June, 2017

• 10 June

  SoftBank doubles down on bots with new acquisition

  

  Bloomberg SoftBank Group Corp. is taking over Google parent Alphabet Inc.’s robot dreams, buying Boston Dynamics to pursue a future when more machines intermingle with humans. As part of the transaction with Alphabet, SoftBank also agreed to buy Japanese bipedal robotics company Schaft. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Boston Dynamics, bought by Google in 2013 as part of a ...

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• 10 June

  Osram bets on iris-scanning app

  

  Bloomberg Back in 1972, engineers working at Osram Licht AG set their sights on developing applications for infrared. The unit of Siemens AG in southeastern Germany went on to develop an expertise in the light, used in night-vision equipment and galaxy-gazing telescopes. Almost half a century later, Osram is a stand-alone lighting company and infrared is one of its fastest-growing ...

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• 10 June

  Digital Realty agrees to buy DuPont Fabros for $4.95bn

  Bloomberg Digital Realty Trust Inc. agreed to buy DuPont Fabros Technology Inc. for about $4.95 billion in stock, a deal that would add to its data-center properties in areas such as California’s Silicon Valley. Investors in Washington-based DuPont Fabros will get 0.545 Digital Realty shares for each of their shares, the real estate investment trusts said in a statement Friday. ...

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• 10 June

  New iPhone lacks tech to match rivals’ data speed

  

  Bloomberg Verizon Corp., AT&T Inc. and the rest of the US wireless industry have a big boast for this year’s crop of smartphones: thanks to network upgrades, devices will be able to download as much as a gigabit of data in a single second — speeds 100 times faster than before. But that won’t be the case for Apple Inc.’s ...

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• 10 June

  Airbus warns new UK govt of risk to jobs, fighter role

  

  Bloomberg Airbus SE said the next UK government must guarantee the planemaker’s ability to move people between plants in Britain and continental Europe in order to safeguard the long-term future of production in the country. It’s likewise vital for aerospace manufacturing to remain exempt from import duties once Britain quits the European Union, Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders said at ...

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• 10 June

  F-35 fighters grounded over oxygen problems

  

  Bloomberg The US Air Force has ordered a stand-down of its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft at an Arizona base after pilots there said they suffered oxygen deprivation while flying the plane built by Lockheed Martin Corp. Since May 2, five F-35A pilots assigned to Luke Air Force Base have reported physiological incidents while flying. According to a service press ...

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• 10 June

  NTT mulls sale of African business worth $800mn

  

  Bloomberg Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. (NTT) is considering the sale of African operations it acquired with the takeover of Dimension Data Holdings Ltd. and is open to approaches from interested buyers, according to three people familiar with the situation. The assets are valued by Japan’s former phone monopoly at about $800 million, said two of the people, who asked ...

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• 10 June

  SriLankan Airlines to launch non-stop flights to Melbourne

  

  Emirates Business New route offers Middle East travellers seamless connections through Colombo to Melbourne and beyond SriLankan Airlines, the National Carrier of SriLanka and a member of the oneworld alliance, will be soon be spreading its wings to Australia, launching daily non-stop services to Melbourne from the SriLankan capital Colombo, from October 29 this year. The new route, which was ...

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• 10 June

  Cebu Pacific orders seven A321CEO planes

  

  Bloomberg Leading Philippine carrier Cebu Pacific placed an order with Airbus for an additional seven A321CEO (Current Engine Option) aircraft, for delivery from March 2018. The aircraft will meet the airline’s increased capacity requirements pending the start of delivery of 32 A321NEO aircraft, which will now begin in 4TH quarter of 2018. CEB has chosen to defer the A321NEO deliveries ...

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• 7 June

  UAE’s e-commerce to reach $10bn by 2018

  

  DUBAI / Emirates Business The e-commerce industry in the UAE is expected to hit the US$10 billion (AED36.7 billion) mark by the year 2018, regional retailers are in the process of consolidating their online presence in a bid to remain competitive and profitable. With the UAE’s current ecommerce value estimated to be around US$2.5 billion (AED9.2 billion), analysts are optimistic ...

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