Apple preparing 65-inch TV for release next year: analyst

Apple Inc. will probably start selling ultra-high definition televisions with 65- and 55-inch screens during the fourth quarter of next year, according to a Tokyo-based analyst at Advanced Research Japan Co. The Cupertino, California-based company is deciding on specifications, and the models likely will have a frameless design, Masahiko Ishino, an analyst at Advanced Research, said in an interview last week. Ishino declined to identify the people who gave him the information. Apple co-founder S

Oct. 22, 2013

HTC reportedly developing smart watch for next year

HTC Corp. is developing a smart watch that uses Google Inc.’s Android software and can take pictures, according to a person familiar with the matter.  The watch’s price, full functions and sales strategy still must be decided before it’s released by the second half of 2014, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public. The smart watch will join a growing segment of wearable technology that already includes devices from Samsung Electronics Co. and Sony Corp. Dwi

Oct. 22, 2013

Fed got in trouble with transparency, Ferguson says

Roger W. Ferguson, a former U.S. Federal Reserve vice chairman, said the Fed’s push for transparency amid quantitative easing tripped up the central bank this year. “They got themselves in trouble when they tried to be very transparent, give us our forward guidance, promise things, and then they don’t deliver,” Ferguson, head of insurer TIAA-CREF, said Monday in New York at a conference held by Limra, an industry group. Over the U.S. summer, the Fed created the expectation that it would begin to

Oct. 22, 2013

Draghi challenges EU bank-aid rules over forced losses

European Central Bank president Mario Draghi challenged rules that would bar banks from accessing public aid unless they forced losses on junior bondholders, a central building block of European Union protocols for handling struggling banks. In a letter to EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia, Draghi said EU rules need to be clarified so regulators can order technically solvent banks to strengthen their balance sheets without scaring off investors. Draghi said public capital needs to be a

Oct. 22, 2013

Aging population may boost self-driving cars in Japan

Self-driving cars being planned by Google Inc. and global automakers may help counter slumping demand from younger customers by tapping the fastest-growing demographic in the world’s largest vehicle markets: the elderly. As baby boomers age in markets including the U.S. and Japan, rising numbers of older drivers being killed or injured in accidents may spur demand for autonomous vehicles. With as many as 90 percent of traffic accidents caused by human error, a key benefit of the technology is bo

Oct. 21, 2013

AT&T in $4.85b deal to lease, sell wireless towers with Crown Castle

DALLAS (AP) ― AT&T is leasing or selling the rights to 9,700 wireless towers for $4.85 billion as it generates cash to buy back stock, fund an acquisition and upgrade its cellular telephone system. The Dallas company said Sunday that it will lease about 9,100 towers and sell another 600 to Crown Castle International Corp. in a deal that’s expected to close by the end of the year. AT&T, the nation’s largest telephone company, said in a statement that the deal won’t have any impact on its customer

Oct. 21, 2013

Apple to revamp iPads to battle new challengers

Apple Inc. is upgrading its iPad lineup to fend off a growing list of competitors, which are introducing their own tablets at lower prices with snazzier features. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook will debut a high-definition iPad mini and a thinner iPad at a San Francisco event Tuesday, people with knowledge of the plans have said.  Facing two straight quarters of declining profit and a stock that’s down by more than a quarter from a September 2012 record, Apple is facing a similar challenge wit

Oct. 21, 2013

Boeing reduces 747 production again

Boeing will slow down production of its double-decker 747 jumbo jet as demand continues to be weak. Counting cancellations, Boeing has not booked any new orders this year for that plane. Boeing said on Friday that it will slow 747 production to 18 per year, or 1.5 per month. Boeing originally planned to build 24 per year, but slow sales had already prompted it to make plans to cut the rate to 21 per year. The slowdown begins early next year, and Boeing said it will stay at that lower rate throug

Oct. 20, 2013

Google shares rocket past $1,000

NEW YORK (AP) ― Google’s stock surpassed the $1,000 mark for the first time, helped by strong third-quarter results. Shortly after the markets opened Friday, Google Inc. shares jumped 14 percent to $1,015.46 and closed a day heavy trading at $1,011.41. The gains marked Google’s biggest one-day jump in more than five years. The stock had never been higher than $928 in regular market trading since Google went public at $85 per share nine years ago.  Late Thursday, Google reported a 36 percent jump

Oct. 20, 2013

U.S., JPMorgan reach tentative deal

WASHINGTON (AP) ― JPMorgan Chase & Co. has tentatively agreed to pay $13 billion to settle allegations surrounding the quality of mortgage-backed securities it sold in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis, a person familiar with the negotiations between the bank and the federal government said Saturday. If the agreement is finalized it would be the government’s highest-profile enforcement action related to the financial meltdown that plunged the economy into the deepest recession since the Gr

Oct. 20, 2013

China economic growth rebounds as Li stimulus meets target

China’s economic growth accelerated for the first time in three quarters, as Premier Li Keqiang spurred factory output and investment to meet the government’s expansion goal for 2013. Gross domestic product rose 7.8 percent in the July-September period from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said Friday in Beijing, matching the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. Industrial production advanced in September by 10.2 percent, in line with projections, while retail sales gaine

Oct. 20, 2013

Congress agrees to end Government shutdown

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The U.S. government reopened its doors Thursday after Congress passed legislation to end a government shutdown and ― just in the nick of time ― avert a U.S. debt default in a bipartisan deal that left Republicans little to show for the epic political drama that threatened to rattle the world economy. The Senate voted 81-18 to send the measure to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, which passed it late Wednesday night 285-144. President Barack Obama signed the me

Oct. 17, 2013

Facebook loosens rules for teens

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Facebook began letting teenagers publicly share posts Wednesday as the social network moved to bolster appeal to youth and advertisers.“Teens are among the savviest people using social media, and whether it comes to civic engagement, activism or their thoughts on a new movie, they want to be heard,” Facebook said in a blog post.“So, starting today, people aged 13 through 17 will also have the choice to post publicly on Facebook.”Previously, teenagers could share comments, p

Oct. 17, 2013

GM to launch new dual-fuel car in 2014

NEW YORK (AFP) ― General Motors said Wednesday it will launch a car next year with the ability to operate on both gasoline and compressed natural gas, taking advantage of abundant U.S. gas supplies.GM chairman and chief executive Dan Akerson unveiled the new dual-fuel Chevrolet Impala at an energy summit in Washington marking the 40th anniversary of the OPEC oil embargo.The 2015 model year sedan will be offered to customers beginning in mid-2014. GM says it will be the only manufacturer-produced

Oct. 17, 2013