July 2010 Posts (2)

Ahead of the Bell: Oracle's 4Q earnings coming out

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Oracle's end-of-quarter report should give investors a better handle on whether a disappointing performance earlier this year by the business software maker was a hiccup, or a symptom of problems that are more deep-seated.

Sony chief says time needed to study proposal

TOKYO (AP) — Sony Corp. needs more time to study a key proposal from a U.S. hedge fund to spin off a part of its entertainment unit as a way to propel its fledgling revival, the chief executive told shareholders Thursday.

Dixons sees no let up in UK tablets boom

By James Davey LONDON (Reuters) - British sales of tablet computers are booming, Europe's second-biggest electricals retailer Dixons said, underpinning profit growth and offsetting weak markets in debt-squeezed southern Europe. The firm, which trails Metro's Media-Saturn by annual sales, achieved triple-digit growth in tablet sales over the year in the UK and Chief Executive Sebastian James forecast "another big tablet Christmas. ...

Italy watchdog presses Google for privacy data, weighs sanctions

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's privacy watchdog said on Thursday it had requested further information from Google Inc about the U.S. Internet firm's treatment of user data and would consider imposing sanctions if there were breaches of privacy rules. The statement, issued shortly after a similar statement from France's main data protection office, underlines a push by European regulators for more transparency from Google over its handling of user information. ...

French watchdog tells Google to change privacy policy

By Natalie Huet PARIS (Reuters) - France's data protection watchdog ordered Google on Thursday to change its privacy policy or face fines, leading a Europe-wide push to get the Internet giant to clarify its intentions and methods for collecting user data. France's regulator, the CNIL, said Google's privacy policy violated French laws and gave the U.S. company three months to make changes or risk a fine of up to 150,000 euros ($201,100) and a second of 300,000 euros if it still failed to act. ...

Hacking threat and tougher data laws promise insurance boom

By Chris Vellacott LONDON (Reuters) - For European insurers frustrated that "cyber crime" policies have so far failed to find a ready market among skeptical companies, hope may be at hand. Not only has a huge data loss by Sony Corp dramatically illustrated the risks of hacking raids on corporate data, but the European Union is working on regulatory requirements which threaten heftier fines on unprepared companies. ...

France threatens Google with privacy fines

PARIS (AP) — France is giving Google three months to be more upfront about the data it collects from users — or be fined.

Pirate Bay founder sentenced to 2 years in Sweden hacking case

By Veronica Ek STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A co-founder of file-sharing website Pirate Bay was sentenced to two years in jail on Thursday for hacking into computers at a company that manages data for Swedish authorities and making illegal online money transfers, a court said. Gottfrid Svartholm Warg was extradited to Sweden last year from Cambodia to begin a one-year jail sentence after being convicted in 2009 of internet piracy. He was then charged by authorities as part of the separate hacking investigation. ...

AP buys stake in live video service Bambuser

NEW YORK (AP) — The Associated Press said Thursday that it has bought a minority stake in the live video service Bambuser, boosting its ability to acquire and distribute video collected by people who have witnessed news events.

India sets up elaborate system to tap phone calls, e-mail

By Anurag Kotoky NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has launched a wide-ranging surveillance program that will give its security agencies and even income tax officials the ability to tap directly into e-mails and phone calls without oversight by courts or parliament, several sources said. The expanded surveillance in the world's most populous democracy, which the government says will help safeguard national security, has alarmed privacy advocates at a time when allegations of massive U.S. digital snooping beyond American shores has set off a global furor. ...