VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Redbox Instant, a streaming video service operated by Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) and Outerwall Inc's (OUTR.O) Redbox, will shut down next week because the venture has not been as successful as hoped, the two companies announced Saturday.

Online retailer Amazon.com Inc plans to sell packaged food and beverages in India from mid-October, the Economic Times reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Amazon.com Inc will boost staffing at its secretive Silicon Valley-based hardware unit by at least 27 percent over the next five years as it tests Internet-connected "smart" home gadgets such as a one-button device to order supplies.

State and local officials in Ohio are courting Amazon.com Inc with tax breaks and other perks to convince the No. 1 U.S. online retailer to build a $1.1 billion data center in central Ohio and create 120 jobs, according to public records.

China's Dalian Wanda group and Tencent Holdings Ltd (0700.HK) said on Friday they would set up a 5 billion yuan ($814 million) e-commerce joint venture with Baidu Inc (BIDU.O), as the firms push into the high-growth e-commerce sector.

Google Inc is developing airborne drones capable of flying on their own and delivering anything from candy to medicine, the Internet company said on Thursday.

Amazon.com Inc posted a much larger-than-expected loss in the second quarter as its rapid pace of investment in businesses such as digital content and consumer electronics offset a 23 percent jump in revenue.

Amazon.com Inc launched a $9.99-per-month subscription service on Friday that lets customers read as much as they choose from its library of more than 600,000 digital books.

State-backed fund Innovation Network Corp of Japan (INCJ) entered an agreement to pick up a 20% stake in Kyoto-based robotic hand maker Squse Inc for JPY500 million ($4.9 million), according to three sources familiar with the matter.

Compared to the spending of its five biggest US rivals combined, Google Inc has spent more money in the past two years in its effort to reach out to new markets, Bloomberg reported.

Many large US retailers on Thursday dialed back their earnings forecasts because of steep discounts they offered during the holidays. Discounts boosted overall industry sales but hurt profits at many retail chains.

Workers in Amazon.com's logistic centers in the German towns of Bad Hersfled, Leipzig and Graben are prepared to go on strike on Monday. A dispute over pay has been plaguing the online retail company for months.

Amazon.com Inc has no intention of bowing to pressure from striking workers in Germany and is more worried about bad weather hurting Christmas deliveries, its country head said.

Lone Pine Capital increased its holdings in online companies by buying shares in China-based search engine Baidu Inc and ecommerce firm Amazon.com Inc. The fund also bought shares in MasterCard Inc.