Google's Android Pay rolls out in US

Google's Android Pay rolled out on Thursday to US customers, becoming the latest system to allow consumers to tap their phones to pay for purchases at retailers. 

PHOTO: AFP

SEP 11, 20157:14 AM

[WASHINGTON] Google's Android Pay rolled out on Thursday to US customers, becoming the latest system to allow consumers to tap their phones to pay for purchases at retailers.

The tap-to-pay system was announced earlier this year as part of an effort to ramp up the Android challenge to Apple, which has a similar system for iPhones.

Product manager Pali Bhat said in a blog post that one million locations across the United States would be accepting the wireless payment system for Android-powered handsets.

"Android Pay also stores your gift cards, loyalty cards and special offers right on your phone," Bhat said.

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"We'll be rolling out gradually over the next few days, and this is just the beginning. We will continue to add even more features, banks and store locations in the coming months, making it even easier to pay with your Android phone." Similar to the Apple Pay system unveiled last year, Android Pay will allow consumers to store their credit card information on their handsets along with loyalty cards and other data.

For extra security, Android Pay will generate a one-time "token" or virtual account number so the actual credit card data is not revealed in a transaction.

Google said in February it was teaming up with the mobile phone payment firm Softcard to ramp up its efforts in the emerging sector. This will allow Google Wallet to become a pre-installed "tap to pay" app on Android smartphones.

AFP

      

Ellen Pao drops Silicon Valley gender case appeal 

Ellen Pao on Thursday said that she is ending her gender discrimination legal battle with a prominent venture capital firm by dropping her appeal of an earlier decision against her. 

PHOTO: REUTERS

SEP 11, 20157:48 AM

[SAN FRANCISCO] Ellen Pao on Thursday said that she is ending her gender discrimination legal battle with a prominent venture capital firm by dropping her appeal of an earlier decision against her.

In the closely-watched case seen by some as a proxy trial of Silicon Valley sex bias, a California jury in March rejected Ms Pao's allegations of discrimination while working at Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers.

Ms Pao laid out her reasoning for ending the legal proceedings in an online post on technology news website Re/code.

"Seeking justice in the courts has been painful for me personally and professionally, and for my family," Ms Pao said in the post.

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"I am now moving on, paying Kleiner Perkins' legal costs and dropping my appeal." The California jury found KPCB did not discriminate against Pao, who claimed she was fired after complaining about bias at the firm that notably backed Amazon, Facebook and Google.

Ms Pao, who was ordered by the court to pay KPCB's legal cost, said in her post that "ultimately, I cannot afford to continue this battle and risk having to pay additional costs if I lose on appeal." In July, Ms Pao stepped down from her job as interim chief of Reddit where she quickly ruffled feathers and provoked anger with the unexplained firing of a Reddit employee, leading to an online petition calling for her departure.

Ms Pao took over as Reddit CEO after being fired from KPCB.

Reddit, which has more than 163 million users and describes itself as a forum for real-time journalism, said in a statement that Pao resigned "by mutual agreement."

AFP

      

Oil prices climb on falling US crude output

World oil prices rose on Thursday as investors focused on a decline in US crude production instead of a bigger-than-expected jump in inventories.

PHOTO: AFP

SEP 11, 20157:12 AM

[NEW YORK] World oil prices rose on Thursday as investors focused on a decline in US crude production instead of a bigger-than-expected jump in inventories.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for October leaped US$1.77, or 4.0 per cent, to US$45.92 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in October, the European benchmark, closed at US$48.89 a barrel in London, advancing US$1.31 (2.8 per cent) from Wednesday's settlement.

Both futures contracts bounced back from sharp falls on Wednesday as traders expected another increase in US commercial crude-oil inventories.

In fact, the Department of Energy's (DoE) weekly petroleum report released Thursday showed a much larger-than expected build in inventories, by 2.6 million barrels to 458.0 million barrels in the week to September 4.

But the market seized on the more bullish aspects of the report. US crude-oil production fell for the fifth week in a row, dropping by 83,000 barrels per day to 9.14 million barrels per day.

Though still high, the decline in US production was seen as potentially easing the global oversupply that has outstripped demand and sent prices diving more than 50 per cent since June 2014.

US stockpiles at the key Cushing hub sank by 900,000 barrels, to 56.4 million. Meanwhile, US demand for petroleum products rose about four per cent from a year ago.

"Strong economic data, strong demand for oil products, drop in oil production and drop in Cushing stocks seems to provide support to oil prices so far, despite the 2.57 million increase in US crude stocks," said Natixis analyst Abhishek Deshpande.

AFP