By Poornima Gupta and Padraic Halpin SAN FRANCISCO/DUBLIN (Reuters) - Apple has operated almost tax-free in Ireland since 1980, welcomed by a government keen to bring jobs to what was then one of Europe's poorest countries, former company executives and Irish officials have said. Chief Executive Tim Cook faced criticism from a Senate subcommittee in Washington on Tuesday over the iPad and iPhone maker's tax practices, which had been shrouded from full view behind secretive tax-exempt Irish-based corporate entities. ... more...

By John O'Donnell BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe's top regulatory official is seeking to force large companies to disclose how much tax they pay in each country where they operate, a measure some politicians say could curb tax avoidance. Michel Barnier, the European commissioner in charge of drafting business regulation, said in a speech in Amsterdam that rules which will force banks to report their profits, taxes and subsidies by country from 2015 should be extended to cover other companies. "We will expand these reporting obligations to large companies and groups," he said on Thursday. ... more...

(Reuters) - Video games retailer GameStop Corp's quarterly profit beat estimates for the fourth consecutive quarter, suggesting that its strategy of expanding its digital and mobile offerings is paying off in a tough video-gaming environment. Sales of video game hardware and software sales have dropped as gamers lean towards lower-priced online offerings on tablets and smartphones. However, GameStop has managed to buck the trend by selling new and used games to console owners and iOS and Android devices in some stores. ... more...

Eight years after the debut of the Xbox 360, Microsoft has announced the Xbox One. more...