By Maria Tsvetkova MOSCOW (Reuters) – One of Vladimir Putin's main opponents may have broken a taboo by publishing what he says is the pseudonym used by one the Russian president's daughters to stay out of the spotlight. Putin has made his and his family's private life little less than a state secret, keeping his rarely-photographed daughters Yekaterina, 28, and Maria, 29, out of sight and managing his divorce with the minimum fuss.
Read more(Reuters) – Online music streaming service Spotify is working with Goldman Sachs for a new round of private fundraising which could potentially put off the initial public offering for another year, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Spotify is talking with investors who are known to buy into companies before a IPO, including mutual fund T. Rowe Price Group, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Read moreBy Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Google Inc's revenue grew 15 percent in the fourth quarter but fell short of Wall Street's target on declining online ad prices and unfavorable foreign exchange rates. Shares of Google edged up 0.1 percent to $510.66 in extended trading after an initial dip on the news
Read moreBy Deepa Seetharaman SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc reported stronger than expected earnings on Thursday as North American sales surged during the crucial holiday quarter, sending its shares up 9 percent. The online commerce giant, which gets about a third of its revenue from October to December, reported earnings of 45 cents a share, trouncing Wall Street's average prediction for 17 cents
Read more(Reuters) – The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has created a cybersecurity task force to increase protection of consumer information collected by insurers and held by state insurance departments as well as to monitor the cyber insurance market. The NAIC is the group through which state insurance regulators coordinate regulatory oversight for areas including health, life, property and other types of insurance
Read moreBy Diane Bartz WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The owner of a “revenge porn site,” IsAnybodyDown.com, has agreed to not publish any nude pictures without the consent of the subject and to destroy his collection, the Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday. Craig Brittain, who opened his website in 2011 and closed it in 2013 after a blast of publicity, had solicited pictures of women he met on sites such as Craigslist, the FTC said in its complaint.
Read moreU.S. states for years have asked Congress for federal legislation easing the way for them to collect sales taxes on Internet purchases, but now that a bill has been drafted, state lawmakers are resisting. The National Conference of State Legislatures on Tuesday released a letter it sent to House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner on Monday that depicted a proposed online sales tax bill as an unconstitutional attack on states’ rights.
Read moreCanadian business-software maker Open Text Corp’s quarterly revenue fell short of market expectations, hit by a strong U.S.
Read more(Reuters) – Canadian business-software maker Open Text Corp reported a 39 percent rise in quarterly profit, helped by a more than threefold jump in revenue in its rapidly growing cloud services business. Net income attributable to the company rose to $74.3 million, or 60 cents per share in the second quarter ended Dec
Read moreBy Laila Kearney and Barbara Goldberg NEW YORK (Reuters) – Fear, disappointment and even romantic thoughts about the Northeast’s blizzard of 2015 powered a social media storm that raged on the Internet on Tuesday. The avalanche picking up speed on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook included mashup photos that replaced the Statue of Liberty’s torch with a snow shovel and outfitted New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in a king’s fur cape and sword with the motto “Winter is Coming” from the “Game of Thrones” television show. Two of the most popular Twitter hashtags were #Snowmageddon2015 and #Snowpocalypse, although some felt #Blizzfizz was more appropriate.
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