Corporate

Apple will hold September quarter earnings call on October 27

Apple said on the Investor webpage that it has scheduled an earnings call to discuss fiscal 2016 fourth quarter earnings a month from today on Thursday, October 27, 2016 at 2:00pm PT / 5:00pm ET. The company's fourth fiscal quarter corresponds to the third calendar quarter. A press release will go out 30 minutes in advance of the earnings call.

The government of Ireland will back Apple in its fight against EU’s tax bill from hell

Following news earlier this week that the European Commission had ruled that Apple must pay €13 billion ($14.5 billion) in back taxes to the government of Ireland because its sweetheart deal with Dublin that lets it be subjected to a lower tax rate constitutes “illegal state aid,” the Irish government said today it would join Apple in its fight against the ruling.

“Paradoxically, Ireland is determined not to accept the tax windfall, which would be equivalent to what it spent last year on funding its struggling health service,” says the report.

Here’s Tim Cook’s message to Apple community regarding massive Irish tax bill

The European Commission has ruled that Apple is on the hook for €13 billion ($14.5 billion) in back taxes as its “sweetheart deal” to pay a lower tax rate in Ireland has been characterized as “illegal state aid”.

Apple is going to appeal the ruling and now CEO Tim Cook has penned an open letter, entitled “A Message to the Apple Community in Europe,” in which he explains Apple's position in this case, writing he is “confident” that the huge tax bill will be reversed.

EU orders Apple to pay $14.5 billion in back taxes

At a press conference Tuesday, the European Commission's competition commissioner Margarethe Vestager announced that the European Union has ordered the government of Ireland to collect up to €13 billion, or about $14.5 billion, in back taxes from Apple. The sum represents Europe’s largest tax penalty and a significant increase over the 1 billion figure floated around ahead of the ruling.

Apple will appeal the decision.

European Commission to reportedly rule against Apple’s sweetheart tax deal with Ireland

According to a 130-page judgment seen by The Financial Times, the European Commission (EC) is set to rule Tuesday against Apple's sweetheart tax deal it struck with the government of Ireland back in 1999.

The Commission is reportedly set to demand that Ireland recoup over 1 billion euros in back taxes from the iPhone maker, or circa $1.12 billion.

“Apple will on Tuesday be hit with Europe’s largest tax penalty after Brussels ruled that the company received illegal state aid from Ireland,” warns the financial newspaper.

Pinterest just bought Instapaper

In a newsworthy move that in all likelihood makes lots of sense, the photo sharing service Pinterest has acquired Pinterest, the popular app and web service for saving webpages to read later.

According to the announcement, Pinterest will continue to develop and maintain the mobile Instapaper app, available at no charge on the App Store.

Apple Store updates: design changes, new & renamed positions + ambitious retail credo

During an all-hands meeting held with retail employees this weekend, Apple's retail boss Angela Ahrendts discussed changes coming to its brick-and-mortar locations while revealing an updated corporate credo that all retail employees are expected to follow.

She also announced three new retail positions—Pro, Creative Pro and Technical Expert—renamed a few existing ones and shared tidbits on Jony Ive-approved store design and layout, as first discovered by MacRumors.

Apple buys personal health data startup Gliimpse

Apple has acquired another small startup, called Gliimpse, that has built a secure software platform for users to manage and share their own medical records, Fast Company learned Monday.

The acquisition reportedly happened earlier this year, but Apple's been quiet about it and has now issued its usual non-denial, saying: “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.”

Apple given go-ahead to start building its massive $1 billion data center in Ireland

Following months of back and forth between Apple and Ireland's independent planning body An Bord Pleanála, plans for a massive $1 billion data center in Galway County have been approved, reports Business Insider. “Despite opposition from a number of individuals and local businesses,” Apple's been granted the go-ahead to build the first stage of the data center on a 197-hectare site.

The facility will support Apple’s online services for customers in Europe, including the iTunes Store, App Store, iMessage, Maps and Siri.

Apple bolsters its Health team by re-hiring Flipboard co-founder Evan Doll

Evan Doll, former Senior iPhone Engineer who left Apple a few years ago to co-found popular social news reader app Flipboard, has been re-hired by the Cupertino firm to help advance Apple's health-related initiatives. Bloomberg first caught wind of Doll's re-hiring this morning, based on his recently updated LinkedIn profile revealing his new position at Apple: Director of Health Software Engineering.