 | Good afternoon |  |  | Social media and mobile communications will be the two big targets for Google Inc when it unveils a new music store for users late Wednesday, according to people familiar with its plans. However, the giant web search company's new music partners have already labeled the service "unexciting." Music executives had been hoping for a more groundbreaking, fully functional cloud-based service; but after licensing talks broke down earlier this year, Google scaled back their ambitions.
Rambus lost an antitrust trial against Micron Technology Inc and Hynix Semiconductor Inc, with a jury snatching away the chip designer's chance at a multi-billion dollar reward and decimating the company's stock market value. Rambus attorneys had argued that South Korea's Hynix and Idaho-based Micron colluded to fix prices of memory chips used in personal computers and to prevent Rambus's technology from becoming widely used. Rambus claimed the deal cost it up to $4.38 billion in lost profits. When Rambus shares resumed trading Wednesday afternoon following the decision they fell 60 percent.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Sony has already started talking to big media companies like NBCUniversal, Discovery Communications and News Corp. about launching an alternative to cable TV. In what would be a threat to the well-established business of cable and satellite distributors, the Sony service would offer live programming over an internet-enabled Sony device, cutting out the need for cable boxes, satellite dishes or regular antennae.
IDG News reports that Apple's Steve Jobs initially hoped to create his own network with the unlicensed spectrum that Wi-Fi uses rather than work with mobile operators.
Western institutions such as the IMF, Louis Vuitton and Unilever have joined Weibo, China's most popular microblogging platform with over 250 million mostly educated and white collar users. Reuters reports Weibo has quickly become the place to promote, lobby and win over the important Chinese audience, as Twitter, Facebook and other social media are blocked there by a government worried that unfettered Internet access could undermine Communist Party rule. | | | LATEST NEWS | | Qualcomm keeps long-term growth target | | November 16, 2011 02:53 PM ET | | (Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc on Wednesday affirmed its long-term growth target of at least 10 percent for annual revenue and earnings per share, citing strong demand for smartphones and other wireless devices. | Full Article | | Nokia aims to undercut rivals with volume focus | | November 16, 2011 01:04 PM ET | | BARCELONA (Reuters) - Nokia plans to undercut its Windows Phone rivals to give its new smartphones a foothold in the market before trying to improve margins, its Chief Executive Stephen Elop said on Wednesday. | Full Article | | Wall Street falls, eyes banking contagion | | November 16, 2011 04:41 PM ET | | NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Wednesday, with selling accelerating late in the session on more warnings about the potential impact of the euro zone's debt crisis on the global economy and the banking system. | Full Article | | October consumer prices fall, giving Fed more room | | November 16, 2011 03:20 PM ET | | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer prices fell in October for the first time in four months, taking pressure off strapped households and giving the Federal Reserve more room to ease monetary policy if the economy falters. | Full Article | | Olympus plans $3.38 billion debt reduction: Nikkei | | November 16, 2011 01:14 PM ET | | (Reuters) - Olympus Corp offered a plan to cut its debt by about 260 billion yen ($3.38 billion) over the next three years to maintain ties with creditors amid a deepening scandal, the Nikkei business daily reported. | Full Article | | | BUSINESS NEWS
| | Canada pipeline firms sprint to end U.S. oil glut | | November 16, 2011 04:40 PM ET | | HOUSTON/CALGARY (Reuters) - Enbridge Inc and TransCanada Corp have raced forward with new pipeline plans in the fierce battle to unclog a year-long U.S. oil bottleneck, which could quickly end an unprecedented distortion in crude markets. | Full Article | | France and Germany clash over ECB crisis role | | November 16, 2011 02:50 PM ET | | PARIS/ROME (Reuters) - France and Germany, Europe's two central powers, clashed on Wednesday over whether the European Central Bank should intervene more forcefully to halt the euro zone's accelerating debt crisis after modest bond purchases failed to calm markets. | Full Article | | Arab League pressure builds on Syria | | November 16, 2011 04:39 PM ET | | AMMAN (Reuters) - The Arab League gave Syria three days Wednesday to end an eight-month-old crackdown on protests and allow in teams of observers, signaling its patience with Damascus was running out. | Full Article | | Gingrich acknowledges Freddie Mac consulting fees | | November 16, 2011 03:47 PM ET | | URBANDALE, Iowa (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich acknowledged Wednesday that he had received consulting fees from troubled mortgage giant Freddie Mac for providing "strategic advice." | Full Article | | | | U.S. TOP NEWS | | | | | RELATED VIDEO | | |  |  | | A daily digest of breaking business news, coverage of the US economy, major corporate news and the financial markets. Register Today. |  | | Your daily briefing on the latest tech developments from around the world from Reuters expert tech correspondents. Register Today. |  | | The latest Reuters articles on M&A, IPOs, private equity, hedge funds and regulatory updates delivered to your inbox each day.. Register Today. | | | » MORE NEWSLETTERS | | | ODDLY ENOUGH | | | | | | |
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