News

Salesforce buying work-chat service Slack for $27.7 billion

Business software pioneer Salesforce.com is buying work-chatting service Slack for $27.7 billion in a deal aimed at giving the two companies a better shot at competing against longtime industry powerhouse Microsoft. The acquisition announced Tuesday is by far the largest in the 21-year history of Salesforce. The San Francisco company was one of the first […]

Zoom reports big Q3 gains, but slowing growth sinks stock

Zoom’s videoconferencing service remains a fixture in pandemic life, but its breakneck growth is showing signs of tapering off as investors debate whether the company will be able to build upon its recent success after a vaccine enables people to intermingle again. For now, Zoom is thriving as tens of millions of people who never […]

Teladoc eyes several new phases of growth for telemedicine

Fresh off a big acquisition and riding a wave of customer growth, Teladoc Health is ready to do more for patients. CEO Jason Gorevic said the telemedicine provider can play a big role in helping people manage high blood pressure, diabetes or other chronic conditions. Plus he wants customers to think well beyond primary care […]

UK stocks up on vaccines, hopes to start virus shots in days

Britain said Sunday it has secured 2 million more doses of a promising coronavirus vaccine as it gears up to launch within days the country’s most ambitious inoculation program in decades. The U.K. has had Europe’s deadliest coronavirus outbreak, with more than 58,000 confirmed virus-related deaths. It now hopes to hit a more positive milestone […]

Black Friday sees record online as US shoppers stay home

Black Friday online sales hit a new record this year as pandemic-wary Americans filled virtual carts instead of real ones. Consumers spent an estimated $9 billion on U.S. retail websites on Black Friday, according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks online shopping. That was a 22% increase over the previous record of $7.4 billion set in […]

Virus keeps Black Friday crowds thin, shoppers shift online

The raging coronavirus pandemic kept crowds thin at malls and stores across the country on Black Friday, but a surge in online shopping offered a beacon of hope for struggling retailers after months of slumping sales and businesses toppling into bankruptcy. In normal times, Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year, drawing […]

For Big Tech, Biden brings a new era but no ease in scrutiny

The Obama-Biden administration was a charmed era for America’s tech companies — a moment when they were lionized as innovators, hailed as job creators and largely left alone. Now Joe Biden is coming back, this time as president. But times have changed. The halcyon days of an adoring Washington are unlikely to return when Biden […]

UK to launch new watchdog next year to police tech giants

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — Britain plans to create a new watchdog to police big tech companies including Google and Facebook to counter their market dominance and prevent them from exploiting consumers and small businesses. The U.K. government said Friday that it’s setting up a “Digital Markets Unit” next year to […]

AstraZeneca manufacturing error clouds vaccine study results

AstraZeneca and Oxford University on Wednesday acknowledged a manufacturing error that is raising questions about preliminary results of their experimental COVID-19 vaccine. A statement describing the error came days after the company and the university described the shots as “highly effective” and made no mention of why some study participants didn’t receive as much vaccine […]

EU plans new rules giving Europeans more control of data

The European Union is laying out new standards for data giving Europeans more control over their personal information as it seeks to counter the power of U.S. and Chinese tech companies. The EU’s executive Commission on Wednesday proposed new rules on the handling of data that would aim to give people, businesses and government bodies […]