The settlement requires Apple -- makers of the iPad and iPhone -- to offer full refunds "for any charges by a minor that are unauthorized," says FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez in a press conference Wednesday.
The deal also mandates Apple updates its billing practices to ensure it has express content from users before charging them for content within apps.
"This settlement is a victory for consumers harmed by Apple's unfair billing, and a signal to the business community: whether you're doing business in the mobile arena or the mall down the street, fundamental consumer protections apply," said Ramirez.
The deal stems from purchases made within apps by kids using a smartphone or tablet. In most cases, the purchases are racked up without their parents' consent.
Hot Energy Companies To Own In Right Now: M/A-COM Technology Solutions Holdings Inc (MTSI)
M/A-COM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. (M/A-COM), incorporated on March 25, 2009, is a provider of high-performance analog semiconductor solutions for uses in wireless and wireline applications across the radio frequency (RF), microwave and millimeter wave spectrum. The Company manages has one segment, which is semiconductors. The Company offers over 2,700 standard and custom devices, which includes integrated circuits (IC), multi-chip modules, power pallets and transistors, diodes, switches and switch limiters, passive and active components and complete subsystems, across 37 product lines serving over 6,000 end customers in four primary markets. The Company's semiconductor products are electronic components that the Company's customers incorporate into their larger electronic systems, such as point-to-point wireless backhaul radios, radar, automobile navigation systems, digital cable television (CATV) set-top boxes, magnetic resonance imaging systems and unmanned aerial vehicles. In February 2014, M/A-COM Technology Solutions Holdings Inc announced that its subsidiary Mindspeed Technologies Inc completed the sale of assets of its wireless infrastructure business unit to Intel Corporation.
The Company's primary markets are Networks, which includes CATV, cellular backhaul, cellular infrastructure and fiber optic applications; Aerospace and Defense (A&D); Automotive, which includes global positioning system (GPS) modules sold to the automotive industry; and Multi-market, which includes industrial, medical, mobile communications and scientific applications. The Company operates a single Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) and silicon semiconductor fab at its Lowell, Massachusetts headquarters, which the Company is in the process of updating to include Gallium Nitride (GaN) fabrication operations as well. The Company also utilizes external semiconductor foundries to supply the Company with additional capacity in periods of high demand and to provide the Company access to additional process technolog! ies. The ability to utilize a broad array of internal process technologies as well as commercially available foundry technologies allows the Company to select the appropriate technology to solve the Company's customers' needs.
The Company offers high-performance analog semiconductor products for both wireless and wireline applications across the frequency spectrum from RF to millimeterwave. The Company regularly develops high-value products to serve its customers in four primary markets: Networks, A&D, Multi-market and Automotives.
Aerospace & Defense
In the A&D market, military applications require more advanced electronic systems, such as radar warning receivers, communications data links and tactical radios, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), RF jammers, electronic countermeasures and smart munitions. Military applications are becoming more sophisticated, favoring higher performance semiconductor ICs based on GaAs and GaN technology due to their high power density, improved power efficiency and broadband capability. Radar systems for mapping and targeting missions are undergoing a transition from existing mechanically-scanned radar products to a new generation of active electronically-scanned array (AESA) based products. Consisting of hundreds or thousands of transmit/receive modules commonly based on GaAs and increasingly on GaN technology, AESAs deliver greater speed, range, resolution and reliability over mechanically-scanned radar products that utilize a single transmitter and receiver with mechanical steering. Military communications employing wireless infrastructure and tactical radios in the field remain critical for allowing geographically dispersed users to exchange information quickly and efficiently. UAVs and their underlying semiconductor content requires designs to meet rigorous specifications for high performance, small size, and low power consumption.
Automotive
The Automotive category includes GPS modules the Company sel! ls to the! automotive industry. Semiconductor content in automobiles is projected to grow in order to offer connectivity, safety, performance and navigation features.
Multi-market
In Multi-market, the Company's products are used in industrial, medical, mobile communications, test and measurement and scientific applications. In the medical industry, the Company's custom designed non-magnetic diode product line is a critical component for certain MRI applications. The Company offers a broad range of standard and custom ICs, modules and complete subsystems across 37 product lines. The Company's product portfolio consists of more than 2,700 products including the key product platforms: power pallets and transistors, ICs, diodes, switches and switch limiters, passive and active components, multi-chip modules, and complete subsystems. Many of the Company's product platforms are leveraged across multiple markets and applications. For example, the Company's applications with regard to power transistor technology is leveraged across both scientific laboratory equipment applications and commercial and defense radar system applications. The Company's diode technology is used in switch filter banks of military tactical radios as well as medical imaging MRI systems.
The Company competes with Hittite Microwave Corporation, Sumitomo Electric Device Innovations, Inc., RF Micro Devices, Inc. (RFMD), Avago, Inc. (Avago), Aeroflex, Inc. (Aeroflex), Microsemi Corporation (Microsemi), TriQuint and Skyworks Solutions, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
M/A-Com Technology Solutions Holdings (Nasdaq: MTSI ) reported earnings on April 30. Here are the numbers you need to know.
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 29 (Q2), M/A-Com Technology Solutions Holdings met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share. - [By Lauren Pollock]
M/A-COM Technology Solutions Holdings Inc.(MTSI) agreed to acquire semiconductor manufacturer Mindspeed Technologies Inc.(MSPD) in a deal valued at $272 million, expanding the company’s markets to include enterprise applications. Mindspeed shares surged 70% to $5.04 premarket.
Top 10 Healthcare Technology Companies To Watch In Right Now: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ)
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) provides a range of banking and financial products and services to retail, small business, corporate and institutional clients. The Company conducts its operations in Australia, New Zealand and the Asia Pacific region. It also operates in a range of other countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States. The Company operates on a divisional structure with Australia, International and Institutional Banking (IIB), New Zealand, and Global Wealth and Private Banking. As of September 30, 2012, the Company had 1,337 branches and other points of representation worldwide, excluding automatic teller machines (ATMs). In September 2012, it sold its remaining shareholding in Visa Inc. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Adam Haigh]
Komatsu Ltd. tumbled 8 percent in Tokyo after the world�� second-largest maker of construction equipment cut its full-year profit forecast by 26 percent. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. gained 1.4 percent in Hong Kong, pacing an advance among Chinese lenders, after China�� central bank added funds to the financial system for the first time in two weeks. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ) climbed 1.4 percent to a record in Sydney after posting its highest profit and raising its dividend more than forecast.
Top 10 Healthcare Technology Companies To Watch In Right Now: Spirit Realty Capital Inc (SRC)
Spirit Realty Capital, Inc., incorporated on August 14, 2003, is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company�� operations are carried out through Spirit Realty, L.P. (the Operating Partnership). The Company invests in single-tenant, operationally essential real estate throughout the United States that is leased on a long-term, triple-net basis primarily to tenants engaged in retail, service and distribution industries. Single-tenant, operationally essential real estate consists of properties that are generally free-standing, commercial real estate facilities where its tenants conduct retail, service or distribution activities. as of December 31, 2012, the Company�� portfolio of 1,122 owned properties were leased to approximately 165 tenants. In July 2013, the Company merged with Cole Credit Property Trust II.
The Company�� tenants operate in 18 different industries, which include medical/other office properties; recreational properties; educational properties; automotive dealers, parts and services facilities; industrial properties; building material suppliers; movie theatres; restaurants-casual dining; specialty retail properties; restaurants-quick service, and general and discount retail properties. The Company�� properties are geographically diversified across 47 states, with only 4 states contributing more than 5.0% of its annual rent. As of December 31, 2012, approximately 98.0% of its lease and loan revenues were attributable to long-term leases. As of December 31, 2012, the Company leases 181 properties to Shopko/Pamida, 179 of which are leased pursuant to three master leases.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
Commercial real estate investor�Spirit Realty Capital (NYSE: SRC ) announced today its second-quarter dividend of $0.3125�per share, the same rate it paid last quarter. After going public in September, it began making payouts to investors in January.
Top 10 Healthcare Technology Companies To Watch In Right Now: Panera Bread Company(PNRA)
Panera Bread Company, together with its subsidiaries, owns, operates, and franchises retail bakery-cafes in the United States and Canada. Its bakery-cafes offer fresh baked goods, sandwiches, soups, salads, custom roasted coffees, and other complementary products, as well as provide catering services. The company also manufactures and supplies dough and other products to company-owned and franchise-operated bakery-cafes. As of March 29, 2011, it owned and franchised 1,467 bakery-cafes under the Panera Bread, Saint Louis Bread Co., and Paradise Bakery & Cafe names. The company was founded in 1981 and is based in St. Louis, Missouri.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Matt Brownell]
Michael L Abramson/Getty Images For the next week, Ron Shaich will live well below his means: The Panera Bread (PNRA) CEO embarked on a quest Saturday to spend a week living on food stamps. "As part of Hunger Action Month, I decided to take the SNAP Challenge," Shaich announced on LinkedIn last week. "For one week, beginning Saturday, September 14, 2013, I will live on just $4.50 a day, the average daily benefit per person provided by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP; formerly known as Food Stamps)." A number of liberal politicians, including Newark Mayor Cory Booker have taken the SNAP Challenge, publicly documenting their quest to eat on less than $5 a day (the weekly allowance is $31.50). The challenge has become a popular way to see how the other half lives, call attention to hunger issues and protest budget cuts.
- [By Demitrios Kalogeropoulos]
You could argue that Chipotle has even more reason to raise prices now. Food costs ticked up again this past quarter, to 33.1% of sales. Those rising costs bit into restaurant margins, cleaving almost two percentage points from profits. Chipotle's expenses are well above fast-casual rivals like Panera Bread (NASDAQ: PNRA ) , which books a steady 29% food charge. For its part, Panera hasn't shied away from pricing boosts. A 2.3% price rise helped the baker log a 3.3% jump in sales for the first quarter.
Top 10 Healthcare Technology Companies To Watch In Right Now: Tempur-pedic International Inc (TPX)
Tempur-Pedic International Inc. manufactures, markets, and distributes bedding products in North America and internationally. Its products include pillows, mattresses, and adjustable beds, as well as various cushions and other comfort products. The company sells its mattresses and pillows under the TEMPUR and Tempur-Pedic brand names through furniture and bedding, specialty, and department stores; direct response, Internet, and own stores; chiropractors, medical retailers, hospitals, and other healthcare markets; and third party distributors. Tempur-Pedic International Inc. was founded in 1989 and is based in Lexington, Kentucky.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jonathan Burgos]
Hong Kong�� Hang Seng Index slipped 0.3 percent, while China�� Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.3 percent. Japan�� Topix (TPX) fell 0.1 percent and Taiwan�� Taiex index lost 0.2 percent.
- [By Yoshiaki Nohara]
Japanese stocks rose, with the Topix (TPX) Index paring a weekly loss, as Tokyo Electron Ltd. (8035) led chip-equipment makers higher and exporters rebounded after Finance Minister Taro Aso said global policy makers wouldn�� censure Japan for the currency�� slide.
- [By Toshiro Hasegawa]
Investors are waiting to see whether Abe can succeed with growth-oriented initiatives to make Japan�� economic recovery sustainable, in the so-called third arrow of his strategy following fiscal stimulus and monetary easing. Exporters led by Toyota Motor Corp. are reliant on a weaker yen to help them meet the outsized profit gains expected by analysts. Topix (TPX) member companies will boost earnings by 26 percent in the next 12 months, compared with the 11 percent growth estimated for the Standard & Poor�� 500 Index, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
- [By Toshiro Hasegawa]
Inflation accelerated and growth quickened after Kuroda�� unprecedented decision in April (TPX) to double the monetary base of the world�� third-largest economy. While the signs of progress drove the Topix index to an almost five-year high in May, equities have since slumped about 5 percent as investors wait for Abe�� so-called ��hird arrow��of structural reform to make the economic recovery self-sustaining.
Top 10 Healthcare Technology Companies To Watch In Right Now: RigNet Inc.(RNET)
RigNet, Inc. provides remote communications services for the oil and gas industry. It offers remote communications services through a controlled and managed Internet protocol/multiprotocol label switching (IP/MPLS) global network, enabling drilling contractors, oil companies, and oilfield service companies to communicate. The company offers a communications package of voice, data, video, networking, and real-time data management to offshore and land-based remote locations. It primarily provides voice-over-Internet-protocol, data, and high-speed Internet access, as well as other value-added services, such as video conferencing solutions, TurboNet solutions for wide area network, real-time data management solutions, Wi-Fi hotspots and Internet kiosks, wireless intercoms, and handheld radios. The company also offers Secure Oil Information Link, a managed members-only communications network hub that enables collaborative partners, suppliers, and customers to transfer and share data. It serves the owners and operators of offshore drilling rigs and production facilities, land rigs, remote offices, and supply bases primarily in the United States, Brazil, Norway, the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Australia. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on RigNet (Nasdaq: RNET ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
Top 10 Healthcare Technology Companies To Watch In Right Now: Multi-Corp International Inc (MULI)
Multi-Corp International Inc., incorporated on December 10, 2006, is a energy company. The Company is engaged in the exploration, development, production and acquisition of oil and gas properties. The Company intends to focus its operations in Eddy County, New Mexico.
As of December 31, 2012, the Company had 100% working interest in the 2,800 acre Cave Pool Property in Eddy County, New Mexico. As of December 31, 2012, it owned 14 shut-in oil wells that had produced from the Grayburg sands and it had an estimated 51 identified drilling and recompletion locations, of which 14 were proved undeveloped.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Peter Graham]
One way or the other, small cap stocks mLight Tech, Inc (OTCMKTS: MLGT), Multi-Corp International Inc (OTCMKTS: MULI) and Brownie's Marine Group Inc (OTCMKTS: BWMG) have been getting some attention lately. For starters, one of these stocks has been the subject of paid promotions, another might be getting dragged into a controversy involving yet another small cap and the last stock sank 18.34% on Friday. So what�� going on with these three small cap stocks and what should be your trading or investing strategy? Here is a close look:
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