Japan WhatsApp Rival Line Sets Price Range for IPO

Companies Scramble to Assess Vote’s Impact
Corporate executives scrambled to assess the fallout from the U.K. vote, with some saying the move would put a chill on investment and deal-making and others vowing to stay the course.

GE Bullish on Data for Big Industry
General Electric Co. will plow $1.4 billion into its fast-growing software business this year, as the maker of jet engines and power plants races to dominate the market for digital tools to control major industrial operations.

Chinese Company Defends Case Against Apple
The lawyer for a Chinese company that won a patent ruling against Apple Inc. said his client has no intention of affecting either the U.S. tech giant’s product sales or reputation.

Bank Regulators Aim at Online Small Business Lending
Small businesses have been a growing source of revenue for online lenders. Now, federal regulators are exploring whether they should intensify oversight of these loan deals.

BlackRock to Push Wall Street Chat Tool
The asset manager will exhort banks, brokers and others who interact with it to use the service, a challenge to Bloomberg’s dominant hold across the financial-services industry.

Qualcomm Sues Alibaba-Backed Smartphone Maker
Qualcomm is suing Meizu Technology, a Chinese smartphone maker backed by Alibaba Group Holding, in the latest patent-infringement case involving technology companies.

PlayStation Vue on Roku Makes Cable Cutting Even Easier
PlayStation Vue, Sony’s compelling internet TV offering, is now on Roku, making it available to most people across the U.S.

Wall Street’s Enthusiasm for Tesla Cools
Wall Street used to be crowded with cheerleaders for Tesla Motors Inc., but they are getting harder to find.

ITC Issues Split Determination in Arista/Cisco Patent Dispute
Networking products company Arista Networks Inc., which has been in a patent dispute with Cisco Systems, said the International Trade Commission issued a limited exclusion order and cease-and-desist order against it concerning two features.

With Driverless Cars, a Safety Dilemma Arises
Any fully autonomous vehicle that eventually takes to the road will need to make potentially life or death decisions and many ethicists argue that a public conversation should be part of the development process.

Xerox to Name Jeff Jacobson to Succeed Ursula Burns as CEO
Xerox tapped insider Jeff Jacobson to lead its core copier and printing business after the company’s split later this year, leaving the top job at its namesake business in familiar hands.

Uber Customers Will Get Upfront Pricing in New App Version
Uber Technologies said a new version of its ride-hailing app will require customers to enter their destination before requesting a ride. Prospective riders will then be shown the fare.

Three Books Every Geek Should Read This Summer
These techy titles delve into the worlds of emoji, electronics and detective work that relies on search algorithms.

Videogame ‘Civilization’ to Make Inroads in Classrooms
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. said Thursday it will donate “Civilization V,” the most recent installment in the 25-year-old series, to a nonprofit that modifies games for classrooms in the U.S. and Canada.

Facebook Will Train Employees to Spot Their Own Political Bias
Facebook Inc. will train employees to identify and check their political leanings, the company’s latest step to quell concerns over the treatment of conservative viewpoints on the social network.

Comcast Agrees to Acquire Startup Icontrol Networks
Cable giant Comcast Corp. has agreed to acquire Icontrol Networks Inc. in a deal for the company’s Internet of Things technology.

Twilio Shares Surge in Trading Debut
Twilio shares surged in their trading debut, an optimistic sign for other companies considering going public during a sluggish market for initial public offerings.

FAA Levies Two More Fines on Amazon
Amazon mishandled dangerous chemicals during shipping on two occasions in 2014, the agency says. The FAA proposed a $350,000 fine for violating similar regulations less than two weeks ago

China’s Airbnb Snaps Up Rival Startup
Tujia.com has acquired a smaller local rival, Mayi.com, the latest in a wave of consolidation deals among Chinese technology startups.

Google Is Bullish on Virtual Reality, But It Has a Long Way to Go
Google is showcasing the growth of virtual-reality content on YouTube this week during the Cannes Lions ad festival. But the company’s executives acknowledge the medium still has a way to go.

BlackBerry Reports Loss but Sees Improvement in Software Sales
BlackBerry Ltd.’s recorded a large fiscal first-quarter loss on Thursday on a hefty asset-impairment charge, but results excluding items far outpaced analyst expectations amid improving sales in its software business.

For LinkedIn China, Microsoft Deal Is a Complicated Connection
LinkedIn has found rare success in China for a Western tech firm thanks to its willingness to censor content, while its new owner Microsoft has faced challenges there.

Facebook Is the New Office Break Room, According to Pew Study
A new Pew Research Center survey about the use of social networks during the workday confirms that people sign on to Facebook and Twitter to take mental breaks from work.

Amazon’s New Kindle Brings Back Accessibility for the Blind
Amazon announced a thinner, lighter entry-level Kindle e-reader on Wednesday. Yet the biggest new feature turns out to be Bluetooth, which will restore text-to-speech functionality.

Red Hat Offers Downbeat Guidance for the Year
Red Hat Inc. said sales in its first quarter climbed above expectations, but the open-source software and cloud infrastructure firm gave downbeat guidance for the year that suggests growth may cool.

Road Trip Planners That Make Any Drive Fun
Tools like Roadtrippers, Furkot and Google Maps reveal local tips and worthy points of interest on hundreds of journeys—even the ones you thought were hopeless

Online-Video Viewers Open Wallets
Columnist Li Yuan writes that online video in China is starting to look more like Netflix and less like YouTube, as more users agree to pay for subscriptions.

The Best Noise-Canceling Headphones
Geoffrey A. Fowler tested eight wireless noise-canceling headphones on an economy-class flight to find out: Can Beats or Sony topple the new Bose QuietComfort 35?

Hoverboard Dangers Helping U.S. Set Safety Standards
Last year’s surge in hoverboard sales—and the surprising propensity for some of them to catch fire—are helping U.S. regulators create a template for improving product safety.

BlackBerry to Post Wider Loss, Lower Revenue
Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry is set to report results Thursday. A key focus will be on Chief Executive John Chen’s efforts to shift BlackBerry’s focus away from its roots as a consumer smartphone player.

Twilio IPO Tests Market Appetite for Tech
The stock-market debut of Twilio marks a big test for the dozens of technology companies that have been valued at more than $1 billion in private fundraising.

Foxconn to Close Inefficient Units at Sharp
Foxconn Technology Group plans to close inefficient subsidiaries at Sharp after completing its $3.5 billion acquisition of the unprofitable Japanese electronics maker.

Tesla Shares Hit Hard After Offer to Buy SolarCity
Tesla Motors investors dumped shares a day after the company unveiled a takeover offer for SolarCity fueling doubts over Elon Musk’s plan to combine the electric-car and solar-energy companies he backs.

Regulators See Potential Risks in Online Lending, Blockchain
The rapid growth in online lending and use of digital currency warrants close scrutiny, U.S. policy makers said Tuesday in an annual report on financial-system threats.

Arora Exits SoftBank: Pay Attention to the Deals, Not the Dealmaker
Nikesh Arora’s departure from SoftBank is secondary news to the company’s successful asset sales.

Chinese Company in Patent Dispute With Apple Barely Exists
By the time regulators awarded phone-maker Shenzhen Baili a patent victory against Apple, its parent, Digione, had collapsed.

FAA Joins Push to Use Wireless Signals For Aircraft-Safety Systems
U.S. aviation regulators have teamed up with their European counterparts to develop common standards aimed at harnessing wireless signals for a potentially wide array of aircraft-safety systems.

SoftBank Investors Cheer CEO’s Decision to Stay On
Following the departure of his heir apparent, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son says he will stay at the helm for years to come.

Tech Companies Weigh Their Interests Before ‘Brexit’ Vote
Technology executives and lobbyists say if the U.K. leaves the EU it could deepen battles on regulatory issues they have had with the bloc—while creating new obstacles for them to do business in the U.K.

Tesla Offers to Acquire SolarCity
Elon Musk proposed combining his electric-car and solar-energy companies, in a bold effort to consolidate his holdings and offer widespread clean-energy products from vehicles to power in homes.

Some Tips on Job Security in the Robot Age
Co-author Tom Davenport of the new book “Only Humans Need Apply” speaks on knowledge workers and how the threat to professional workers from automation is not a new fear.

Big Media Needs to Embrace Digital Shift
TV ad dollars will gradually go digital, but that need not signal doom for entertainment giants. They can fight for a healthy cut of the action, writes WSJ media editor Amol Sharma.

Adobe Earnings Rise
Adobe Systems Inc. reported better-than-expected earnings for its latest quarter as subscription revenue climbed, but the company’s full-year guidance disappointed investors.

Here’s Your Chance to Decode President Lincoln’s Secret Messages
A crowdsourced initiative in which anyone can help decipher Civil War telegrams, including messages from Lincoln himself.

Apple Pays Back E-Book Buyers Following Settlement
E-book retailers began issuing Apple-funded credits Tuesday to customer accounts following Apple’s agreement to pay $400 million in a settlement that ended an antitrust complaint.

Government Issues Rules on Commercial Drones
The U.S. issued long-awaited rules authorizing businesses to start using small drones. The regulations don’t resolve some of the biggest safety issues, such as flying the machines safely over people or beyond the sight of pilots.

For Apple’s Next iPhone, Don’t Expect Big Changes
Apple plans to break with its recent pattern of overhauling the design of its flagship iPhone every two years and make only subtle changes in the models it will release this fall, according to people familiar with the matter.

How Thin Does Your Laptop Need to Be?
As laptops go on extreme diets, you need to ask yourself what you’re willing to sacrifice in ports, power and battery life, Joanna Stern writes.

Facebook Paying Media Firms to Create Video for Streaming Service
Facebook is paying an array of media companies and celebrities to create videos for its live-streaming service and has signed nearly 140 contracts totaling more than $50 million, according to a document reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

OSI Systems to Buy American Science & Engineering
OSI Systems Inc. said Tuesday it would acquire American Science & Engineering Inc. for $269 million in cash, as it advances its technology and expands its customer base.

Robots on Track to Bump Humans From Call-Center Jobs
As technology improves, an increasing number of the 1.2 million call-center workers, whose pay is modest by U.S. standards, are likely to have their outsourcing jobs outsourced to robots.

Altice Closes Buy of Cablevision
Altice completed its roughly $10 billion acquisition of Cablevision Systems, clearing the way for the formation of a new telecommunications giant in the U.S.

Spotify Looks to Ramp Up Ad Business
Spotify is cranking up its ad business with an expanded staff and new products as the company looks to make it clear to brands that it’s free, ad-supported product is becoming more of a priority.

Samsung SDI, LG Chem Face Setback in China on Electric-Car Batteries
South Korea’s two biggest electric-vehicle battery makers said Tuesday their applications for certification were rejected, dealing a blow to their plans to expand in the world’s largest auto market.