The business news thread

The old saying is true: De rich dey gets richer an' de poor dey gets poorer.

Tesla shareholders approve pay plan for Elon Musk worth up to $55 billion over 10 years

http://www.latimes.com/business/auto...321-story.html

I can't help thinking of the Beatles' Taxman: "If you drive a car, I'll tax the street; If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat; If you get too cold, I'll tax the heat; If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet......."

EU unveils new tax plans that could hit US tech giants
The Associated Press, Mar 21 2018 11:58 AM

The European Union today unveiled new plans to make big tech companies pay more taxes in a move that would, if endorsed, hit online US firms such as Google and Facebook. Insisting that digital companies must pay their fair share, the European Commission said that EU member countries should be able to tax firms that make profits on their territory even if they aren't physically present. Digital companies are growing faster than the economy as a whole, while corporate tax rules haven't kept up, meaning that some make significant profits in Europe yet pay very little tax. Many digital businesses face effective taxes of only 9%, less than half the 21% tax rate for brick-and-mortar companies.

https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wi...iants-53900449

This is good news but I'm still waiting for the return of Kress, F.W. Woolworth, Britt's, Mervyn's, Crown Books, Circuit City and Montgomery Ward.

Toys Я Us is on its way out but KB Toys is set to pop back up
CNN Money, Mar 20 2018 3:09 PM

Strategic Marks, a company that buys and revitalizes defunct brands, owns the KB name and plans to open 1,000 pop-up KB Toys stores for Black Friday and the holiday shopping season. Toys Я Us, which filed for bankruptcy last year, announced last week that it expects to close all of its 735 stores in the US. Those closures will put 31,000 people out of work and hurt toy manufacturers that depended on the national retailer for distribution. Strategic Marks president Ellia Kassoff said, "There's about half a billion dollars worth of toys that have been produced for Toys Я Us with no place to go, That's a big, big void that we're hoping to fill up."

http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/20/news...-us/index.html

It works with blockchain, has several hundred thousand transistors and is only one millimeter wide. I'm guessing it is also very easy to lose or misplace.

IBM unveils world's smallest computer

https://mashable.com/2018/03/19/ibm-...llest-computer

Verizon and AT&T never followed through with plans to sell Huawei phones. Best Buy sold the phones.......but no longer. Well, there's always www.huawei.com

Best Buy will stop selling Huawei phones amid security concerns

http://www.businessinsider.com/best-...-phones-2018-3

Apparently there's a lot of money to be made by telling people if it's sunny or cloudy or raining, even though they could simply look out a window and see for themselves.

Byron Allen's Entertainment Studios acquires The Weather Channel in $300 million deal

http://www.latimes.com/business/holl...322-story.html

This move comes two days after the Senate passed legislation allowing victims of sex trafficking to sue complicit websites. No more personals such as: "SWM wishes to meet young SWF for harmless fun. Harmless. Honest!"

Craigslist shuts down its personals section

http://www.money.cnn.com/2018/03/23/...own/index.html

The IPO was priced at $21 per share and quickly rose to $30. Symbol: DBX.

Dropbox surges 44% in trading debut

http://www.businessinsider.com/dropb...k-price-2018-3

I think I'll delay my purchase of this car until after I've seen the results of the crash tests.

World's first 3D-printed car due on roads in 2019

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/techno...019/ar-BBKBYpJ

The FTC is investigating Facebook's privacy practices, Mark Zuckerberg has been asked to testify at a Senate hearing, and the state of Illinois has filed a lawsuit against Facebook and Cambridge Analytica over the data harvesting. Facebook opened today at $160.82 and quickly fell to $149.02. As I write this, it has rebounded to $155.42 (-2.56%).

Facebook stock plunges on FTC probe and news it records users' texting and call logs

http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-m...-furor-n860006

Chance the Rapper has a valid argument here. Unfortunately, all the complaints on social media are just giving free publicity to Heineken. Who wants to tell Chance the Rapper to "lighten up"?

Chance the Rapper calls Heineken ad 'terribly racist'
Ad features a bartender sliding a bottle of Heineken past three black people to a fair-skinned woman.
The slogan 'Sometimes lighter is better' is displayed as she laughs with two white men.

https://mashable.com/2018/03/26/chan.../#UvbYtrg0ZZqN

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ly-racist.html

As I write this, Google is down $47.15 (4.47%). Yikes!

Google could owe Oracle $8.8 billion in fight over Android and Java
Bloomberg, Mar 27 2018 1:00 PM

Google could owe Oracle billions of dollars for using Oracle-owned Java programming code in its Android operating system on mobile devices, an appeals court said today, as the years-long feud between the two software giants draws near a close. Google's use of Java shortcuts to develop Android went too far and was a violation of Oracle's copyrights, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled. The case, first filed in 2010, was remanded to a federal court in California to determine how much the Alphabet Inc. unit should pay. Oracle had been seeking $8.8 billion, though that number could grow. Google expressed disappointment and said it's considering its next steps in the case. The dispute could have far-reaching implications for the entire software industry,

http://www.latimes.com/business/tech...327-story.html

It will be difficult for the United States to engage in a trade war with China when so many Chinese companies are opening facilities in the United States!

Foxconn makes another big move in the US with Belkin deal
CNN, Mar 27, 2018 5:47 AM ET

Foxconn is investing more cash in the United States. The Taiwan-based electronics company best known for assembling iPhones for Apple is buying US company Belkin, which makes consumer electronics and smartphone accessories. Foxconn's Hong Kong-listed unit, Foxconn Interconnect Technology, announced the $866 million deal on Tuesday. It's the latest move by Foxconn to increase its presence in the United States. In early 2016, it completed the purchase of the fiber optic division of US microchip maker Avago Technologies. Foxcomm is expected to spend at least $9 billion building a plant in Wisconsin that will employ thousands of workers making screens for devices.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/27/tech...kin/index.html

I wonder if Begor is one of the 143 million Americans whose social security number, driver license number and credit card numbers were stolen by hackers last year. Yeah, probably.

Equifax names former GE executive Mark Begor as CEO

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eq...-idUSKBN1H41ZA

Down 4% yesterday and down 2% today. Can somebody please keep Trump away from Twitter?

Amazon stock sinks again as Trump says tweets that tech giant pays 'litte or no taxes' and uses US Postal Service as 'their delivery boy'

http://www.geekwire.com/2018/amazon-...-delivery-boy/

I'm starting to think we should start a new thread just for all the data breaches. Here is the latest one:

Under Armour's MyFitnessPal app hacked, 150 million accounts affected

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2018/...1441522381981/

All these mergers and buyouts! I think Walmart and Amazon are secretly making plans for world domination.

Walmart is reportedly in talks to buy health insurer Humana

http://www.money.cnn.com/2018/03/29/...lks/index.html

Amazon says the hiring of two new advisers is simply part of "evolving business strategies." The truth is that Amazon is getting ready for a battle with Donald Trump, who has criticized Amazon -- wrongfully, of course -- for paying "little or no taxes."

Amazon severs ties with top lobbying firms in Washington

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...-in-washington

Yes, indeed -- another day, another data breach. Here is the latest. Or should I say here are the latest:

Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor stores suffer data breach

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/saks-fi...r-data-breach/

I've been to this Hard Rock. It's like a rock'n'roll museum, filled with musicians' guitars, drum sets, costumes, photos, album artwork and gold records. I wonder if Branson will keep all the memorabilia or perhaps sell it or auction it off. The casino-hotel will be renamed Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. (Insert silly joke here.)

Richard Branson buys Hard Rock casino-hotel in Las Vegas

http://www.yahoo.com/news/richard-br...204831166.html