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SAN FRANCISCO Tech stocks mostly rose in early trading Friday, with Netflix Inc. among the advancers. Netflix shares rose almost 4%, to $ 89.74, after Chief Executive Reed Hastings responded to the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging Hastings and Netflix violated disclosure rules with a Facebook post in July about the company’s streaming video service. Gains also came from Apple Inc. , which rose $ 4 a share, to $ 551.01, and Cisco Systems Inc. , as the networking-equipment giant kicked off its annual analyst meeting in New York. The Nasdaq Composite Index was at its breakeven point [...]

HONG KONG Hong Kong stocks slipped in tentative early trading Monday, reversing course after a positive opening, on caution ahead of a Eurogroup meeting on financial aid to Greece, which kept buyers on the sidelines after last week’s solid gains. At 21,914.16, the Hang Seng Index hovered close to Friday’s close after a three-day advance, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 0.3% to 10,576.14. Shares of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. dropped 1.2%, China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd. fell 1.1% and Esprit Holdings Ltd. declined 2.9%, countering a 3.3% jump for footwear maker Belle International Holdings Ltd. and [...]

Long before Hewlett-Packard’s (HPQ) bombshell accusation of fraud at its Autonomy business, Oracle (ORCL) was publicly questioning both the integrity of Autonomy CEO and co-founder Mike Lynch as well as his company’s valuation. After H-P acquired the enterprise software company for a final price of $ 11.1 billion in 2011, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said in a conference call that Autonomy had been “shopped” to his company as well. “We looked at the price and thought it was absurdly high,” Ellison said, explaining the decision to pass on Autonomy.  Those comments didn’t sit well with Lynch, who denied Autonomy was [...]

NEW YORK Nasdaq OMX Group , which runs the No. 2 U.S. equities exchange, plans to offer discounts on retail orders in early 2013, the company said in a notice to traders on Tuesday. Nasdaq said its retail price improvement program would be similar to one launched by Big Board operator NYSE Euronext on August 1, which offers discounts of fractions of a penny on stock orders. Exchanges see the sub-penny programs as a way to win back market share from off-exchange venues. Nasdaq said in the notice it plans make changes to its proprietary data feeds to reflect the [...]

When should stores start on the Christmas season? Is November too early?When should stores start on the Christmas season?For one Canadian drugstore chain, the first week in November is too soonAfter hearing complaints from customers, it pulled Christmas music from stores across Canada It’s a question most of us seem to have pondered at some point: When should stores start on the Christmas season?For one Canadian drugstore chain, the first week in November is too soon, at least for the sounds of the season.Shoppers Drug Mart pulled Christmas music from its almost 1,200 stores across Canada at midnight Friday after [...]

SYDNEY Japanese shares declined on the first trading session of November, with the Nikkei Stock Average down 0.2% at 8,908.27. Decliners included tech-sector firms TDK Corp. , down 3.4%, and Fujifilm Holdings Corp. , down 3.2% after both firms cut guidance while reporting earnings. Elsewhere in the sector, Sony Corp, lost 3.1% ahead of its earnings report due later in the day. Panasonic Corp. shares were ask-only after the firm reported a near-$ 9 billion net quarterly loss late Wednesday. The dollar bought 79.86 yen, from �79.74 in late North American trading on Wednesday.

HONG KONG Hong Kong stocks retreated after a higher opening Friday on profit-taking pressure after a 10-trading-day rally, with China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd. and BOC Hong Kong Holdings Ltd. suffering declines after posting results. The Hang Seng Index slipped 0.3% to 21,755.69 after opening mildly higher. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index slipped 0.1% to 10,607.98. Shares of China Unicom tumbled 5.4% after a 27% jump in third-quarter profit fell short of estimates, earning a downgrade for the mobile-service provider from Standard Chartered. Shares of BOC Hong Kong also slipped 1.4% after its results, although shares of its parent [...]

NEW YORK A federal judge has set an expedited schedule for objectors to weigh in against a proposed $ 7.2 billion settlement between merchants and credit-card giants Visa Inc and Mastercard Inc , giving opponents less time than expected to fight against initial approval of the potentially historic pact. The proposed settlement was submitted Friday for preliminary approval by the court. If it receives first preliminary and then final approval, it would be the largest federal antitrust settlement in U.S. history, offering nearly 8 million merchants $ 7.2 billion in cash and temporary reductions in interchange, or swipe fees, which [...]

ZURICH UBS is set to begin cutting jobs at its investment banking arm as early as Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Swiss bank will notify roughly 400 bankers in corporate finance but also fixed income and equities they are being laid off, part of a larger scaleback of its securities unit, the Wall Street Journal reported in its Wednesday edition. It cited undisclosed sources involved in the cuts. More job cuts could quickly follow, the paper said. Separately, the Financial Times reported the UBS revamp could ultimately spark several thousand job losses, but that cuts may not be [...]

SEATTLE There was once a time when the launch of a new Windows operating system was a huge deal for the technology departments in many businesses. Not anymore. Microsoft Corp’s release of Windows 8 on Friday is likely to be a non-event for most companies — and some experts say many may never adopt it. The system may appear to offer something for everyone: touch-screen functionality for tablet enthusiasts, a slick new interface for the younger set, and multiple versions to make it compatible with traditional desktop PC software. Many businesses, though, say there is no compelling reason to adopt. [...]