THE NEWS WRAP: Apple expected to pay $US450 million to e-book buyers

Apple has lost its appeal against a 2013 decision that found it had conspired with publishers to raise the price of e-books, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The decision means the company is expected to pay around $US450 million to e-book consumers for violating American antitrust laws.

However, the financial penalty won’t cause too much of a dent in Apple’s coffers, with the company scooping up $US18 billion in profit during the first quarter of 2015.

HomeHero raises $US20 million in Series A funding

HomeHero has announced a $US20 million Series A round in a bid to accelerate its growth.

The California-based company, which launched just last year, connects seniors with quality in-home care.

Co-founder and chief executive, Kyle Hill, said in a statement that the capital injection will allow the business to grow its team and expand its services beyond Los Angeles.

“The rapid growth of our business has created a need to scale our team as we expand beyond our Los Angeles launch market into additional cities with large senior populations, like San Diego and San Francisco,” he said.

“This funding will allow us to develop the new products and operations we need to grow the company, while still maintaining the excellent service and quality our clients expect.”

You can now send and receive emoji while using Gmail

Gmail has received a much needed makeover, with users now being able to select from a wider range of inbox themes.

Google software engineer Gaurav Vijay also wrote in a blog post that Gmail users will also now be able to send emoji to one another.

“Your inbox is home to some of your most meaningful and entertaining messages – from that acceptance letter, to those throwback photos – so we think it’s important for Gmail to feel just as personal,” he wrote.

“That’s why we offer lots of ways to customize your experience – from inbox categories, to email formatting, to shareable selfies – and why today we’re expanding your options with additional themes, and emoji.”

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 23.16 points, rising 0.13% overnight to 17,619.51. The Aussie dollar is currently trading at around 77.03 US cents.

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