Overseas:
1. Starbucks Launches Planned $5 Billion Buyback Days After Ackman Unveils Stake
2. Amazon bids $400 mn for stake in Spencer’s; deal stuck at valuation stage
3. Facebook now says data breach affected 29 million users
4. Facebook’s gaming hub Fb.gg launches into beta on Android
5. Uber Tells SEC It Wants to Give Drivers Equity
6. Key EU lawmaker’s plan to rein in online marketplaces a threat to Amazon
7. Venmo bumps up instant transfer fee to 1 percent of the total amount
8. Fertility apps are increasingly being used as contraception and one has even gained FDA approval
9. Data warehousing company Snowflake raised $450 million in new funding, led by Sequoia Capital.
10. Digital education company RedShelf raised $25 million in Series C funding.
13. Healthy food provider Kettlebell Kitchen Closes Series B Investment Led by North Castle Partners.
China:
1. China’s Huawei to invest 1 billion yuan in cloud business over 3 years
3. NetEase Music secured investment from Baidu
4. Baidu Delivery officially rebrands as eleme Xing Xuan 饿了么星选
5. Fashion Group YOHO! raised 7-digit USD investment in E+ round led by C Ventures.
Cross-border:
1. Alibaba’s Jack Ma to open institute for tech entrepreneurs in Indonesia
2. U.S. lawmakers urge Canada to snub China’s Huawei in telecoms
3. Alibaba-Backed UCWeb Denies Merger Talks With Paytm For Its India Biz
Blockchain:
HTC announced to publish the Blockchain smartphone on October 22rd.
Emerging Market:
2. Malaysia’s P2P financing startup Fundaztic to raise US$722K through ECF platform pitchIN
3. Malaysia’s PE firm Ekuinas sells its stake in Tranglo to Hong Kong’s TNG for US$27.5M
Cover picture credits from TheStreet.