Amazon to buy Whole Foods for $13.7bn. Image copyright Reuters Online retail giant Amazon is buying Whole Foods in a $13.7bn (£10.7bn) deal that marks its biggest push into traditional retailing yet.
Amazon, which has long eyed the grocery business, will buy the upmarket supermarket for $42 a share. Investors greeted the deal as game-changing for the industry, sending shares of rival grocers plunging. But Whole Foods, which had been under pressure, climbed. Founded in 1978 in Texas, Whole Foods was a pioneer of the move towards natural and organic foods. It has grown to more than 460 stores in the US, Canada and the UK, and employs about 87,000 people. Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos said: "Millions of people love Whole Foods Market because they offer the best natural and organic foods, and they make it fun to eat healthy. "Whole Foods Market has been satisfying, delighting and nourishing customers for nearly four decades - they're doing an amazing job and we want that to continue. " AT&T Launches Fake 5G Network.
LafargeHolcim chief steps down after Syria investigation. Image copyright AFP The head of cement maker LafargeHolcim, Eric Olsen, is stepping down from the role following an investigation into the company's activities in Syria.
Carlos Ghosn refocuses Nissan role. Image copyright Getty Images Carlos Ghosn is relinquishing his role as chief executive of Nissan, but will remain chairman of the Japanese car maker.
Hiroto Saikawa, already the company's co-chief executive, will take over. The reshuffle will allow Mr Ghosn to focus on Nissan's alliances with Mitsubishi Motors and France's Renault. Nissan bought a 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors last year in the wake of Mitsubishi's fuel efficiency scandal. Mr Ghosn is also Mitsubishi's chairman. Mr Ghosn said: "Having recently taken on new responsibilities at Mitsubishi Motors, and taking into consideration the upcoming Nissan general shareholders meeting, I have decided that the time is right for Hiroto Saikawa to succeed me as Nissan's CEO. " Burger King owner to buy Popeyes chicken chain for $1.8bn. Image copyright Getty Images Burger King owner Restaurant Brands is to expand its fast food empire by buying chicken chain Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen for $1.8bn (£1.45bn) in cash.
Popeyes, whose fans include pop singer Beyonce, began 45 years ago as a Southern-fried "Chicken on the Run" restaurant in a New Orleans suburb. The chain now has more that 2,600 outlets, mainly in the US. Restaurant Brands, which includes the Tim Hortons chain, has more than 20,000 outlets in more than 100 countries. Panera 2.0' Begins To Pay Off. Amazon to build $1.5bn US cargo hub. Image copyright Amazon.
Alibaba's Ant Financial buys MoneyGram for $880m. Image copyright Reuters Ant Financial, the digital payments arm of e-commerce giant Alibaba, is buying US-based MoneyGram for $880m (£700m).
MoneyGram has about 350,000 outlets in nearly 200 countries. Young consumers 'expect better service' Image copyright Thinkstock Customer satisfaction is rising but experts say shoppers are having to work too hard to get complaints resolved.
A study by the Institute of Customer Service found that while businesses were improving, a half of consumers with problems had to complain more than twice to get them sorted out. The Institute also warned that empathy might be lacking when people raised problems through web chat services. Campaigners said staff training should be improved to solve customer gripes. Netflix Surges in 2016 — News, in Data. British American Tobacco takes control of Reynolds for $49bn. Image copyright Reuters.
Choose: Unlimited or Pay-as-you-go. Day passes Single visits or bundles of visits to your chosen gym Average 20% discount to gym prices Best prices guaranteed No contracts, joining fees or inductions Cancel anytime Valid for minimum of 30 days Monthly + Unlimited access to your chosen gym Also includes access to all gyms of same monthly price or less No cap on access to all gyms included Workout at home, work, or when travelling No contracts, joining fees or inductions Monthly payments, cancel anytime Only available at PayAsUGym!
Addressing Hoaxes and Fake News. By Adam Mosseri, VP, News Feed A few weeks ago we previewed some of the things we’re working on to address the issue of fake news and hoaxes.
We’re committed to doing our part and today we’d like to share some updates we’re testing and starting to roll out. We believe in giving people a voice and that we cannot become arbiters of truth ourselves, so we’re approaching this problem carefully. We’ve focused our efforts on the worst of the worst, on the clear hoaxes spread by spammers for their own gain, and on engaging both our community and third party organizations.
HMRC claws back celebrities' tax profit on empty data centres. Amazon Uses Trucks to Drive Data Faster. Philip Morris could stop making conventional cigarettes. Philip Morris has launched a new, less harmful cigarette in the UK which it says could mean halting sales of its conventional tobacco products. The so called Iqos product heats tobacco rather than burning it. The tobacco giant claims this means smokers get the same nicotine hit, but 90% less of the nasty toxins that come with cigarette smoke. Advantage of a first-mover business may not last forever. Shares of Fitbit (NYSE:FIT) have lost about 83% of their value since they peaked shortly after the company's IPO last year.
GoPro (NASDAQ:GPRO) stock has fared even worse; it's down nearly 90% from the highs reached in late 2014. FIT data by YCharts. With Trips, AirBnB sets out its grandest plan yet. Image copyright Getty Images What started as literally an air bed on the floor in Brian Chesky's apartment has blossomed into a service that has more than three million locations listed around the world. AirBnB, the site that lets you rent out your spare rooms, or indeed your entire home, to tourists, is one of Silicon Valley’s brightest start-ups - a great idea, executed effortlessly. The next step is to reach for the holy grail of travel - making tourists feel like genuine locals. Why Zuckerberg Won't Admit Facebook Is a Media Company.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg published an essay this weekend to rebuff claims his company is somehow responsible for the outcome of the election, and insisted again that Facebook is not a media company. The essay will anger critics who view Facebook as akin to the most powerful newspaper on earth, and who blame the social network for distributing fake news articles, and creating “filter bubbles” in which people only read and share articles they already agree with. For these people, Facebook FB -2.34% is like Fox News or MSNBC on steroids. Zuckerberg, however, is having none of this. In his essay, he claims only a tiny percentage of news stories on Facebook are fake, and says the task of finding “truth” is complicated given how many stories amount to someone’s opinion. Kellogg's cereal sales continue to slump. Image copyright Reuters Kellogg's has suffered its seventh successive drop in quarterly sales in the third quarter of 2016. The cereal manufacturer blamed the figures on poor demand for its products in the US and a challenging UK market.
The company also cited "portfolio transformations that have taken longer than anticipated to execute". However, Kellogg's operating profits were up thanks mainly to lower one-off costs and its earnings per share were up 41% from the same period in 2015. Netflix vs. Cable — Get Data. AT&T Time Warner Merger: Why It's a Mistake. In promoting its proposed $100-billion acquisition of Time Warner, AT&T argues that the merger of the two companies will produce all kinds of synergies between the content business and the telecom/distribution business. But at least one prominent fund manager begs to differ. Mitch Zacks is the president of Zacks Investment Management, which manages $5 billion on behalf of high net-worth individuals. The Inside Story of Vine’s Demise. The intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Los Angeles holds a historic place in the history of the film industry, dating back to the earliest days of the motion-picture business.
More recently, however, it was better known as the location of the W Hollywood condos, a bachelor-pad utopia that was home to a group of young men who made a name for themselves on Vine, the aptly named six-second video platform. Judge approves $15B Volkswagen settlement. VW TO FIX 11 MILLION CARS AFTER EMISSIONS-RIGGING SCANDALVolkswagen outlines impact of emissions scandal | 1:21 German carmaker Volkswagen revealed its diesel emissions cheating cost it 16.2 billion euros for 2015 alone - and that is likely to be only a part of the total bill. SABMiller investors cheer $100 billion-plus AB InBev takeover. Bayer confirms $66bn Monsanto takeover. Image copyright Getty Images. HP buys Samsung's printer business for $1 billion. HP has a plan to offset its declining printer revenue: Buy the printing business of Samsung Electronics.
ITT Technical Institutes shuts down after 50 years in operation. (Getty Images/iStockphoto) ITT Educational Services, one of the largest operators of for-profit technical schools, ended operations at all of its ITT Technical Institutes on Tuesday, citing government action to curtail the company’s access to millions of dollars in federal loans and grants, a critical source of revenue. The move to shut down the chain of career schools after 50 years arrives two weeks after the Education Department said ITT would no longer be allowed to enroll new students who rely on federal loans and grants, award raises, pay bonuses or make severance payments to its executives without government approval.
Fewer homes for rent, as landlords move flats onto Airbnb. Landlords are taking their flats off the open market, and advertising them instead on holiday websites like Airbnb, warns an industry report. WhatsApp to give Facebook more data. Image copyright AP WhatsApp says it will begin sharing more data with Facebook and will start letting some companies send messages to users. It is the first time the company has changed its privacy policy since the firm was bought by Facebook in 2014.
WhatsApp will now share users' phone numbers with the social network, which it will use to provide "more relevant" friend suggestions and advertisements. What Uber's Self-Driving Truck Deal Means. Action in the self-driving car industry is picking up speed. In the month since Fortune’s cover story on the industry, the following has happened: Foot Locker CEO: ‘Malls Are Far From Dead’ Gawker sold to Univision for $135M. Univision invests in satirical news site The Onion. No joke - Jan. 19, 2016.
Gawker to be sold this week, ending 14 years of independence - Aug. 15, 2016. Hulu Ends Free Streaming Service. Uber fled China. One Thing Amazon Must Do to Keep Its Cloud Mojo Going Strong. Gawker founder Nick Denton just confirmed that he will file for personal bankruptcy. Oracle buys cloud pioneer NetSuite for $9.3bn. Highest-Paid CEOs Actually Run Some of the Worst-Performing Companies. Ericsson ousts CEO as investors lose patience over returns. PayPal Strikes Partnership With Visa. Amazon to enter student loan business. Shaving start-up firm bought by Unilever. Uruguay's Victory Over Philip Morris Will Change The World. What is ARM and why is it worth £24bn?
ARM chip designer to be bought by Japan's Softbank. Herbalife settles pyramid scheme case with regulator, in blow to Pershing's Ackman. McDonald’s to expand all-day breakfast menu. Oracle ordered to pay $3bn damages to HP. Alibaba’s Jack Ma: The problem with counterfeits is they’re “better quality” than authentic luxury goods — Quartz. How Netflix Became Hollywood’s Frenemy. This Is the Only Company Spending More on R&D Than Alphabet. Stripe recruitment - BYOT - Bring Your Own Team.