China makes fiber network mandatory for houses
China has made it mandatory for all newly built houses in the country where a public fiber optic network is available, to have fiber network connections. The standards will take effect from April 1, 2013, and will also require residences to offer equal connections to services from various telecom companies allowing customers to choose which service they want. [Source]
EBay, PayPal seen beating mobile forecasts
While much of the tech world is struggling with the switch to mobile devices, eBay Inc and its PayPal online payments division likely had a strong holiday season as more consumers used eBay’s apps and PayPal’s mobile payment service to shop.
EBay and PayPal forecast mobile transaction and payment volume of $10 billion for each business earlier in 2012 and they are likely to exceed that guidance when eBay reports results on Wednesday, according to analysts and investors. [Source]
World’s Richest Add $18 Billion as Facebook Fortunes Soar
The 100 wealthiest people on the planet added $18 billion to their collective net worth this week as U.S. companies began reporting fourth-quarter earnings. Facebook Inc co-founder and chief executive officer, Mark Zuckerberg, gained $1.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The largest social-networking service rose 10 percent during the week and hit a six-month high yesterday. Investors are optimistic that the company will benefit from new advertising efforts to drive revenue. The 28-year-old is worth $14.6 billion, making him the 57th richest person in the world. [Source]
HP’s Whitman Earned $15 Million in 2012 After Target Miss
Hewlett-Packard Co.’s Meg Whitman received nearly $15.4 million in fiscal 2012, her first full year as chief executive officer, receiving only 70 percent of her targeted compensation as sales and profit sank. Whitman, who took a salary of $1 last year, reaped a performance-related bonus of $1.7 million, more than $7 million in stock awards and $6.4 million in options, Hewlett-Packard said in a filing today. Whitman, who was already on the board, became CEO in September 2011, just before the end of that fiscal year. In that period, her compensation was $16.5 million. [Source]
Groupon Acquires Realtime Location-Aware Service Glassmap To Help You Find Deals
Y Combinator company Glassmap, a location-aware app that was big back in the day (last year), has just announced that is has been acquired by Groupon. A representative from Groupon has confirmed that the company has indeed acquired Glassmap and is ”excited to bring the team aboard.” This makes total sense, because Groupon needs to know where you are, who you’re with, and what you’re doing and like to do so that it can push more relevant deals to you. This is something that companies such as Google are also working on. [Source]
