Less than two months into the year, the top U.S. shale oil companies have already cut their budget for 2016 a second time as the relentless drop in oil prices continues to erode their cash flow. With oil prices firmly wedged in the low $30-per-barrel range, oi... More »
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders plans to appear in an interview with Larry David on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live”, the New York Times reported on Friday. The U.S. senator from Vermont will travel to New York this weekend for the TV appearance, i... More »
Amazon.com Inc posted its most profitable quarter ever on Thursday but the world’s No. 1 online retailer still managed to disappoint Wall Street by badly missing estimates, sending its shares down more than 13 percent in after-hours trading. The results, as we... More »
Xerox Corp (XRX.N) will split into two companies, one holding its legacy printer operations and the other its business process outsourcing unit, it said on Friday, in a bid to be more nimble after years of trying to integrate the businesses. Activist investor ... More »
SAN FRANCISCO Apple Inc (AAPL.O) forecast its first revenue drop in 13 years and reported the slowest-ever increase in iPhone shipments as the critical Chinese market showed signs of weakening, suggesting the technology company’s period of exponential growth m... More »
Health insurer Anthem Inc (ANTM.N), which is in the process of buying smaller rival Cigna Corp (CI.N), reported a 6.3 percent rise in quarterly revenue as more people enrolled in its Medicaid plans. Anthem, which operates Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in more t... More »
MELBOURNE Angelique Kerber picked the perfect time to earn her first win over Victoria Azarenka, outgunning the big-hitting Belarusian 6-3 7-5 on Wednesday to advance to her first Australian Open semi-final. Kerber faced three set points trailing 5-2 in the se... More »
MELBOURNE Victoria Azarenka’s hopes of a remarkable comeback Australian Open victory crumbled under Angelique Kerber’s winners on Wednesday but the Belarusian was pleased with solid three weeks Down Under that made her feel she had turned a corner. The twice c... More »
European pay-TV group Sky Plc has struck a deal to screen programs from CBS Corp’s popular Showtime stable, including Billions starring Damian Lewis, as competition for top shows heats up among European broadcasters. The licensing deal will allow Sky to offer ... More »
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp said rumors about the company’s interest in buying microblogging site Twitter Inc or building a stake in it were untrue. Twitter’s shares, which rose as much as 14 percent on Wednesday, pared some gains and closed up 4.1 percent at $... More »
TORONTO Canada’s Shaw Communications Inc said on Wednesday that it would sell its media unit to Corus Entertainment Inc for C$2.65 billion ($1.9 billion), gaining funding for its Wind Mobile purchase and sending its shares up nearly 7 percent. Corus, which ope... More »
Activist shareholders could push media company Time Warner Inc to sell itself or spin off its lucrative HBO business, the New York Post reported late on Thursday. While the activist shareholders have not approached Time Warner officially, New York-based firm C... More »
Netflix Inc’s video-streaming service went live in more than 130 countries on Wednesday, covering almost the entire globe except China, in a huge global push by Chief Executive Reed Hastings to counter slowing growth in the United States. Shares of the company... More »
Ride-hailing app Lyft Inc, Uber Technologies Inc’s biggest competition in the United States, expects to raise up to $1 billion in a new round of financing, Bloomberg reported citing a Delaware state filing. The document filed by Lyft on Friday evening did not ... More »
Walt Disney Co’s shares slumped after BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield cuts his rating to “sell” from “neutral”, saying the likely success of the latest Star Wars movie would not be enough to offset the impact of subscriber losses at ESPN. Disney’ shares fell a... More »
Dell Inc’s cybersecurity unit SecureWorks Corp filed for an initial public offering with U.S. regulators on Thursday. SecureWorks named Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs & Co and JPMorgan among the underwriters to the IPO, according ... More »
Private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP [CBS.UL] is close to an agreement to buy Avon Products Inc’s (AVP.N) North American business for $170 million, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. New York-based Cerberus will also invest $435 millio... More »
Business software maker Oracle Corp on Wednesday delivered a third-quarter profit forecast that did not quite meet analysts’ expectations, and the company’s shares fell about 1 percent in extended trading. Oracle forecast third-quarter profit of about 63-66 ce... More »
Google plans to make its self-driving cars unit, which will offer rides for hire, a stand-alone business under its parent company Alphabet Inc next year, Bloomberg reported. The service could be launched in San Francisco and Austin, Texas locations, where it h... More »
Facebook Inc said on Wednesday it launched its instant articles service for Android users which allows media firms to publish articles directly to the social network’s news feeds. The service involves more than 350 publications worldwide including the New York... More »
Satellite radio company Sirius XM Holdings Inc and “shock jock” Howard Stern have renewed their five-year deal for his popular “Howard Stern Show,” ending the uncertainty around the fate of the decade-long association. The news comes after years of Sirius, maj... More »
Sumner Redstone’s former girlfriend filed a new lawsuit on Monday alleging that the 92-year-old media mogul’s signature was forged on a document, supporting her allegation that he was being manipulated in his business and personal affairs. Redstone is the cont... More »
TOKYO Japan’s securities watchdog will recommend that Toshiba Corp should be fined 7.37 billion yen ($59.84 million) for accounting violations, a person familiar with the process told Reuters on Saturday. The source said the Securities and Exchange Surveillanc... More »
Viacom Inc’s (VIAB.O) second-largest shareholder has urged the media company to sell a stake in its Paramount movie studio to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N), according to the Financial Times. “If Alibaba is going to be serious about getting into the entert... More »
U.S. media stocks fell on Friday after Walt Disney Co’s disclosure of a drop in subscribers at ESPN spooked investors, underscoring concerns that viewers are increasingly opting for online streaming over pay TV. Disney’s shares were down 3.6 percent at $114.44... More »
The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether Comcast Corp, the biggest U.S. cable TV provider, is hindering competition in cable advertising sales, a source told Reuters. The department’s Antitrust Division has sent documents known as civil investig... More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it approved Baxalta Inc’s drug for use in patients with a type of rare bleeding disorder. The drug, Adynovate, was approved to control and reduce the frequency of bleeding episodes in patients with Hemophili... More »
Dish Network Corp (DISH.O) said the proposed merger of Charter Communications and Time Warner Cable was not in the public interest, in a reply filed with the Federal Communications Commission. “The proposed merger is harmful for consumers, competition and inno... More »
Media mogul John Malone, known for striking complex deals and running companies with intricate structures, is restructuring two companies he controls using tracking stocks and spinoffs. Liberty Interactive Corp (QVCA.O), which mainly houses Malone’s e-commerce... More »
Network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc’s (CSCO.O) forecast adjusted profit and revenue growth for the second quarter below analysts’ estimates, citing a slowdown in order growth and weakness in its enterprise business outside the United States. Shares of Ci... More »
Dish Network Corp (DISH.O) reported a 34.2 percent rise in quarterly profit, helped by higher revenue per user from its core pay-TV business. The second-largest U.S. satellite TV company by revenue said on Monday its average revenue per pay-TV user rose to $86... More »
Merck & Co’s drug to reverse the effects of muscle relaxants used in surgery is safe and effective enough to warrant approval, an independent panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. The drug, which goes by the chemical name of sugammadex, has repe... More »
Activision Blizzard Inc has launched a film and TV studio to create original content based on its popular videogame franchises such as “Call of Duty” and “Hearthstone” in its latest push to expand beyond console-based games. Activision Blizzard Studios’ first ... More »
New York Times Co (NYT.N) reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit, and said it expected digital revenue from its international business to account for a significant portion of its revenue in five years. The newspaper publisher said earlier this month ... More »
Charter Communications Inc (CHTR.O) said its acquisition of Time Warner Cable Inc (TWC.N), which is awaiting clearance from U.S. regulators, is now expected to close in the first quarter of 2016, and not by the end of 2015 as planned. The $56 billion deal, ann... More »
Media mogul Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp said it has extend its partnership with Alphabet Inc’s Google through March 2020. Under the agreement, which has been in place for 14 years, Google will continue to provide IAC and its partners with sponsored list... More »
Walt Disney Co’s sports network ESPN said it will not make its content available on YouTube, due to the recently announced ad-free subscription-based offering coined YouTube Red. Alphabet Inc’s YouTube said on Wednesday it will launch YouTube Red, a $10-a-mont... More »
An independent panel of advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday voted 10-4 in favor of approving AstraZeneca Plc’s gout drug. All 10 who backed the drug, lesinurad, qualified their vote by urging the FDA to ask AstraZeneca for studies after... More »
AT&T Inc (T.N), the No. 2 U.S. wireless carrier and the world’s largest pay-TV operator, raised its 2015 earnings forecast as quarterly earnings beat expectations on cost cuts and gains in wireless and DirecTV subscribers. AT&T shares rose 1.7 percent in after... More »
CNN said on Wednesday it has launched ‘Great Big Story’, a video network that promises to deliver more than “empty clickbaits and cat videos” through various social media. The videos will not be based on news, but on “awesome, untold and inspirational stories ... More »
Yahoo Inc’s (YHOO.O) chief development officer, Jacqueline Reses, is leaving the company to join mobile payments company Square Inc, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Reses’ role changed earlier this year when she shifted her focus to... More »
Russian hackers had infiltrated Dow Jones & Co to steal information to trade on before it was made public, and the breach was “far more serious than a lower-grade intrusion” disclosed by the company, Bloomberg reported, citing sources. The Federal Bureau of In... More »
SAN FRANCISCO International Business Machines Corp said on Friday it allows certain countries to review, under strict control, portions of the U.S. technology company’s product source code to detect any security flaws in its software. China is among those coun... More »
Micron Technology Inc said Chief Executive Mark Durcan will take a voluntary 50 percent cut in his base salary, amid cost-cutting at the memory chipmaker. The cut, which is temporary, reduced Durcan’s annual base salary to $525,000, effective Oct. 18, the comp... More »
Satellite TV provider DirecTV said it would restate financial statements for the quarter ended June, citing an incorrect measurement of assets of its Venezuelan subsidiary. Statements related to the quarter are being restated to record a pre-tax charge of abou... More »
Cablevision Systems Inc and Viacom Inc have settled an antitrust lawsuit in which Cablevision had accused Viacom of forcing distributors and subscribers to buy channels they did not want. Cablevision and Viacom are simultaneously entering into “mutually benefi... More »
Investors questioned Netflix Inc’s premium valuation after the video-streaming service reported U.S. subscriber additions below its own expectations, a sign that competition from the likes of Hulu is intensifying. Netflix shares fell more than 9 percent to $10... More »
Video-streaming service provider Netflix Inc reported third-quarter U.S. subscriber additions below its own forecast, blaming a transition to chip-based cards for the miss. Shares of Netflix, known for its original shows such as “House of Cards” and “Orange is... More »
Dell Inc is planning to use equity in cloud software company VMware Inc (VMW.N) to help pay for its acquisition of EMC Corp (EMC.N) in a deal valuing the data storage company at more than $55 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. While the bul... More »
Netflix Inc said on Thursday it has increased the subscription rate for some new members by $1.00 a month to $9.99 in the United States, Canada and Latin America. The price increase only affects new customers to the company’s “standard” plan, which allows two ... More »
STOCKHOLM/MINSK Belarussian author Svetlana Alexievich won the Nobel Prize for Literature on Thursday for her portrayal of the harshness of life in the Soviet Union and in her first public response denounced Russia’s intervention in Ukraine as an “invasion”. T... More »
Sony Corp (6758.T) is proceeding with a plan to sell its half of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the world’s largest music publisher, the Wall Street Journal reported. Sony, which owns the unit with Michael Jackson’s estate, recently triggered a clause in its contr... More »
Amazon.com Inc is considering the creation of a live online TV service and has reached out to networks such as CBS Corp and Comcast’s NBCUniversal to express interest in carrying their channels, Bloomberg reported. The e-commerce giant’s talks with the network... More »
The New York Times Co said it aimed to double its annual digital revenue to $800 million by 2020 with a concentrated effort to win over more readers on smartphones. The company has crossed 1 million digital subscribers and it needed to create the same “must-re... More »
Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management has accumulated $2.5 billion in General Electric (GE.N) shares since May — a roughly 1 percent stake — making it one of the company’s top 10 shareholders, the Wall Street Journal reported. In a white paper Trian plans to di... More »
Troubled teen apparel retailer American Apparel Inc (APP.A) filed for voluntary chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday and said it had reached a restructuring support agreement with most of its secured lenders. American Apparel said it would continue to op... More »
Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (RR.L) may announce a reduction of 400 management jobs in its marine division this week, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Chief Executive Warren East’s aim with the marine restructuring will be to s... More »
Investors pulled $2.3 billion in assets from Pacific Investment Management Co’s flagship fund in September, up from $1.8 billion the previous month, as market sentiment soured over persisting concerns of the impact of Chinese slowdown on the global economy and... More »
Google Inc has morphed into Alphabet Inc. After U.S. markets closed on Friday, Alphabet replaced Google as the publicly traded company that will house Google’s search and Web advertising businesses, maps, YouTube and its “moonshot” ventures such as driverless ... More »
Experian Plc (EXPN.L), the world’s biggest consumer credit monitoring firm, on Thursday disclosed a massive data breach that exposed sensitive personal data of some 15 million people who applied for service with T-Mobile US Inc (TMUS.N). Connecticut’s attorney... More »
Dish Network Corp’s affiliates on Thursday surrendered 197 spectrum licenses to the U.S. government after they were held ineligible for $3.3 billion in small-business discounts earlier this year, according to a senior U.S Federal Communications Commission offi... More »
JPMorgan Chase & Co is set to pay almost a third of a $1.86 billion settlement to resolve claims that a dozen big banks conspired to limit competition in the credit-default swaps market, Bloomberg reported. JPMorgan is paying $595 million, Bloomberg said, citi... More »
News Corp said it sold its digital education brand, Amplify, to a management team supported by a group of private investors following slowing growth in the digital curriculum market. The company did not disclose financial terms of the deal. News Corp said in A... More »
MTV, the music and reality-TV focused television network owned by Viacom Inc, on Wednesday named veteran media executive Sean Atkins as its president. Atkins, who will replace Stephen Friedman, joins MTV from Discovery Communications Inc, where he was an execu... More »
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc said it agreed to nominate ValueAct Capital Chief Executive Jeffrey Ubben for election to its board as long as the hedge fund maintains a stake of at least 5 percent in the film and TV company. ValueAct, which owns about 5.9 percen... More »
LONDON Oil company Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) is pulling out of exploration in Arctic waters off Alaska for the foreseeable future and could take a hit of up to $4.1 billion after failing to find enough oil. The unsuccessful drilling campaign is Shell’s second... More »
The U.S. regulator overseeing the replacement of Takata Corp (7312.T) air bags is considering an order that would expand the recalls and has contacted seven manufacturers who could be affected, including Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) and Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA.O),... More »
The first electronic automatic injector to deliver a drug for the most common form of multiple sclerosis received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday. The injection delivers Betaseron, a disease-modifying drug approved 22 years ago by... More »
Time Warner Cable Inc’s shareholders approved the company’s $56 billion takeover by Charter Communications Inc, according to preliminary votes at a special shareholder meeting. Later on Monday, Charter also said more than 99 percent of the votes cast at its sp... More »
Cable network operator AMC Networks Inc was in preliminary talks to buy billionaire John Malone’s premium TV cable network Starz, Bloomberg reported. Starz’s shares rose 8 percent to $41.89 in extended trading. The company had a market value of about $4 billio... More »
Google Inc said it named auto industry veteran John Krafcik as chief executive of its self-driving car project from late September. With the hiring of Krafcik, currently the president of automotive pricing terminal Truecar Inc and a former CEO of Hyundai Motor... More »
Want to own the new iPhone without burning a hole in your pocket every month? Sprint seems to be the cheapest option in the United States. Sprint Corp’s offer for the 16 GB iPhone 6S with a basic data, calling and text plan costs between $3 and $10.50 less per... More »
Microsoft Corp on Friday appointed its general counsel, Brad Smith, as the company’s president and chief legal officer, effective Friday. Smith, who is also Microsoft’s corporate secretary and chief compliance officer, joined the company in 1993 and became gen... More »
Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump said on Friday he had bought NBC’s share of the Miss Universe Organization and that all lawsuits against the media company had been settled. “Just purchased NBC’s half of the Miss Universe Organization and settl... More »
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc said it will expand its 18-year partnership of operating National Geographic TV channels to include the latter’s magazines and digital platforms, in a deal valued at $725 million. Fox will own 73 percent of the joint venture and th... More »
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s (FCAU.N) U.S. arm said on Friday it would recall 7,810 sport utility vehicles in the United States to update software for radios to prevent hacking. The announcement by FCA US LLC, formerly Chrysler Group LLC, comes more than a m... More »
Mozilla, creator of the Firefox web browser, said hackers had stolen security-sensitive information from Bugzilla, its bug tracker, and used it to “attack” Firefox users. The account that the hackers broke into was shut down shortly after the company discovere... More »
BNY Mellon Corp (BK.N) expects to fix the computer glitch that disrupted pricing of U.S. mutual funds and exchange-traded funds before markets open on Monday, its chief executive said. The resolution of the issue, which affected the calculation of billions of ... More »
LONDON Rebekah Brooks will return to her old job heading Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper division, the Financial Times reported, just over a year after being cleared of criminal charges in a phone-hacking scandal. Her return to News Corp could be as soon as... More »
Apple Inc’s Chief Executive Tim Cook took an unusual step of reassuring shareholders on Monday in comments to CNBC about the iPhone maker’s business in China ahead of a dramatic 13 percent drop and rebound in its stock that put it in positive territory. Chines... More »
Financial news agency Bloomberg plans to cut about 100 jobs in its editorial division, the New York Post reported. The announcement could come as soon as Labor Day in early September, the Post said, citing sources. Many of the layoffs will affect political and... More »
Comcast Corp’s NBCUniversal said on Tuesday it had invested $200 million in online publisher BuzzFeed, the latest move by the media conglomerate to tap into a younger audience. NBCUniversal invested $200 million last week in Vox Media, owner of tech-focused we... More »
News Corp (NWSA.O) reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by cost cuts in its news and information services business that includes Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal. Shares of the company, controlled by Rupert Murdoch, rose a... More »
Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.VX) is in talks to settle allegations related to its Crossfinder “dark pool” trading venue, which could result in a fine running in the high tens of millions of dollars, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with... More »
Loss-making teen apparel retailer American Apparel Inc (APP.A) said on Tuesday it doesn’t expect to have sufficient funds to keep the business running for the next 12 months, warning shareholders may lose some or all of their investments and it may not be able... More »
Norton antivirus software maker Symantec Corp has agreed to sell its data storage unit, Veritas, for $8 billion to a group led by Carlyle Group LP as it seeks cash to turn around its core security software business. The deal, the biggest U.S. leveraged buyout ... More »
Deal makers and employees at private equity firms are expected to receive the biggest bonus increases this year on Wall Street, according to a forecast by compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates. Overall, however, year-end incentive payments on Wall St... More »
AMC Networks Inc’s (AMCX.O) shares fell as much as 14 percent despite the company’s strong results, continuing a slide triggered by Walt Disney Co’s (DIS.N) forecast that suggested that more customers were deserting paid TV than expected. Walt Disney Co (DIS.N... More »
New York Times Co reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue as its print advertising sales fell for the fourth straight quarter. Shares of the company, which also forecast a decline in its current-quarter ad revenue, fell as much as 6 percent on Thursday.... More »
Viacom Inc reported weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue, hurt by lower advertising revenue from its U.S. cable TV business as viewers increasingly shift to online streaming services. The results add to investor concerns over the U.S. cable industry after di... More »
Media company Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (FOXA.O) on Wednesday reduced its profit expectation for the coming year, citing foreign currency impacts, the timing of film releases, and sports and digital investments in India. Fox had projected earnings in the mi... More »
FRANKFURT/HELSINKI German carmakers BMW (BMWG.DE), Audi (VOWG_p.DE) and Mercedes (DAIGn.DE), will pay around 2.5 billion euros ($2.75 billion) to buy Nokia’s maps business, a transformational deal that will help them to develop self-driving cars. Daimler BMW a... More »
LOS ANGELES Comcast Corp’s (CMCSA.O) NBCUniversal film and television unit is close to making an investment in online publisher BuzzFeed and is in talks to raise its stake in Vox Media, a person with knowledge of both sets of discussions said on Thursday. The ... More »
