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Apple defies China slowdown fears with strong iPhone sales

Apple Inc reported blockbuster iPhone sales in China, suggesting that worries about the company’s growth trajectory in the world’s second-largest economy are overdone. Apple’s shares rose nearly 3 percent in early trading on Wednesday. The stock has lost about 7 percent of its value in the past three months as investors fret that the slowing Chinese economy would derail Apple’s successful run in the country.

Oil up $2, extending rally after neutral EIA crude build report

Oil was $2 a barrel higher on Wednesday after the U.S. government reported a crude inventory build squarely within market expectations, extending gains after an earlier rally triggered by what the market described as a big algorithmic trade. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude stockpiles rose 3.4 million barrels last week, matching analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll.

Twitter's results show its turnaround Moment still far off

Twitter Inc may be counting on Moments to drive growth, but the moment for celebrating a turnaround still looks far off. Anyone hoping that Chief Executive Jack Dorsey’s plans to boost growth would have had a big impact on third-quarter results would have been disappointed. Twitter reported both anemic user growth for the three months to Sept. 30 and offered up a tepid revenue forecast for the current quarter on

Nintendo second-quarter profit dips, keeps outlook on smartphone plans

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Nintendo Co reported a weaker-than-expected operating profit for the July-September quarter but maintained its outlook for the full year, citing firm sales of Nintendo 3DS consoles and its planned entry into smartphone games. Nintendo’s fiscal second-quarter operating profit fell slightly to 7.8 billion yen ($64.77 million) from 9.3 billion yen a year earlier. That compared with the average 9.3 billion yen estimate of 19 analysts, Thomson

Barclays to pay new chief Staley up to $12.6 million a year

Barclays will pay incoming chief executive James “Jes” Staley up to 8.24 million pounds ($12.6 million) a year after appointing the former JPMorgan investment bank boss to one of the most prominent posts in British business. Staley will join Barclays at the start of December, having been widely expected to be appointed after sources and media reports said he had been chosen pending regulatory approval. American-born Staley, 58, faces challenges

Toshiba to sell sensor business to Sony, overhaul chip unit

By Makiko Yamazaki TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Toshiba Corp said on Wednesday it will sell its image sensor business to Sony Corp and overhaul its unprofitable semiconductor businesses as it works to recover from a $1.3 billion accounting scandal. Toshiba will sell its image sensor manufacturing plant in Oita, southern Japan, to Sony by the end of the fiscal year through March and pull out of the sensor business, the

IBM, looking to cloud, to buy Weather Company's digital assets

(Reuters) – International Business Machines Corp said on Wednesday it would buy the Weather Company’s digital assets to boost its Watson cloud and Internet of Things platforms. IBM did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, which does not include the Weather Channel. The Weather Channel will use weather forecast data and analytics from IBM under a long-term contract.

Robert Reich: Why your cable bill is so high

If you’re like most Americans, you have wondered at some point – probably monthly – why your cable bill is so high. And for good reason. The average cable bill in the United States rose 5% in 2012, the latest year available. That’s nearly triple the rate of inflation.