Court favors extraditing Russian to U.S.
ATHENS, Greece -- Greece's Supreme Court has ruled in favor of extraditing a Russian cybercrime suspect to the United States to stand trial on charges of laundering billions of dollars using the virtual currency bitcoin.
Alexander Vinnik made his final appearance at an Athens court Wednesday amid an ongoing legal battle between the U.S. and Russia, which are both seeking his extradition.
Despite the court's ruling, Greece's justice minister will ultimately decide on whether Vinnik will be sent to Russia or the U.S.
The 38-year-old former bitcoin platform operator denies any wrongdoing but is not contesting the Russian request on less serious charges.
U.S. authorities accuse Vinnik of laundering $4 billion worth of bitcoins through BTC-e, one of the world's largest digital currency exchanges, which he allegedly operated. One bitcoin was worth $16,520.01 as of Wednesday evening.
-- The Associated Press
Hyundai, Kia recalling Elantras, Fortes
DETROIT -- Hyundai and Kia are recalling more than a half-million compact cars in the U.S. because the brake lights may not go out when the pedal is released.
The recall covers more than 390,000 Hyundai Elantra vehicles from the 2013 and 2014 model years. Also included are over 134,000 Kia Forte cars from 2012 through 2014.
The companies say in documents filed with the government that a polymer stopper pad between the pedal arm and the light switch can deteriorate, allowing the switch to stay on. That can keep the brake lights illuminated and also let a driver shift out of park without putting a foot on the brake.
Neither company reported any crashes or injuries.
Dealers will replace the brake stopper pad. Kia's recall starts Jan. 30, while Hyundai's begins Feb. 8.
-- The Associated Press
No sign Uber crecit card numbers stolen
DETROIT -- An outside cybersecurity firm hired by Uber after a significant data theft found no evidence that rider credit card, bank account or Social Security numbers were downloaded by two hackers, the company said in a response to demands for information from U.S. senators.
But the ride-hailing company disclosed that in some cases, the hackers got location information from the place where people signed up for Uber, as well as heavily encoded versions of user passwords.
On Nov. 21, Uber disclosed that names, email addresses and mobile-phone numbers of 57 million drivers and riders had been stolen. In a letter to four Republican senators led by Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune of South Dakota, the company says that Mandiant, the security firm, found 32 million of those are outside the U.S. and 25 million in the country.
Of the total, 7.7 million are drivers, mostly in the U.S., and hackers got driver's license numbers for 600,000 of them, according to the letter from new Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.
-- The Associated Press
49 million tons of e-waste seen in '16
BERLIN -- A new study claims 49.3 million tons of TV sets, refrigerators, cellphones and other electrical goods were discarded last year, with only a fifth recycled to recover the valuable raw materials inside.
The U.N.-backed study published Wednesday calculates that the amount of e-waste thrown away in 2016 included a million tons of chargers alone.
The U.S. accounted for 6.9 million tons, partly because of the fact that the American market for heavy goods is saturated.
The study says all the gold, silver, copper and other valuable materials would have been worth $55 billion had they been recovered.
The authors of the Global E-waste Monitor predict that e-waste, defined as anything with a battery or a cord, will increase to 52.2 million metric tons by 2021.
-- The Associated Press
Target to acquire Shipt in delivery move
NEW YORK -- Target plans to boost its same-day delivery capability by paying $550 million for Shipt, its latest move to try to catch up with Amazon.
Shipt, which charges members $99 a year, sends people out to choose and deliver groceries from stores. Target said Wednesday that it will add more products to the service next year, such as home goods and electronics. Target shoppers will have to make orders through Shipt's app or website and pay the annual fee to get same-day delivery. There are plans to incorporate Shipt into Target's app and website, but the companies did not say when that would happen.
Retailers have been looking for ways to speed up delivery as they try to match the fast service offered by Amazon.com Inc. Earlier this year, Target bought a delivery logistics company to offer same-day service to in-store shoppers.
Minneapolis-based Target expects half of its 1,800 stores to offer Shipt's service by next summer. It'll be available at most of its stores by the 2018 Christmas shopping season, it said.
-- The Associated Press
Union Savings to buy Hibernia Bancorp
NEW ORLEANS -- Union Savings and Loan Association is acquiring Hibernia Bancorp Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Hibernia Bank, in a deal valued at $28.2 million.
New Orleans CityBusiness reported Tuesday's announcement represents an all-cash transaction valued at $32 per share. The merger plans to result in a community bank with five offices and more than $200 million in assets.
Union Savings plans to change its name to "Hibernia Bank" at the transaction's closing, which is expected to be completed in 2018's second quarter.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 12/14/2017