Google closes Motorola deal, names new Motorola CEO

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Google Inc completed its $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility, and the Web search leader named a new management team for the cellphone maker. Google said on Tuesday that Motorola Chief Executive Sanjay Jha has stepped and has been succeeded by Dennis Woodside, former president of Google's Americas region. Woodside oversaw planning for the Motorola integration, according to Google. The deal close comes just days after the companies gained approval for the acquisition from the Chinese government. European and U.S. regulators approved the deal in February. ...

Brad Pitt mob movie portrays broken American dream

CANNES, France (Reuters) - Brad Pitt's latest movie paints a bleak picture of the broken American dream, blending a violent but comic gangster story with overt criticism of politicians' failure to address the economic crisis. "Killing Them Softly" takes place in an unspecified U.S. city which has borne the brunt of the financial collapse -- houses are abandoned, shops are shuttered and petty criminals and mobsters alike are struggling to get by. The movie, co-produced by Pitt, is in the main competition at the Cannes film festival this year, and has its red carpet world premiere on Tuesday. ...

Google closes Motorola acquisition

In line with earlier reports, Google on Tuesday finalized its acquisition of Motorola Mobility. The $12.5 billion merger was approved by regulators in China on Monday after having been given the green light by the United States Department of Justice this past February. Chinese regulators did stipulate terms for its approval, however, namely that Google must continue to make Android open-source and freely available. Former Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha has stepped down and Google’s Dennis Woodside will replace him as chief executive. “I’m excited to announce today that our Motorola Mobility deal has closed,” Google CEO Larry Page wrote in a letter published on Google’s blog. “Motorola is a great American tech company that has driven the mobile revolution, with

Zynga launches prepaid debit card with American Express

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Zynga Inc., the social games publisher, has reached a partnership agreement with American Express to issue a prepaid debit card that could be used to redeem virtual credits, the two companies said. The partnership will help increase use of American Express' digital payments platform Serve as the credit card issuer competes with online gateway Paypal, a unit of eBay Inc, which is pushing to process transactions by mobile phones. ...