Google touts Android TV, smartwatches and cars

Google's Android software is about to make the leap beyond smartphones and tablets.

                                            

Google (GOOGL, Tech30) revealed plans for Android Wear in March, but developers have been anxious to get details on its planned features and specifications.

The company said that Android Wear will use voice commands, let you swipe between screens, work with apps on your phone and feature voice-driven note-taking.

Siri-like question answering lets you see who's calling you and can allow you to send messages from the phone and set reminders. Apps are installed via your phone and sync automatically.

Google added that a watch from LG will be available to order later Wednesday on Google's Play store. Samsung is also joining the Android Wear family with the Samsung Gear Live, also available to order later Wednesday.

The Moto 360 watch will be available for sale later this summer.

The tech giant unveiled a new watch, as well as ways for Android to be used for television and cars at its annual I/O conference for software developers Wednesday.

The company, as widely expected, showcased its new smartwatch-ready "Android Wear" software.

Google (GOOGL, Tech30) revealed plans for Android Wear in March, but developers have been anxious to get details on its planned features and specifications.

The company said that Android Wear will use voice commands, let you swipe between screens, work with apps on your phone and feature voice-driven note-taking.

Siri-like question answering lets you see who's calling you and can allow you to send messages from the phone and set reminders. Apps are installed via your phone and sync automatically.

Google added that a watch from LG will be available to order later Wednesday on Google's Play store. Samsung is also joining the Android Wear family with the Samsung Gear Live, also available to order later Wednesday.

The Moto 360 watch will be available for sale later this summer.

Facebook: 'Creepy' Secret Experiment Attacked

A study carried out by Facebook and two universities has angered users who have accused the social network of manipulating their emotions.

The US technology firm secretly altered the news feeds of 700,000 users as part of the study, which explored "emotional contagion".

The social network tampered with the algorithm which controls users' feeds in order to find out how the changes affect their moods.

Researchers wanted to see if positive or negative words in messages led to positive or negative content in users' status updates.

The study took place over one week in 2012, and was conducted in conjunction with Cornell University and the University of California.

The findings were published in the June 17 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Facebook, co-founded by Mark Zuckerberg, "carefully considers" its research

The researchers found that once users had been exposed to positive or negative words in their feeds, their updates changed accordingly.

"Emotional states can be transferred to others via emotional contagion, leading people to experience the same emotions without their awareness," the study authors wrote.

"These results indicate that emotions expressed by others on Facebook influence our own emotions, constituting experimental evidence for massive-scale contagion via social networks."

The findings became known more widely on social media after the online magazine Slate and The Atlantic website wrote about it.

Facebook users have taken to Twitter to express their anger at the study.

"#Facebook MANIPULATED USER FEEDS FOR MASSIVE PSYCH EXPERIMENT... Yeah, time to close FB acct!" one Twitter post read.

Other users referred to the study as "super disturbing", "creepy" and "evil".

Facebook told The Atlantic that they "carefully consider" their research, and have "a strong internal review process".

Amazon accused of 'bullying' smaller UK publishers

Amazon is facing a battle with UK publishers as it seeks to secure more advantageous terms in its latest round of contract negotiations.

The web giant wants the right to print books itself if publishers fail to provide adequate stock, and wants publishers to match any pricing deals it offers to other distributers.

One mid-sized firm accused Amazon of "bullying," and warned that the company was destroying the industry.

Amazon has not commented on the issue.

Trade magazine the Bookseller was first to report that Amazon had introduced a number of new clauses in its recent contract proposals to independent UK publishers.

'Print-on-demand'

Among these were the right for Amazon to print its own copies of a book if a publisher runs out of stock.

The Seattle-based company would do this using its "print-on-demand" equipment, and would require publishers to hand over electronic versions of their titles.

Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in the US in 1994

The process, which can print books more quickly than a traditional press, is generally thought to offer an inferior product.

Publishers are concerned that if Amazon used this method to print books, customers would blame them, and not the tech firm, for the quality.

Another clause, known in the industry as a "most favoured nation" (MFN) proposal, asks publishers not to offer promotions to distributors without also offering them to Amazon.

This would include selling books at a discount on the publishers' own websites.

It also demands that publishers inform Amazon before offering e-book deals to other clients, and give the tech firm the same terms.

BNP Paribas to be 'punished severely', says boss

The boss of BNP Paribas has written to staff warning that the French banking giant will be fined heavily by US authorities.

"I want to be clear, we will be punished severely," Jean-Laurent Bonnafe said in the internal memo.

The bank could be fined $8.9bn (£5.2bn) for allegedly violating sanctions rules as early as Monday, reports suggest.

The Financial Times and New York Times also report that the bank will, unusually, admit guilt.

The bank is accused of breaking sanctions against Iran, Sudan and Cuba between 2002 and 2009.

'Future plans'

"This is good news for all staff and for our clients," Mr Bonnafe said.

"It will enable us to remove the current uncertainties that are weighing on our group. We will be able to put behind us these problems, which belong to the past.

"The difficulties that we are currently experiencing must not affect our future plans."

There have been months of speculation about the fine, which could force BNP to slash its dividends and issue billions of euros of bonds, reports say.

In April, BNP Paribas said it had set aside $1.1bn to cover the cost of US penalties, but warned that the "amount of the fines could be far in excess of the amount of the provision".

The bank's share price has fallen more than 15% since the beginning of April.

If the latest reports are correct, the fine could almost wipe out BNP's entire 2013 pre-tax income of about $11.2bn.

Rates 'May Return To Pre-Recession Levels' (UK)

Homeowners should expect interest rates to return to their pre-recession levels within a decade, the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England has warned.

Last week the Bank's Governor Mark Carney suggested that even once borrowing costs rise, the "new normal" for them to settle at would be around 2.5% - significantly lower than the long-term average of 4-5%.

But in an exclusive interview with Sky News Sir Charlie Bean, the Bank's longest-serving senior policy maker, said that this lower rate was only caused by a range of temporary factors.

Sir Charlie said that in the "long term", meaning beyond five or ten years, it could easily rise again towards 5% - the level traditionally considered "neutral".

"It might be reasonable to think that in that long term you would go back to 5% but it's probably quite a long way down the road," he said.

Sir Charlie's comments will be welcomed by savers who have suffered ever since the Bank lowered interest rates to just 0.5% five years ago.

However, they may also alarm millions of mortgage holders who may struggle to make their repayments.

The deputy governor, whose term comes to an end on Monday, also said that markets' expectations that the first increase in interest rates would come at the turn of the year seemed "reasonable".

He added: "The market has rates going up to 2.5% over the next three years. That seems like broadly sensible judgement."

Sir Charlie also admitted that in the run up to the crisis he, along with other economists, was "not sufficiently cognisant of the risks building up in the financial system".

However, he said that he was leaving the Bank in safe hands, and the economy far more resilient than when he arrived in 2000.

YouTube Adds 'Tip Jar' To Reward Video Creators

Every video uploaded to YouTube could one day be translated into every language - one of a range of new features announced by the firm's chief executive.

Susan Wojcicki announced a project called Fan Subtitles, a massive crowdsourced translation effort that encourages bilingual users to type subtitles for their favourite videos.

Speaking at the Vidcon conference, she also announced the launch of a 'tip jar' for content creators, so viewers could easily "show a creator their love" by tipping any amount up to $500 (£293).

Users will also get interactive cards to overlay on videos that directly link to their Indiegogo or Kickstarter fundraising efforts.

Other new features include an option to play videos at up to 60 frames per second, which is likely to prove popular with users who stream computer games.

In a blog post, the company said: "Your video game footage with crazy high frame rates will soon look as awesome on YouTube as it does when you're playing, when we launch support for 48 and even 60 frames per second in the coming months."

The 100 most popular games channels on YouTube generated nearly 3.5 billion video views in May.

Content creators will also get access to real-time video metrics, an announcement that drew cheers from the crowd.

YouTube said the features will be made available in the coming months.

Developers Working On 'Facebook For Work'

Facebook is building a LinkedIn rival for use in the workplace, it has been reported.

An unnamed source at the company told TechCrunch it is working on a new version at its London offices for use during working hours.

The source said: "We are making work more fun and efficient by building an at-work version of Facebook."

It is unclear whether it will be standalone site, or simply a version of the site that can be activated in the workplace.

Staff at Facebook already use the website internally for work purposes – such as scheduling meetings and sending messages to colleagues.

The source said: "Facebook employees find using Facebook for work communication really useful.

"This has been on the list of things to do for three years but just hasn’t made it to the top of the list."

It is claimed the internal development project is called FB@Work.

Facebook has previously looked into creating a separate service for those under 13, who are not currently allowed to sign up to the social networking site.

Facebook says it does not comment on rumours.

Gold-Plated iPhone Engraved With Putin's Face

A gold-plated iPhone engraved with Russian President Vladamir Putin's face has gone on sale for 147,000 roubles (£2,500).

The phone features gold plating and the face of Mr Putin

It has been designed by Caviar, a Russian company that adds bling to Apple's trademark device.

The latest model, called the Supremo Putin, is described by the firm as "the best way to express patriotism".

Each phone is individually numbered and labelled

As well as the face of Mr Putin, it also features the Russian coat of arms and the first lines of the national anthem.

The phone is the 64GB 5S model, which would usually cost around £700 outright.

Underneath the plating is a 64GB iPhone 5S

Caviar phones have previously featured portraits of icons such as boxer Muhammad Ali, Apple founder Steve Jobs and artist Leonardo da Vinci.

The phone is delivered in a varnished display case

The latest edition is delivered in a varnished wooden display case lined with black velvet.

Apple is due to release the latest edition of its iPhone in the autumn.

Bulgarian bank system under attack, says central bank

Bulgaria's central bank has said there has been a systematic attempt to destabilise the country through attacks on the banking system.

It said it would use all powers at its disposal to protect citizens' savings.

Shares in Bulgarian banks fell sharply for the second day in a row.

These is speculation that a run on deposits at the country's fourth-biggest bank, Corporate Commercial Bank, could spread to others.

The central bank took control of Corporate Commercial Bank last week and said its problems were isolated. Economists and Fitch Ratings agency have also played down the risk of contagion, while foreign banks with subsidiaries in Bulgaria insist their operations are safe.

But comments by a deputy from the country's ruling party on Thursday that another bank may suffer a similar fate further hit confidence and left investors rushing to ditch Bulgarian bank stocks.

BNP Paribas to pay $8.9bn US fine, reports suggest

US authorities will announce early next week that French banking giant BNP Paribas has agreed to pay an $8.9bn (£5.2bn) fine for allegedly violating sanctions rules, reports suggest.

The bank will also, unusually, admit guilt, according to the Financial Times and The New York Times.

BNP plans to slash its dividends and issue billions of euros of bonds to pay the fine, the Wall Street Journal said.

The bank is accused of breaking sanctions against Iran, Sudan and Cuba.

This is alleged to have taken place between 2002 and 2009.

The reported size of the fine could almost wipe out BNP's entire 2013 pre-tax income of about $11.2bn.

In April, BNP Paribas said it had set aside $1.1bn to cover the cost of US penalties, but warned that the "amount of the fines could be far in excess of the amount of the provision".

Royal Family Costs Taxpayer 56p Per Person!

The Royal Family spent £36.1m of taxpayers' money last year - a figure portrayed by royal aides as 56p for every person in the country.

The Sovereign Grant, which is set at 15% of profits made by the Crown Estate, rose from £31m in 2012/13.

Buckingham Palace was at pains to highlight how the all of the extra money was spent on maintaining and repairing palaces and castles.

Sky News cameras were invited into Buckingham Palace to see asbestos removal which has cost £800,000 over the past two years and to Windsor Castle where a 10-year project to replace its lead roof cost £900,000 last year.

Cameras were not invited into Kensington Palace's Apartment 1A which has been renovated as a new home for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, where the cost of has spiralled to £4.1m from an original estimate of £1m.

Royal sources pointed out the 20-room apartment, which had previously been used as an office, was "completely uninhabitable" and needed a "complete refit".

Despite the high cost, they stressed it was "not opulent" and had been completed to a "very comfortable but ordinary level". 

The royal couple had used their own money to meet the cost of carpet, furniture and a high spec kitchen.

A graphic explaining some of the royal finances

When asked if Prince Charles had made a contribution to the fit out, an aide said: "It's not unusual for a parent or grandparent to help a young couple set up in their first home."

The accounts also showed the total cost of official travel fell by £300,000 to £4.2m.

Around £434,000 was spent on the visit of the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall to India and Sri Lanka for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference.

A total of £255,000 was spent to send Prince Charles to represent the Queen at the funeral of Nelson Mandela.

Royal sources said his long, complicated journey at short notice necessitated the chartering of an aircraft but that other options had been considered.

Sir Alan Reid, keeper of the Privy Purse, said public funding of the monarchy had fallen by 8% in real terms in the last two years when maintenance costs are stripped out.

He added: "We take our responsibility to run as efficient an operation as possible.

"In our view we think that we do as good a job as possible in terms of trying maximise the value for money."

Google reveals first Android Wear watches to go on sale

                                                          

Google has announced the first smartwatches powered by its Android Wear operating system are now available for pre-order.

The LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live - both featuring rectangular screens - mark an attempt to standardise the way Android wearable devices function.

Google said that Motorola's circular Moto 360 would not be released until "later this summer".

Analysts say the move to a unified approach could drive sales.

"The problem with smartwatches so far has been that the sector hasn't quite decided what it wants to be - is it a phone on your wrist or an accessory device," Steffen Sorrell, from the Juniper Research consultancy, told the BBC.

"Once you introduce Android Wear, it will hopefully provide a more focused case for what the devices are capable of. And that's a direction that could invigorate the market."

LG said the G Watch costs $229 (£145) and would initially be made available to 12 countries including the US, UK, France, Germany and Japan.

Samsung said the Gear Live would cost $200 (£118).

Both are due to ship on 7 July and will require the owner to have a phone running Android 4.3 or above.

Vibrating notifications

Google dedicated an early part of its I/O developer conference presentation in San Francisco to its new wearable OS.

Android Wear can be made to remind the owner of travel preparations

David Singleton, director of engineering in the firm's Android division, said one of its core aims was to be able to "quickly show you relevant information, and make sure you never miss an important message, while letting you stay engaged with the people that you are actually with".

To achieve this, when notifications are received by the user's smartphone they can be set to make the watch vibrate on the user's wrist.

If the owner then dismisses the alert and carries out a follow-up action on the watch, such as scheduling an appointment, the details are "immediately synched across" so that the smartphone also hides the notification and adds the meeting to its diary.

Users can also reject calls to their phone via the watch and select a pre-set text message to explain why, and bring up map navigation.

GM halts sales of Cruze model over airbags

General Motors has told dealers in the US and Canada to halt sales of some Chevrolet Cruze cars due to a potential problem with the airbag.

It said the driver's side airbag in the affected cars may not deploy properly, due to a wrong part being used.

The part was supplied by Japan's Takata Corp. A defective part from Takata is already the subject of a major global recall by various car manufacturers.

But GM said its issue was not related to a defective part.

Jim Cain, spokesman for GM, was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying that the affected Cruze cars "may have been assembled with an incorrect part".

The recent moves by various car makers to recall million of cars globally were triggered by the use of a defective part rather than a wrong one.

On Monday, Japanese carmakers Honda and Nissan added two million and 755,000 vehicles respectively to the recall they issued last year to replace the defective part.

Toyota, the world's biggest car maker, recalled an additional 650,000 cars earlier this month to address the issue, taking its total recall tally due to the problem to nearly 2.8 million vehicles.

Growing problems?

For GM, the latest move has added to the issues it has faced this year.

The firm has recalled more than 17 million cars in the US this year - more than it sold in 2013.

The recalls have been issued due to various problems including faulty ignition switches, possible faulty seat belts, transmissions and air bags, as well as potential fire issues.

In May, the company was fined $35m (£21m) for failing to address defects with the ignition switches which have been linked to 13 deaths.

According to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Board (NHTSA), it was the single highest civil penalty ever levied as a result of a recall investigation.

The company has also raised its expected second-quarter charge for recall expenses to $700m, up from $400m.

Etihad agrees to take 49% stake in Alitalia

Abu Dhabi's state-owned Etihad Airways says it has agreed terms and conditions for its purchase of a 49% stake in Italy's Alitalia.

In a joint statement, the two airlines said they would now move to finalise the deal "as soon as possible".

Alitalia, which has debts of about 800m euros ($1.1bn; £656m), voted on 13 June to accept Etihad's offer to invest in the company.

The deal still needs regulatory approval before it can go ahead.

For Alitalia the deal is seen as a way to reverse its troubled fortunes.

Last October, Alitalia approved plans for a 300m euro capital increase as part of a deal to fend off bankruptcy.

Prior to its 2008 privatisation it also received several state handouts.

The Italian airline said earlier this month that the Etihad investment was "an excellent outcome" and would "provide financial stability".

'Decisive steps'

Etihad said the deal would give more choice to air travellers into and out of Italy.

The firms did not give any details of the amount of money Etihad would invest. But Italy's transport minister Maurizio Lupi has said Etihad is prepared to invest up to 1.25bn euros over the next four years.

Mr Lupi said both Alitalia and Etihad had met with Alitalia's creditors on Tuesday where "decisive steps forward" had been made.

"It's increasingly clear that this marriage should happen because it's obvious to all that we are dealing with a strong industrial investment that will offer our airline concrete growth prospects," he added.

The two carriers have been in talks since December, but negotiations are reported to have been held back by Alitalia's reluctance to make job cuts part of the deal.

Microsoft to release Android-powered Nokia X2 handset

Microsoft has unveiled its first phone after completing its takeover of Nokia's handset division - and the device is powered by Android.

The operating system, developed by Google, is usually seen as a rival to Microsoft's own Windows Phone OS.

Microsoft said the Nokia X2 offered it a way to hook users into its cloud-based services, several of which come pre-installed as apps.

One expert said the alternative would have been leaving "money on the table".

"I still find it astounding that Microsoft is making Android phones, but there seems to be a steely determination to take a more open approach for the greater good of the whole company rather than just the Windows Phone platform," said Ben Wood, from the telecoms consultancy CCS Insight.

"If they don't do this, then someone else is going to get the business.

"I also think it's a reflection of the fact that Nokia's budget Asha line of feature phones was unable to compete with entry-level Android mobiles."

Microsoft completed its takeover of Nokia's handset division on 25 April at a cost of 5.4bn euros ($7.4bn; £4.4bn).

New US homes sales surge to six-year high in May

Sales of new US homes surged to a six-year high in May suggesting the housing market is beginning to recover from its recent slowdown.

Sales increased by 18.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 504,000 - the highest level since May 2008, according to the Commerce Department.

However, the S&P/Case-Shiller index, also released on Tuesday, found house prices increases slowed in April.

Economists had expected bigger rises.

On a seasonally-adjusted basis, the home price index, covering 20 major US cities, rose 0.2% in April, and by 10.8% on an annual basis.

"Although home prices rose in April, the annual gains weakened. Overall, prices are rising month-to-month but at a slower rate," said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

A combination of higher mortgage rates and a surge in prices due to a lack of properties available for sale have weighed on the US housing market since the second half of 2013.

However, recent data suggests the housing market is beginning to improve again.

Referring to the new homes figure, Cooper Hawes from Barclays Research said in an analyst note:

"This is the strongest level since the end of the recession and is an encouraging sign that housing activity improved in the second quarter."

A report on Monday showed sales of previously owned homes, the largest part of the US housing market, recorded their largest increase in more than three-and-a-half years in May.

Twitter Founder Rejected $500m Facebook Bid

Twitter founder Biz Stone has told how he turned down a $500m (£290m) offer from Facebook to buy the firm – and watched as its value later soared to billions.

He told Sky News Digital View how he and co-founder Evan Williams travelled to a meeting with Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg several years ago.

Neither really wanted to sell the company, he said, so they decided to come up with a number "so big", that "no-one would ever say yes to it".

He said they came up with $500m, and "laughed so hard at that".

But despite Mr Zuckerberg saying it was a "big number", an offer was drawn-up later that day.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg

The pair turned it down, saying they felt like they were "just getting started" with the business.

He added that he did not get on with the Facebook founder.

"I like him, and I respect him, it's just that we didn't click," he told Sky's Ian King.

"I'm a jokey guy and he's a very serious guy so every joke I made – it was a tough crowd."

He also commented on the use of Twitter by extremists in Iraq and beyond, saying he still believed the social network was a tool for good rather than evil.

"When you create a large-scale platform where hundreds of millions of people have freedom of expression, you have to take the good with the bad.

"If you're going to tout the fact you're encouraging free speech then you can't curate it. As soon as you do that you lose the trust."

He also said the growth of Twitter into a $23bn (£13.5bn) company feels "strange".

"I've come to terms with it but I wouldn’t call it surprised - it feels strange in a good way to go to the shopping mall and see the little bird I drew," he said.

"It doesn't seem that long ago that we were just a rag tag group of guys."

New Zealand's 2Degrees Shrinks Annual Losses

                                                       

New Zealand's smallest mobile network operator, 2Degrees has continued to shrink its annual losses, five years after it launched its services.

The company recorded a net loss of NZ$35.9 million for the previous year, down on the loss of NZ$45.2 million a year earlier.

However, EBIDTA, the underlying measure, continued to record a profit, of NZ$35.3 million, up on the NZ$3.8 million reported in 2012, when the company first made a positive EBITDA.

Revenues also rose, by 21 percent to NZ$263.1 million.

The company estimates that its share of the country's mobile revenues now stands at 21 percent, although it has not confirmed the customer base numbers.