Tesla delivers on Elon Musk’s 3Q profit pledge

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (AP) -- Tesla Motors delivered on CEO Elon Musk’s promise to make money during its latest quarter after fulfilling his pledge to boost production of its first electric car designed for the mass market.The company earned $311.5 million during the three months ending in September, swinging from a loss of $619 million at the same time last year. It’s only the third time that Tesla has posted a quarterly profit in its eight-year history as a public company and the first time in

Oct. 25, 2018

Apple chief pushes for US privacy law

Apple CEO Tim Cook on Wednesday said the United States needs a federal privacy law to protect the personal data of internet users."We at Apple are in full support of a comprehensive federal privacy law in the United States," Cook told a conference in Brussels.He said such a law should allow for personal data to be minimized and force companies to de-identify customer data or not collect them in the first place.Users should also have the right to know what data are being collected and what for, a

Oct. 24, 2018

Starbucks opens first sign language store in US

Rebecca Witzofsky, a 20-year-old deaf student at Gallaudet University in Washington, and her hearing friend Nikolas Carapellatti wanted to get a coffee. But on Tuesday, Witzofsky finally didn't have to struggle to make her order understood.US coffee giant Starbucks opened its first "signing store" in the United States in northeast Washington near the campus of Gallaudet, the world's only university with an entire curriculum designed to accommodate the deaf and hard-of-hearing.At the store, all s

Oct. 24, 2018

iPhone XR makes the right trade-offs for a cheaper price

Apple offers you a simple trade-off with its new iPhone XR, the middlebrow cousin to the top-of-the-line iPhone XS.On one hand, the XR lacks the high-resolution screen and dual-lens camera found on the XS. On the other, you’d save at least $250 and still get most of the other cutting-edge features found on the more expensive model. (AP)Based on several days of testing, it looks like Apple made the right cost-cutting trade-offs with the XR, which starts selling Friday for about $750. The standard

Oct. 24, 2018

Germany urges global minimum tax for digital giants

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said in an interview for publication Sunday he backed a global minimum fiscal regime for multinationals as Europe looks to levy tax notably on US tech giants."We need a minumum tax rate valid globally which no state can get out of (applying)," Scholz, a social democrat in conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government, told the "Welt am Sonntag" weekly.Europe is trying to devise a strategy to tax profits from the likes of Google, Amazon, Facebook

Oct. 21, 2018

Merkel says 'still a chance' for deal on Brexit

BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday that there was "still a chance" for an accord with Britain to leave the EU but that Berlin was preparing for a no-deal Brexit. German chancellor Angela Merkel arrives for a session of the German parliament ahead of an EU summit focused on Brexit, on October 17, 2018 in Berlin. (AFP)"There is still a chance to achieve a good and sustainable exit accord," Merkel told parliament ahead of a crunch EU summit in Brussels that will focus on Brexit

Oct. 17, 2018

Facebook says it purged more than 800 spam accounts, pages

NEW YORK (AP) -- Facebook says it has purged more than 800 US pages and accounts for spamming users with garbage links and clickbait.Facebook accuses their backers of "coordinated inauthentic behavior" for setting up networks of pages and accounts designed to mislead users about who they are and what they're doing. (AFP)The social network says these accounts spread "sensational political content" designed to drive people to ad-laden websites outside Facebook. In the past, such spammers have ofte

Oct. 12, 2018

Trump blames 'crazy' Fed as Wall Street suffers ugly losses

NEW YORK (AFP) -- Wall Street stocks plummeted Wednesday amid worries about surging US interest rates and the impact of trade disputes, as President Donald Trump blamed the Federal Reserve, saying it had "gone crazy."US shares suffered a broad-based selloff that slashed more than three percent from major indices."I think the Fed is making a mistake. It's so tight. I think the Fed has gone crazy," Trump told reporters shortly after markets closed, as he arrived in Erie, Pennsylvania for a rally.(

Oct. 11, 2018

Netflix to bring new US production hub to New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Netflix has chosen New Mexico as the site of a new U.S. production hub and is in final negotiations to buy an existing multimillion-dollar studio complex on the edge of the state's largest city, government and corporate leaders announced Monday.It's the company's first purchase of such a property, and upcoming production work in Albuquerque and at other spots around New Mexico is forecast to result in $1 billion in spending over the next decade. Netflix logo (AP)More tha

Oct. 9, 2018

Tesla shares surge in premarket trading

The Latest on Elon Musk's settlement with U.S. regulators to remain at the company (all times local):5:40 a.m.Shares in Tesla are surging in premarket trading after founder Elon Musk reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission that will keep him at the company as CEO.The price of Tesla shares was up 16 percent in electronic trading a couple hours before the stock market was due to open Monday. On Friday, it had plunged 13.9 percent to close at $264.77 a share.Under the settl

Oct. 1, 2018

US, Canada hold last-minute NAFTA talks as deadline looms

MONTREAL (AFP) - US and Canadian negotiators were holding eleventh-hour talks on Sunday aimed at revamping the North American Free Trade Agreement ahead of a Washington-imposed deadline.The talks were being held over the phone, unlike in previous rounds where Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland had traveled to Washington. (AFP)"Lots of progress, but we're not there yet," David MacNaughton, Canada's ambassador to the United States, said in Ottawa before heading back to Washington on Sunda

Oct. 1, 2018

Elon Musk to resign as chair of Tesla board but remain CEO

Elon Musk has reached a deal over fraud charges that will see him step down as electric automaker Tesla's chairman of the board and pay a $20 million fine but stay on as CEO, US securities regulators said Saturday.The agreement eases pressure on Tesla's embattled CEO, who faced potentially being barred from serving as an officer or board member of a publicly traded company as a result of the charges, which stemmed from a tweet by Musk about taking the company private.In this Sept. 17, 2018, file

Sept. 30, 2018

[Newsmaker] US regulators charge Tesla CEO Elon Musk with fraud

The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday charged Tesla CEO Elon Musk with securities fraud, alleging he misled investors last month in tweets about taking the company private.Musk tweeted August 7 that he had "secured" funding to privatize the electric automaker at $420 a share, causing a brief spike in Tesla's share price.The SEC said Musk's statements on Twitter were "false and misleading" and that he had never discussed the plans with company officials or potential funders. Tesla

Sept. 28, 2018

Michael Kors ups the glamour, buys Versace for $2 billion

Michael Kors is buying the Italian fashion house Versace in a deal worth more than $2 billion (1.83 billion euros), continuing its hard charge into the world of high-end fashion. The deal Tuesday comes just 14 months after the New York handbag maker spent $1.35 billion adding to its portfolio Jimmy Choo, the shoemaker that rocketed to fame on the high heels of "Sex and the City."Like others in the fashion industry, Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. is trying to fire up sales by cranking up the glamour.

Sept. 27, 2018

China announces tariff cut but no action on US complaints

BEIJING -- China has announced a new cut in import tariffs but no action on U.S. complaints about its technology policy that are fueling an escalating trade battle with Washington.The announcement Wednesday is the second cut in import taxes in less than a year in what the government says is an effort to lower costs for consumers and make the economy more competitive. (AFP)The Cabinet said import taxes on 1,585 products including construction machinery and building materials will be cut effective

Sept. 26, 2018

Into the fold? What’s next for Instagram as founders leave

SAN FRANCISCO — When Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger sold Instagram to Facebook in 2012, the photo-sharing startup’s fiercely loyal fans worried about what would happen to their beloved app under the social media giant’s wings.None of their worst fears materialized. But now that its founders have announced they are leaving in a swirl of well wishes and vague explanations, some of the same worries are bubbling up again — and then some. Will Instagram disappear? Get cluttered with ads and status up

Sept. 26, 2018

China hikes tariffs on US imports

BEIJING _ China has raised tariffs on $60 billion of U.S. imports in an escalation of their fight over technology policy following a deadline for President Donald Trump's latest increase.The General Administration of Customs said it started collecting additional taxes of 5 to 10 percent on a list of thousands of American goods at noon Monday, ratcheting up their fight over Beijing's technology policy. (AP)The increase coincided with the time for Trump's planned tariff hike on $200 billion of Chi

Sept. 24, 2018

WTO eyes China bid to slap stiff trade sanctions on US

GENEVA (AFP) -- A World Trade Organization arbitrator will review Friday a Chinese request to impose more than $7 billion (nearly 6 billion euros) in annual sanctions on the United States over anti-dumping practices, a Geneva trade official said. (AFP)The decision to appoint an arbitrator was reached during a special meeting of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body convened to discuss developments in a five-year-old trade dispute between the world's top two economies.Beijing had already warned earlier

Sept. 21, 2018

[Graphic News] Singapore has fastest 4G in Asia-Pacific

　Singapore has the fastest 4G network in the Asia-Pacific region, followed by South Korea and Australia.　Singapore is also the fastest 4G, also known as Long Term Evolution, country in the world, according to a report by Open Signal, a UK-based wireless technology company. The report compares 4G performance across 88 countries worldwide.　South Korea has the second-fastest network in Asia, followed by Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, Vodafone has jumped ahead of Telstra in the 4G speed me

Sept. 17, 2018

Report: Trump going ahead with plans for new China tariffs

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is going ahead with plans to impose new tariffs on about $200 billion of Chinese imports, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.Both sides were preparing to hold new talks on their tariff dispute. Last week Trump told reporters such a move could come “very soon.” (AP)The Journal cited unnamed people familiar with the matter who said the tariff level will likely be set at about 10 percent, below the 25 percent announced earlier this year.The two governments

Sept. 16, 2018