SEOUL — Samsung Electronics took the drastic step of ending production of its problematic Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, killing off a device that became a major headache for South Korea’s largest company. The shares fell, especially in London. Samsung had already recalled the Note 7 once last month after early models exploded and the latest move comes after customers reported that replacement phones were also catching fire. Samsung will be without its highest-end smartphone that was supposed to compete against Apple’s iPhones and other premium devices during the holiday shopping season. The crisis has left Samsung scrambling to figure out the cause of the battery fires and to explain how a company known for manufacturing expertise could have missed such a critical product flaw twice. Samsung originally blamed one battery supplier for the problems and switched to an alternative company, but that did not end the problems. "Samsung needs to act swiftly and move on to protect their brand i...

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