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AP Technology NewsBrief at 4:02 p.m. EST(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sprint posts big 4Q loss, revenue risesNEW YORK (AP) _ Sprint Nextel Corp., the country's third largest wireless carrier, on Thursday said it lost $1.3 billion in its fourth quarter, about the same as a year ago, as it revamped its network for a comeback versus bigger competitors. The company's focus, and that of its investors, is on its long-term turnaround efforts rather than on short-term results. Sprint is selling 70 percent of itself to Japanese carrier Softbank Corp. for $20 billion. That deal is expected to close this summer, and provide long-ailing Sprint with a much-needed infusion of capital. Sony trims quarterly loss to $115 millionTOKYO (AP) _ Sony Corp. is still struggling but managed to reduce its red ink for the latest quarter as the Japanese electronics and entertainment company aims for a comeback from record yearly losses. Sony on Thursday reported a 10.7 billion yen ($115 million) loss for the October-December quarter compared with a 158 billion yen loss a year earlier. Investor sues Apple, wants more cashNEW YORK (AP) _ With its annual meeting looming and its stock on the decline, Apple is facing a rebellion from an influential investor who wants the company to stop stockpiling cash and give it to shareholders instead. Greenlight Capital said Thursday that it is suing Apple in a New York federal court over the company's proposal to make it more difficult for it to issue preferred stock. David Einhorn, who heads the investment fund, said the proposal would close down one avenue for Apple to reward shareholders with more cash. Alcatel-Lucent boss leaving as losses mountPARIS (AP) _ Alcatel-Lucent CEO Ben Verwaayen is leaving the loss-making French-U.S. telecommunications gear maker after a failed four-year bid to turn the business around. Verwaayen said in a statement Thursday that it was "clear to me that now is an appropriate moment" for Alcatel-Lucent to seek new leadership. Investors cheered the news, with shares jumping 7.7 percent in early trading to (EURO)1.40. EU pushes plans for safer, more secure InternetBRUSSELS (AP) _ EU officials are pushing a plan to make the Internet safer _ more resistant to cyberattacks, freer from cybercrime and safer for children to use. The proposal unveiled Thursday would require each of the European Union's 27 nations to designate an authority to prevent and respond to Internet risks and incidents. Ahead of the Bell: Bar set high for LinkedIn's 4QMOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) _ LinkedIn `s knack of surprising Wall Street, an unbroken streak that winds back through every quarter since May 2011 after the company first went public, will be on the line when it posts fourth-quarter results Thursday afternoon. In every instance, key numbers from the online professional networking service have beaten expectations. Vodafone revenue falls amid tougher competitionLONDON (AP) _ Telecommunications company Vodafone says its revenue dropped 2 percent in the third quarter due to tougher competition, a weak economy, and regulatory changes at home and abroad. The company said that revenue in the quarter ending on Dec. 31 fell to 11.4 billion pounds ($17.4 billion). Review: iPhone Google Maps lags Android versionBLOOMSBURG, Pa. (AP) _ Every time my husband and I drive the 677 miles from New York to my parents' house in Michigan, we dread the long stretch of Interstate 80 through the hills of rural Pennsylvania. It's beautiful, but lonely, without a lot of places to stop. On this trip, with a little help from Google and Apple, I was determined to stay caffeinated and maybe find somewhere else to eat besides McDonald's and truck stops. Netflix could gain from loss of Sat. mail deliverySAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Netflix won't miss Saturday mail delivery, even though the weekend service helped keep its DVD-by-mail subscribers happy. The U.S. Postal Service's planned shift to five days of home delivery a week instead of six may even make Netflix Inc. slightly more profitable by lowering the costs for sending out its familiar red envelopes with DVDs. That's because subscribers may be able to watch fewer DVDs for the same monthly price. RIM shares up on upgradeTORONTO (AP) _ Shares of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion rose 3 percent Thursday with Wells Fargo saying that better gross margins from the company's new phone will offset potentially limited demand. THE SPARK: In a morning research note, analyst Maynard Um upgraded the shares to outperform. Um said the current valuation already discounts the potentially limited demand for RIM's new BlackBerry phone that was unveiled last week. (c) 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |