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Papers: FBI crack iPhone without Apple's help

Last updated: 00:45 30 Mar 2016 AEDT, First published: 19:45 29 Mar 2016 AEDT

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The government have cracked the code to gain access to terrorist’s iPhone without Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) help and is seeking to drop its legal case to force the tech giant to unlock the device, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The FBI had sought action to force Apple to write in code to reduce the phone’s encryption, enabling the government to have unlimited attempts at deciphering the passcode to a phone.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is now focused on reviewing the information contained on the phone, which was unlocked with help from a third party the government has refused to identify, according to the WSJ.

Elsewhere, the paper also reports that Chinese insurer Anbang Insurance Group Co., which is embroiled in a bidding war for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE:HOT), made three unsuccessful offers last year to purchase the same U.S. luxury hotel chain.

Sticking with M&A, Virgin America Inc (NASDAQ:VA) has received “takeover offers” from JetBlue and Alaska Airlines, according to USA Today.

It was just last week that reports surfaced saying that Virgin America was putting out feelers regarding a potential sale, and reports suggest there are now two bids on the table.

In more downbeat news, the New York Times warns that automakers expanding in china may soon face weakening demand.

It follows Cadillac’s unveiling of a $1.3bn factory of the outskirts of Shanghai, and parent company General Motors (NYSE:GM) is expected to open a second, $1bn factory in Wuhan next year.

But the paper notes that automakers are expanding at a time when China’s economic growth has slowed to its lowest level in more than a quarter-century.

Staying with the bad news, Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) said last week that it had wrongly booked $58mln of revenue, and today the outgoing chief executive, Michael Pearson, has been subpoenaed to testify at a Senate hearing examining sudden price spikes in decades-old medications, according to USA Today.

Finally, retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) has won a legal battle over a proposed new tax in Puerto Rico, according to the LA Times.

A federal judge threw out the tax, which would have taken more than 100% of the company’s profits from its stores on the island, and called it unlawful.

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