China Rapid Finance Said to Target U.S. IPO as Soon as 2017

China Rapid Finance, a Shanghai-based peer-to-peer lender, is planning to raise at least $100 million in an initial public offering in the U.S., people familiar with the matter said. The company, which raised $20 million at a pre-money valuation of $1 billion in November, could hold the IPO as soon as this year, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

Baidu Hits the Reset Button After Cleaning Up Online Advertising

Baidu Inc. is convinced it’s put the worst of a government-driven internet advertising crackdown behind it after posting quarterly revenue that beat estimates. Sales fell a less-than-projected 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter after China’s biggest search engine raised registration requirements for marketers and cut the number of ads it displays alongside results.

Oil Slips as Stockpiles Rise

U.S. oil prices fell on Friday after government data released late in the previous session showed stockpiles rose last week for a seventh straight week, although losses were muted as inventory growth was well below expectations. U.S. West Texas Intermediate fell 12 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $54.33 a barrel by 0323 GMT, having closed up 1.6 percent in the previous session.

Samsung rivals to set the tone at Mobile World Congress

Samsung rivals to set the tone at Mobile World Congress Samsung’s decision to hold off launching the next Galaxy phone clears the way for others. Check out this story on USATODAY.com: http://usat.ly/2mdQa1e A woman reacts as she uses a new Samsung Gear 360, a 360-degree camera, at the Mobile World Congress.

Baidu Needs to Speed Up the Future After That Uber Boost: Gadfly

If it weren’t for the CEO of Uber Technologies Inc. being pragmatic about his China business and selling to Didi Chuxing last year, Baidu wouldn’t have been able to swap its shares in Uber China for those of the nation’s dominant ride-hailing provider. That three-way trade and other income reaped 1.796 billion yuan for the search-engine giant in the fourth quarter and was the primary reason for Baidu beating earnings estimates.

ANA Said to Spend $887 Million to Turn Peach Into Subsidiary

ANA Holdings Inc.’s board will meet Friday to consider increasing its stake to a majority holding in Peach Aviation Ltd., a move that would give Japan’s largest airline a bigger foothold in the budget travel market. ANA plans to spend about 100 billion yen to boost its stake to more than 50 percent from about 39 percent, making budget airline Peach a subsidiary, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because the talks are private.

Uber blocks employees at work from chatting on a popular…

Uber insiders have made an avalanche of revelations about the company’s allegedly dysfunctional culture in recent weeks, culminating with former engineer Susan Fowler’s shocking tell-all of alleged sexual harassment. Uber has publicly acknowledged Fowler’s statements and vowed to investigate, although Uber investors, Mitch and Freada Kapor, are not satisfied with that.

Poll shows Mark Cuban in surprisingly competitive position…

Billionaire business mogul Mark Cuban would be competitive in a prospective presidential race against President Donald Trump, according to a new poll. The poll, set to be released Friday by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling, found that Cuban, if he were to seek the presidency and be Trump’s Democratic opponent, would trail the sitting president by a single percentage point.

Apple fixed an annoying iPhone battery bug and didn’t tell…

Many Apple users have been reporting this annoying battery bug, but there was seemingly no fix for it – and Apple refused to acknowledge it was an issue. Apple says in a statement first reported by TechCrunch that it fixed the bug in the most recent version of iOS 10.2.1., which was released on January 23. With iOS 10.2.1, Apple made improvements to reduce occurrences of unexpected shutdowns that a small number of users were experiencing with their iPhone.

Housing Boom Fades in Tokyo With Glut as Chinese Sales Slow

In the Kachidoki area facing Tokyo Bay, home to the city’s hottest market given its proximity to venues for the 2020 Olympic Games, real-estate broker Hayato Jo has a wall full of notices of apartments for sale, with a 20 percent increase in the number of people looking to sell in the area in the past year. Prices in the neighborhood, which surged 25 percent since Tokyo won the Games in 2013, have started to fall from their peak.

Coke Says it Supports WHO’s Sugar Guidelines

Coke says it supports the World Health Organization’s guidelines for limiting added sugar, as the company works on repairing its image in public health circles and reshaping its business. Incoming CEO James Quincey also said the company has “outgrown” its namesake cola and is focusing on becoming a “total beverage company.”

Whole Foods, movies will anchor downtown Sunnyvale complex

Whole Foods will anchor an emerging retail and residential complex that is also bringing a multi-screen cinema to downtown Sunnyvale, developers said Thursday. The healthy foods grocery chain has leased 52,000 square feet in a long-stalled development that for years has been known as Sunnyvale Town Center.

Baidu’s Sales Tops Estimates as It Pushes New Businesses

Baidu Inc. posted quarterly results that topped analysts’ estimates, as China’s biggest search engine pushes into new businesses such as news aggregation to overcome government restrictions on web advertising. Revenue for the fourth quarter came to 18.21 billion yuan , compared with estimates for 18.17 billion yuan, Baidu said in a statement.

The White House had a curious explanation for Trump describing…

White House press secretary Sean Spicer attempted to clarify an ominous phrase used by President Donald Trump on Thursday – but his answer left people scratching their heads instead. Earlier on Thursday, Trump described his efforts to remove unauthorized immigrants from the US as “a military operation,” a phrase that seemed to contradict efforts from White House officials who said the military would not be involved with the deportation plans.

Waste Management: Cramer’s Top Takeaways

For his “Executive Decision” segment, Cramer sat down with James Fish, the new president and CEO of Waste Management , which just delivered a 6-cents-a-share earnings miss last week but saw its shares rise on the company’s bullish commentary. Shares of Waste Management are up 11% since November.

FCC proposes ATSC 3.0 next-gen TV standard

Suggesting that a move to upgraded technology would foster innovation in the broadcast TV marketplace, the Federal Communications Commission is seeking comment on a proposal that would allow television broadcasters in the US to use the ATSC 3.0 ‘Next Generation’ broadcast television transmission standard on a voluntary, market-driven basis. According to the FCC, ATSC 3.0 has the potential to greatly improve broadcast signal reception on mobile devices and television receivers without outdoor antennas.

Ajit Pai adopts a ‘light touch’ leading Trump’s FCC

The head of the Federal Communications Commission wants to embrace a “light touch” approach to regulation under his leadership and the new administration. “Light touch regulation means that we create broad regulatory frameworks that can protect consumers to ensure an overall competitive marketplace,” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” last week.

BART ridership slumps; board mulls service cuts, fare increases

Despite crush-loads during peak commute times, the number of people riding BART is falling short of projections, forcing the transit agency to begin tough conversations about how to make up for lost revenue. After six years of growth, staff anticipated a similar increase in the number of riders during the 2016-2017 fiscal year, which began on July 1. Instead, the agency is reporting ridership is 5.2 percent below what it projected.

BART ridership slumps; board mulls service cuts, fare increases

Despite crush-loads during peak commute times, the number of people riding BART is falling short of projections, forcing the transit agency to begin tough conversations about how to make up for lost revenue. After six years of growth, staff anticipated a similar increase in the number of riders during the 2016-2017 fiscal year, which began on July 1. Instead, the agency is reporting ridership is 5.2 percent below what it projected.

Uber Criticized by Venture Backers Over Harassment Claims

A pair of venture capital investors in Uber Technologies Inc. criticized the company for tapping insiders to conduct an investigation into sexual harassment and discrimination claims by a former employee. Mitch and Freada Kapor, spouses and investing partners at Kapor Capital, said they have been unsuccessful in their attempts to convince Uber behind the scenes to prioritize diversity issues.