Double, double, toil and trouble. After the latest revelations of Facebook leaking user data to partner companies, privacy groups are and seeking tighter regulation and asking the Federal Trade Commission to punish the company. "This latest revelation underscores the need to strengthen data privacy laws," the Electronic Frontier Foundation said in its statement. The Attorney General for the District of Columbia did more than complain. He sued the company, alleging Facebook's actions during the 2016 election violated consumer protection laws. Facebook shareholders took a hit, too, as the company's stock price dropped 7% on Wednesday and is now down 24% this year. Fire burn and caldron bubble. Qualcomm won a second legal victory over Apple. On Thursday, a German court ruled that Apple violated a Qualcomm patent on hardware. Sales of some iPhone models could be banned in Germany, but the ban doesn't go into effect if Apple appeals. A Chinese court found Apple in violation of two Qualcomm software patents earlier this month. Fillet of a fenny snake. Futures contracts based on bitcoin have been trading for about a year, coinciding with the cryptocurrency's steep decline. But now regulators are on the verge of approving a futures contract on bitcoin that traders will be able to settle in bitcoin, not cash as with the current contracts. The move could increase interest in actually using bitcoin, so proponents argue. Eye of newt and toe of frog. At times, it looked like the boom of so-called unicorns, or tech startups valued at $1 billion or more, would end badly. Now they're going public at a rapid rate: 38 this year, the most since 2000, Dealogic says. Who is next? Social media site Pinterest is in the midst of preparing for an IPO in the first part of next year, the Wall Street Journal reports. The company, which could reach a valuation of $12 billion, recently began the process of choosing its bankers. Wool of bat and tongue of dog. Speaking of unicorns, the Indian food startup with the great name, Swiggy, raised $1 billion in private funding in a deal valuing the company at $3.3 billion. The round was led by prior investor Naspers but included new investors Tencent, Hillhouse Capital, and Wellington Management. At the other end of the startup spectrum, Chinese bike sharing company Ofo is under "immense cash flow pressures" and considered declaring bankruptcy, CEO Dai Wei wrote in a letter to customers and employees. For a charm of powerful trouble. If you were waiting to cut your cable cord until T-Mobile and its disruptive CEO John Legere introduced their Internet video service, hang on. The new offering, originally touted for a 2018 introduction, is delayed until 2019, Bloomberg reports. Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. A couple of reports cast doubt on Amazon's grocery push via its Whole Foods acquisition. A consumer survey by UBS found fewer members of Amazon Prime shopped at Whole Foods at least once a month in 2018 compared to 2017. And a study by Brick Meets Click found Amazon shoppers using grocery delivery spent less than half on average of households getting delivery from other physical grocery chains. |
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