Apple misses forecasts, but profit soars more than 20 percent
Apple reported sales on Tuesday that rose almost 24 percent from a year ago and a profit that soared to 21 percent. Despite their spike in profits, the technology giant’s revenue, earnings per share and iPhone sales in its fiscal third quarter missed Wall Street analysts’ forecasts. The world’s most valuable company reported net income that rose to $8.8 billion, or $9.32 per share, in its fiscal third quarter. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters forecasted earning of $10.36 per share. [...]
Home values up for first time in 5 years
After American home prices hit rock bottom, they are finally bouncing back, according to an industry report released on Tuesday. Real estate listing site Zillow reported that home values nationwide have rose 0.2 percent consistently to a median $149,000 during the second quarter, the first annual increase since 2007. Prices have risen 2.1 percent from the first quarter.
Although June marked the fourth consecutive month of home value increases, as a whole, home prices remain down nearly 24 percent since [...]
Yahoo’s new CEO Marissa Mayer snags $71M pay package
Yahoo’s new CEO Marissa Mayer’s compensation package could be worth a jaw-dropping $71 million over the next five years, according to regulatory documents filed by Yahoo on Thursday. The pay could rise to $120 million if an extra batch of stock grants she is eligible for comes through.
As Yahoo’s fourth CEO within the past four years, Mayer’s package is by far the most abundant the company has offered. Mayer, 37, is receiving a stock grant valued at $14 million [...]
Marissa Mayer of Google named Yahoo CEO
Yahoo has recruited a new CEO, again. Marissa Mayer, a Google executive and one of the first two dozen employees at the search giant, will now lead the struggling Web icon. Mayer was the first female engineer hired at Google in 1999 and has since become one of Google’s most powerful executives and one of the company’s most public faces, appearing in a variety of media interviews and delivering key notes on behalf of the company.
According to a report [...]
Ford Motor Company recalls over 8,000 2013 Escape SUVs
Ford Motor Company of Detroit, Michigan has recalled more than 8,000 of its 2013 Escape compact SUVs because of a potential hitch affecting the brake pedal. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there are 8,266 Escapes involved in the recall made between March 8 and June 7, 2012. Ford said mispositioned carpet padding in the corner console trim panel may be pushed onward, reducing clearance with the pedals, according to NHTSA.
The reduced clearance could mean the [...]
Yahoo confirms email hacking in statement
Nearly 400,000 Yahoo email accounts were compromised as a result of a hack by a group dubbing themselves as the D33D Company, Yahoo confirmed. The credentials were stored in plain text and were allegedly taken from a Yahoo subdomain, Yahoo Voices, according to CNET. The group claims to have breached Yahoo’s security by using a “union-based SQL injection technique.”
In a statement released to Tech Crunch, Yahoo said, “We confirm that an older file from Yahoo! Contributor Network (previously Associated Content) [...]
Mortgage rates hit new low for economy
Mortgage rates fell once again this week, beating previous record lows, according to a regular weekly release from mortgage giant Freddie Mac. Last week, the rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate loan, the most popular mortgage product, dropped to 3.62 percent from 3.66 percent. According to Freddie Mac, the rate has met or exceeded a new low for 10 of the past 11 weeks. The 15-year fixed rate fell to 2.89 percent from 2.94 percent.
Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist Frank Nothaft [...]
Apple, Proview settle for $60 million over iPad name
Apple has agreed to give $60 million to electronics company Proview in order to continue using the name iPad for its popular tablet computer in China, which is a critical market for the technology company. According to The Associated Press, the Guangdong High People’s Court said the case had been settled and that Apple transferred the money into the court’s account.
Proview, a struggling electronics company from China that held the “IPAD” trademark for a desktop computer, said Apple had [...]
BlackBerry maker will dismiss 5,000 employees, delays new system
BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion reported an unexpected loss and yet another delay in its long-awaited BlackBerry 10 operating system on Thursday, creating a new low point in the company’s flounder. The company announced cost-cutting efforts that will include a “workforce reduction” of about 5,000 employees. In May, recently appointed CEO Thorsten Heins warned that “lower volumes and highly competitive pricing dynamics in the marketplace” would likely result in an operating loss for the quarter, and that the company’s financial [...]
Google unveils new tablet, ‘Nexus 7’
Google unveiled on Wednesday their Nexus 7 tablet at its I/O developers conference in San Francisco, Calif. The seven-inch tablet will sell for $199, aimed directly at the popular seven-inch Amazon Kindle Fire tablet, which sells for the same price.
Google’s tablet features content like magazines, books, and movies. The Nexus 7 weighs 12 ounces compared to the Kindle Fire’s 14 ounces, and also features a much profound HD screen and a faster graphics chipset. The Nexus 7 tablet is [...]
Social-office network Yammer bought by Microsoft for $1.2B
In an effort to persuade corporate America to adopt social networking, Microsoft has acquired Yammer, an “enterprise social networking” startup, for $1.2 billion in cash. Yammer was founded in 2008 and operates like an enclosed Facebook. The social-office network allows a business to set up a private network where employees can post announcements, share files, create events, swap messages, and more. Yammer also offers more traditional corporate features, such as a content management system and an “extranet” that businesses can [...]