Bizness Lounge

Monday, 1 June 2015

Google increases user privacy controls

SAN FRANCISCO | By Yasmeen Abutaleb

Google increased privacy controls for users and rolled out a website on Monday that answers frequently asked questions in response to increasing concern over how the search giant collects and uses its massive amounts of data. Users have been able to control certain privacy settings for months or years, such as whether to save web browser and location history, which is also used in targeted advertising.
But managing the controls is confusing and time consuming because the settings are in various places across the web that are not always easy to find.
Now users will be able to use My Account, which provides a privacy checkup and security checkup, or lists where people can check off which data they want to be public and private.
Google's new website answers frequently asked questions, such as whether the company sells personal data and what information is given to advertisers.
"We knew that users find privacy and security really

Vietnam, U.S. discuss land reclamation in South China Sea

HANOI | By David Alexander

Vietnam, U.S. discuss land reclamation in South China Sea

HANOI | By David Alexander

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter discussed his call for an end to island-building in the South China Sea in talks on Monday with his Vietnamese counterpart, who said Vietnam had not expanded its islands but had done work to prevent wave erosion.The response appeared to fall short of the immediate halt to land reclamation activity and further militarization of the islands that Carter sought in an initial appeal last week in Hawaii, and again at a security conference in Singapore.
Carter told a joint news conference with Defense Minister Phung Quang Thanh that he and the general had discussed his proposal for a permanent halt to reclamation and militarization of the islands and that Vietnam was considering the idea.
The U.S. defense secretary, who is on an 11-day trip to the Asia-Pacific, has focused on maritime security in his public remarks amid concerns about the implications of China's massive island-building effort, which has added 2,000 acres (809 hectares) of land in about 18 months, most of it this year.
Carter has acknowledged that other countries have conducted reclamation projects in the region, including partners like Vietnam, and urged them all to stop. But he said China's activity had outstripped the others and was undermining security, a charge that Beijing has rejected.
At the news conference, Thanh and Carter were

China to hold fire drills along Myanmar border

BEIJING

China's military will hold land and air live fire drills along a part of the border with Myanmar where shells have fallen during fighting between the Myanmar government and ethnic Chinese rebels, the Defence Ministry said on Monday.China has been angered by repeated incidents of shells or bombs from the fighting falling in Chinese territory, in which at least five Chinese have died, and thousands of refugees have crossed into China's southwestern province of Yunnan to escape the clashes.
The Chinese military's drills will begin on Tuesday, the Defence Ministry said, and take place in two Yunnan counties which lie right next to Myanmar's Kokang region.
China had informed Myanmar about the drills, it said.
The drills will not affect the normal lives of

Greek crisis is not a topic for G7 in Bavaria, Germany says

BERLIN

Greece is not a topic for leaders of the Group of Seven countries to discuss at a meeting in Bavaria starting on Sunday, a German government spokesman said, adding that it was up to Athens and its lenders to resolve the crisis."As you know there are enough discussions and above all, there are hopefully talks between the Greek government and the institutions that lead to results and that's where the solution belongs, that's where the topic belongs and it's there that a

South Korea fights to contain MERS outbreak, considers tough measures

SEOUL | By Jack Kim

A police with mask stands guard outside Lady MacLehose Holiday Village in Sai Kung, where people who came into close contact with the South Korean MERS patient will spend two weeks in quarantine, in Hong Kong, China May 29, 2015.

Reuters/Tyrone Siu

South Korea struggled to contain an outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) on Monday as health authorities announced three more cases, bringing the number of infections to 18 in just over 10 days.Authorities are considering a ban on overseas travel for the nearly 700 people isolated for possible infection after a 44-year-old man broke a voluntary house quarantine last week and flew to Hong Kong and then travelled to mainland China.
The man subsequently tested positive for MERS, China's first confirmed case, setting off alarm bells as health officials traced his footsteps and

Merkel, Hollande, Tsipras call was 'constructive': Germany

BERLIN

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras smiles during a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (not pictured) in Athens May 28, 2015.

Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis

A phone call on Sunday between German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras took place in a "constructive" atmosphere, the German government said on Monday.Asked about the call at a regular news conference, Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert declined to provide further details and said Greece would not be a central topic of discussion on Monday evening at a meeting between Merkel, Hollande and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Berlin.
"I don't want to say that Greece won't be discussed on the margins, but it won't be the main theme," said Seibert. The meeting in Berlin will focus on digitalisation, he added.

U.S. consumer spending flat, inflation pressures muted

U.S. consumer spending was unexpectedly flat in April as households cut back on purchases of automobiles and continued to boost savings, suggesting the economy was growing moderately early in the second quarter.The Commerce Department report on Monday also showed no inflation pressures, with a price index for consumer spending recording its smallest gain since late 2009 on an annual basis.
The unchanged reading in consumer spending followed an upwardly revised 0.5 percent increase in March. Consumer spending in April was also curbed by weak demand for utilities as the temperatures warmed up.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, increasing 0.2 percent in April. March's outlays were previously reported to have increased 0.4 percent.
When adjusted for inflation, consumer spending also

China recovery helps shares; eyes on Greece

LONDON | By Patrick Graham

An investor puts his feet onto the back of a chair in front of an electronic board displaying stock information at a brokerage house in Hefei, Anhui province October 26, 2012.

Reuters/Stringer

European shares rose on Monday, helped by an almost five percent rally in Chinese stock markets and rumours of progress in Greece's debt talks that halted sales of the euro.U.S. stocks, which have stalled since hitting highs in mid-May, were set to open 0.3-0.5 percent higher. ESc1 1YMc1
An at times dramatic sell-off over the past week in Shanghai, where stocks are still up almost 50 percent this year, has again focused global attention on financial risks in the world's second largest economy.
Analysts and traders said Monday's surge - which came after a handful of lukewarm sentiment surveys that said little positive about the outlook for the economy - showed the market was being driven by speculators rather than economic data.
"The pattern in a bull market is

Intel to buy Altera for $16.7 billion

Intel Corp (INTC.O) agreed to buy Altera Corp (ALTR.O) for $16.7 billion as the world's biggest chipmaker seeks to make up for slowing demand from the PC industry by expanding its line-up of higher-margin chips used in data centers.By combining with Altera, Intel will be able to bundle its processing chips with the smaller company's programmable chips, which are used, among other things, to speed up Web-searches.
Intel said it would offer $54 per share in cash, a 10.5 percent premium to Altera's closing price on Friday.
Altera, based in San Jose, California, rejected an

Monday, 1 June 2015

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