In today’s Bulldog wrapup of life science and technology news:

  • Covance gives a boost to LabCorp earnings but currency headwinds hurt
  • ESPN sues Verizon over unbundling
  • The Supreme Court to hear personal data privacy case
  • Discover supports Apple Pay
  • A Raleigh photo app startup raises $470,000

The details:

  • Covance gives boost to LabCorp earnings

The multi-billion-dollar acquisition of Covance gave a first-quarter boost to revenues and earnings for Burlington-based LabCorp in earnings announced Monday.

However, currency headwinds from a stronger U.S. dollar cut sharply into Covance revenues since much of its business is done overseas.

The Covance merger closed on Feb. 19.

LabCorp reported earnings of $1.73 per share, a 14.6 percent jump over a year ago and topping analysts’ expectations of $1.65.

Revenues surged 24 percent to $1.77 billion, $7 million higher than expectations.

For details, read more at: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/labcorp-lh-posts-strong-q1-142702138.html;_ylt=AwrC1CiIVz9V_UkApjCTmYlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTByMDgyYjJiBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMyBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw–

  • ESPN suing Verizon over unbundling of its sports channel

ESPN is suing Verizon in an escalating clash over how the popular sports channel is being sold in a discounted pay-TV package.

The complaint filed Monday in New York’s state Supreme Court alleges Verizon is breaking its contract with ESPN, owned by Walt Disney Co., by unbundling thesports channel from the main programming line-up of Verizon’s FiOS TV.

The legal showdown could have ripple effects on how other pay-TV programming is packaged. Cable and satellite services are scrambling to retain subscribers as the advent of Internet video spawns new and less expensive ways to stay entertained and informed.

Verizon is allowing customers to subscribe to a bare-bones package of 35 channels for $55 per month, with the option of adding other two other tiers of programming such as a sports package that includes ESPN. The streamlined packages are meant to appeal to budget-minded consumers weary of paying for dozens of TV channels that they rarely watch.

  • High court to consider lawsuits over personal data

The Supreme Court said Monday it will decide whether websites and other firms that collect personal data can be sued for publishing inaccurate information even if the mistakes don’t cause any actual harm.

The case is being watched closely by Google, Facebook and other Internet companies concerned that class-action lawsuits under the Fair Credit Reporting Act could expose them to billions of dollars in damages.

The justices will hear an appeal from Spokeo.com, a Pasadena, California-based Internet search engine that compiles publicly available data on people and lets subscribers view the information, including address, age, marital status and economic health.

Thomas Robins, a Virginia resident, sued Spokeo after viewing a profile on him that was riddled with errors. It incorrectly stated his age, that he had a graduate degree, was employed and married with children. In fact, Robins was unemployed and looking for work. He claims the false information damaged his job prospects.

A federal district court said Robins had no right to sue because he hadn’t suffered any actual harm from the errors. But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that, ruling it was enough that Spokeo had violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

The law was intended to keep credit reporting agencies from compiling inaccurate information that could jeopardize people’s ability to get loans or pass job-related background checks.

  • Discover discovers Apple Pay for its US cardholders

U.S. users of Discover cards are getting their Apple Pay, the last holdout among major credit card networks in the country.

After months of complaints from customers, Discover Financial Services announced Monday that it has reached an agreement with Apple Inc. that will let its cardholdersmake payments in participating stores through Apple Pay by using an iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus or Apple Watch.

With Apple Pay, credit card numbers are not stored on the device or on Apple servers. A unique device account number is assigned and each transaction is authorized with a one-time unique security code. Apple Pay launched in October.

“As the mobile payments landscape matures, Discover remains committed to giving cardmembers secure options for using their cards and mobile devices,” Diane Offereins,Discover’s president of payment services, said in a printed statement.

American Express, Visa and MasterCard came on board late last year.

  • Raleigh startup raises $470,000

A Raleigh-based photo app startup, FotoSwipe, has raised $470,000.

Led by Sylvain Dufor, FotoSwipe has now raised some $800,000 over the past several months.

The Triangle Business Journal has the details: http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2015/04/27/raleighs-photo-app-startup-adds-heft-with-470k.html