The European Commission has been cracking down on tax loopholes of late, and one that has come in for particular scrutiny is the 1991 deal between Apple Inc (NASDAQ AAPL) and Ireland. It is investigating whether the agreement breaks European Union laws which prohibit state aid to companies. Both the Irish government and Apple have…
To grass roots activists of all stripes, Google Inc (NASDAQ GOOG) has always been somewhat of an enigma. On the one hand it says the right things to support politically progressive causes such as fighting for privacy protection or Net Neutrality, but on the other hand taking actions that raise question marks as to the…
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ FB) apps are not popular with users despite the company being successful in turning its mobile unit into a thriving business. Ratings for the company’s mobile apps are among the lowest in the category on the Apple app store and Google Play store. Although users are not real happy with the Facebook…
Alexion Pharmaceuticals’ (ALXN) third-quarter 2014 earnings (including stock-based compensation expense) of $1.14 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9 cents. The earnings beat was attributable to higher-than-expected revenues. Moreover, earnings were above the year-ago figure by 56.2%. Including one-time items, Alexion’s earnings climbed 87% year over year to 88 cents per share in…
A Spanish hotel chain that accepts payment in bitcoin celebrated the launch of a bitcoin ATM in one of its Madrid hotels last night. One Shot Hotels hosted a cocktail party at its Recoletos 04 venue, which was attended by more than 100 people. “It was packed. All the Spanish Bitcoin startups were there, along…
According to knowledgeable sources, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ MSFT) is laying off its entire global advertising sales team. The reduction in force comes as the ad sales positions have become largely redundant as individual divisions are handling their own ad sales today. The sources note the layoffs are coming within the Microsoft Advertising division, and are…
