Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Google music plan solid, serendipitous (BusinessWeek)
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)‘s new music service offers a lot of eye candy to go with the tunes. The song selection of around 18 million tracks is comparable to popular services such as Spotify and Rhapsody, and a myriad of playlists curated along different genres provides a big playground for music lovers. The All Access service represents Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s attempt to grab a bigger piece of the digital music market as more people stream songs over mobile phones. Such services are also meant to further wed smartphone users to Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Android operating system, where the search leader makes money from advertising and transactions on its digital content store, Google Play.
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) has acquired Makani Power, an Alameda-based airborne wind turbine maker. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) had previously invested in the company, contributing $10 million in 2006 and $5 million in 2008. Businessweek first reported the acquisition in a story about Google X, and Makani confirms the deal on its website. Businessweek says the team will join Google X. “This formalizes a long and productive relationship between our two companies and will provide Makani with the resources to accelerate our work to make wind energy cost competitive with fossil fuels,” the company writes.
Labour leader accuses Google of dodging taxes (TimesLive)
In comments designed to politically outflank Prime Minister David Cameron ahead of next month’s G8 summit on what has become a high-profile issue, Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, said he was disappointed that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) paid so little tax. “I can’t be the only person here who feels disappointed that such a great company as Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) … will be reduced to arguing that when it employs thousands of people in Britain, makes billions of pounds of revenue in Britain, it’s fair that it should pay just a fraction of 1% of that in tax,” Miliband told a Google event held just outside London. “So when Google does great things for the world, I applaud you. But when Eric Schmidt says its current approach to tax is just ‘capitalism’, I disagree. When Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) goes to extraordinary lengths to avoid paying its taxes, I say it’s wrong.”
Raytown OKs deal to bring Google Fiber (KansasCity)
The Raytown Board of Aldermen has given formal approval to a deal with Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) to bring its ultra-high speed Internet service to the community. A tentative deal to open Raytown to construction of a Google Fiber network and fiber optic connections to homes there was made early this month. The aldermen approved an agreement with the company Tuesday night. The company said on its blog Wednesday that “it will be a while before we can hook up Raytown residents — we need to plan and build our network there first.”
Google’s web of information is hidden from the regulators (FT)
Sir, How can Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), a company that is everywhere when it wants personal data and money, suddenly be nowhere when we want information about it? Last year Google exploited a loophole on mine and millions of other iPhones to allow them to track my private visits to various websites. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) settled the US Federal Trade Commission complaint about this for $22.5m. When I and tens of others instructed a law firm to demand from Google that it explain what private information it collected from us, and to apologise, Google’s lawyers were quick to reply that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) was not here in the UK – it’s in the US – and conveniently Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) UK Limited had nothing to do with it.
