By Sam Forgione and Nicola Leske

(Reuters) – When Hewlett-Packard Co agreed to buy British software company Autonomy in August last year for $11.1 billion, two well-known investors made diametrically different bets on how the big deal would play out.

To short seller Jim Chanos, who had been raising red flags on Autonomy for years and had started shorting shares of HP in 2011, the deal was another nail in the coffin of the Silicon Valley tech giant, according to a source familiar with his thinking.

PALO ALTO, Dec 14 (Reuters) – In fifth grade, Nir Zuk gave
himself a virus.

A computer virus, that is.

It was the beginning of the programming whiz’s career as a
cyber security specialist, where he has gone from a ten-year-old
challenging himself to create computer viruses to the co-founder
and Chief Technology Officer of security software maker Palo
Alto Networks (PANW.N: Quote, Profile, Research).

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Cisco Systems laid out its mid-term growth strategy on Friday, betting on increased demand for software, services and security as it strives to become the world’s leading information technology company.

Cisco, whose business roots in routers and switches that move Internet traffic still generate about 50 percent of its revenue, has been steadily expanding its other offerings including data centers, network security and video conferencing.

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Apple Inc plans to move some production of Macintosh computers to the United States from China next year, Chief Executive Tim Cook said in remarks published on Thursday, in what could be a important test of the nascent comeback in U.S. electronics manufacturing.

Apple makes the majority of its products, from Macs to the iPhone and iPad, in China, the world’s factory floor for electronics. But like other U.S. corporations, it has come under fire for relying on low-cost Asian labor and contributing to the decline of the U.S. manufacturing sector.

Nov 23 (Reuters) – Hewlett Packard Co said in a
letter made public on Friday that its products could have been
delivered to Syria through resellers or distributors, but the
world’s largest PC maker affirmed it did not sell directly to
the country.

The letter was a response to a request from the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Global Security
Risk that asked whether HP’s products were sold in countries
where they would be subject to U.S. sanctions.

By Nicola Leske

(Reuters) – Hewlett Packard Co said it does not sell products to Syria, but acknowledged in a letter made public on Friday that its products could have been delivered to there through resellers or distributors.

The letter was in response to a Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Global Security Risk request that asked whether HP’s products were sold in countries where they would be subject to U.S. sanctions.

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N: Quote, Profile, Research) has levelled an accusation of dodgy accounting at Autonomy, the British software company it bought last year, and is taking an $8.8 billion charge in the latest of a string of setbacks.

HP has discovered “serious accounting improprieties” and “a wilful effort by Autonomy to mislead shareholders” after a whistleblower came forward, the company said on Tuesday.

Nov 20 (Reuters) – When Hewlett Packard acquired
Autonomy last year for $11.1 billion, some 15 different
financial, legal and accounting firms were involved in the
transaction — and none raised a flag about what HP said Tuesday
was a major accounting fraud.

HP stunned Wall Street with the allegations about its
British software unit and took an $8.8 billion writedown, the
latest in a string of reversals for the storied company.

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) – Hewlett-Packard
Co stunned Wall Street by alleging a massive accounting
scandal at its British software unit Autonomy and taking an $8.8
billion writedown, the latest in a string of reversals that
renewed questions about the competence of the storied company’s
board and senior managers.

HP said on Tuesday it discovered “serious accounting
improprieties” and “a willful effort by Autonomy to mislead
shareholders,” after a whistleblower came forward following the
May ouster of former Autonomy Chief Executive Mike Lynch.

By Poornima Gupta and Nicola Leske

(Reuters) – Hewlett-Packard stunned Wall Street by alleging a massive accounting scandal at its British software unit Autonomy that will cost the company the majority of $8.8 billion in charges.

It was the latest in a string of reversals that have renewed questions about the basic competence of the storied company’s board and senior managers.