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Has Google been listening to us via Chrome?

Google has angered privacy campaigners and open source developers after claims surfaced that it has secretly installed eavesdropping software inside one of its most popular programs. The developers behind the Chromium browser have reportedly found audio-snooping code inside Chrome that is able to listen to users, a function that was remotely installed by the company behind the browser, Google, according to the Guardian. Designed to support the “OK, Google” feature

Google Genomics adds Broad Institute's DNA analysis toolkit

Google Genomics, the cloud-based computing business that is racing to increase its share of online DNA analytics, on Wednesday began offering a cloud service version of the popular DNA analysis software from the Broad Institute, a biomedical research organization. The Google Inc research tie-up comes as academic institutions and healthcare companies are choosing between Google and other technology companies, like Amazon.com Inc, Microsoft Corp and International Business Machines Corp, to

Getty Images takes Google grievance to EU antitrust regulators

By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) – [GETTY.UL] has become the latest company to take its grievances with Google to EU antitrust regulators as it accused the world’s most popular Internet search engine of favoring its own images service at the expense of rivals. The complaint comes as the European Commission waits for Google to respond to charges of abusing its market power in a dozen EU countries since 2007

How Draghi Shifted ECB Crisis Tactic Amid Greek Brinkmanship

Mario Draghi can’t afford to play by the same crisis rules as the European Central Bank did in the past. With Ireland in 2010 and Cyprus in 2013, a threat to withhold aid for lenders forced each country to agree to international bailouts. This time, Greece’s appetite for brinkmanship has so far left the ECB president dependent on Europe’s politicians to deliver the ultimatums, while policy makers have reluctantly kept

U.S. economy contracts mildly in first quarter, but growth rebounding

A fairly stronger pace of consumer spending than previously estimated accounted for much of the upward revision to GDP. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two thirds of U.S. economic activity, was raised to a 2.1 percent growth pace from the 1.8 percent rate reported last month. With personal savings increasing at a robust $720.2 billion pace as more Americans get a paycheck, consumer spending could accelerate in the

Wal-Mart to impose charges on suppliers as its costs mount

It was unclear how much money Wal-Mart would receive as a result of the changes. For instance, Wal-Mart is seeking to charge a food supplier 10 percent of the value of inventory shipped to new stores and to new warehouses, both one-time charges, and 1 percent to hold inventory in existing warehouses, according to a copy of amended terms seen by Reuters.

U.S. Stocks Fluctuate After Nearing Record Amid Greek Talks, GDP

U.S. stocks fluctuated, after two days of gains brought equities near a record Tuesday, as Greek debt talks dragged on and investors weighed data on the U.S. economy. Monsanto Co. dropped 4.3 percent as it plans to cut costs amid low crop prices. Staples Inc. and Office Depot Inc. fell more than 2.2 percent on concerns about regulatory approval for their merger.