Bell Canada completes $142-million purchase of Virgin Mobile Canada
MONTREAL - Bell Canada (TSX:BCE) says it has wrapped up the purchase of electronics retailer The Source and finished acquiring the half-interest that it did not already own in Virgin Mobile Canada.
The two deals, worth $277 million combined, closed on Thursday. Bell paid $142 million for Virgin Mobile Canada and $135 million for The Source.
New wireless networks to put Bell and Telus on same footing as Rogers
MONTREAL - Bell (TSX:BCE) and Telus (TSX:T) customers should have a greater choice of mobile phones, possibly Apple's iPhone, and better prices when the wireless companies roll out next-generation networks in early next year, analysts say.
The move will put both Bell and Telus in a better competitive situation against Rogers Wireless (TSX:RCI.B), analysts said Tuesday.
Not all Canadians would have better 911 cellphone service: report
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Facebook picks former Genentech finance chief David Ebersman as CFO
NEW YORK - David Ebersman, a former executive at biotech firm Genentech, was named Monday as Facebook's chief financial officer.
Ebersman, 39, will formally start at the Palo Alto, Calif.-based online hangout in September.
U.S. Supreme Court won't block Cablevision's remote-storage DVR system
PHILADELPHIA - Cable TV operators won a key legal battle against Hollywood studios and television networks on Monday as the Supreme Court declined to block a new digital video recording system that could make it even easier for viewers to bypass commercials.
The justices declined to hear arguments on whether Cablevision Systems Corp.'s remote-storage DVR system would violate copyright laws. That allows the Bethpage, N.Y.-based company to proceed with plans to start deploying the technology this summer.
U.S. Supreme Court won't block remote-storage digital video recording systems
WASHINGTON - Hollywood studios and television networks lost their bid Monday for the Supreme Court to block the use of a new digital video recorder system that could make it cheaper and easier for viewers to record shows and watch them when they want, without commercials.
The justices decline to hear arguments on whether Cablevision Systems Corp.'s remote-storage DVR violates copyright laws.
CAE to change trading symbol on New York Stock Exchange to match TSX symbol
MONTREAL - CAE Inc. (TSX:CAE, NYSE:CGT) said Monday it will be changing its stock trading symbol on the New York stock exchange.
The Montreal-based provider of commercial and defence flight training said its NYSE symbol will change from CGT to CAE effective Thursday. The new symbol will mirror the one used on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Vodafone shares rise on reported interest in buying British unit of T-Mobile
LONDON - Shares in Vodafone Group PLC rose Monday after the Financial Times reported that the cell-phone giant is interested in buying T-Mobile UK, the British unit of Deutsche Telekom.
Vodafone spokeswoman Libby Pritchard said the company would not comment on the report, which did not name its sources. Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile also declined comment.
Nokia Siemens Networks gets euro250 milllion loan
HELSINKI - Wireless equipment firm Nokia Siemens Networks has received a euro250 million loan from the European Investment Bank.
The company said Monday that the money will be used to develop its network technologies.
IBM loses bid to block former M&A chief from working at rival Dell
SAN JOSE, Calif. - IBM Corp. won't be able to block its former mergers and acquisitions chief from working at rival Dell Inc. while a lawsuit against the executive works its way through the courts.
A federal judge on Friday rejected IBM's request for a preliminary injunction against the executive, David Johnson.
Shaw reports increase in third-quarter profit on digital cable subscriber growth
CALGARY - Strong digital cable subscriber growth helped Shaw Communications Inc. (TSX:SJR.B) bring in higher third-quarter profits, the Calgary-based cable, Internet and satellite carrier said Friday.
"We continue to grow across all of our business segments despite the economic conditions and increased competition," Shaw president Peter Bissonnette told analysts on a conference call.
Apple raises stake in British chip designer Imagination
LONDON - British chip designer Imagination Technologies PLC said Friday that Apple Inc. has raised its stake in the company to 9.5 per cent after buying stock on the market and through a share placement made by the company.
Imagination made no comment on the stake increase beyond the requirement that it report the crossing of the 8 per cent threshold to the London Stock Exchange.
Google access in China temporarily disrupted; outage follows criticism by watchdog
BEIJING - Internet users in China were unable to access search giant Google Inc.'s main Web site or its Chinese service, and the company said Thursday it was investigating.
The outage came after the China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Center last week accused Google of providing links to vulgar and obscene sites. Google, based in Mountainview, California, said it would do more to stop users in China from accessing pornography.
Former U.S. cybersecurity chief is top candidate to head Internet oversight agency, sources say
NEW YORK - Rod Beckstrom, the former U.S. cybersecurity chief who resigned in March amid persistent turf battles, is the leading candidate to run an international organization with oversight of the monikers behind every website and email address, The Associated Press has learned.
Beckstrom's approval as chief executive of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers could come with a board vote Friday as ICANN caps weeklong meetings in Sydney, Australia, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. They spoke on condition of anonymity because an official announcement has yet to be made, and negotiations could still fall through.
Facebook testing option giving users ability to decide who can read about them
PALO ALTO, Calif. - Facebook is testing new privacy controls that will allow the online hangout's roughly 200 million users to decide who should see each of their personal updates.
In a Wednesday announcement, Facebook said the option will enable users to customize their postings for specific groups of friends.
Ten Network continues to grapple with difficult advertising market
WINNIPEG - Canwest Global Communications Corp. (TSX:CGS) said Wednesday that nine-month revenues and adjusted earnings for its Australian operations declined from year-earlier levels due to continued advertising weakness.
The troubled media conglomerate, based in Winnipeg, said Ten Network Holdings Ltd. sustained a 36.6 per cent drop in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization over the first nine months of fiscal 2009, while revenues for the period sank 12.6 per cent.
Verizon pushes faster (and pricier) FiOS bundles
NEW YORK - Verizon is boosting speeds on its FiOS service. And it's throwing in a high-definition Flip video camera or Hewlett-Packard computer to get you to join.
But to get all that, chances are you'll also pay more if you sign up now.
Report: Newest iPhone model costs $179 to make
NEW YORK - Research firm iSuppli says Apple Inc.'s latest iPhone costs just a few dollars more to make than the previous model.
That analysis comes despite the new iPhone 3GS having new features like a better camera and video-recording capabilities.
Study: CEOs not doing enough on social networks
NEW YORK - A new study says top CEOs should do a better job managing their presence online, on social sites like Twitter and Facebook and even Wikipedia.
Sharon Barclay, who runs the executive public-relations firm Blue Trumpet Group and the blog UberCEO, took Fortune's 2009 list of the top 100 CEOs and found what she calls a "miserable level of engagement" when it comes to social networks.
Kazakh lawmakers back restrictive Internet law
ALMATY, Kazakhstan - Kazakh legislators have approved Internet legislation that media rights activists say will limit freedom of speech in the Central Asian nation.
The bill would subject Internet outlets - such as chat rooms, blogs and online stores - to the same criminal prosecution currently applied to traditional media. Foreign websites deemed to be in breach of Kazakh law could also be blocked.