News Headlines - 27 January 2016

▽Head of China's statistics bureau investigated for corruption | The Guardian

The head of China’s statistics bureau is being investigated for corruption, the country’s watchdog said on Tuesday... Last week the National Bureau of Statistics released data that showed China’s economy grew at the slowest pace in 25 years.

▽SCE, SNE merged to form Sony Interactive Entertainment | Develop

Sony Interactive Entertainment is comprised of Sony Computer Entertainment – the division behind PlayStation – and Sony Network Entertainment. It will be based in San Mateo, California and will “serve as the headquarters for everything PlayStation”, according to the PlayStation Blog.

▽Toyota Believed to Plan Offer to Acquire Rest of Daihatsu - Bloomberg Business

Toyota holds a 51 percent stake in Daihatsu and is constantly considering a number of possibilities including making it a fully owned subsidiary, the company said in a statement. Daihatsu said it’s cooperating with Toyota and that the buyout is an option. Shares of Daihatsu rose 16 percent, their biggest gain since November 1999, at the close in Tokyo.

▽Apple warns iPhone sales set to fall for first time - BBC News

The US tech giant sold 74.8 million iPhones in its fiscal first quarter, compared with 74.5 million a year ago.
Apple said revenue for the next quarter would be between $50bn (￡34bn; €46bn) and $53bn, below the $58bn it reported for the same period a year ago.

▽Italy shows Britain how to get tough with Google | The Times

The internet giant is preparing to hand over €150 million (￡113 million) in back taxes to the Italian government, equating to 15 per cent of its €1 billion revenues in the country.
In contrast, Google settled an investigation by British tax officials for ￡130 million over ten years, despite Britain being a much bigger market. The US company’s effective tax rate in Britain is thought to be 3 per cent.