THE NEWS WRAP: Google’s share of search drops as Yahoo creeps back in

In the past year Google’s share of the US internet search market has slipped to its lowest number since 2008.

Last month the search giant experienced its biggest drop in its share of the search market since 2009, while Yahoo posted its largest gain, according to analytics from StatCounter, Bloomberg reports.

Google’s slice of the market fell to 75.2% in December 2014, down from 79.3% in December 2013, while Yahoo’s has jumped from 7.4% to 10.4% over that same period.

The changes follow a deal in November where Yahoo replaced Google as the default search engine on Firefox browsers in the US.

Data science startup Dato raises $US18.5 million

Dato, a startup that is trying to use data to predict the future, has raised $US18.5 million in a Series B funding round, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The startup rose out of an academic project called GraphLab at Carnegie Mellon University to handle machine learning projects that required figuring out relationships among connected data.

The Series B round includes funding from Vulcan Capital, Opus Capital and current investors New Enterprise Associates and Madrona Venture Group, taking total funding to $US25.25 million.

Sony to delay sale of PlayStation 4 in China

Sony will delay sales of its PlayStation 4 gaming console in China due to “various factors”, Reuters reports.

The launch was initially scheduled for January 11 and will be PlayStation’s first entry into China, the world’s third largest gaming market. The Chinese government lifted a 14-year ban on foreign gaming consoles last year.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 323.35 TO 17,907.87. The Australian Dollar is currently trading at US81 cents.