Hinrich J. Woebcken, a former BMW executive, has been appointed by emission scandal-hit Volkswagen to oversee business operations in the US, Canada and Mexico. Woebcken will assume charge from 1 April 2016. Audi and Porsche brand don't come under Woebcken's area of operations. However, Volkswagen has retained Michael Horn as CEO of Volkswagen Group America Inc. The emission-scandal hit Volkswagen has been facing regulatory investigations in the US.
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Tor Project Ended Crowdfunding Campaign on Friday, Generating Over $200,000
The Onion Router (Tor) began as military intelligence research in 1995, before became a volunteer-based project in 2002. Now, the project tried to lessen dependency on U.S. government by launching a crowdfunding campaign.
S3 Ventures Raised $8 Million Series B Fund for Datical
Datical, an Austin-based data management company announced on Thursday of its $8 million Series B funding. The funding was led by S3 ventures with its existing investors Mercury Fund and Austin Ventures.
Indian stock market at bear zone; Asian stocks gain
Despite economy growth rate of over seven percent, the Indian stock markets are suffering from the selloff by foreign investors. The domestic stock markets may enter bear territory soon after the fall in Shanghai and Tokyo markets. The cash-strapped foreign investors are offloading in Indian stocks since November 2015. On the other hand, Asian stocks gaining momentum following the marginal rebound in oil price.
Copper prices dancing to the tunes of China
The stockpiles levels in China, the biggest commodity consumer, are impacting copper prices in the global markets. Copper price is hovering at $4,400 per metric ton and is moving in consolidation phase. Chinese smelters may cut down output and stop increasing capacities this year.
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The falling oil price below $30 per barrel is impacting Canadian economy, which mostly depends upon commodities. Along with oil price, Canadian currency Loonie too declined against the US dollar. The weaker Loonie has eroded the purchasing power of Canada and is making imports costlier. Canada imports vegetables from the US. The surging US dollar made vegetables prices expensive by three folds for Canadian consumers.
Royal Dutch Shell is slashing the headcount as part of the cost cutting exercise. Anglo-Dutch company has decided to cut down 10,000 jobs in the wake of continuous drop in oil prices. The global energy major aims at reduction of costs by $3 billion in 2016 and it already reduced operating costs by $4 billion in 2015. Shell is also banking on synergy advantages from the BG Group Plc merger, which is expected to be completed in few weeks.
Leading risk management software developer, Prevalent Inc. received its first Series B funding last week. Led by Spring Mountain Capital Invest, joined by its existing investor, Fulcrum Equity Partners.
IBM has announced Thursday purchasing live video streaming platform, UStream. Details of the acquiring deal haven’t been disclosed, but the price believed to peg a price not more than $150 million in cash. IBM has furnished a press release in its website, which ends leaving probability for changing its narrated goals on forming cloud video unit.
The New York Times has published its first online edition on Jan 22, 1996. Marking the 20th founding anniversary, the news conglomerate has launched ‘History of NYTimes.com’, narrating chronology of the news website’s evolution and further development. The capsule offers video and audio contents including interviews with people related to the evolution.
The subprime online lender company Elevate Credit delays its IPO scheduled on Thursday. Teetering market has been the main reason of the postponement and high risk of online subprime lending service.
Austin-based tech company, Waldo Photos closes its $5 million seed funding on Thursday. The seed funding round was led by California's venture capital firm Upfront Ventures.
Biotech companies in last 5 years were enjoying easy access to capital. That scenario started to change after stocks started to slide in July 2015 and have not stopped with Nasdaq Biotechnology Index reading 2933 Wednesday which is the lowest level since November 2014. This means biotech startups would be expected to brace for harsher investment climate although experts are assuring that market fundaments are still strong.
Sprint - the 4th biggest Telco in US - has been taking steps to cut its costs since it first revealed its costs cutting plan in November 2015 to as much as $2.5bil. The latest move saw Sprint's product head leaving after 25 years of service. The reason for his leaving whether it was related to costs cutting measure or something else is still unclear. Sprint praised Owen for his contribution that helped Sprint succeed and evolve into the wireless company it is today. Sprint extended gratitude for all that he has done and wished him best of luck and continued success in future endeavors. CEO Marcelo Claure has indicated more layoffs are in the offing in the coming months. CFO Tarek Robbiate made statement to effect that no one was safe where costs was concerned.
