China consumers to spend more in November 11 ‘Singles Day’ shopping spree: Nielsen

Most online consumers in China will spend more during the Nov. 11 “Singles' Day” shopping promotion this year than they did last year, according to the results of a survey by consultancy Nielsen Holdings made available to Reuters on Wednesday. In a survey of more than 1,000 internet users in China this month, 56 percent said that they would spend more on Singles Day this year compared to 2014

Read more

White House urges Congress to finalize cyber bill

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) – The White House on Wednesday praised U.S. senators for passing key portions of cyber security legislation aimed at protecting the nation from computer hacks and urged them reach a final measure with counterparts in the House of Representatives

Read more

New deputy of Germany’s IG Metall says good work won her fans

By Georgina Prodhan and Ilona Wissenbach FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Christiane Benner has to think long and hard about how she became the most powerful woman in German trade unionism. Benner, 47, was picked this week as deputy leader of IG Metall, Germany's biggest trade union, which represents 2.3 million engineering and metal workers at companies including Volkswagen and Siemens

Read more

Google offering free Apps for Work to some customers

By Deborah Todd SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Google Inc announced on Monday that it will offer its Apps for Work suite free to businesses currently locked into agreements with other office software vendors. Normally, businesses pay $5 per user per month for a basic version of Apps for Work or $10 per user per month for one with more advanced features, such as increased storage and an email archive. Google will give businesses access to the suite, which includes Gmail, Calendar, Google Drive, Google Docs and other programs, at no cost through the remainder of their current agreements

Read more

Danish zoo dissects lion cub for enthralled young audience

Danish zoo staff dissected a nine-month-old lion cub in front of an audience of enthralled young children on Thursday, as a social media storm about the gruesome display raged outside. It’s cool that it was so similar to a human,” said 11-year-old Sofie Beyer, visiting the zoo in Odense, Denmark’s third largest town.

Read more

Internet gap hinders small firms in poor countries, study shows

By Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) – A study of small and medium-sized businesses around the world has found that one of the main reasons they underperform – especially in poorer countries – is that they make too little use of the Internet. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Brazil are three times less productive than big firms there while those in India are 10 times less productive

Read more

Facebook to launch satellite to expand Internet access in Africa

(Reuters) – Facebook Inc said it would launch a satellite in partnership with France's Eutelsat Communications to bring Internet access to large parts of sub-Saharan Africa. The satellite, part of Facebook's Internet.org platform to expand internet access mainly via mobile phones, is under construction and will be launched in 2016, the companies said on Monday.

Read more

EU antitrust chief says Apple, Google cases show no U.S. bias

By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Europe's antitrust chief dismissed on Friday accusations of anti-U.S. bias over her decision to go after Google for abusing its Internet search dominance and Apple over an Irish tax deal, saying such talk was a fallacy

Read more