Business, Financial & Legal News - Page 118
Netflix cancels House of Cards over Kevin Spacey problems
In the last 24 hours a story began surfacing that Kevin Spacey, the main actor in House of Cards by Netflix, attempted to sexually assault Star Trek Discovery actor when he was just 14 years old. The allegations forced Spacey to out himself as gay, and then claim that he honestly does not "remember the encounter".
Spacey tweeted out a massive reply, which you can see above, that he seems to really skim over. It seems he casually handles the sexual abuse of a 14-year-old, making this a very tragic event. Spacey said: "but if I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior, and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years". Deplorable.
Netflix reacted by canceling House of Cards after its upcoming sixth, and now final season. Netflix and Media Rights Capital released a statement, where they said: "Media Rights Capital and Netflix are deeply troubled by last night's news concerning Kevin Spacey. In response to last night's revelations, executives from both of our companies arrived in Baltimore this afternoon to meet with our cast and crew to ensure that they continue to feel safe and supported. As previously scheduled, Kevin Spacey is not working on set at this time".
Continue reading: Netflix cancels House of Cards over Kevin Spacey problems (full post)
Rick and Morty Szechuan Sauce traded for a CAR
Rick and Morty fans have been going crazy across the world to get their hands-on the is-it-real-or-not McDonald's Szechuan sauce promotion, but now one of these stories has gotten out of control.
The Drive is reporting that someone from Michigan put up a packet of their Szechuan sauce up for trade, with someone offering up their 2004 Volkswagen GTI in exchange for the Rick and Morty Szechuan sauce. The owner of the Volkswagen posted on Facebook after she traded her wheels for the sauce, saying "thank you for the insane trade on the VW Golf mk4 for the legendary Szechuan Sauce", continuing the post with "I hope you get lost in the sauce!". Hmmm, alrighty then.
I don't even know what to say, so I'm going to leave it to the comments to try and help me find my thoughts.
Continue reading: Rick and Morty Szechuan Sauce traded for a CAR (full post)
Seagate join Bain Captial consortium in Toshiba purchase
Yesterday we reported that Toshiba had sold its memory division for $18 billion to the Bain Capital consortium, Seagate have today confirmed their participation in the Bain Capital consortium to acquire Toshiba Memory Corporation. Seagate have committed $1.25 billion in funding to the group by March 2018, in return Seagate expect that this will enable a long-term NAND supply agreement with Toshiba Memory that will provide NAND flash chips for Seagate's expanding SSD portfolio.
"Over the course of many years, Seagate has developed an excellent long-term relationship with Toshiba Memory, and we have always been impressed with their consistent leadership in advancing NAND technology," said Steve Luczo, Seagate's chairman and chief executive officer. "We are pleased and honored to be part of the Bain Capital consortium and to help facilitate maintaining Toshiba Memory as a world leading independent NAND technology company. We know that Bain Capital is dedicated to the long-term success of Toshiba Memory and believe this acquisition is in the long-term best interests of our industry and of storage customers worldwide."
Luczo continued, "In the coming years, the storage industry will see significant data creation and increased storage needs, and we must be able to support those demands. Our NAND supply agreement with Toshiba Memory will enable Seagate to continue innovating and providing customers with storage solutions that fit their needs, be they HDDs, SSDs, or hybrid solutions."
Continue reading: Seagate join Bain Captial consortium in Toshiba purchase (full post)
Toshiba inks $18 billion deal to sell memory business
With months and months of behind-closed-doors meetings and whispers, Toshiba has reportedly inked an $18 billion deal to sell of its chip business.
Western Digital was reportedly in the running for Toshiba's memory division, but a consortium led by Bain Capital LP took the lead and secured Toshiba's memory business. Something of note: SK Hynix is part of this consortium, which isn't in the best interests of WD.
Japanese companies will still maintain 50% of the business, keeping the local government with smiles on their dials, while Toshiba retains a 40.2% stake in Toshiba Memory Corp. Bain Capital LP will sail ahead with 49.9% of Toshiba Memory Corporation, while Japanese medical company, Hoya Corp, takes 9.9%.
Continue reading: Toshiba inks $18 billion deal to sell memory business (full post)
Vivendi abstains vote in Ubisoft shareholders meeting
French conglomerate Vivendi, who's vying for a take-over of hit games-maker Ubisoft, has once again abstained from voting in the video games publisher's annual shareholders meeting.
The results for Ubisoft's 2017 general shareholders meeting are in, and they show that Vivendi has once again opted not to show up for the proceedings. Vivendi is currently pushing to buy out Ubisoft by slowly accumulate share capital and voting rights, and currently sits on the largest pool of share capital owned by one stakeholder at 26.63%. The company also has a huge stockpile of voting rights, but has yet to implement them at a shareholders meeting due to bad blood (to say there's bad blood between Ubisoft and Vivendi is a massive understatement).
Vivendi's absence for Ubisoft's 2017 general shareholders meeting stamped a 29.99% "abstain" vote on every single resolution drawn up by the publisher, including Extraordinary Resolution 31 that would've granted all Ubisoft employees free company shares. The resolution was the only measure that failed to pass; combined with Vivendi's nearly 30% abstain vote, 9.98% of attending shareholders voted against the resolution. The Guillemots drafted the resolution in an attempt to fortify employee faith and goodwill in the company, and Ubisoft's leaders' calls on Vivendi to help the measures pass went unheeded.
Continue reading: Vivendi abstains vote in Ubisoft shareholders meeting (full post)
Windows Store being re-branded as Microsoft Store
Microsoft has formally changed the name of the Windows Store to the "Microsoft Store," which hints at bigger things.
The storefront's name change was made in the latest update for Windows Insiders who test out pre-release Windows 10 updates, who noticed the name and the shop's icon getting a new shape. Outlets like Windows Central are curious if Microsoft will start selling content other than the storefront's current digital fare--apps, games, music, videos, etc.
Others wonder if Microsoft will actually start selling non-digital content through the onboard storefront as well, considering the "Microsoft Store" matches up with the company's website storefront and traditional brick-and-mortar retailers. All in all the shop shouldn't change all that much, and Microsoft has yet to formally announce the change--or what it actually means.
Continue reading: Windows Store being re-branded as Microsoft Store (full post)
HTC ceases stock trading, takeover likely
Beleaguered Taiwanese smartphone-maker HTC has halted trading of its shares, lending credence to buyout rumors.
HTC today announced that it has paused all trading of company stock on the Taiwan Stock Exchange ahead of a "major announcement," which is likely an official takeover reveal. The company, which once sat alongside the biggest phone-makers in the industry, recently reported its eighth straight consecutive loss in May, with losses of $66 million in first quarter of the current fiscal year.
Speculation indicates HTC will sell its research and development and smartphone divisions to Alphabet Inc, and other reports say the company will likewise spin off its VR division that's responsible for the HTC Vive headset.
Continue reading: HTC ceases stock trading, takeover likely (full post)
EA CEO Andrew Wilson joins Intel's board of directors
Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson has joined Intel's board of directors, and will continue his role leading EA while advising the hardware giant.
Tech titan Intel has elected EA's Chief Executive Officer Andrew Wilson onto its board of directors to help guide the company's future, the Santa Clara-based corporation today announced. "Andrew understands first-hand how technology and data create opportunity with his transformation of EA from offline packaged goods to a leader in online digital services," said Intel Chairman Andy Bryant in an official press release. "In addition to his experience leading and growing a global, technology-driven company, Andrew possesses a combination of creativity and business acumen that will further strengthen Intel's board."
With billions in yearly revenues, Electronic Arts is one of the biggest games companies in the industry, and sits at the forefront of the gaming world in regards to next-gen gaming technologies and monetization strategies. In fact, the games titan earned more from live services than it did from full game sales in its fiscal Q1'17 earnings. Live services, which include extra content/DLC/microtransactions from Ultimate Team and all subscription earnings, were up 22% year-over-year raking in $420 million or a whopping 61.67% of EA's first quarter digital net sales earnings.
Continue reading: EA CEO Andrew Wilson joins Intel's board of directors (full post)
Bids for Toshiba chip unit reach $22 billion
The leading bid for Toshiba Memory Corp are now up to $22 billion, sources have told Reuters.
A consortium of buyers made up of chip-maker SK Hynix, investment firm Bain Capital, and numerous Japanese investors have raised their bid on Toshiba's storage chip business to 2.4 trillion yen, or $22.3 billion, sources familiar with the matter tell Reuters. Toshiba seeks to sell its storage business in an attempt to plug a massive earnings hole left by its failed Westinghouse nuclear business, which caused the company to lose $8.7 billion in its 2016 fiscal year.
U.S.-based Western Digital, who led a major bid for Toshiba's chip unit, has reportedly dropped out of the runnings. Sources say Toshiba is reviewing three consortium offers for the storage business, which included bids from a group led by Foxconn. Interestingly enough, tech giant Apple has backed all offers for Toshiba Memory Corp in an attempt to become closer to the source of storage memory to power its slate of iPhone devices.
Continue reading: Bids for Toshiba chip unit reach $22 billion (full post)
Game of Thrones S7 has been pirated over 1 billion times
Game of Thrones' latest season has just wrapped up, with one piracy monitoring company stating the S7 of Game of Thrones was pirated over one billion times.
Andy Chatterly, CEO and co-founder of Muso, recently spoke with Torrent Freak where he said: "It's no secret that HBO has been plagued by security breaches throughout the latest season, which has seen some episodes leak before broadcast and added to unlicensed activity".
He added: "In addition to the scale of piracy when it comes to popular shows, these numbers demonstrate that unlicensed streaming can be a far more significant type of piracy than torrent downloads".
Continue reading: Game of Thrones S7 has been pirated over 1 billion times (full post)