europe

By Yasmeen Abutaleb and Julia Fioretti SAN FRANCISCO/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – U.S. businesses from online coupon company RetailMeNot Inc to security software company Symantec Corp said a European change to rules governing transatlantic personal data transfers would hurt U.S. companies and called for a quick fix. An EU court on Tuesday struck down a deal to let U.S. and European companies easily transfer personal data between continents, leaving some U.S. companies concerned that they will be frozen out of the market or replaced by EU competitors. “The biggest fear is they'll lose the opportunity to provide data services in Europe,” said Emery Simon, counselor to BSA | The Software Alliance, an industry group for software companies such as Oracle , Salesforce and IBM .

Apple Inc is stepping up aid to the thousands of migrants that are streaming into Europe from war-torn countries, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook told employees in an internal message on Friday. Cook wrote in a message on the company's intranet site that the Macbook and iPhone maker will make a “substantial donation” to relief agencies supporting the migrants and will match employee donations to the cause by 2-to-1. The Cupertino, California-based company is also offering customers the option to donate to the Red Cross through its App Store and iTunes Store.

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.