THE NEWS WRAP: Payments startup Square closes $US150 million funding round at $US6 billion valuation

Payments startup Square has closed a financing round of $US150 million, at a valuation of $US6 billion, The New York Times reports.

The latest round was led by a new investor, the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation and places the company alongside startups like Pinterest and Spotify, which are also valued in the $US5 to $US6 billion ($A5.7 billion to $6.9 billion) range.

Previous investors Goldman Sachs and Rizvi Traverse Management also participated in the round.

Hewlett-Packard confirms split, will shed jobs

Hewlett-Packard has confirmed plans to split the company in two parts, a move executives say is driven by the need to stay nimble to keep up with rapidly changing technology, The Wall Street Journal reports.

One part of HP will consist of the company’s personal computer and printer business, while the other will sell computer servers, data-storage gear, software, consulting operations and other services for corporate technology departments.

The company also boosted the number of expected layoffs it had planned by 5000, to 55,000. The job losses were planned after the company identified “incremental opportunities for reductions”.

DocuSign raises $115 million

E-signature software startup DocuSign has raised $US115 million ($A131 million) from Japanese backers in a Series E financing round, GeekWire reports.

Japanese firms NTT Finance, Mitsui & Co and Recruit Holdings all made strategic investments in the startup and will begin using DocuSign’s software to power their businesses.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 17.78 to 16,991.91. The Australian dollar is currently trading at US88 cents.