SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Apple Inc will delay the start of production on a larger, 12.9-inch iPad until around September because of problems involving the display panel supply, said a report by Bloomberg News citing people familiar with the company's plans as saying. Production on the bigger tablet had been scheduled to begin this quarter, Bloomberg cited one of the people as saying. (Reporting by Edwin Chan)
By Deepa Seetharaman and Edwin Chan SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Electric-car battery maker A123 Systems has sued Apple Inc for poaching top engineers to build a large-scale battery division, according to a court filing that offered further evidence that the iPhone maker may be developing a car. Apple has been poaching engineers with deep expertise in car systems, including from Tesla Inc, and talking with industry experts and automakers with the ultimate aim of learning how to make its own electric car, an auto industry source said last week. Around June 2014, Apple began aggressively poaching A123 engineers tasked with leading some of the company's most critical projects, the lawsuit said. The engineers jumped ship to pursue similar programs at Apple, in violation of their employment agreements, A123 said in a filing earlier this month in Massachusetts federal court.
By Edwin Chan, Paul Carsten and John Ruwitch SAN FRANCISCO/BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd plans a major move to win U.S. business this year, by offering American retailers new ways to sell to China's vast and growing middle class. Anchored by Alipay, the dominant Chinese electronic payments system that works closely with Alibaba and is controlled by its executives, the world's largest Internet retailer is using the calling card of China's consumers to attract U.S. partners, two sources close to the company told Reuters. Long seen as the most potent threat to Amazon.com Inc with $300 billion in global sales, the moves add up to a conservative approach to expanding in the United States, contrary to industry speculation that the company may be plotting a direct assault on U.S. soil.