SAN FRANCISCO/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Apple Inc(AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) has held talks with Beats Electronics LLC, the audio technology firm co-founded by influential hip-hop producer Dr Dre and music mogul Jimmy Iovine, on a potential partnership involving Beats’ planned music-streaming service, three people familiar with the situation told Reuters.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook met with Beats CEO Jimmy Iovine during a visit to Los Angeles in late February to find out more about Beats’ “Project Daisy”, a music subscription service the company announced in January but with scant detail, the sources said.

SAN FRANCISCO/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Apple Inc has held talks with Beats Electronics LLC, the audio technology firm co-founded by influential hip-hop producer Dr Dre and music mogul Jimmy Iovine, on a potential partnership involving Beats’ planned music-streaming service, three people familiar with the situation told Reuters.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook met with Beats CEO Jimmy Iovine during a visit to Los Angeles in late February to find out more about Beats’ “Project Daisy”, a music subscription service the company announced in January but with scant detail, the sources said.

By Poornima Gupta

(Reuters) – Two leading proxy advisers on Tuesday urged Hewlett-Packard Co shareholders to oust several board directors for their role in the ill-fated 2011 acquisition of British software company Autonomy.

ISS, the No. 1 proxy adviser which is closely followed by investors seeking guidance on controversial issues, has suggested voting against Chairman Ray Lane and fellow board members John Hammergren and G. Kennedy Thompson.

March 5 (Reuters) – Dell Inc’s largest outside
shareholder is demanding that the PC maker open its books,
signaling it could become more active in opposing founder
Michael Dell’s proposal to take the company private.

Southeastern Asset Management, which holds more than 8
percent of Dell shares, including options, asked for the records
in a regulatory filing on Tuesday on behalf of its largest
client, Longleaf Partners Fund.

By Poornima Gupta and Erin Smith

(Reuters) – Apple Inc had a major setback in its ongoing patent battle with Samsung Electronics on Friday, as a federal judge slashed a $1.05 billion jury award by more than 40 percent and set a new trial to determine damages.

Apple won the award last year against Samsung in what was the biggest and highest profile trial among a number of legal challenges around the world over mobile patents.

, Feb 27 (Reuters) – Apple Inc CEO
Tim Cook acknowledged on Wednesday that his shareholders were
disappointed with a five-month slide of more than 30 percent in
the company’s share price, but urged a focus on the longer term.

The world’s most valuable technology corporation headed into
its annual meeting at its Cupertino headquarters on shakier
ground than it has been accustomed to in years, since the iPhone
and iPad helped elevate the company to premier investment
status.

By Ross Kerber and Poornima Gupta

(Reuters) – A union pension adviser said it will oppose two Hewlett-Packard Co directors and the company’s auditor over governance issues, after company leaders assuaged few of their concerns at a meeting on Monday.

Michael Pryce-Jones, senior governance policy analyst for pension adviser CtW Investment Group, said after the meeting that the adviser will not campaign against HP board chairman Raymond Lane in the run-up to the company’s annual shareholder gathering on March 20.

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 25 (Reuters) – Hewlett-Packard Co
said on Monday it will sell the webOS operating system to South
Korea’s LG Electronics Inc, unloading the smartphone
software it acquired through a $1.2 billion acquisition of Palm
in 2010.

LG will use the operating software, used in now-defunct Palm
smartphones years ago, for its “smart” or Internet-connected
TVs. The Asian electronics company had worked with HP on WebOS
before offering to buy it outright.