Technology

Bloomberg Equifax Inc. agreed to acquire Kount Inc., which offers fraud protection for e-commerce retailers, for $640 million. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter, Atlanta-based Equifax said in a statement Friday. Kount’s employees will continue to be based in Boise, Idaho, and will report to Equifax’s US information-solutions unit. The credit-reporting firm has been building out ...

Bloomberg Samsung Electronics Co. shares rise 7.1% to a record high in Seoul amid signs of a rebound in the memory-chip market and off the back of a surge in earnings. South Korea’s biggest company posted a 26% increase in operating income to 9 trillion won ($8.3 billion) for the three months ended December in preliminary results. That compares with ...

Bloomberg Huawei Technologies added Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s games back to its app store after two technologies firms negotiated an agreement. “We will continue to work together to bring better experience and service to Tencent game community,” a spokesperson for Tencent said. The games were removed after Tencent made a “big change” to how the companies work with each other, according ...

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. agreed to acquire podcasting company Wondery, as the dominant audiobook purveyor moves to strengthen in another sound-based medium. “This is a pivotal moment to expand the Amazon Music offering beyond music as listener habits evolve,” the Seattle-based retail and media giant said in a statement. Bloomberg News first reported in September that Wondery was exploring a sale, ...

Bloomberg International Business Machines Corp. (IMBM) ought Expertus Technologies Inc., a Canadian financial-technology firm that helps process more than $50 billion in transactions a day, to bolster its electronic-payments capabilities. Closely held Expertus has been added to the IBM Global Business Services unit, the Armonk, New York-based buyer said in a statement. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Banks worldwide ...

Bloomberg Facebook Inc. is building a new video product that will let people pay content creators or celebrities for the chance to interact with them during a live broadcast. The tool, called Super, will let creators, entrepreneurs or celebrities host live, interactive video events. Viewers can tip creators by buying them digital gifts, or pay to “appear” alongside a creator ...

Bloomberg Microsoft Corp. is working on in-house processor designs for use in server computers that run the company’s cloud services, adding to an industrywide effort to reduce reliance on Intel Corp.’s chip technology. The world’s largest software maker is using Arm Ltd. designs to produce a processor that will be used in its data centers, according to people familiar with ...

Bloomberg Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp. have taken unusual measures to appease customers unhappy with CD Projekt SA’s Cyberpunk 2077 game, which was released earlier this month and is riddled with bugs, especially in console versions. For PlayStation players, Sony is offering full refunds for Cyberpunk 2077 and is removing the title, one of the year’s most highly anticipated gaming ...

Bloomberg Apple Inc. is temporarily closing its Los Angeles-area stores as Covid-19 cases jump in the region. The move marks the first time in many months that Apple has shut retail locations in one of the country’s most populous areas. The Cupertino, California-based technology giant has several stores in Los Angeles, including major outlets at The Grove and Beverly Center ...

Bloomberg Huawei Technologies Corp. is positioning itself to get more business in Ethiopia, as the East African economy opens up its telecommunications sector. “Ethiopia is rising and becoming much more important for the future,” Loise Tamalgo, Huawei’s head of public relations for 22 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, said in an interview in Ivory Coast’s commercial capital, Abidjan. The company is ...