Industry

An Austrian law student said his class action challenging Facebook (FB.O) for alleged privacy violations had gathered support from 60,000 users and passed its first legal review.Max Schrems, who already has a case involving the social network pending at the European Court of Justice, is claiming damages of 500 euros ($663) per user from U.S.-listed Facebook. The $195 billion company has 1.32 billion active users.

Boeing Co (BA.N) has completed a key review of its design for a new commercial venture to fly astronauts to the International Space Station, making it the only one of four rival bidders to finish the NASA work on time, company officials said on Thursday.

Gold held near a two-month low on Friday and was headed for its worst week in five, hurt by strong U.S. economic data and fears that the Federal Reserve could hike interest rates sooner than expected.

An index of Asian shares neared a six-and-half-year peak on Friday and was poised for a weekly gain, after upbeat U.S. economic data sparked another record close on Wall Street.

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Americans resold their homes in July at the fastest pace in almost a year, a sign the housing market was gaining steam again after a year-long slump.

San Francisco-based startup OnBeep has announced a new Series A round of $6.25 million in new funding to build what it calls “beautiful wearable communication devices that unite groups and allow teams to collaborate more fluidly in real time”.

Applications for U.S. home mortgages rose last week as demand for refinancing increased, an industry group said on Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, rose 1.4 percent in the week ended August 15.

U.S. consumer prices barely rose in July as declining energy costs partially offset increases in food and rents, which could give the Federal Reserve ammunition to keep interest rates low for a while.

Fitness buffs who can't make it to the gym but still want to exercise can turn to apps for a short, intense workout when they are pressed for time. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommend that adults do at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity weekly. But recent studies suggest even short bouts of exercise can have positive health effects.

Community Health Systems Inc (CYH.N), one of the biggest U.S. hospital groups, said on Monday it was the victim of a cyber attack from China, resulting in the theft of Social Security numbers and other personal data belonging to 4.5 million patients.

Establishing a tax domicile abroad to avoid U.S. taxes is a hot strategy in corporate America, but many companies that have done such "inversion" deals have failed to produce above-average returns for investors, a Reuters analysis has found.

U.S. stocks advanced on Monday, with the Dow Industrials up roughly one percent, as the threat of an escalation of tensions in Ukraine appeared to wane and the latest flurry of merger action supported equities.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc reported a 2.8 percent rise in quarterly sales, helped by higher sales at its smaller-format stores, but U.S. same-store sales failed to show growth again.

The euro zone economy ground to a halt in the second quarter of the year, drained of vigour by contraction in Germany and stagnancy in France.