THE NEWS WRAP: YouTube starts talks with Hollywood to bolster premium content offering

YouTube has opened a new round of negotiations with Hollywood and independent producers to fund premium content, according to a Reuters report.

The move could bolster a three-year-old multimillion-dollar effort that has had mixed success so far.

YouTube executives have been speaking to Hollywood producers to explore the kind of support it could offer its content creators and produce more must-see programming.

One of the two sources Reuters relied on for the report says YouTube is interested in videos shorter than the 30-minute, TV quality web shows that Amazon and other online sites have funded.

Caviar in talks to be acquired by Square for $100 million

Curated food delivery startup Caviar is in talks to be acquired by Square in a deal that could be worth at least $100 million, sources have told TechCrunch.

Caviar enables customers to order meals online and have them delivered in a short period of time.

It differs from similar startups thanks to exclusive delivery deals with high-quality restaurants, and by a group-ordering feature that allows family and co-workers to add their own meal selections by sharing a link.

SEC suspends Cynk Technology Stock

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has suspended trade in Cynk Technology, a company with negative net assets, no turnover, a barely functioning website, and a stock market valuation that at one point soared to $6 billion.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 28.74 to 16,943.81. The Australian dollar is currently trading at US94 cents.