New York AG, governor probing Apple's response to FaceTime bug

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and new Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday said the state was probing Apple Inc's failure to warn consumers about a FaceTime bug that lets iPhones users see and hear others before they accept a video call.

from Reuters: Technology News https://reut.rs/2CXTwuY

Exclusive: Foxconn reconsidering plans to make LCD panels at Wisconsin plant

Foxconn Technology Group is reconsidering plans to make advanced liquid crystal display panels at a $10 billion Wisconsin campus, and said it intends to hire mostly engineers and researchers rather than the manufacturing workforce the project originally promised.

from Reuters: Technology News https://reut.rs/2UsKHQX

Apple bans Facebook from tech tools for tracking teen browsing habits

Apple Inc said on Wednesday it had banned Facebook Inc from a program designed to let businesses control iPhones used by their employees, saying the social networking company had improperly used it to track the web-browsing habits of teenagers.

from Reuters: Technology News https://reut.rs/2DJ9kmX

Qualcomm shares rise as outlook eases China fears

Qualcomm Inc reported quarterly earnings that handily beat Wall Street views on Wednesday and said it had negotiated a new and slightly better interim patent contract with Huawei Technologies as it forecast current-quarter revenues in line with analyst estimates.

from Reuters: Technology News https://reut.rs/2CXTsLK

Trump slams U.S. intelligence chiefs as 'passive and naive' on Iran

President Donald Trump on Wednesday called U.S. intelligence chiefs "extremely passive and naive" on Iran and dismissed their assessments of the threat posed by North Korea a day after they contradicted his views during congressional testimony.

from Reuters: Technology News https://reut.rs/2MJdLAZ

Sen. Rand Paul awarded more than $580,000 in suit over neighbor's attack - NBCNews.com

1. Sen. Rand Paul awarded more than $580,000 in suit over neighbor's attack  NBCNews.com
2. Sen. Rand Paul awarded over $580G after he was attacked by neighbor  Fox News
3. Jury Awards Sen. Rand Paul More Than $580000 In Damages In Attack By Neighbor  NPR
4. Sen. Rand Paul awarded $580,000 after neighbor broke six of his ribs in attack  The Washington Post
5. Jury awards Rand Paul more than $580K after attack by neighbor in Kentucky  CBS News
6. View full coverage on Google News

from Top stories - Google News https://nbcnews.to/2CTOBv1

4 Houston police officers shot while serving warrant - CNN

1. 4 Houston police officers shot while serving warrant  CNN
2. 'Courage under fire' HPD chief recalls officers' struggle with suspects during shootout in SE Houston  KABC-TV
3. Activists not happy with HPOU President Joe Gamaldi’s comments  KHOU.com
4. Houston shootout: A squad of veteran officers takes fire in drug raid  Houston Chronicle
5. Houston Narcotics Officers Were Greeted by a Charging Dog and a Barrage of Bullets  The New York Times
6. View full coverage on Google News

from Top stories - Google News https://cnn.it/2MDoflD

Bloomberg report reveals details about iOS 13, plus iPhones and iPads through 2020 - Ars Technica

1. Bloomberg report reveals details about iOS 13, plus iPhones and iPads through 2020  Ars Technica
2. Is Apple now suddenly a safe investment again?  Yahoo Finance
3. IDC: iPhone shipments fell 11% during the holiday quarter as entire smartphone market dropped 5%  9to5Mac
4. Apple Needs to Hone Its Post-IPhone Pitch  Bloomberg
5. Apple’s next iPhones and iPads: Triple camera, 3-D back camera for AR, new Face ID, iOS 13 Dark Mode, new cheap iPad  Boing Boing
6. View full coverage on Google News

from Top stories - Google News http://bit.ly/2Uw4xeq

Nintendo cuts Switch sales forecast despite strong holiday season - The Verge

1. Nintendo cuts Switch sales forecast despite strong holiday season  The Verge
2. Switch worldwide sales top 32.27 million, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate sales top 12.08 million  Gematsu
3. Nintendo Shipped 32.27 Million Switch Units Worldwide; Drops Full-Year Prediction to 17 Million  Twinfinite
4. View full coverage on Google News

from Top stories - Google News http://bit.ly/2HI7siB

'Masked Singer' recap: Who was unmasked this week? - USA TODAY

1. 'Masked Singer' recap: Who was unmasked this week?  USA TODAY
2. ‘The Masked Singer’ renewed for season 2 by FOX  TV by the Numbers
3. ‘Masked Singer’ Renewed for Season 2 at Fox  Variety
4. ‘The Masked Singer’ spoiler: The Rabbit is …  Gold Derby
5. The Masked Singer is returning for a second season on Fox  Entertainment Weekly News
6. View full coverage on Google News

from Top stories - Google News http://bit.ly/2SfMJXd

Fox’s ‘The Masked Singer’ Reveals Fifth Celebrity Masked Singer: And the Unicorn Is… (Video) - TheWrap

Fox’s ‘The Masked Singer’ Reveals Fifth Celebrity Masked Singer: And the Unicorn Is… (Video)  TheWrap

The identify of Unicorn was revealed on Wednesday's episode of Fox's new celebrity competition series "The Masked Singer."

from Top stories - Google News http://bit.ly/2GgYENY

Dustin Poirier: UFC is ‘No. 1 bullsh*t company,’ demands Conor McGregor or Tony Ferguson next - MMA Mania

1. Dustin Poirier: UFC is ‘No. 1 bullsh*t company,’ demands Conor McGregor or Tony Ferguson next  MMA Mania
2. Khabib Nurmagomedov Says He's Done Fighting In Las Vegas  HotNewHipHop
3. View full coverage on Google News

from Top stories - Google News http://bit.ly/2RuaoPc

GM halts work at 15 Michigan plants amid cold snap emergency

GM, at the request of a Michigan utility, said it stopped production at four assembly plants and 11 supporting facilities as a way for the utility to conserve natural gas. GM also is asking the roughly 20,000 employees at its Warren Tech Center to work from home through at least Friday.

from Section Page News - Automotive News http://bit.ly/2t0HdcF

Musk: After Q4 profit, Tesla to be in the black every quarter in ‘19

One week after he indicated the “road ahead is very difficult” for Tesla, CEO Elon Musk seemed to place the electric-car maker on firmer footing. Tesla said it enjoyed its second consecutive profitable quarter during the final three months of 2018.

from Section Page News - Automotive News http://bit.ly/2MGzppE

Cold, shutdown hinder Jan. sales

New U.S. light-vehicle sales are expected to be little changed in January from the start of 2018, though the record cold sweeping through the Midwest makes a decline more probable.

from Section Page News - Automotive News http://bit.ly/2CVVpZi

Canada lawmakers want to question GM CEO Mary Barra

Canada's House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology will ask Mary Barra to “come before committee and explain General Motors' future and continued commitment to the Canadian automotive and manufacturing industry in Canada.”

from Section Page News - Automotive News http://bit.ly/2sS2fdI

Second Apple worker faces charges of stealing AV secrets for Chinese company

According to a complaint filed in federal court, the company discovered that Jizhong Chen had taken photographs inside a secret work space and had downloaded 2,000 files.

from Section Page News - Automotive News http://bit.ly/2SbfF2I

Lexus to produce 100 Flare Yellow LC 500 coupes

Lexus will show a Flare Yellow LC 500 at next week's Chicago Auto Show, and will offer 100 of the lemon-colored coupes for sale through its dealerships this year.

from Section Page News - Automotive News http://bit.ly/2sXuE1P

Gentex Q4 net income down 19% on vehicle production concerns

The mirror supplier said it reported a decline in fourth-quarter profits and revenue, driven by plant shutdowns and changes to production schedules at automakers and other automotive customers.

from Section Page News - Automotive News http://bit.ly/2GdrZJh

Ford adding overtime Ranger production as first-month sales hit 1,200

Kumar Galhotra, Ford's president of North America, said more than 300,000 hand-raisers have indicated they'd like to purchase the vehicle.

from Section Page News - Automotive News http://bit.ly/2GbBR6s

Ally's originations rise on used vehicles, fall on new

Ally Financial's used-vehicle originations continued to grow in the fourth quarter, driven in part by loans to Carvana, DriveTime and CarMax customers, while total auto originations fell.

from Section Page News - Automotive News http://bit.ly/2UrltCz

UAW increases pressure on GM to save U.S. plants

The UAW is increasing its efforts to pressure General Motors not to end production at four U.S. plants in 2019.

from Section Page News - Automotive News http://bit.ly/2Uv3Kue

Samsung posts fourth-quarter profit drop, warns of weak demand until the second half of 2019

Samsung Electronics reported its largest quarterly profit decline in two years during its earnings report today. As the Galaxy maker warned in its earnings guidance earlier this month, its results were hurt by slower-than-expected demand for semiconductors, which had bolstered its earnings in previous quarters even when smartphone sales were slow.

Samsung’s forecast was also dour, at least for the first half of the year. It said annual earnings will decline thanks to continuing weak demand for chips, but expects demand for memory products and OLED panels to improve during the second half.

The company’s fourth-quarter operating profit was 10.8 trillion won (about $9.7 billion), a 28.7 percent decrease from the 15.15 trillion won it recorded in the same period one year ago. Revenue was 59.27 trillion won, a 10.2 percent drop year over year.

Broken out by business, Samsung’s semiconductor unit recorded quarterly operating profit of 7.8 trillion won, down from 10.8 trillion won a year ago. Its mobile unit’s operating profit was 1.5 trillion won, compared to 2.4 trillion won a year ago.

Smartphone makers, including Samsung rival Apple, have been hit hard by slowing smartphone sales around the world, especially in China. Upgrade cycles are also becoming longer as customers wait to buy newer models.

This hurt both Samsung’s smartphone and chip sales, as “overall market demand for NAND and DRAM drop[ped] due to macroeconomic uncertainties and adjustments in inventory levels by customers including datacenter companies and smartphone makers,” said the company’s earnings report.

Samsung expects chip sales to be sluggish during the first quarter because of weak seasonality and inventory adjustments by its biggest customers. The company was optimistic about the last two quarters of 2019, when it expects demand for chips and OLED panels to pick up thanks seasonal demand and customers finishing their inventory adjustments.

from TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/2Ts5sMQ

Grab raises $200M from Thailand-based retail conglomerate Central Group

Grab’s fundraising push continues unabated after the Southeast Asian ride-hailing firm announced that it has raised $200 million from Central Group, a retail conglomerate based in Thailand.

Central’s business covers restaurants, hotels and more than 30 malls in Thailand, while it has operations in markets that include Vietnam and Indonesia. Its public-listed holding companies alone are worth more than $15 billion.

Singapore-based Grab confirmed that this deal is not part of its ongoing Series H fundraising, but is instead an investment into its Thailand-based business. Rumors of the deal were first reported by Reuters last year.

Following this investment, Central said it will work with Grab in a number of areas in Thailand, including bringing its restaurants into the Grab Food service, adding Grab transportation to its physical outlets and bringing Grab’s logistics service into its businesses.

The investment represents the first time an investor has bought into a local Grab country unit, and the goal is to strengthen Grab’s position in Thailand — a market with 70 million consumers and Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy. Grab is under threat from Go-Jek, which expanded to Thailand at the end of 2018. While Go-Jek’s ‘Get’ service is currently limited to motorbikes on-demand in Thailand, its ambition is to recreate its Indonesia-based business that covers four-wheeled cars, mobile payments, on-demand services and more.

Central is a huge presence in the country, and in recent years it has raised its efforts to translate that offline retail presence into the digital space. Past deals have included the acquisition of Rocket Internet’s Zalora fashion business in 2016, and — more recently — a $500 million joint venture with Chinese e-commerce firm JD.com to create online retail and fintech businesses in Thailand.

Grab, meanwhile, is pushing on with its $3 billion Series H funding round. That deal is anchored by a $1 billion investment from Toyota but it also includes contributions from the likes of Microsoft, Booking Holdings and Yamaha Motors. More capital is waiting in the wings, however, with existing investor SoftBank in the process of transferring its investment to its Vision Fund with a view to investing a further $1.5 billion. The total fundraising effort is targeted at a lofty goal of $5 billion, sources told TechCrunch.

To date, Grab has raised $6.8 billion from investors, according to data from Crunchbase. That makes it Southeast Asia’s most capitalized tech startup and it was most recently valued at $11 billion. The company recently announced it has completed three billion rides; it claims 130 million downloads across its eight markets.

Go-Jek, meanwhile, closed the first portion of a $2 billion funding round last week, sources told TechCrunch. The new financing is aimed at growing out its presence in new market expansions which, beyond Thailand, include Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines.

from TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/2HHJEvf