SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Twitter Inc said on Wednesday it is opening up its platform to third-party advertising management software, taking another step to establish its ad-based business model ahead of an initial public offering.
The ads application programming interface, or API, would allow advertisers to connect their existing ad management software to their Twitter account to automate ads on the micro-messaging platform.
Twitter said that it would begin by integrating with ad software by Adobe Systems Inc, Salesforce Inc, Hootsuite, SHIFT and TBG Global.
'With the Ads API, marketers now have more tools in their arsenal to help them deliver the right message, to the right audience, on the desktop and on mobile devices - all at scale,' Twitter product manager April Underwood wrote in a blog post.
Under pressure to show growing revenues, Twitter in recent years has ramped up its ad-serving capabilities while building a sales staff to woo corporate marketers. The firm said last year it would allow marketers to target Twitter users based on a profile of their perceived interests and by location.
Twitter makes money every time a user clicks or retweets a 'promoted' message paid for by an advertiser. The new API would allow great automation for advertisers, who previously had to manually write every promoted tweet.
In 2013, Twitter's ad revenues are expected to grow nearly 90 percent to $545 million, according to eMarketer which noted that Facebook Inc experienced similarly rapid growth after opening its API to advertisers in 2011.
(Reporting By Gerry Shih; Editing by Bernard Orr)
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Timeless suits from London's Savile Row back in fashion
LONDON (Reuters) - With a blazing fire, leather sofa, and a half-empty bottle of single malt whisky by the door, London bespoke suit-maker Anderson & Sheppard feels more like a gentlemen's club frozen in time than a 21st century luxury retailer.
At the back of the shop a number of impeccably dressed tailors cut cloth on wooden work benches much like they have been doing for the last 100 years. One can almost imagine past customers like Charlie Chaplin, Pablo Picasso or some faded Victorian gentleman turning up at any moment.
This Savile Row tailor, where first names are banned and customers are always 'sir', may feel like a museum to Britain's faded imperial glory but the bespoke menswear business on 'the Row' is enjoying a remarkable resurgence.
Anderson & Sheppard is just one of the names on London's most renowned street for high-end tailors.
Alongside Gieves & Hawkes, Dege & Skinner, Henry Poole & Co and others, tailors on 'the Row' have been dressing royalty, aristocrats, statesmen, great warriors and the wealthy since British dandy Beau Brummel first introduced trousers to fashionable London society at the start of the 19th century.
Behind the fusty facade 'the Row' is attracting a new generation of less exclusive young clientele despite suit prices starting at 3,800 pounds ($5,900) with a combination of client discretion, a subtle online presence and absolute attention to detail and quality.
Anderson & Sheppard had a 2012 turnover of 4 million pounds and growth has been over 13 percent every year since 2009.
A number of other houses on Savile Row have also enjoyed over 10 percent growth in recent years with total revenue for the informal group of suitmakers now estimated to be 30-35 million pounds.
'We're doing very well actually. We've found that business has picked up in the last few years, and we couldn't be busier,' Anderson & Sheppard manager Colin Heywood said as he showed Reuters around the shop.
RENAISSANCE
The renaissance of classic British menswear is a dramatic turn-around for an industry that was left on the ropes by the rise of decent quality ready-to-wear suits and shirts in shops during the 1970s and 1980s.
Clothes that were then dismissed as old fashioned, over-priced and going the way of bowler hats, are now the subject of renewed interest reflected in sartorial blogs and forums from India to the United States.
'We've noticed that we get a lot more younger customers coming in. I think that's particularly the result of the internet. There's so much more written about bespoke tailoring now in books, magazines and online,' Heywood said.
The celebration of Savile Row's handcrafted suits in online forums, top men's magazines and promoted by its own association on the Savile Row Bespoke website (www.savilerowbespoke.com) has allowed tailors on the Row to make a centuries-old tradition irresistible to well-off modern men seeking top quality.
'People find it a lot more accessible and I think it takes away that fear element of people coming in for the first time,' Heywood said.
One customer, 38-year-old James Massey who runs a public relations firm, said a bespoke suit was impossible to match.
'I could probably go and spend the same amount of money in Selfridges on a Zegna suit that's made in a factory in Italy with a bit of handstitching, but this is actually made specifically for me,' he said.
Dylan Jones, editor at GQ UK, puts the renaissance of British tailoring down to the way men now shop for clothes.
'It's a generational shift. Men today consume far more like women. They're far more sophisticated consumers than they used to be and they expect very good produce at every entry level,' he said.
'Menswear is starting to approach 50 percent of a lot of people's business. It's a real growth industry.'
Savile Row is particularly popular in international circles where the classic British look is increasingly fashionable.
'One thing that plays fantastically well with foreign press and buyers is the heritage aspect of what we do and there is so much interest in Savile Row,' Jones said, referring to the events he runs as chair of the menswear committee for the British Fashion Council.
Within this overall growth market where men are spending more on clothes and demanding higher quality, Savile Row remains uniquely placed in a global industry which luxury consultants Bain & Company estimated was worth more than $34 billion in an October 2012 note.
'London is the home of menswear. We invented the suit and Savile Row is the most important men's shopping street in the world which offers a quality and aspect of heritage that you simply can't get anywhere else,' Jones said.
COTTAGE INDUSTRY
While big fashion brands such as Tom Ford, Dior, and Paul Smith, invest heavily in marketing, distribution and staff, Savile Row tailors remain a cottage industry employing only a few dozen people who produce suits on site.
With fewer overheads and an international reputation from generations of suit-making which does not cost a penny in advertising, Savile Row is a surprisingly competitive and durable business model.
'Any of these big fashion brands will have a much bigger mark-up than the Savile Row tailors. No one goes into bespoke tailoring to get rich,' said James Harvey-Kelly the menswear designer for French brand Vicomte A who also runs his own made-to-measure company.
'The quality is sensational and that's what Savile Row trades off. They use sensational cloths and its sewn together by absolute experts. They last for generations.'
On the other side of Piccadilly the manager of traditional shirtmaker Budd, Andrew Rowland, said his company was reaping rewards for sticking by its principles through the tough times.
'We've never done anything different, but the others have weakened,' he said in the cosy shop just off Jermyn Street above which bespoke shirts are still scissored by hand.
Jermyn Street used to be the home of London's bespoke shirt-making industry, but many of the old stores such as T.M. Lewin and Hawes & Curtis expanded into mass sales, pushing down the price by producing shirts in Vietnam and Turkey.
One long-term customer is British actor Edward Fox, who played the title role in 'Day of the Jackal'. Before sitting down to a cup of tea with Rowland, he explained why he has been coming back for 55 years.
'This is a Budd shirt. It must be at least 10 years old. Just as good today as it was 10 years ago. You don't actually have to spend that much on clothes, you have to look after clothes and you have to buy well originally'.
However, traditional tailoring is not always ideal for more design-conscious people, according to Harvey-Kelly.
'Everything for them (Savile Row) is about it falling perfectly with no creases. But in the modern day people sometimes want it to look a bit uncomfortable. They want it to be slim and curl on the sleeve and a lot of tailors refuse to do that'.
Heywood at Anderson & Sheppard when asked about modern fashion trends said he had noticed a 'slight lean towards narrower trousers'.
'We're not fashion-led. Fashions change very quickly and what we like to do is create a suit that's a timeless classic that you can wear in any decade'.
(Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer)
At the back of the shop a number of impeccably dressed tailors cut cloth on wooden work benches much like they have been doing for the last 100 years. One can almost imagine past customers like Charlie Chaplin, Pablo Picasso or some faded Victorian gentleman turning up at any moment.
This Savile Row tailor, where first names are banned and customers are always 'sir', may feel like a museum to Britain's faded imperial glory but the bespoke menswear business on 'the Row' is enjoying a remarkable resurgence.
Anderson & Sheppard is just one of the names on London's most renowned street for high-end tailors.
Alongside Gieves & Hawkes, Dege & Skinner, Henry Poole & Co and others, tailors on 'the Row' have been dressing royalty, aristocrats, statesmen, great warriors and the wealthy since British dandy Beau Brummel first introduced trousers to fashionable London society at the start of the 19th century.
Behind the fusty facade 'the Row' is attracting a new generation of less exclusive young clientele despite suit prices starting at 3,800 pounds ($5,900) with a combination of client discretion, a subtle online presence and absolute attention to detail and quality.
Anderson & Sheppard had a 2012 turnover of 4 million pounds and growth has been over 13 percent every year since 2009.
A number of other houses on Savile Row have also enjoyed over 10 percent growth in recent years with total revenue for the informal group of suitmakers now estimated to be 30-35 million pounds.
'We're doing very well actually. We've found that business has picked up in the last few years, and we couldn't be busier,' Anderson & Sheppard manager Colin Heywood said as he showed Reuters around the shop.
RENAISSANCE
The renaissance of classic British menswear is a dramatic turn-around for an industry that was left on the ropes by the rise of decent quality ready-to-wear suits and shirts in shops during the 1970s and 1980s.
Clothes that were then dismissed as old fashioned, over-priced and going the way of bowler hats, are now the subject of renewed interest reflected in sartorial blogs and forums from India to the United States.
'We've noticed that we get a lot more younger customers coming in. I think that's particularly the result of the internet. There's so much more written about bespoke tailoring now in books, magazines and online,' Heywood said.
The celebration of Savile Row's handcrafted suits in online forums, top men's magazines and promoted by its own association on the Savile Row Bespoke website (www.savilerowbespoke.com) has allowed tailors on the Row to make a centuries-old tradition irresistible to well-off modern men seeking top quality.
'People find it a lot more accessible and I think it takes away that fear element of people coming in for the first time,' Heywood said.
One customer, 38-year-old James Massey who runs a public relations firm, said a bespoke suit was impossible to match.
'I could probably go and spend the same amount of money in Selfridges on a Zegna suit that's made in a factory in Italy with a bit of handstitching, but this is actually made specifically for me,' he said.
Dylan Jones, editor at GQ UK, puts the renaissance of British tailoring down to the way men now shop for clothes.
'It's a generational shift. Men today consume far more like women. They're far more sophisticated consumers than they used to be and they expect very good produce at every entry level,' he said.
'Menswear is starting to approach 50 percent of a lot of people's business. It's a real growth industry.'
Savile Row is particularly popular in international circles where the classic British look is increasingly fashionable.
'One thing that plays fantastically well with foreign press and buyers is the heritage aspect of what we do and there is so much interest in Savile Row,' Jones said, referring to the events he runs as chair of the menswear committee for the British Fashion Council.
Within this overall growth market where men are spending more on clothes and demanding higher quality, Savile Row remains uniquely placed in a global industry which luxury consultants Bain & Company estimated was worth more than $34 billion in an October 2012 note.
'London is the home of menswear. We invented the suit and Savile Row is the most important men's shopping street in the world which offers a quality and aspect of heritage that you simply can't get anywhere else,' Jones said.
COTTAGE INDUSTRY
While big fashion brands such as Tom Ford, Dior, and Paul Smith, invest heavily in marketing, distribution and staff, Savile Row tailors remain a cottage industry employing only a few dozen people who produce suits on site.
With fewer overheads and an international reputation from generations of suit-making which does not cost a penny in advertising, Savile Row is a surprisingly competitive and durable business model.
'Any of these big fashion brands will have a much bigger mark-up than the Savile Row tailors. No one goes into bespoke tailoring to get rich,' said James Harvey-Kelly the menswear designer for French brand Vicomte A who also runs his own made-to-measure company.
'The quality is sensational and that's what Savile Row trades off. They use sensational cloths and its sewn together by absolute experts. They last for generations.'
On the other side of Piccadilly the manager of traditional shirtmaker Budd, Andrew Rowland, said his company was reaping rewards for sticking by its principles through the tough times.
'We've never done anything different, but the others have weakened,' he said in the cosy shop just off Jermyn Street above which bespoke shirts are still scissored by hand.
Jermyn Street used to be the home of London's bespoke shirt-making industry, but many of the old stores such as T.M. Lewin and Hawes & Curtis expanded into mass sales, pushing down the price by producing shirts in Vietnam and Turkey.
One long-term customer is British actor Edward Fox, who played the title role in 'Day of the Jackal'. Before sitting down to a cup of tea with Rowland, he explained why he has been coming back for 55 years.
'This is a Budd shirt. It must be at least 10 years old. Just as good today as it was 10 years ago. You don't actually have to spend that much on clothes, you have to look after clothes and you have to buy well originally'.
However, traditional tailoring is not always ideal for more design-conscious people, according to Harvey-Kelly.
'Everything for them (Savile Row) is about it falling perfectly with no creases. But in the modern day people sometimes want it to look a bit uncomfortable. They want it to be slim and curl on the sleeve and a lot of tailors refuse to do that'.
Heywood at Anderson & Sheppard when asked about modern fashion trends said he had noticed a 'slight lean towards narrower trousers'.
'We're not fashion-led. Fashions change very quickly and what we like to do is create a suit that's a timeless classic that you can wear in any decade'.
(Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer)
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Sina Q4 sales beat Street despite ad market concerns
(Reuters) - Sina Corp posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue and profit amid concerns about the slowing growth of Chinese online advertising.
Shares in the company, which runs China's largest online portal and the Twitter-like 'Weibo' microblogging platform, climbed 6 percent to $56.50 after-hours. They have fallen 13.4 percent since the start of the fourth quarter, underperforming a 2 percent rise in the Nasdaq.
Net profit fell 74 percent in the fourth quarter to $2.4 million, or 3 cents per share, from $9.3 million, or 14 cents per share, a year earlier. But excluding certain items, non-GAAP earnings were $9 million, or 13 cents a share, versus $14 million or 21 cents a share a year earlier.
That surpassed an average forecast for 5 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
China's online advertising market grew 46.8 percent in 2012, but that was down from 57.6 percent in 2011, according to technology research firm iResearch. The softer advertising market, due to a weaker economic environment, has also hit Sina peers Baidu Inc and Sohu.com Inc.
Analysts say Sina's new 'Weibo' advertising products have drawn muted sales.
Sina said it expects first-quarter adjusted net revenue to range between $115 million and $119 million, in line with average predictions on Wall Street for about $117 million. It forecast advertising revenue of $94 million to $96 million this quarter.
Advertising revenue came in at $110.7 million in the fourth quarter, versus a previous company projection for between $110 million and $112 million.
It posted overall fourth-quarter net revenue of $139.1 million, versus an average forecast for $133.9 million according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Non-advertising revenue decreased 4 percent to $28.5 million.
In the fourth quarter, Sina rolled out two Weibo monetization products aimed at increasing sales on its highly popular social media website.
One of the products gives advertisers a chance at promoting their tweet among users who are not following them, while the other is a platform that links popular microbloggers with advertisers.
Sina's push to monetize Weibo comes as Tencent Holdings' mobile social messaging product, WeChat, is beginning to cut into the popularity of Weibo, analysts said.
(Reporting by Melanie Lee in Shanghai; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Carol Bishopric)
Shares in the company, which runs China's largest online portal and the Twitter-like 'Weibo' microblogging platform, climbed 6 percent to $56.50 after-hours. They have fallen 13.4 percent since the start of the fourth quarter, underperforming a 2 percent rise in the Nasdaq.
Net profit fell 74 percent in the fourth quarter to $2.4 million, or 3 cents per share, from $9.3 million, or 14 cents per share, a year earlier. But excluding certain items, non-GAAP earnings were $9 million, or 13 cents a share, versus $14 million or 21 cents a share a year earlier.
That surpassed an average forecast for 5 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
China's online advertising market grew 46.8 percent in 2012, but that was down from 57.6 percent in 2011, according to technology research firm iResearch. The softer advertising market, due to a weaker economic environment, has also hit Sina peers Baidu Inc and Sohu.com Inc.
Analysts say Sina's new 'Weibo' advertising products have drawn muted sales.
Sina said it expects first-quarter adjusted net revenue to range between $115 million and $119 million, in line with average predictions on Wall Street for about $117 million. It forecast advertising revenue of $94 million to $96 million this quarter.
Advertising revenue came in at $110.7 million in the fourth quarter, versus a previous company projection for between $110 million and $112 million.
It posted overall fourth-quarter net revenue of $139.1 million, versus an average forecast for $133.9 million according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Non-advertising revenue decreased 4 percent to $28.5 million.
In the fourth quarter, Sina rolled out two Weibo monetization products aimed at increasing sales on its highly popular social media website.
One of the products gives advertisers a chance at promoting their tweet among users who are not following them, while the other is a platform that links popular microbloggers with advertisers.
Sina's push to monetize Weibo comes as Tencent Holdings' mobile social messaging product, WeChat, is beginning to cut into the popularity of Weibo, analysts said.
(Reporting by Melanie Lee in Shanghai; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Carol Bishopric)
T-Mobile USA hopes for prepaid growth with GoSmart brand
NEW YORK (Reuters) - T-Mobile USA, the No. 4 U.S. mobile provider, on Tuesday launched GoSmart Mobile, a nationwide prepaid wireless brand that will sell cellphone services to customers who want to pay for calls in advance.
The wireless operator, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG, has agreed to merge with smaller rival MetroPCS Communications. It is hoping to benefit from growth in the prepaid market to regain customers lost to rivals.
The company said it has been testing its new prepaid service in nine markets since early December and has already signed up 'tens of thousands' of customers in just over two months.
'It's beat our projections pretty handily,' said Doug Chartier, senior vice president of marketing for GoSmart.
He cited forecasts that the prepaid market is growing at a rate of 7 percent to 8 percent each year, and that roughly 80 million U.S. consumers opt for prepaid phones instead of contracts where they pay at the end of each month.
GoSmart services, which will be available at more than 3,000 wireless reseller stores around the country beginning on February 19, will start at $30 a month for unlimited talk time and texting services, but no mobile Internet services.
A $35 per month plan includes mobile Internet access on its slower network while a $45 plan offers higher speeds.
On the other hand, customers buying T-Mobile branded prepaid services currently receive five gigabytes of data services per month at the company's fastest data speeds, on top of unlimited texting and 100 minutes of talk time.
While many consumers are spending more time using their phones for data services than talking, T-Mobile is hoping to attract the people who are still more interested in using their phone for voice calls than for web surfing.
'It's not for the consumer that wants to download video,' said Chartier, who noted that data heavy service plans cost a lot more than many low-income families can spend each month.
(Reporting By Sinead Carew; Editing by Gabriel Debenedetti and Jim Marshall)
The wireless operator, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG, has agreed to merge with smaller rival MetroPCS Communications. It is hoping to benefit from growth in the prepaid market to regain customers lost to rivals.
The company said it has been testing its new prepaid service in nine markets since early December and has already signed up 'tens of thousands' of customers in just over two months.
'It's beat our projections pretty handily,' said Doug Chartier, senior vice president of marketing for GoSmart.
He cited forecasts that the prepaid market is growing at a rate of 7 percent to 8 percent each year, and that roughly 80 million U.S. consumers opt for prepaid phones instead of contracts where they pay at the end of each month.
GoSmart services, which will be available at more than 3,000 wireless reseller stores around the country beginning on February 19, will start at $30 a month for unlimited talk time and texting services, but no mobile Internet services.
A $35 per month plan includes mobile Internet access on its slower network while a $45 plan offers higher speeds.
On the other hand, customers buying T-Mobile branded prepaid services currently receive five gigabytes of data services per month at the company's fastest data speeds, on top of unlimited texting and 100 minutes of talk time.
While many consumers are spending more time using their phones for data services than talking, T-Mobile is hoping to attract the people who are still more interested in using their phone for voice calls than for web surfing.
'It's not for the consumer that wants to download video,' said Chartier, who noted that data heavy service plans cost a lot more than many low-income families can spend each month.
(Reporting By Sinead Carew; Editing by Gabriel Debenedetti and Jim Marshall)
Exclusive: Apple, Macs hit by hackers who targeted Facebook
BOSTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc was recently attacked by hackers who infected the Macintosh computers of some employees, the company said on Tuesday in an unprecedented disclosure that described the widest known cyber attacks against Apple-made computers to date.
Unknown hackers infected the computers of some Apple workers when they visited a website for software developers that had been infected with malicious software. The malware had been designed to attack Mac computers, the company said in a statement provided to Reuters.
The same software, which infected Macs by exploiting a flaw in a version of Oracle Corp's Java software used as a plug-in on Web browsers, was used to launch attacks against Facebook, which the social network disclosed on Friday.
The malware was also employed in attacks against Mac computers used by 'other companies,' Apple said, without elaborating on the scale of the assault.
But a person briefed on the investigation into the attacks said that hundreds of companies, including defense contractors, had been infected with the same malicious software, or malware.
The attacks mark the highest-profile cyber attacks to date on businesses running Mac computers. Hackers have traditionally focused on attacking machines running the Windows operating system, though they have gradually turned their attention to Apple products over the past couple of years as the company gained market share over Microsoft Corp.
'This is the first really big attack on Macs,' said the source, who declined to be identified because the person was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. 'Apple has more on its hands than the attack on itself.'
Charlie Miller, a prominent expert on Apple security who is co-author of the Mac Hacker's Handbook, said the attacks show that criminal hackers are investing more time studying the Mac OS X operating system so they can attack Apple computers.
For example, he noted, hackers recently figured out a fairly sophisticated way to attack Macs by exploiting a flaw in Adobe Systems Inc's Flash software.
'The only thing that was making it safe before is that nobody bothered to attack it. That goes away if somebody bothers to attack it,' Miller said.
NATIONAL SECURITY
Cyber-security attacks have been on the rise. In last week's State of the Union address, U.S. President Barack Obama issued an executive order seeking better protection of the country's critical infrastructure from cyber attacks.
Over the weekend, cyber-security specialists Mandiant reported that a secretive Chinese military unit was believed to have orchestrated a series of attacks on U.S. companies, which Beijing has strongly denied.
White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters on Tuesday that the Obama administration has repeatedly taken up its concerns about Chinese cyber-theft with Beijing, including the country's military. There was no indication as to whether the group described by Mandiant was involved in the attacks described by Apple and Facebook.
An Apple spokesman declined to specify how many companies had been breached in the campaign targeting Macs, saying he could not elaborate further on the statement it provided.
'Apple has identified malware which infected a limited number of Mac systems through a vulnerability in the Java plug-in for browsers. The malware was employed in an attack against Apple and other companies, and was spread through a website for software developers,' the statement said.
'We identified a small number of systems within Apple that were infected and isolated them from our network. There is no evidence that any data left Apple,' it continued.
The statement said Apple was working closely with law enforcement to find the culprits, but the spokesman would not elaborate. The Federal Bureau of Investigation declined to comment.
Apple said it plans to release a piece of software on Tuesday, which it said customers can use to identify and repair Macs infected with the malware used in the attacks.
(Editing by Andre Grenon, Edwin Chan and Richard Chang)
Unknown hackers infected the computers of some Apple workers when they visited a website for software developers that had been infected with malicious software. The malware had been designed to attack Mac computers, the company said in a statement provided to Reuters.
The same software, which infected Macs by exploiting a flaw in a version of Oracle Corp's Java software used as a plug-in on Web browsers, was used to launch attacks against Facebook, which the social network disclosed on Friday.
The malware was also employed in attacks against Mac computers used by 'other companies,' Apple said, without elaborating on the scale of the assault.
But a person briefed on the investigation into the attacks said that hundreds of companies, including defense contractors, had been infected with the same malicious software, or malware.
The attacks mark the highest-profile cyber attacks to date on businesses running Mac computers. Hackers have traditionally focused on attacking machines running the Windows operating system, though they have gradually turned their attention to Apple products over the past couple of years as the company gained market share over Microsoft Corp.
'This is the first really big attack on Macs,' said the source, who declined to be identified because the person was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. 'Apple has more on its hands than the attack on itself.'
Charlie Miller, a prominent expert on Apple security who is co-author of the Mac Hacker's Handbook, said the attacks show that criminal hackers are investing more time studying the Mac OS X operating system so they can attack Apple computers.
For example, he noted, hackers recently figured out a fairly sophisticated way to attack Macs by exploiting a flaw in Adobe Systems Inc's Flash software.
'The only thing that was making it safe before is that nobody bothered to attack it. That goes away if somebody bothers to attack it,' Miller said.
NATIONAL SECURITY
Cyber-security attacks have been on the rise. In last week's State of the Union address, U.S. President Barack Obama issued an executive order seeking better protection of the country's critical infrastructure from cyber attacks.
Over the weekend, cyber-security specialists Mandiant reported that a secretive Chinese military unit was believed to have orchestrated a series of attacks on U.S. companies, which Beijing has strongly denied.
White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters on Tuesday that the Obama administration has repeatedly taken up its concerns about Chinese cyber-theft with Beijing, including the country's military. There was no indication as to whether the group described by Mandiant was involved in the attacks described by Apple and Facebook.
An Apple spokesman declined to specify how many companies had been breached in the campaign targeting Macs, saying he could not elaborate further on the statement it provided.
'Apple has identified malware which infected a limited number of Mac systems through a vulnerability in the Java plug-in for browsers. The malware was employed in an attack against Apple and other companies, and was spread through a website for software developers,' the statement said.
'We identified a small number of systems within Apple that were infected and isolated them from our network. There is no evidence that any data left Apple,' it continued.
The statement said Apple was working closely with law enforcement to find the culprits, but the spokesman would not elaborate. The Federal Bureau of Investigation declined to comment.
Apple said it plans to release a piece of software on Tuesday, which it said customers can use to identify and repair Macs infected with the malware used in the attacks.
(Editing by Andre Grenon, Edwin Chan and Richard Chang)
Jury selection begins in second Ohio Craigslist killing trial
CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Jury selection began on Tuesday in Akron, Ohio, in the capital trial of self-proclaimed street-preacher Richard Beasley, charged in the murders of three men, two of whom were apparently lured by a Craigslist ad for a non-existent job.
Beasley, 53, faces the death penalty for the murders of David Pauley, 51, of Norfolk, Virginia; Ralph Geiger, 56, of Akron, Ohio; and Timothy Kern, 47, of Massillon, Ohio.
He is also charged with the attempted murder of Scott Davis, who answered the Craigslist ad and was shot in the arm while escaping after meeting Beasley and his teenage accomplice Brogan Rafferty. The ad offered a $300-a-week caretaker job in rural Ohio.
Rafferty, 17, was tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison without parole in November for his role in the deadly scheme. He was 16 years old at the time of the crimes and not eligible for the death penalty.
During Rafferty's trial, jurors heard testimony that the teen helped dig graves for some of the men and was also found in possession of guns and knives stolen from them.
Rafferty testified that he was terrified of the man he had considered a father figure and spiritual adviser after he saw Beasley shoot Geiger in the head execution-style.
Prosecutors say Beasley lured Geiger, his first victim, with the offer of a non-existent caretaker job, killed him, stole his identity and then drew other victims by posting the bogus job on Craigslist.
The attacks were among a series of incidents involving Craigslist and other social media in which people advertising goods for sale or responding to ads have been attacked and killed.
In 2009, a former medical student was accused of killing a masseuse he met through Craigslist. In February, two men in Tennessee were accused of killing a man and a woman for 'unfriending' the daughter of one of the suspects on Facebook.
According to court documents, both Rafferty and Davis, the victim who escaped, have been subpoenaed to testify in the trial. Rafferty's attorney told Reuters that a final decision has not been made regarding his testimony.
Jury selection is being held in the Akron Civic Theater because no room in the Summit County courthouse was large enough to accommodate the approximately 200 prospective jurors. Jury selection is expected to last five to six days, with opening statements to begin next week.
(Reporting By Kim Palmer; Editing by Mary Wisniewski, Cynthia Johnston and Dan Grebler)
Beasley, 53, faces the death penalty for the murders of David Pauley, 51, of Norfolk, Virginia; Ralph Geiger, 56, of Akron, Ohio; and Timothy Kern, 47, of Massillon, Ohio.
He is also charged with the attempted murder of Scott Davis, who answered the Craigslist ad and was shot in the arm while escaping after meeting Beasley and his teenage accomplice Brogan Rafferty. The ad offered a $300-a-week caretaker job in rural Ohio.
Rafferty, 17, was tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison without parole in November for his role in the deadly scheme. He was 16 years old at the time of the crimes and not eligible for the death penalty.
During Rafferty's trial, jurors heard testimony that the teen helped dig graves for some of the men and was also found in possession of guns and knives stolen from them.
Rafferty testified that he was terrified of the man he had considered a father figure and spiritual adviser after he saw Beasley shoot Geiger in the head execution-style.
Prosecutors say Beasley lured Geiger, his first victim, with the offer of a non-existent caretaker job, killed him, stole his identity and then drew other victims by posting the bogus job on Craigslist.
The attacks were among a series of incidents involving Craigslist and other social media in which people advertising goods for sale or responding to ads have been attacked and killed.
In 2009, a former medical student was accused of killing a masseuse he met through Craigslist. In February, two men in Tennessee were accused of killing a man and a woman for 'unfriending' the daughter of one of the suspects on Facebook.
According to court documents, both Rafferty and Davis, the victim who escaped, have been subpoenaed to testify in the trial. Rafferty's attorney told Reuters that a final decision has not been made regarding his testimony.
Jury selection is being held in the Akron Civic Theater because no room in the Summit County courthouse was large enough to accommodate the approximately 200 prospective jurors. Jury selection is expected to last five to six days, with opening statements to begin next week.
(Reporting By Kim Palmer; Editing by Mary Wisniewski, Cynthia Johnston and Dan Grebler)
Google risks huge fine under new EU data rules: top official
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Google's latest privacy policy could land it with a fine of upto $1 billion under a new law allowing Europe-wide challenges to U.S.-based Internet giants, Europe's top justice official said on Tuesday.
Viviane Reding, the European Union's commissioner for justice, said rules being finalized by the European parliament and EU countries would allow a single EU data regulator to fine companies on behalf of all national watchdogs.
'The one-stop-shop regulator could threaten a company which does not obey the rules with a fine of up to two percent of global turnover,' Reding told journalists.
Asked what kind of offence would receive the full two percent fine Reding pointed to Google. 'The test case (Google) is a clear one.'
The overhaul of the existing EU data protection regime could come into effect next year and would allow for bigger single fines.
It would also require all countries to have fines. Some states do not now levy penalties.
Google's total revenue in 2012 amounted to $50 billion which would make a two percent fine $1 billion.
Under current European rules, only individual countries can levy fines against companies that violate data privacy laws. Fines range from 300,000 euros to 600,000 euros.
Reding said that the ongoing dispute between EU data protection regulators and search engine Google showed the weaknesses of the current system, which relies on each country identifying and punishing privacy breaches.
She added that Google's decision to ignore a warning by regulators in October to change its privacy policy was a clear-cut case for a fine.
Google said it had not ignored warnings and had since amended its privacy policy.
European data watchdogs have said they plan to take 'repressive' action against Google by this summer for its privacy policy, which took effect last March and allows the search engine to pool user data from across all its services ranging from YouTube to Gmail.
While regulators say Google's policy infringes users' privacy, the company said it is not breaking any laws.
The new law now would place greater responsibility on companies such as Facebook to protect users' information and threaten those who breach the code with fines.
U.S. companies have been lobbying heavily against the regulation which forces them to seek water-tight permission from users for collecting their data and also gives users more rights to obtain and delete their own data from services like Facebook.
The European Parliament is currently reviewing the rules drafted by the European Commission. They will then need the consent of EU member nations before becoming law, a process that could take up to a year.
(Editing by David Cowell)
Viviane Reding, the European Union's commissioner for justice, said rules being finalized by the European parliament and EU countries would allow a single EU data regulator to fine companies on behalf of all national watchdogs.
'The one-stop-shop regulator could threaten a company which does not obey the rules with a fine of up to two percent of global turnover,' Reding told journalists.
Asked what kind of offence would receive the full two percent fine Reding pointed to Google. 'The test case (Google) is a clear one.'
The overhaul of the existing EU data protection regime could come into effect next year and would allow for bigger single fines.
It would also require all countries to have fines. Some states do not now levy penalties.
Google's total revenue in 2012 amounted to $50 billion which would make a two percent fine $1 billion.
Under current European rules, only individual countries can levy fines against companies that violate data privacy laws. Fines range from 300,000 euros to 600,000 euros.
Reding said that the ongoing dispute between EU data protection regulators and search engine Google showed the weaknesses of the current system, which relies on each country identifying and punishing privacy breaches.
She added that Google's decision to ignore a warning by regulators in October to change its privacy policy was a clear-cut case for a fine.
Google said it had not ignored warnings and had since amended its privacy policy.
European data watchdogs have said they plan to take 'repressive' action against Google by this summer for its privacy policy, which took effect last March and allows the search engine to pool user data from across all its services ranging from YouTube to Gmail.
While regulators say Google's policy infringes users' privacy, the company said it is not breaking any laws.
The new law now would place greater responsibility on companies such as Facebook to protect users' information and threaten those who breach the code with fines.
U.S. companies have been lobbying heavily against the regulation which forces them to seek water-tight permission from users for collecting their data and also gives users more rights to obtain and delete their own data from services like Facebook.
The European Parliament is currently reviewing the rules drafted by the European Commission. They will then need the consent of EU member nations before becoming law, a process that could take up to a year.
(Editing by David Cowell)
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