BT and Verizon to create global business in $625m deal, Sharp announces ‘food tracking’ smartwatch

BT and the US mobile company Verizon are to combine their international businesses, ending the British telecom group’s more than 18-month search for a buyer. Verizon will pay a $625m (£473m) “equalisation” fee to BT to guarantee equal voting rights in the new 50/50 joint venture, the companies announced on Monday. The deal is expected to create a company with more than 3,000 customers across about 180 countries and $4bn in combined annual revenue. It marks the end of BT’s long search for a buyer of its international business, as its chief executive, Allison Kirkby, works to refocus the company on the UK market. The Guardian 

Japanese telecommunications operator KDDI Corporation disclosed a data breach where threat actors gained access to one of its email systems used by five other internet service providers (ISPs) in the country. The company says that it discovered the compromise on June 17 and responded immediately by blocking the attacker and implementing defense measures. The investigation determined that the hackers exploited a vulnerability in an unnamed third-party software that KDDI Corporation used on its system. Bleeping Computer 

Shell’s tiny Triple 10 Challenge Concept car charges very quickly, has excellent efficiency, and promises to reduce its carbon footprint by half compared to today’s European EVs. However, the really important part is the fluid that makes it work. The big innovation with this one-off study is how it cools its battery, which is completely different from how everybody else does it. It features a cooling system that, unlike in most other EVs, where the battery cells are indirectly cooled, uses a different coolant that can safely come into contact with high-voltage parts. InsideEVs

Hot on the heels of its record IPO, SpaceX’s massive $25 billion bond issuance was met with heavy selling in the secondary market. The aggressive financing pace of the chronically loss-making rocket and artificial intelligence company quickly backfired on investor confidence, causing its bond spreads to widen sharply, pushing them close to speculative-grade (i.e., “junk”) levels. As of Friday, SpaceX corporate bonds went from “red-hot demand” on the books to a full-blown rout within just 48 hours of pricing. PA News 

Working in a high-flying role in Silicon Valley has been many people’s dream job for more than a decade. As the financial crisis made working on Wall Street unfashionable, hordes of graduates flocked west to seek their fortune. Silicon Valley’s bumper profits allowed its companies to pay six-figure starting salaries and job security at the world’s biggest companies seemed all but certain. But now, the dream is over. Despite profits being at record highs, big tech companies are laying off staff in droves, in a wave of job cuts. Telegraph 

Sharp has announced its first smartwatch, and it comes with a feature that’s unlike anything offered by Apple, Garmin or Samsung. The new Karada Mate Watch claims to automatically estimate calorie intake using a bioelectrical impedance sensor. Developed with California-based health technology company HEALBE, the system measures changes in the body’s water movement and sugar levels to estimate how much you’ve eaten throughout the day. T3.com

Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls has finally unveiled the last remaining characters joining its launch roster with its latest trailer. The final team is the Samurai Outriders, led by the previously-announced Ghost Rider, and he’s joined by Blade, Loki, and Deadpool. Check them out below. Push Square