Yahoo set to announce turnaround plan

Yahoo is expected to outline cost-cutting efforts and give details of how it is evaluating possible acquisitions as it faces pressure from an activist investor.

Yahoo is expected on Tuesday to outline cost-cutting efforts and give details of how it is evaluating possible acquisitions as it faces pressure from an activist investor, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a person who was briefed on the plan. 

Yahoo is considering acquiring one or more large technology startups with some of the $5.8 billion it made from the initial public offering of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, the newspaper said. 

Representatives at Yahoo did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment outside regular US business hours. 

Last month, activist investor Starboard Value LP publicly pressured Yahoo to cut what it referred to as a 'bloated' cost structure. 

Starboard, the second activist investor to target Yahoo in the last three years, also said the company should quickly 'monetize' its Asian assets, which exceed the enterprise value of its actual business. 

Earlier this month, Yahoo said it is reducing the size of its operations in Bangalore, India, the internet company's largest engineering facility outside its California headquarters. It is also closing its office in Jordan.

Yahoo is 'streamlining' its operations in foreign offices, which might involve a combination of closing offices, cutting jobs and moving workers to its Sunnyvale, California, headquarters, the Journal said

Microsoft reportedly ready to launch smartwatch in weeks

Microsoft feels the time is right to enter the smartwatch
sector, according to a Forbes report.
The tech giant is expected to launch a smartwatch in the
next couple of weeks that will have health-tracking
capabilities, including a heart-rate monitor, according to
the report, which cited unidentified sources. The device will
reportedly be capable of working across multiple mobile
platforms such as Apple's iOS and Google's Android
operating systems and sport battery charges that last more
than two days with regular use. The gadget is expected to
be available to consumers in time for the holiday shopping
season.
Microsoft has been linked to current smartwatch efforts as
far back as April 2013, when the company was reportedly
shopping around suppliers in Asia for components to build
a potential touch-enabled watch device. Reports earlier
this year indicated that the device would physically
resemble Samsung's Gear Fit with a full-color touch screen
viewable on the inside of your wrist.
Microsoft has dabbled in the sector before, marketing
devices running its once-hyped Smart Personal Objects
Technology (SPOT). After pouring a lot of money into the
effort and partnering with watchmakers such as Fossil,
Suunto, and Swatch on high-end, touch-screen models that
cost as much as $800, Microsoft pulled the stem out of the
project in 2008.
Wearable devices such as smartwatches and smart glasses
have commanded a great deal of consumers' attention and
manufacturers' imagination in recent months. To
differentiate their products from competitors, electronics
makers have strived to create devices with varying options.
While many smartwatches sport square faces reminiscent
of digital watches of the 1970s, Motorola and LG have opted
for traditional circular watch faces for greater fashion
appeal.
But Microsoft seems to be focused on one of the key selling
points that other players in the crowded smartwatch arena
have already seized upon: health. Samsung's Gear S its
sixth smartwatch launch in the past year was unveiled in
August and includes a heart rate monitor, pedometer, and
sleep tracking.
Meanwhile, Samsung rival Apple unveiled the highly
anticipated and much-speculated Watch last month. The
new smartwatch taps into apps that can track heart rate,
calories burned, activity level and certain fitness activities.
It also works with other fitness apps, such as Nike+ .
Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for
comment on the report.