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Twitter names ex-Google executive Kordestani chairman

Twitter Inc appointed former Google executive Omid Kordestani as its executive chairman, holding good on a promise to appoint an outsider to work alongside co-founder Jack Dorsey in his second stint as CEO. Twitter’s shares rose in early trading after Dorsey tweeted the appointment, but were down 1.4 percent at $28.65 by mid-morning.

Samsung Electronics unveils second Tizen-powered smartphone

Tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd unveiled on Wednesday the second smartphone powered by the its own Tizen operating system, its latest bid to increase the popularity of its own software ecosystem. Samsung said the Z3 will go on sale in India on Oct. 21 for 8,490 Indian rupees ($130.59). The world’s top smartphone maker is trying to reduce its dependence on Google Inc, whose Android operating system powers Samsung’s

Peter Thiel, others help home remodeling startup BuildZoom raise $10.6 million

Peter Thiel, the Silicon Valley investor who co-founded PayPal and invested in Facebook in 2004, has now invested in BuildZoom, a Y Combinator-backed startup that helps U.S. customers find contractors for remodeling projects. BuildZoom said on Wednesday it raised $10.6 million in a Series A funding round led by Joe Lonsdale of venture capital firm Formation 8, with participation from Thiel’s Founder’s Fund and Y Combinator, the startup machine behind

Acquisitions bring Canon's 5 trln-yen sales target back into view

By Eric Auchard PARIS (Reuters) – Canon Inc, the world’s biggest maker of cameras and printers, is setting its sights on higher growth fueled by acquisitions as it expands into related markets like video surveillance and medical imaging, Chairman Fujio Mitarai said. As a result the Japanese group has revived a decade-old annual-sales target of 5 trillion yen ($42 billion) and is also aiming to improve its profit margins, despite

Apple loses patent lawsuit to University of Wisconsin, faces hefty damages

By Andrew Chung NEW YORK (Reuters) – Apple Inc could be facing up to $862 million in damages after a U.S. jury on Tuesday found the iPhone maker used technology owned by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s licensing arm without permission in chips found in many of its most popular devices. The jury in Madison, Wisconsin also said the patent, which improves processor efficiency, was valid. The trial will now move