Vodafone found security flaws in Huawei equipment in 2011, 2012 - Reuters

FILE PHOTO: The Logo of Huawei is seen at its showroom in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China March 29, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - Telecoms group Vodafone found security flaws in equipment supplied by China’s Huawei to its Italian business in 2011 and 2012, the two companies said on Tuesday.

Vodafone, Europe’s biggest telecoms group, said it had found security vulnerabilities in two products and that both incidents had been resolved quickly. Bloomberg reported the news first.

Huawei, the world’s biggest producer of telecoms equipment, is under intense scrutiny after the United States told allies not to use its technology because of fears it could be a vehicle for Chinese spying. Huawei has categorically denied this.

Britain last week sought to navigate its way through the bitter dispute between the two countries, deciding to block Huawei from all core parts of its 5G network and restrict access to non-core parts.

Huawei said it was made aware of historical vulnerabilities in 2011 and 2012 and that they had been addressed at the time.

“Software vulnerabilities are an industry-wide challenge,” it said. “Like every Information and Communications Technology vendor we have a well-established public notification and patching process, and when a vulnerability is identified we work closely with our partners to take the appropriate corrective action.”

Reporting by Kate Holton and Jack Stubbs, editing by Louise Heavens

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-huawei-security-vodafone/vodafone-found-security-flaws-in-huawei-equipment-in-2011-2012-idUSKCN1S60N0

2019-04-30 08:37:00Z
CBMiiAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5yZXV0ZXJzLmNvbS9hcnRpY2xlL3VzLWh1YXdlaS1zZWN1cml0eS12b2RhZm9uZS92b2RhZm9uZS1mb3VuZC1zZWN1cml0eS1mbGF3cy1pbi1odWF3ZWktZXF1aXBtZW50LWluLTIwMTEtMjAxMi1pZFVTS0NOMVM2ME4w0gE0aHR0cHM6Ly9tb2JpbGUucmV1dGVycy5jb20vYXJ0aWNsZS9hbXAvaWRVU0tDTjFTNjBOMA

Wall St. gains as soft inflation data supports accommodative Fed - Investing.com

© Reuters. Traders work on the floor at the NYSE in New York

By Shreyashi Sanyal and Amy Caren Daniel

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Monday, with the and the Nasdaq hitting record highs, as consumer spending rose in March and benign inflation data underscored the Federal Reserve's accommodative stance on interest rates.

Hopes of a trade resolution, upbeat earnings and a dovish Fed have been powering a rally in the benchmark index this year. The index crossed its record high of 2,940.91 hit on Sept. 21 for the first time this year, restoring investors' faith in the decade-long bull run.

A Commerce Department report showed U.S. consumer spending increased by the most in more than 9-1/2 years in March, but price pressures remained muted, with a key inflation measure posting its smallest annual gain in 14 months.

Tame inflation may lead the central bank to cut interest rates, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said in a television interview on Monday.

"We're in a sweet spot where the rates are low and the economy is strong and there is no possibility of rates rising, and that is an environment that markets like," said Paul Brigandi, managing director and head of trading at Direxion in New York.

"The strength of the consumer and the overall economy doing well leads to strength in banks as a strong consumer leads to more lending activity."

Financial companies rose 1.41%, leading gains among the 11 major S&P sectors, while the banking sector gained 2.12%.

The Federal Reserve starts a two-day meeting on Tuesday, at the end of which a decision on interest rates will be announced.

In yet another busy week of earnings, about 160 S&P 500 companies, including Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:) Inc and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:), are set to report their quarterly results.

Analysts now expect profits of S&P 500 companies to fall just 0.2%, a sharp improvement from a 2% fall estimated at the beginning of the month, according to Refinitiv data.

As trade talks enter their last leg, U.S. negotiators head to China on Tuesday to try to hammer out details to end the protracted tariff spat between the two countries.

At 13:04 p.m. ET the was up 34.32 points, or 0.13%, at 26,577.65. The S&P 500 was up 7.45 points, or 0.25%, at 2,947.33 and the was up 21.29 points, or 0.26%, at 8,167.69.

The defensive utilities and real estate, led the declines among the seven major S&P sectors trading in the red.

Among stocks, Ingersoll-Rand jumped 5.93%, the most among S&P companies, after the Wall Street Journal reported Gardner Denver Holdings Inc is nearing a deal to acquire a unit of the air conditioner maker.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.01-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.83-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 36 new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 69 new highs and 19 new lows.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/stock-futures-edge-lower-ahead-of-inflation-data-1849226

2019-04-29 16:26:00Z
52780280536278

Burger King plans to roll out Impossible Whopper across the United States - CNN

On April 1, Burger King started testing the vegetarian burger, using a plant-based patty from Impossible Foods. The test took place in St. Louis and "went exceedingly well," a spokesperson for Restaurant Brands International (QSR), Burger King's parent company, said. The spokesperson added that the sales of the Impossible Whopper are complementary to the regular Whopper.

That's exactly what Burger King wants.

With the Impossible Whopper, Burger King is primarily targeting meat eaters who seek more balance in their diet. The new product is designed to "give somebody who wants to eat a burger every day, but doesn't necessarily want to eat beef everyday, permission to come into the restaurants more frequently," Chris Finazzo, president of Burger King North America, told CNN Business when discussing the initial test.

The Impossible Whopper is supposed to taste just like Burger King's regular Whopper. Unlike veggie burgers, Impossible burger patties are designed to mimic the look and texture of meat when cooked. The plant protein startup recently revealed a new recipe, designed to look and taste even more like meat. That version is being used in Burger King's Impossible Whoppers.

The company plans to expand to more markets "in the very near future" before making the sandwich available nationally by the end of the year. Burger King had about 7,300 US locations at the close of last year.

There's public interest in plant-based protein because of concerns about animal welfare and the environmental impact of factory farming, and because some consumers are interested in reducing their consumption of meat for health reasons.

And the interest appears to be growing. The global market for meat substitutes is forecast to grow from an estimated $4.6 billion in 2018 to $6.4 billion by 2023, according to research firm MarketsandMarkets.

Beyond Meat, Impossible Food's primary competitor, thinks that the potential is bigger. In an SEC filing detailing plans for the 10-year-old company's IPO, Beyond Meat projected that over time the plant based-meat market could reach $35 billion in the United States. Beyond Meat plans to start trading in early May.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/29/business/burger-king-impossible-rollout/index.html

2019-04-29 15:33:00Z
CAIiEHMt4i1Wtq0Y1MvIQPYP7-MqGQgEKhAIACoHCAowocv1CjCSptoCMPrTpgU

Anadarko enters merger talks with Occidental, putting Chevron deal in jeopardy - CNN

Anadarko (APC) announced on Monday it plans to enter merger talks with Occidental Petroleum (OXY), which made a hostile takeover offer for the oil driller last week.

The Occidental cash-and-stock bid values Anadarko at nearly $57 billion. That's about 20% more than the takeover deal Anadarko already reached with oil giant Chevron (CVX) earlier this month.

The bidding war for Anadarko reflects an intense desire by oil companies large and small to acquire America's best shale assets. Specifically, oil companies are racing to drill oil in the Permian Basin, the West Texas shale oilfield that has made the United States the world's leading producer.

Anadarko and Occidental had been in merger talks even before Chevron reached a takeover deal for Anadarko.

Now, Anadarko said it will resume negotiations with Occidental, which is already the No. 1 oil producer in the Permian Basin. Acquiring Anadarko's Permian assets would lift Occidental's output in that shale oilfield to 533,000 barrels per day.

Even though neither Anadarko nor Occidental are household names, a merger would create an oil behemoth. The combined company would be worth about $100 billion and produce about 1.4 million barrels of oil per day.

After reviewing the Occidental bid with lawyers and bankers, Anadarko's board of directors said it has unanimously determined it could reasonably be expected to result in a "superior proposal."

In a statement, Anadarko's board said the Occidental bid reflects "significant improvement" in terms of value, terms, conditions and closing certainty over Occidental's previous proposals.

Last week, Occidental offered to purchase each Anadarko share for $38 in cash and 0.6094 of a share of Occidental's stock.

Chevron's deal is more skewed toward stock. Chevron offered to pay $16.25 in cash and 0.3869 of a share of its stock for each Anadarko share.

In a statement, Chevron expressed confidence its deal will prevail.

"We believe our signed agreement with Anadarko provides the best value and the most certainty to Anadarko's shareholders," Chevron said on Monday.

Anadarko cautioned that there "can be no assurance" that talks with Occidental will result in a better deal than the one already reached with Chevron.

Despite the new negotiations with Occidental, Anadarko said the Chevron merger agreement remains in effect. The Anadarko board reaffirmed its recommendation in favor of the Chevron deal "at this time."

Wall Street analysts have expressed concern that Occidental's deal could strain the company's balance sheet. Acknowledging that challenge, Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub told analysts last week that the company would "rapidly deleverage" by selling off between $10 billion and $15 billion of assets over two years.

As America's No. 2 oil company, Chevron certainly has the firepower to sweeten its bid. But Chevron must also guard against overpaying for Anadarko and its energy portfolio.

Beyond its Permian Basin position, Anadarko is attractive because of its shale assets in Colorado, deepwater drilling properties in the Gulf of Mexico and liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique.

Last week, Chevron executives suggested Anadarko would be a better fit with their company. Chevron pointed to its track record for making successful acquisitions and role as a top-notch LNG producer.

If Anadarko goes with Occidental, Chevron won't be left empty-handed. Under the terms of their merger agreement, Anadarko would owe Chevron a break-up fee of $1 billion if it reaches a takeover deal with another company.

Shares of Occidental fell about 2% on Monday, while Chevron and Anadarko were little changed.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/29/investing/anadarko-merger-occidental-chevron/index.html

2019-04-29 14:09:00Z
52780280013466

Burger King plans to roll out Impossible Whopper across the United States - WJW FOX 8 News Cleveland

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Burger King plans to roll out Impossible Whopper across the United States  WJW FOX 8 News Cleveland

Burger King's test of a vegetarian version of its signature Whopper was such a success, the chain is planning to roll the Impossible Whopper out nationally this ...

View full coverage on Google News
https://fox8.com/2019/04/29/burger-king-plans-to-roll-out-impossible-whopper-across-the-united-states/

2019-04-29 13:25:00Z
CAIiENBr31JEWp7CtnvlF5yQnFcqGQgEKhAIACoHCAow0Yj_CjDpgvgCMOO15AU

Burger King plans to roll out Impossible Whopper across the United States - CNN

On April 1, Burger King started testing the vegetarian burger, using a plant-based patty from Impossible Foods. The test took place in St. Louis and "went exceedingly well," a spokesperson for Restaurant Brands International (QSR), Burger King's parent company, said. The spokesperson added that the sales of the Impossible Whopper are complementary to the regular Whopper.

That's exactly what Burger King wants.

With the Impossible Whopper, Burger King is primarily targeting meat eaters who seek more balance in their diet. The new product is designed to "give somebody who wants to eat a burger every day, but doesn't necessarily want to eat beef everyday, permission to come into the restaurants more frequently," Chris Finazzo, president of Burger King North America, told CNN Business when discussing the initial test.

The Impossible Whopper is supposed to taste just like Burger King's regular Whopper. Unlike veggie burgers, Impossible burger patties are designed to mimic the look and texture of meat when cooked. The plant protein startup recently revealed a new recipe, designed to look and taste even more like meat. That version is being used in Burger King's Impossible Whoppers.

The company plans to expand to more markets "in the very near future" before making the sandwich available nationally by the end of the year. Burger King had about 7,300 US locations at the close of last year.

There's public interest in plant-based protein because of concerns about animal welfare and the environmental impact of factory farming, and because some consumers are interested in reducing their consumption of meat for health reasons.

And the interest appears to be growing. The global market for meat substitutes is forecast to grow from an estimated $4.6 billion in 2018 to $6.4 billion by 2023, according to research firm MarketsandMarkets.

Beyond Meat, Impossible Food's primary competitor, thinks that the potential is bigger. In an SEC filing detailing plans for the 10-year-old company's IPO, Beyond Meat projected that over time the plant based-meat market could reach $35 billion in the United States. Beyond Meat plans to start trading in early May.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/29/business/burger-king-impossible-rollout/index.html

2019-04-29 11:18:00Z
CAIiEHMt4i1Wtq0Y1MvIQPYP7-MqGQgEKhAIACoHCAowocv1CjCSptoCMPrTpgU

Spotify has 100 million Premium users - Engadget

Sponsored Links

Bence Bezeredy via Getty Images

Spotify has 100 million Premium users, the company has announced in its most recent financial figures. In total, the streaming service has 217 million users, 117 million of which are enjoying the free, ad supported tier.

Despite only launching in India at the end of February, Spotify has already started to build an audience in the country. The company says that more than a million users signed up in the first week, a figure that has more than doubled in the following four weeks.

Unfortunately, despite those numbers going up, Spotify can't turn that success into profits, losing €142 million ($158 million) in the quarter. That figure really looks bad if you compare it to the €442 million ($493 million) in profit it made back in December.

If there is cause for optimism, it's that the loss is better than the one sustained in the same period in 2018, where it lost €169 million ($188 million). Unfortunately, Spotify has laid the blame for some of that loss at its employees (who, because the stock price rose, got bigger bonuses) and paying its fair share of tax.

Spotify doesn't expect to be making crazy profits any time soon, but is expecting to strengthen its grip on the global music market. Between its deals with Google, Samsung and Hulu, people won't be able to move for offers to sign up to the streaming service.

The company is looking to podcasting as a way of shoring up its future since, as we explained before, podcasts are cheap and have dedicated audiences. Despite just buying Anchor and Gimlet, Spotify has already seen revenue from its exclusive ad-supported podcasts rise, with more expected to come.

It remains to be seen if Spotify's proxy war with Apple in Europe will come to anything, but these figures make it harder for the company to be painted as the little guy. After all, its better-funded American rival has less than a quarter of its total user numbers, no matter how hard Daniel Ek complains.

Source: Spotify

In this article: 2019, Apple Music, av, business, Financials, gear, Q1, Q1 2019, Spotify, Streaming

Shares

Share

Tweet

Share

Save

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.engadget.com/2019/04/29/spotify-has-100-million-premium-users/

2019-04-29 10:49:16Z
52780280470257