Global Tech: Big Data's Premonitions, Jack Ma's Insult, Sony's Break-Even Film

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GLOBALTECH TODAY Covering the 57 million square miles outside Silicon Valley.

January 12, 2015 For more, visit Bloomberg.com/global-tech >>

Big Data Knows When You're Going to Quit Before You Do By Jack Clark Good bosses have an uncanny ability to sense when employees are unhappy and work with them to fix problems in the office before it's too late. At VMware in Silicon Valley, they let the machines figure it out. VMware has been testing a new prediction technology from Workday, which makes software for human resources departments. The system delivers notifications about when employees might be getting ready to quit, and allows managers to intervene before it's too late. It looks for trends within employee activity, when promotions were last handed out, regional factors, changes in the industry and other data to make its predictions. The recommendations can improve over time as employers train the system. Read the rest of this story. Related: U.S. Job Gains Cap Best Year Since 1999.

BEST OF BWEST The Challenges Facing Hong Kong Startups  Steven Lam Hoi-yuen, co-founder of GoGoVan, and Hong Kong Venture Capital Association's Melissa Guzy discuss the challenges facing Hong Kong startups. Watch the video >>

GET SMART Jack Ma Calls Tencent Move 'Stupid,' Apologizes for JD Insults Billionaire Jack Ma apologized for calling Chinese e-commerce rival JD.com a "tragedy," saying he was sorry for causing the company trouble by "putting it all out there."  GoPro CEO Woodman Sees Stock Grant Swell to $270 Million GoPro, the world's dominant maker of wearable video cameras used by surfers and others to record their exploits, has thrilled its investors with a 150 percent climb since its initial public offering last June. Corporate governance advisers are less sanguine. Sony Expects to Break Even on 'The Interview'"The Interview," the comedy that Sony Pictures temporarily pulled from theaters, is doing well enough from online sales and rentals to recoup the millions of dollars spent on the film, a person close to the studio said. Box Seeks Valuation of as Much as $1.6 Billion in U.S. IPO Box, the cloud-storage provider that first filed for an initial public offering last March, is proceeding with the share sale after several delays. Uber Says China's Endorsement of Licensed Car-Sharing Boosts AppUber said a Chinese Ministry of Transportation statement endorsing online taxi services that use licensed vehicles and drivers showed government support for car-hailing apps like its own.  Read more news at Bloomberg Global Tech >>

BIG DATUM $12K The ransom amount hackers want for stolen data from a Swiss bank.

INSIDE U.S. TECH Pay Me Back Amazon is known for its efforts to woo consumers with fast deliveries and vast product selection. It turns out the Web retailer is just as assertive when it comes to refunds for returned merchandise. Read the full story >>