Google’s Android Target of New Antitrust Complaint
BRUSSELS — A group of companies led by Microsoft have called on European authorities to launch an antitrust investigation into Google‘s dominance of mobile Internet usage on smartphones. The “FairSearch” initiative of 17 companies — which includes Microsoft, Nokia, and Oracle — claims Google is acting unfairly by giving away its Android operating system to mobile device companies on the condition that the U.S. online giant’s own software applications like YouTube and Google Maps are installed and prominently displayed. “Google is using its Android mobile operating system as a Trojan horse to deceive partners, monopolize the mobile marketplace, and control consumer data,” said Thomas Vinje, the group’s Brussels-based lawyer. (MORE: Was Instagram Really Worth $1 Billion?) Android operating systems are installed on about 70 percent of new smartphones, according to analyst estimates, handing Google the largest market share worldwide, followed by Apple‘s iOS platform. Systems ...
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Google and Privacy: 6 EU Countries Take Action
PARIS — Google’s new privacy policy is under attack from regulators in its largest European markets, who on Tuesday brought legal action to try and force the company to overhaul practices they say let it create a data goldmine at the expense of unwitting users. Led by the French, organizations in Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Italy agreed Tuesday on the joint action, with the ultimate possibility of imposing fines or restrictions on operations across the entire 27-country European Union. Last year the company merged 60 separate privacy policies from around the world into one universal procedure. The European organizations complain that the new policy doesn’t allow users to figure out which information is kept, how it is combined by Google services, or how long the company retains it. (MORE: Google Glass Will Be Made in the USA by Foxconn) The fines’ financial impact on Google would be limited — French privacy watchdog CNIL has the right to fine the company up to ...
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European Carriers' Two-Front Battle
Europe's major airlines, battered by competition at home and from abroad, are attempting to turn the tables on their upstart rivals by sharpening their discount short-haul offerings while enhancing their long-haul services.
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US Economy Expands at 0.4 Percent Rate
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy grew at a slightly faster but still anemic rate at the end of last year. However, there is hope that growth accelerated in early 2013 despite higher taxes and cuts in government spending. The economy grew at an annual rate of 0.4 percent in the October-December quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That was slightly better than the previous estimate of 0.1 percent growth. The revision reflected stronger business investment and export sales. Analysts think the economy is growing at a rate of around 2.5 percent in the current January-March quarter, which ends this week. Steady hiring has kept consumers spending this year. And a rebound in company stockpiling, further gains in housing and more business spending also likely drove faster growth in the first quarter. The 0.4 percent growth rate for the gross domestic product, the economy’s total output of goods and services, was the weakest quarterly performance in almost two years and followed a much ...
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Citi extends common depository services to Asia Pacific
Market Presence: Move creates firm’s first common depository location outside of Europe
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