INTERNET
UK to monitor WhatsApp
Britain’s data privacy regulator on Friday said it will monitor how popular messaging service WhatsApp shares data with parent Facebook Inc under a new privacy policy. The Information Commission’s Office said while some users might be concerned by the lack of control provided by the updated privacy policy, others might consider it a positive. WhatsApp, which has more than 1 billion users, on Thursday said it would start sharing users’ telephone numbers with Facebook, allowing for more relevant advertisements and friend recommendations on the social media network.
RESTAURANTS
Cashing in on Pokemon
A Sydney restaurant is capitalizing on an appetite for all things Pokemon Go by selling a limited number of burgers based on characters from the blockbuster smartphone game. Sydney’s Hashtag Burger and its pop-up restaurant Down N’ Out Burgers are offering 100 “Pokeburgs” a day until Saturday next week, with long queues of people lining up on Friday to get a taste of a yellow Pikachu, pink Charmander or green Bulbasaur burger. Staff said the Pikachu burger with corn chip ears had proved the most popular, but the restaurant had decided that customers could not choose which character they get.
MEDIA
Qataris buy Turkish pay TV
Qatar’s beIN Media Group on Friday announced that it had completed the “largest deal in its history” by buying Turkish satellite sports and entertainment company Digiturk. “This acquisition represents the largest deal in the history of our group and a major milestone in our global expansion,” beIN chairman Nasser aTerl-Khelaifi said. He said that the Qatari group’s expansion into the Turkish market was an “essential step” for beIN. The Turkish pay TV broadcaster has more than 3 million customers and specializes in sport.
AUTOMAKERS
Mazda recalling SUVs
Mazda Motor Corp is recalling more than 190,000 CX-7 sport utility vehicles (SUVs) because of a potentially dangerous steering control defect. The recall involves vehicles made from Feb. 14, 2006, through May 9, 2012. Last year, the company recalled more than 190,000 CX-9 SUVs made between 2007 and 2014 because of concerns over steering control loss. In the latest recall, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that water might enter the front suspension ball joint fittings, which could eventually result in a loss of steering control.
INTERNET
Rackspace to go private
Cloud storage and management company Rackspace on Friday announced that it will take its public company private again in a US$4.3 billion deal with equity firm Apollo Global Management. Going private could take pressure off quarterly financial performance and allow Rackspace to focus on its long-term strategy. Rackspace cofounder and board chairman Graham Weston said the transaction will provide the company with more flexibility to manage the business. Rackspace agreed to be acquired by Apollo for US$32 per share in what was said to be a 38 percent premium on the closing stock price on Aug. 3. The deal needs to get the approval of shareholders and regulators.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last