Amazon named 20 finalists in the race to win its second headquarters Thursday, narrowing the pool of cities and states competing to secure an expected 50,000 jobs and $5 billion in investment. They are: Atlanta, GA Austin, TX Boston, MA Chicago, IL Columbus, OH Dallas, TX Denver, CO Indianapolis, IN Los Angeles, CA Miami, FL…
Discovery Communications is acquiring Scripps Networks Interactive for $14.6 billion in a deal that is expected to boost the combined company’s negotiating leverage with pay TV operators at a time when more people watch video online, the companies said on Monday. The acquisition, which was completed last night, brings together Scripps’ largely female audience of…
Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos has surpassed Bill Gates to become the richest person in the world, Bloomberg News reported. A Thursday morning surge in Amazon’s share price pushed Bezos’ net worth to $90.9 billion, compared to $90.7 billion for Gates. The Microsoft founder had held the top spot on the Bloomberg Billionaire Index since May…
Amazon announced that it will buy upscale supermarket chain Whole Foods for $13.5 billion. Under the proposed deal, Amazon will pay $42 a share, a 27 percent premium to Thursday’s closing price. It will open the door to Amazon, which has been experimenting with food and grocery delivery, as well as billions of products from…
J.C. Penney plans to close up to 140 stores and offer buyouts to 6,000 workers as the department-store industry sags in competition with online sellers and nimble niche retailers. The company said Friday that it would shutter 13% to 14% of its stores, representing about 5% of its annual sales, and two distribution centers. The…
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer will leave the company’s board after the proposed sale of the internet pioneer’s core web properties to Verizon, according to a filing Monday. Five other directors also will go. The move was not a surprise, as the new company will essentially be an investment company holding the remaining Yahoo assets, which…
Lockheed Martin Corp. shares drop after President-elect Donald Trump tweeted that costs for the F-35 fighter-jet program, the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons system, are “out of control.” “Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th,” the Monday post continued, referring to inauguration day. The tweet followed similar…
Germany-based health and agricultural giant Bayer reached a deal to acquire seed and pesticide firm Monsanto for $66 billion in yet another jolt to a global agricultural sector that has been rocked by sluggish crop prices. Bayer said Wednesday that it agreed to pay $128 per share in cash for St. Louis-based Monsanto after months…
Samsung on Friday recalled its new Galaxy Note 7 smartphones over a battery problem that can cause the devices to catch fire. The company has sold 2.5 million of the waterproof phones, which only made their debut on Aug. 19. Samsung said it had found 35 cases of faulty devices globally. The South Korean company’s…
Pfizer Inc. said Monday it has agreed to buy biotech Medivation Inc. for $81.50 a share, valuing the total company at about $14 billion, in a move that adds one of the crown jewels of the multibillion-dollar market for cancer drugs to Pfizer’s portfolio. It ends months of bidding for San Francisco’s Medivation, one of…
Verizon confirmed Monday that it had reached a deal to buy Yahoo’s land holdings and core internet operations for $4.83 billion. Yahoo was once an internet behemoth valued at as much as $125 billion. The takeover will end months of uncertainty about Yahoo’s future, which began in February with an announcement the company would review…
Activision Blizzard is purchasing King Digital, maker of the popular mobile game Candy Crush, for a total equity value of $5.9 billion. The deal is all cash. Activision Blizzard will pay $18 per share, nearly a 20% premium over King’s recent price.
Charter Comm. Inc. has agreed to merge with Time Warner Cable Inc. in a $55 billion cash-and-stock deal. The offer is valued at about $195 a share, a 14% premium to Time Warner Cable’s last closing price. Including debt, the deal is valued at $78.7 billion.
5 Banks Plead Guilty To Global Currency Manipulation in a scheme set up in online chat rooms by forex dealers & traders on a massive global scale. Authorities fined five of the world’s largest banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citigroup inc, roughly $5.7 billion, and four of them agreed to plead guilty to…
Apple is adding more diverse emojis to its operating systems, a new developer preview reveals. The new emojis include various skill color options, as well as a wider variety of country flags. Great job Apple, you should have more emojis that represent paying a 2% tax rate. 😛
On Tuesday afternoon, Apple became the first U.S. company to close with a value of $700 billion or more. Shares of the company closed up $2.29, or 1.9%, to $122.01. “It shouldn’t be surprising that record breaking market (valuations) follow record-breaking earnings,” says Walter Piecyk, analyst at BTIG.
Apple Inc said it received a record four million first-day pre-orders of its new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, meaning many customers will have to wait until October for their new phones. Apple said a significant number of orders will be delivered to customers beginning Friday, but many will be shipped in October as…
Microsoft Corp. today announced it has reached an agreement to acquire Mojang, the celebrated Stockholm-based game developer, and the company’s iconic “Minecraft” franchise. The Mojang team will join Microsoft Studios, which includes the studios behind global blockbuster franchises “Halo,” “Forza,” “Fable” and more. Microsoft’s investments in cloud and mobile technologies will enable “Minecraft” players to…
You like donuts or timbits? Tim Hortons may be bought by Burger King A joint statement by the companies says they hope to form a new corporation that would be based in Canada — but they would continue to operate as standalone brands. Tim Hortons headquarters are in Oakville, Ontario. ‘This means Tim Hortons is…
AT&T is the latest company to sign a deal with Netflix to ensure streaming videos get to consumers with lagging or delay. Earlier this year, Netflix had signed interconnection deals with Comcast and Verizon amid controversial negotiations that are the subject of an ongoing probe by the Federal Communications Commission. Photo: CEO of Netflix Reed…
Amazon.com Inc posted a much larger-than-expected loss in the second quarter as it continues its rapid pace of investment in new businesses such as digital content and consumer electronics. Amazon’s stock price has dropped 10 percent so far in 2014, with investors leery of betting on its long-term growth at the expense of little to…
Recall costs chopped $1.5 billion from General Motors’ bottom line in the second quarter, cutting its net income by 85 percent. The automaker, which is in the midst of the worst recall crisis in its history, posted a net profit of $190 million, or 11 cents per share. A year ago GM made $1.26 billion,…
The S&P 500 hovered near the intraday record it set shortly after the opening bell. Price declines in Boeing Co. stock after earnings results weighed on the Dow industrials. Geopolitical tensions flared up after news that two Ukrainian fighter jets were shot down Wednesday near where Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was downed. The S&P 500…
eBay’s online ticket resale service StubHub announced late Tuesday that it was the victim of a massive international cyber fraud ring. The company’s head of global communications said his firm had been working with law enforcement around the world for the last year on the case, which authorities plan to disclose details of on Wednesday…
President Barack Obama’s speech for the 2014 State of the Union address, as prepared for delivery and provided by the White House. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, my fellow Americans: Today in America, a teacher spent extra time with a student who needed it, and did her part to lift America’s graduation…
While President Barack Obama’s attempts to increase the nation’s minimum wage through legislation have stalled in Congress, the White House announced plans on Tuesday to use the president’s executive powers to partially address the problem. Just hours before the President is scheduled to deliver his fifth State of the Union address, the White House revealed…
