Business Briefs for June 2

Foley & Lardner law firm launches venture fund

The Foley & Lardner law firm launched its own $4 million venture capital fund, exclusively to invest in or with Foley clients.

Foley has a significant office in Tampa, and the fund was started in part by local partner Marty Traber. Foley attorneys from all practice groups can submit ideas and invest in the project as part of the firm's work to help growing companies.

Job fair Wednesday for Shops at Wiregrass

The Shops at Wiregrass mall in Pasco County will hold a job fair Wednesday for a series of stores opening or expanding.

Those stores include Buckle, Coldwater Creek, Macy's, Dillard's, Hollister, Talbot's, Motherhood Maternity and others.

The fair is scheduled for 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at mall space 150, 28211 Paseo Drive, Wesley Chapel. For details, see TheShopsAtWiregrass.com.

Google: Chinese hackers broke in to Gmail

Google says computer hackers in China broke in to the Gmail accounts of several hundred people, including senior government officials in the U.S. and political activists.

Google says all victims have been notified and that their accounts have been secured.

The attacks announced Wednesday on Google's blog aren't thought to be tied to a more sophisticated assault originating from China in late 2009 and early last year.

Twitter launches photo, video search service

Microblogging service Twitter launched a photo and video search service on Wednesday that lets users own the rights to the photos they post, makes search results more personalized and make the results of more authoritative tweeters prominent.

Chief Executive Dick Costolo revealed the service at the "D: All Things Digital" conference. He said the service will be rolled out to all Twitter users in the next couple of weeks.

Costolo said the service will eliminate some friction that users face when trying to post images. It will also allow links to videos to be posted, but users cannot upload videos.

106,000 Prius cars recalled by Toyota

Toyota recalled 106,000 first-generation Prius hybrid cars globally on Wednesday for faulty steering caused by a nut that may come loose.

The single minor accident suspected of being related to the problem was reported in the U.S., according to Toyota Motor Corp.

The latest recall from Toyota, which has taken hit to its reputation from massive recalls worldwide, affects 52,000 Prius cars sold from 2001 through 2003 in the U.S., company spokesman Paul Nolasco said.

Massey, Alpha investors approve $7.1 billion deal

Shareholders have approved coal producer Alpha Natural Resources' $7.1 billion takeover of struggling rival Massey Energy Co.

The deal transforms Alpha into the world's third-largest producer of higher-priced metallurgical coal. Alpha is eliminating the Massey name and retaining just a handful of executives.

Massey sought buyers amid financial and regulatory struggles after the April 2010 explosion that killed 29 miners at its Upper Big Branch mine in southern West Virginia.

HP boss sets sights on rivals with webOS

Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Leo Apotheker put rival operating systems makers in his cross-hairs Wednesday, saying the giant computer maker will soon put its webOS system on more than 100 million devices a year and license it to other hardware makers.

HP acquired webOS when it bought struggling cellphone maker Palm Inc. last year.

Apotheker told the "D: All Things Digital" conference that HP plans to put webOS on all its personal computers, even hinting it could eventually replace Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system. HP shipped 65 million PCs last year.

United, Delta raise fees for 2nd bag to Europe

Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Continental Holdings Inc. are raising fees to check a second bag on flights to Europe. The first bag is still free. Previously they both charged $50 for a second bag. Now Delta will charge $60 if it's checked online, $75 at the airport. United and Continental are charging $70 to check a second bag.

Delta is also adding a $30 fee for a second bag between the U.S. and most of Latin America. Its previous fee of $150 for overweight bags on flights to Europe will drop to $75. The Delta changes begin with tickets bought Wednesday.

Marathon Oil buys Texas fields for $3.5 billion

Marathon Oil will spend $3.5 billion in cash to snap up oil and natural-gas fields in Texas as the company boosts exploration and production in a highly targeted and energy rich region.

The Houston company said Wednesday that it has reached an agreement with the owner, Hilcorp Resources Holdings, a partnership that includes Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

Latest from 'FarmVille' maker expands empire

The creator of "FarmVille" and "FrontierVille" is ditching the "ville" suffix for its latest Facebook game, "Empires & Allies."

The game from Zynga was set to launch Wednesday. It is like a mix of the classic strategy game "Risk" and "CityVille," where players oversee virtual cities. Unlike the company's other games, which give points for helping neighbors, "Empires" lets Facebook users play against one another.

The new game comes amid growing chatter of an initial public offering for San Francisco-based Zynga. The company is not commenting and has not yet filed any IPO papers.

Moody's downgrades Greece again

Credit rating agency Moody's downgraded Greece's bond ratings deeper into junk status Wednesday, a further blow to the struggling country which has been wrapping up negotiations for a vital fifth installment of international bailout loans.

Moody's downgraded Greece by three notches from a B1 rating to Caa1 with a negative outlook, citing increased risk that the financially stricken country.

From staff and wire reports