Webwire: Samsung lifted by market optimism; HTC profit still sliding

Samsung was a winner of fresh optimism in stock markets on Monday, with its share price rising at least 4% in early trading.
 
Taiwan's HTC has reported a third consecutive quarter of declining profit, with a 58% slump in the second quarter to TW$7.4 billion (€200 million).
 
A leaked Microsoft memo indicates that the company has decided to drop the Metro name for the tile-based Windows 8 interface due to a potential copyright dispute with an “important partner,” believed to be German retail giant Metro AG.
 
Saudi operator Etihad Etisalat is embarking on a 1.05 billion riyal (€226 million) IT outsourcing operation. The telco has picked IBM to handle the move, granting the software firm a five year deal.
 
Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC has agreed to invest €838 million in Europe's ASML, as part of a collaboration to developed advanced semiconductor manufacturing technologies.
 
Sources say China Telecom plans to spend over 120 billion yen (€1.2 billion) to acquire its parent entity's 3G assets - a price that is beyond the book value of the infrastructure.