Indonesia and will soon start selling in Europe. Even with its bargain

April 29, 2013

General Motors Co., the largest carmaker in the U.S., is shifting its center of gravity to China, where it sells more cars and now invests more money. GM’s announcement at the Shanghai auto show this month that it is spending $11 billion by 2016 on new plants, products and people in China demonstrates a change in priorities. GM is investing $1.5 billion in North America this year, where it has a more modest factory footprint. GM’s focus on China parallels the strategy Toyota Motor Corp. employed

April 29, 2013

Asian policy makers must be ready to respond “early and decisively” to overheating risks in their economies stemming from rapid credit growth and rising asset prices, the International Monetary Fund said. Growth is set to pick up gradually during the year and inflation is expected to stay within central banks’ comfort zones, the Washington-based lender said in a report Monday. Greater exchange-rate flexibility in the region would play a “useful role” in curbing overheating pressures and coping w

April 29, 2013

Facebook Inc. Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg received $26.2 million in compensation last year, making her the highest paid executive at the world’s largest social-networking service for a second straight year. Sandberg’s compensation includes $25.6 million in stock awards, salary of $321,128 and a $276,730 bonus, according to a regulatory filing yesterday. Sandberg also topped the list for 2011, when her total compensation was about $40 million. Facebook shares lost more than half their

April 29, 2013

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Consumers can expect to wait a while before they’re able to lay their hands on Google’s much-hyped Internet-connected eyewear, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt said Friday.Google recently began shipping Google Glass to software developers who signed on to experiment with the device ― which integrates a tiny camera and voice recognition technology ― at a cost of $1,500 a pair.“You should assume that it will take us a while” to take stock of their feedback, said Schmidt wh

April 28, 2013

TOKYO (AFP) ― A modified Dreamliner took to the skies over Tokyo on Sunday with top Boeing and ANA executives aboard, as the planemaker and its leading client sought to reassure passengers the jetliners are safe.It was the first flight by one of All Nippon Airways’ 787s since the worldwide fleet of the next-generation planes was grounded over safety concerns due to faulty batteries sparking fires on board two planes.The test flight by ANA, which has the largest fleet of Dreamliners, came a day a

April 28, 2013