Toshiba Mulls Chip Business Stake Sale to Western Digital: ReportToshiba Corp is looking to spin off its semiconductor business assets and sell a roughly 20 percent stake in the unit to Western Digital Corp for up to $2.7 billion (roughly Rs. 18,341 crores), the Nikkei business daily reported on Wednesday. Some US investment funds are also showing interest in Toshiba's semiconductor business, the Nikkei reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. Toshiba said in a statement that it had been considering various options for its memory business, including a spin-off, but that nothing concrete had been decided. The chips unit generates most of the conglomerate's operating profit. California-based data storage company Western Digital did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Nikkei said one proposal calls for Toshiba to sell about a fifth in the chip business for about JPY 200 billion - JPY 300 billion (roughly Rs. 12,017 crores - Rs. 18,024 crores) while retaining a majority stake. The new chip company will be created as early as the first half of this year, the daily said. Toshiba shares opened up 3.7 percent in Tokyo, outperforming the benchmark Nikkei average, which was roughly flat. Toshiba and Western Digital jointly operate a flash memory plant in the city of Yokkaichi in Mie prefecture. The Tokyo-based conglomerate, which is still recovering from a $1.3 billion accounting scandal in 2015, reported net sales of JPY 1.58 trillion from its semiconductor business for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. In December, a source in the semiconductor industry told Reuters that Toshiba could revive plans to list a slice of the memory chip business, which though highly profitable burns through cash for reinvestment. Uber to Invest More Than $60 Million in Sao Paulo Support CentreRide-hailing service Uber inaugurated a support centre in Brazil's biggest city on Tuesday with plans to invest BRL 200 million ($62 million) and create 2,000 jobs, underscoring an aggressive growth strategy in Latin America's biggest nation. The new facility in Sao Paulo may employ up to 7,000 people by the end of the year, providing technical support for around 9 million users in Brazil along with thousands of drivers, the company said in a statement. Uber's latest investment in Brazil comes just weeks after Didi Chuxing, China's largest ride-hailing company, announced it was investing more than $100 million (roughly Rs. 679 crores) in Brazilian company 99, an on-demand taxi and ride-sharing service. After a bruising battle in China, Uber agreed in August to sell its unit there to Didi, which is also investing $1 billion in San Francisco-based Uber Technologies in the deal. Didi has also formed an alliance with Lyft in the United States, India's ride service Ola and Southeast Asian startup Grab in an effort to compete with Uber's global dominance. Vine Turns Into Basic 'Vine Camera' App, Twitter Now Loops All Videos Under 6.5 Seconds HIGHLIGHTS
Interestingly, Twitter is now converting all videos under 6.5 seconds, irrespective of the platform that they are shared from, into looping clips, as spotted by TechCrunch. This means that the social media platform won't be limiting the functionality to clips shared from Vine Camera app and will work for other platforms such as Snapchat. Coming to the company's Vine Camera app, it allows users to make six-second looping videos that can be shared on Twitter or saved in camera roll. The camera app comes with several tools that were part of the original Vine app including multi-clip trimming, grid overlay, AF focus, ghost tool, and draft support. Notably, even though users will be able to create the looping videos just like before, they won't be able to share these videos on Vine community, which has now been discontinued by the company. In order to get Vine Camera app, users can either download the app directly from their respective app store or can update their Vine app to version 6.0. Post the update, the Vine app will be renamed to Vine Camera and the old features will be replaced with new functionality. To recall, Twitter announced in October last year that it would be discontinuing it video-sharing mobile app Vine as a cost-cutting measure. There were reports that the company was considering a sale of the service instead of discontinuation but Twitter went ahead to announce earlier this month that it will be converting the app into Vine Camera on January 17. App Store India Prices to Go Up, Will Be Reportedly Pegged at Rs. 80 per Dollar |