The business news thread

Google and Facebook account for more than 75% of digital advertising buys. Their share may be starting to decrease.

Twitter's first profit sends shares soaring
Rise in ads follows strong Snap results, suggesting shift from Google and Facebook.

http://www.ft.com/content/1e9c9304-0...7-42f857ea9f09

MSG is also planning to erect a Sphere in London. Performers in the Spheres will, of course, receive a round of applause. (Sorry.)

Madison Square Garden Co. unveils new Las Vegas live entertainment venue
MSG Sphere will open on Vegas Strip in 2020.

http://www.pollstar.com/article/msg-...-and-la-134519

This might turn out to be a good idea. Hackers have no way to steal our faces and our fingerprints. Yet.

Microsoft is trying to kill passwords. It can't happen soon enough.
Hayley Tsukayama, Los Angeles Times, Feb 11 2018

Microsoft Corp. is trying to kill the password and it's about time. This month, the company said the next test version of its stripped-down Windows 10 S operating system will strip out passwords too, by default. If you go through setup as recommended, you'll never get a password option. But killing the password altogether will take more work and time — and the problem may get worse before it gets better. That's a shame. Passwords are the bane of modern digital existence. Insecure passwords cause an estimated 80% of breaches, according to a 2017 report from Verizon.

Microsoft has been waging a war on passwords for a while. Like Apple, Google and others, it has poured effort into other types of authentication, such as biometric scans of your face or fingerprints. It introduced facial recognition unlocking for Windows PCs in 2015. It also has built a smartphone app to provide an ever-changing code to act as your password. "This relic from the early days of computing has long outlived its usefulness and certainly its ability to keep criminals at bay," an official blog post from Microsoft said in December.

http://www.latimes.com/business/tech...211-story.html

This is an excellent deal for movie-goers -- but MoviePass pays theaters the full price of the tickets. If I subscribe for one month for $10 and see ten movies, MoviePass pays the theater $125 for those ten tickets and winds up losing $115. Yeah, I agree with this article: MoviePass can not, and will not, survive.

Unlimited movie theater deal could be too good to survive
MoviePass subscribers can see a movie a day for $10 a month.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/compa...D=ansmsnnews11

I wonder if the employees who pay for Amazon Prime will be fired two days earlier than the other employees.

Amazon is laying off hundreds of corporate employees in rare cutback

http://www.seattletimes.com/business...-rare-cutback/

President Trump last week approved a budget bill that gives $700 billion to the Pentagon for defense spending, an increase of $94 billion. Defense contractor General Dynamics, which manufactures ships, tanks, aircraft and missiles, will be a major beneficiary.

General Dynamics to buy government IT contractor CSRA for $6.8 billion

http://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/12/gener...n-in-cash.html

I am one of a dwindling number of people who shun e-books and prefer real books printed with real ink on real paper. I like going to book stores and browsing. I like buying new books to read. I do not like considering the possibility that someday there will be no more book stores.

Barnes & Noble lays off employees amid sagging sales
FOX Business, Feb 12 2018

Struggling retailer Barnes & Noble is laying off an unspecified number of cashiers and digital product associates, among other company employees, after sales sagged during the 2017 holiday shopping season. "Barnes & Noble has been reviewing all aspects of the business, including our labor model. Given our sales decline this holiday, we’re adjusting staffing so that it meets the needs of our existing business and our customers. As the business improves we’ll adjust accordingly. We want to assure our customers that this will not affect our commitment to customer service," a spokesperson said in a statement. Barnes & Noble's same-store sales sank 6.4% year-over-year to $953 million during the holiday season. Online sales fell 4.5% over the same period.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2...ing-sales.html

US gun manufacturers are seeing declining sales and declining profits in what is being called "the Trump slump." When a Democrat is President, gun sales rise amid fears that new gun-control laws will be enacted. When a Republican is President, there are no such fears -- Republicans are puppets of the NRA and never do anything to curb gun violence. After every mass shooting, their only response is to say, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims." And the number of "victims" continues to climb.

'The Trump slump': Remington files for bankruptcy as gun sales tumble

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the...ble/ar-BBJ5IeH

Sales were "flat." I see what they did there.

PepsiCo posts flat sales, will cut jobs and issues bonuses
US News & World Report, Feb 13 2018 10:07 AM

PepsiCo today reported flat revenue for the last few months of 2017 and said that it will cut some jobs while giving others bonuses of up to $1,000. The layoffs, which will affect its corporate employees, amounts to less than 1% of its more than 110,000 employees. Bonuses will go to those who make PepsiCo's snacks and drinks and those who deliver them.

https://www.usnews.com/news/business...company-pivots

Yes, because few things are as exciting as watching a soccer game on a 3-inch screen.

A TV station just made a first-of-its-kind sports streaming deal
Los Angeles Times, Feb 13 2018 4:50 PM

KSL-Channel 5, an NBC affiliate in Salt Like City, is charging into the digital future by securing the local rights to livestream the games of Major League Soccer franchise Real Salt Lake to viewers in the Salt Lake City area. The deal announced today is the first such agreement between a local elevision station and a pro sports team. Real Salt Lake's games are shown on Sinclair Broadcasting's KMYU-Channel 12. But KSL, owned by Bonneville International Corp., which itself is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, pursued the streaming rights separately as it looks for local content to reach audiences who have migrated to digital devices.

http://www.latimes.com/business/holl...213-story.html

"CNN is fake news. Fake news. Fake news, okay? And a merger involving CNN? Look, I just can't allow such a deal, okay? And did I mention that CNN is fake news?"

AT&T wants answers about White House's role in blocking Time Warner deal
Los Angeles Times, Feb 14 2018 1:10 PM

AT&T wants to show political tampering as it seeks evidence about whether President Trump influenced the Justice Department's decision to sue to block the company's proposed $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner. AT&T wants communications between the Justice Department and the White House about the Time Warner takeover. It's also looking to put the head of the Justice Department's antitrust division, Makan Delrahim, on the witness stand at trial.

If approved, the deal would reshape the media landscape by uniting a telecom giant with the owner of CNN, Warner Bros., TNT, TBS and HBO. AT&T, the owner of DirecTV, is the largest pay-TV distributor, as well as a powerhouse in mobile phones and landlines. The Justice Department has argued that letting AT&T own the films and TV shows that flow down its pipes would harm consumers and competitors.

AT&T's move attempts to highlight how the White House may have pulled some strings in the first major antitrust action brought by Trump's Justice Department. The lawsuit, which is set to go to trial March 19, has sparked speculation that Trump, a relentless critic of Time Warner's CNN, pushed the department to oppose the deal. The Justice Department sued to block the merger in November, saying it was harmful to consumers. That dealt AT&T a surprising setback to a deal that seemed on track for approval similar to Comcast's prior purchase of NBC Universal.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...214-story.html

Is the President aware that adding another 25¢ to the gasoline tax will eventually drive up the price of every product that is transported by trucks? Is he aware that increasing the gasoline tax will hurt the middle class and the poor but not the wealthiest Americans? Oh wait, I forgot -- he proved he doesn't really care about the middle class and the poor when he gave the biggest tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans.

Trump is open to more-than doubling the gas tax to pay for his giant infrastructure plan
Business Insider, Feb 14 2018 5:02 PM

President Donald Trump told lawmakers in a White House meeting that he is open to increasing the gas tax to pay for his giant infrastructure plan. The federal gas tax has not been increased since 1993, when it was bumped to 18.4¢ per gallon of unleaded fuel and 24.4¢ for diesel. According to Jonathan Swan at Axios, Trump said he would consider raising the gas tax 25¢ per gallon to help pay for his plan to spend $200 billion of federal funding on infrastructure over the next 10 years.

Republicans have been split on the idea. The tax is regressive and many lawmakers have expressed concern about the optics of increasing taxes after passing their massive tax cut bill. "The gas tax has its pros and cons and that’s why the President is leading a thoughtful discussion on the right way to solve our nation’s infrastructure problems," a White House official told Business Insider.

https://www.aol.com/article/finance/...plan/23361897/

In late 2015, after a large number of people in nine states got E. coli after eating Chipotle food made with tainted Australian beef, Chipotle lost a lot of business. A year later, sales were still down by more than 30%. Can Niccol boost Chipotle's sales? I'll bet a niccol he can. (Sorry.)

Chipotle taps Taco Bell CEO Brian Niccol to turn around the struggling chain

http://www.businessinsider.com/taco-...ive-job-2018-2

Fourth-quarter sales dropped 18.1% at Sears and 12.2% at Kmart. Analysts say Best Buy, which has been expanding its appliance business, would benefit the most if Sears goes out of business. But will Sears go out of business? That is the question. Sears still expects a profit this year.

Sears posts its biggest holiday sales drop in history

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/compa...D=ansmsnnews11

Winn-Dixie will close 200 stores and file for bankruptcy. I don't quite understand it. Did hundreds of thousands of people suddenly quit buying groceries?

Supermarket chains Winn-Dixie and Tops preparing for bankruptcy filings

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...for-bankruptcy

It appears that millions of Americans are discovering that "things go better" with other beverages besides Coke.

Coca-Cola sales decline 20% in fourth quarter; $3.6 billion tax charge recorded

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2...-recorded.html

Albertsons/Vons/Safeway/Pavilions is the nation's second-largest supermarket chain behind Kroger/Ralphs/Dillons/Fred Meyer/Food 4 Less. Albertsons Co. is privately owned and operated but is planning to go public and trade shares on the NYSE.

Albertsons, which owns grocers Vons and Safeway, is buying Rite Aid
Los Angeles Times, Feb 20 2018 12:55 PM

Albertsons Co., which operates the grocery chains Vons, Pavilions and Safeway as well as its namesake grocery stores, is acquiring the Rite Aid drugstores that are not being sold to Walgreens under a previously announced deal. Albertsons would get slightly more than half of Rite Aid's retail locations, plus additional Rite Aid assets such as its pharmacy benefit company and its wellness/loyalty program. Rite Aid stockholders would receive either Albertsons stock or a combination of Albertsons stock and cash. The value of the deal wasn't disclosed but Rite Aid has a current stock market value of $2.3 billion.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...220-story.html

The company's NASDAQ symbol is now BKNG. Let's have a show of hands: Who thinks "Booking Holdings" is a better name than "Priceline"? Anyone? Hmmm, nobody. That's what I thought.

Online travel giant Price line Group changes name to Booking Holdings

http://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/21/price...-holdings.html

Ford North America president out after inappropriate behavior
Reuters, Feb 21 2018 5:05 PM

Ford Motor Company said today that Raj Nair, its president for North America, was leaving the company immediately after an internal investigation found his behavior was "inconsistent with the company's code of conduct." Ford did not give any details on what that behavior entailed. His departure comes after several high-profile business leaders have quit or been fired following accusations of sexual misconduct. Nair apologized, without elaborating. He said in a statement, "I sincerely regret that there have been instances where I have not exhibited leadership behaviors consistent with the principles that the Company and I have always espoused."

https://www.aol.com/article/finance/...vior/23367855/

I am always amazed that so many millions of people will pay so much money to buy water in plastic bottles. See, in kitchens and bathrooms there are these little devices known as "handles" and "faucets" and.......

Will Smith and son Jaden create eco-friendly bottled water company called Just

https://hosted.ap.org/citizensvoice/...r-company-just