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Bertelsmann SE & Co KGaA, Europe's largest media group, is close to acquiring a minority stake in learning technology firm HotChalk, according to people familiar with the matter, as the educational technology sector continues to grow. Bertelsmann is leading a funding round that could value the Campbell, California-based company at $600 million to $800 million, the people said this week. Bertelsmann may use one of its subsidiaries for the investment, which is still under negotiation, the people added.

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The announcement by FCA US LLC, formerly Chrysler Group LLC, comes more than a month after the company recalled about 1.4 million vehicles in the United States for the software update. FCA said on Friday that it was unaware of any injuries related to software exploitation. The recalled vehicles include 2015 Jeep Renegade SUVs equipped with 6.5-inch touchscreens.

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By Ritsuko Ando and Reiji Murai TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan Display Inc's new chief executive said on Thursday the screen maker's “biggest client”, widely understood to refer to Apple Inc , is increasing orders ahead of the expected launch of a new iPhone this month. Mitsuru Homma, who was appointed CEO in June, said weakness in China's smartphone market, the world's biggest, amid that country's broader economic slowdown was not affecting the orders for display screens it was getting from its top client. Apple is expected to unveil the new iPhone at an event on Sept. 9.

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By Dan Levine SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Uber drivers are entitled to class action status in litigation over whether they are independent contractors or employees, a U.S. judge ruled on Tuesday, in a case that could have wide implications for the sharing economy. Three drivers sued Uber in a federal court in San Francisco, contending they are employees and entitled to reimbursement for expenses, including gas and vehicle maintenance. In the ruling, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco said drivers could sue as a group on the question of whether they are employees or contractors, and over their demand for payment of tips that were not passed on to them.

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The White House is considering applying sanctions against companies and individuals in China it believes have benefited from Chinese hacking of U.S. trade secrets, the Washington Post reported on Sunday. The newspaper, citing several unidentified Obama administration officials, said a final determination on whether to issue the sanctions was expected soon, possibly as early as the next two weeks. Suspicions that Chinese hackers were behind a series of data breaches in the United States have been an irritant in relations between the world's two largest economies as President Xi Jinping prepares to make his first visit to the United States next month.

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By Alastair Sharp TORONTO (Reuters) – The chief executive of infidelity website Ashley Madison's parent company Avid Life Media has left, just over a week after hackers leaked data about millions of its clients in a massive cyber assault. Avid Life said on Friday the departure of Noel Biderman was by “mutual agreement” and its existing senior management team would take over until a new CEO is appointed. On Aug. 18, hackers who claimed to be unhappy with its business practices released the Ashley Madison customer data, and police probing the breach said it had sparked extortion attempts and at least two unconfirmed suicides.

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By Paul Carsten and Engen Tham BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Uber Technologies Inc's China arm has closed its $1 billion fundraising round early, according to two people with knowledge of the matter, with investors still hopeful for the U.S.-based ride service despite strong domestic competition. Investors in Uber's Chinese unit include Internet giant Baidu Inc, China CITIC Bank Corp Ltd and China Life Insurance Co Ltd, among others, said one of the people, requesting anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Chinese financial conglomerate Ping An Group's investment arm and Hillhouse Capital, which has a stake in the main U.S.-based Uber business, also took part, the person said.

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By Yasmeen Abutaleb SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Facebook Inc is testing a personal digital assistant called “M” within its Messenger service that can answer questions with live human help and perform tasks such as buying gifts online and booking restaurants. M is “powered by artificial intelligence that's trained and supervised by people,” David Marcus, vice president of Messaging products, wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday. Rival services like Apple Inc's Siri, Google Inc's Google Now and Microsoft Corp's Cortana rely entirely on technology to answer questions.

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(Reuters) – Infidelity website Ashley Madison and its parent company have been sued in federal court in California by a man who claims that the companies failed to adequately protect clients' personal and financial information from theft, saying he suffered emotional distress. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles by a man identified as John Doe, seeks class-action status. The lawsuit accuses Ashley Madison and parent company Avid Life Media Inc, which is based in Toronto, of negligence and invasion of privacy, as well as causing emotional distress.

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(Reuters) – A BT Group Plc executive has called for the United States to require its telecommunications companies to allow access to their networks at regulated prices, similar to rules in place in the United Kingdom, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. Bas Burger, president of the British company's Americas unit, told the newspaper that a lack of regulation has hampered competition in the United States, where AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications Inc control about 80 percent of the telephone and broadband lines used by homes and businesses. Burger said BT Group must charge customers more because it has to pay large fees to the U.S. rivals to carry data over these wires.