Workforce
Obama adds Applied Materials to Austin itinerary. President Barack Obama will visit Applied Materials, a venerable cog in Austin’s high-tech scene, when he comes to town Thursday for the first of his so-called Middle Class Jobs and Opportunity tours. (American Statesman)
Battle over immigration bill starts in Congress. The Congress this week opens its first debate in six years on a comprehensive immigration reform bill, testing whether business and labor groups can hold together on a delicately crafted deal that already is under attack. (Reuters)
Tech firms fight hiring rules in immigration bill. Technology firms, exercising new political clout on Capitol Hill, are lobbying against a measure in the leading Senate immigration bill that would make it harder for them to recruit workers from abroad without first taking steps to hire Americans for highly skilled jobs in programming, engineering and other fields. (USA Today)
Cybersecurity & Privacy
Pentagon Accuses China of U.S. Cyberspying. The Chinese military has targeted U.S. government computers with intrusions that seek sensitive data, according to a report in which the Pentagon for the first time directly accuses China of a cyber espionage campaign. (Bloomberg)
U.S. Turns Up Heat On Costly Commercial Cyber Theft In China. U.S. official displeasure has grown over the problem of Chinese cyber-espionage. The Obama administration has signaled that it will step up the investigation and prosecution of trade secret theft and has not ruled out punitive measures. (NPR)
China rejects Pentagon charges of military espionage. China is using espionage to acquire technology to fuel its military modernization, the Pentagon said on Monday, for the first time accusing the Chinese of trying to break into U.S. defense computer networks and prompting a firm denial from Beijing. (Reuters)
Hackers Plan 'Day To Remember' With Attacks On Government Agencies. A collective of hacker groups plans to attack the websites of major government agencies and banks on Tuesday to protest American foreign policy. (Huffington Post)
DHS urged to hire outsider for new cyber chief. The Department of Homeland Security is weighing whether to look outside the federal government for a new point person on cybersecurity. (The Hill)
Google Aims To Patent Policy Violation Checker, Potentially Revolutionizing Email Snooping. Google has filed a patent for a tool that seems like an evil-checker: a software system that could prevent people from writing out, in electronic correspondence and documents, phrases that run afoul of policies or laws. (Huffington Post)
Tax
Special interests defend breaks in report on tax overhaul. "Tax the other guy, not me!" was the main message from a variety of special interest groups commenting on tax breaks in a report issued on Monday, underscoring the problems faced by the U.S. Congress as it considers a revamp of the tax code. (Reuters)
Senate Passes Bill to Widen Tax Collection on the Web. A bipartisan coalition won a 69-to-27 vote to require online retailers to collect sales taxes for state and local governments. But antitax forces hope the House will kill the measure. (NYT)
Some Net Retailers Aren't Buying Online Sales Tax Proposal. Proponents of the bill, currently before Congress, say collecting taxes from online sales should be relatively simple for retailers. But with close to 10,000 tax jurisdictions around the country, some online businesses say collecting the taxes and navigating potential problems will be a costly burden. (NPR)
Key facts about Mexico's tax system. Mexico's new government has promised a comprehensive review of its tax system, to be announced in the second half of 2013 along with an overhaul of energy policy. (Reuters)
UK tax changes 'luring multinationals'. THE UK chairman of a major international accounting firm says he personally knows of a substantial number of multinationals that are seeking to relocate to Britain due to the country's more competitive corporate tax regime. (Irish Independent)
Denmark reduces corporate tax. Lower corporate tax rate, reduced energy taxation and better access to financing are elements of a new Danish growth plan that will improve conditions for doing business in Denmark. (Copenhagen Capacity)
Global Trade
Where Trade Is Free, Powerful Economic Growth Is The Norm. It’s clear that a global free trade agreement, which includes the first and third largest economies – and all of NAFTA – will truly achieve “game changer” status. With Japan, the TPP would cover 40 percent of global GDP, and nearly 10 percent of total trade, including one third of U.S. external trade. With these growth prospects in mind, Japan should be welcomed by all parties to the TPP. (Forbes)
TPP talks key to opening Japan. The nation's entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership is essential for trade. (Politico op-ed/Johanns and Glickman)
Japanese Officials Stress That Japan Will Play Constructive Role In TPP. Japanese officials last week publicly stressed to Washington-based stakeholders that Tokyo is determined to play a constructive role in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations once it joins in late July. They argued that Japan will be ambitious, will not slow down the negotiations, and will avoid the internal hand-wringing that has slowed major policy decisions in Tokyo in recent years. (Inside US Trade)
Mexico Battles Brazil for Clout Via WTO Top Job as Economy Grows. Latin America’s two largest nations are vying for economic and diplomatic clout as their candidates face off as finalists to head the World Trade Organization. (Bloomberg)
European Union Will Support Mexico's Blanco for Top WTO Post: Sources. The European Union today (May 6) reached agreement to jointly support Herminio Blanco of Mexico to become the next World Trade Organization director-general, according to EU sources. EU officials will inform WTO officials leading the DG selection process of their decision in a private meeting tomorrow (May 7). (Inside US Trade)
EU data law changes offer opportunities for Asia's datacenter markets. Destinations such as Singapore, Malaysia or Hong Kong need to seize the opportunity of being deemed an acceptable data transfer partner with the European Union in order to get ahead of the competition. (ZDNet)
Audi needs clarity on laws before decision on Brazil plant: CEO. Volkswagen AG's Audi premium brand will not build a vehicle assembly plant in Brazil until the laws governing what exactly is required to ensure a car is considered locally built are clarified. (Reuters)
Regulation
India shows U.S. path to patent standards. What the Supreme Court ruling on Gleevec actually demonstrates is that India has set a high bar for determining what is “innovative.” The U.S. could learn a thing or two from India – particularly since its liberal patent system led to a ridiculous spat last year between Samsung and Apple over whether a rectangular cellphone screen with rounded corners was patentable, writes Swaminathan Aiyar. (Reuters)
Motorola 'abused patent position'. Motorola "abused its position" when it filed a patent injunction against Apple in Germany, EU officials say. (BBC)
Did Google flush $12.4 billion down the toilet with Motorola? An EU warning to Motorola Mobility is just the latest defeat that has some wondering why Google bought the handset and TV set-top box maker. (CNET)
Patent Quality Improvement Act hits Congress. New legislation aims to save technology companies "billions of dollars in litigation" with a permanent patent review process. (CNET)
FTC refuses to delay online privacy rules for kids. The Federal Trade Commission has refused calls from industry groups to delay the implementation of its regulations aimed at protecting the online privacy of children. The commission voted unanimously on Monday to move ahead with the planned July 1 implementation date. (The Hill)
Environment & Sustainability
King Coal Losing Crown as U.S. Gains Energy Independence. Pain is being felt from Appalachia to Wyoming as the U.S. reduces its dependence on coal to almost the lowest level in 63 years -- the cost of the country becoming more energy self- sufficient through the production of more natural gas and oil. (Bloomberg)
Mobility
BlackBerry launches low cost plan within 15 circles in India. The phonemaker has launched a plan offering all its services, such as e-mail, BlackBerry Messenger, social networking, Internet browsing, for 129 rupees (US$2.38) per GB in order to expand its network within India. (ZDNet)
Tech Business
Online Video-Ad Startups Near IPOs Challenging Google. Demand for Web commercials played alongside video clips is fueling growth at marketing startups, putting such companies as Tremor Video Inc., YuMe Inc. and Adap.tv Inc. on course for initial public offerings this year. (Bloomberg)
YouTube Said to Plan Subscription Channels Within Weeks. Google Inc.’s YouTube will offer paid subscription channels over the next few weeks, people with knowledge of the matter said, expanding the choices for television viewers beyond traditional pay-TV packages. (Bloomberg)
Chipmakers’ capacity restraint has sharp effect. Major manufacturers are cutting back on capacity expansion – a move that could have troubling implications for some customers in a smartphone industry that has enjoyed an increasingly abundant supply of memory chips at decreasing cost. (FT)
Huawei revises down enterprise sales, eyes $10B by 2017. Chinese networking giant is gunning for a sales revenue target of US$10 billion in five years' time, which is less rosy when compared with the US$15-billion-by-2015 projection set last year. (ZDNet)
Foxconn Tries to Move Past the iPhone. Foxconn, an electronics contractor in China that was criticized for poor conditions in factories making Apple products, is moving to develop its own goods, like televisions. (NYT)