Japan nationalism wins Toshiba battle, loses the war

Now that Toshiba Corp. has chosen the preferred buyer for its chip unit, Japan Inc. needs to watch exactly what the new owner will do with the business. No doubt partnering with influential local names strengthened the hand of Bain Capital Private Equity LP in beating out rivals such as Western Digital Corp., Broadcom Corp. and Foxconn Technology Group. Any ...

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Closing bases would strengthen US military

The House is working on the military budget for 2018, and the Pentagon is not pleased. Not only does the plan fall short of the “historic” boost in spending promised by President Donald Trump, but the proposal doesn’t even include one of the military’s own suggestions for saving money. There’s a reason for that: The Pentagon’s proposal — a new ...

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Europe versus Google

Europe’s latest move against Google — a record $2.7 billion (2.4 billion euro) fine for anti-competitive behaviour — is understandable but ill-advised. For the sake of a questionable theory, it risks causing an escalating quarrel. The European Commission accused Google of putting sites that compare prices for goods and services at an unfair disadvantage on its search pages. Years of ...

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China opens door for India in Trump’s Washington

Very little was expected in India from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US, and for good reason: Modi had gone out of his way to cultivate a personal relationship with Barack Obama, including famously pouring out a cup of tea for him and the cameras when Obama visited India. Modi is nothing if not a strong personality, and ...

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Alibaba must prepare for prime time after Lazada deal

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. upping its stake in Lazada Group SA looks like a great deal for sellers of the latest 32 percent interest. Parties including Rocket Internet SE and Investment AB Kinnevik are among the winners, managing to wring a 59 percent increase in price since Alibaba took its first 51 percent shareholding in the Southeast Asian e-commerce player ...

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Put down the iPhone and appreciate its genius

Ten years after the introduction of Apple Inc.’s iPhone, and the broader category of smartphones, it’s worth stepping back to see what we have learned. As with most major technological innovations, it’s brought a number of collateral surprises about the rest of our world. First, we’ve learned that, even in this age of bits and bytes, materials innovation still matters. ...

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Fitbit’s smartwatch plan seen facing more snags

Bloomberg Fitbit Inc., months away from the debut of its smartwatch, has lost several people working on the project and fallen behind on its app store — putting in peril the company’s most important product in years. Hard hit by the sinking popularity of its fitness trackers, Fitbit has bet its future on the smartwatch. But such devices are typically ...

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‘Electric cars are coming faster than you think’

Bloomberg The pace of adoption for electric cars over the next few years “could be surprising” and changing the global energy and auto industries faster than people expect, the boss of Europe’s largest utility said. Enel SpA is set to invest nearly 300 million euros ($341 million) to install about 12,000 recharging columns for electric cars across Italy, Chief Executive ...

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Forget cars, for one Spaniard autonomous future is forklifts

Bloomberg In Burgos, a province in central Spain better known for archaeological digs and blood-sausages than for innovation, engineer Veronica Pascual is building automated vehicles. Not cars though, but fork-lifts, stackers and pallet trucks. Pascual, a 38-year-old aeronautical engineer, owns Asti, a company that produces so-called AGVs, or automated guided vehicles — mobile robots used in factories and warehouses that ...

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Canon launches innovative lens to capture close-up shots

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Canon Middle East, world leader in imaging solutions, launched a new innovative lens: the EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM. Designed to capture stunning Macro and close-up photography, the EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM features Canon’s unique built-in Macro Lite technology and is the first lens of its kind in the EF-S range. Forming ...

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