The business news thread

[Rewind]

I am starting a new thread. "What, another one?" Yes, but this one is specifically for business news: mergers, takeovers, hirings, firings, expansions, closings and other business news stories which have to do with issues other than stocks. (Those last four words make a pun but it was unintentional.)

Today we have the sales of two snack companies -- and now I'm hungry.

Hershey Foods buying snack maker Amplify in $1.2 billion deal

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

Campbell Soup Co. buys snack maker Snyder's-Lance for $4.87 billion

http://www.abcnews.go.com/business/w...-487b-51858216

[Rewind]

How do you say "Uh-oh" in Swedish?

EU regulators are investigating Ikea's Dutch tax deals
Reuters, Dec 18 2017

European Union state aid regulators are investigating whether Swedish furniture retailer Ikea's tax arrangement with the Netherlands helped cut its tax bill -- the latest crackdown on unfair tax deals between multinationals and EU countries. The European Commission is looking into two tax rulings issued to Inter Ikea, which operates Ikea's franchise business and collects a fee of 3 percent of turnover from all Ikea shops via subsidiary Inter Ikea Systems in the Netherlands.

European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said, "All companies, big or small, multinational or not, should pay their fair share of tax. Member states cannot let selected companies pay less tax by allowing them to artificially shift their profits elsewhere." Fast food chain McDonald's and French energy company Engie are also in the EU crosshairs over their Luxembourg tax deals.

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/18/eu-r...tax-deals.html

[Rewind]

On December 11, Newsweek published its annual "Global 500" list of the world's most eco-friendly companies. Toyota ranked first in the automotive category and #16 overall. And now.......

Toyota says all its cars will have an electric or hybrid option by 2025
The Japanese firm is targeting 5.5 million annual sales of electric vehicles by 2030.

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/18/toyot...n-by-2025.html

[Rewind]

Jack In The Box to sell Qdoba Restaurant unit for $305 million cash
Reuters, Dec 19 2017

Restaurant chain operator Jack In The Box Inc. is selling its Qdoba Restaurant Corp. unit to funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management LLC for $305 million cash. Qdoba operates and franchises more than 700 Qdoba Mexican Eats restaurants. San Diego-based Jack In The Box acquired Qdoba for $45 million in 2003. The restaurant chain initially enjoyed fast revenue growth but has faltered in recent quarters.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-j...-idUSKBN1ED1JI

[Rewind]

Chinese tire manufacturer Sentury will open a plant in Georgia. Chinese tire manufacturer Wanli will open a plant in South Carolina. And now there are three:

Chinese tire maker Triangle Tire picks North Carolina site for its first US plant

http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-ch...-plant-2017-12

[Rewind]

Daniel Kline and Dylan Lewis of The Motley Fool discussed cable television, streaming, "cord cutting," Netflix and the Disney-Fox deal. Here is the video -- and a transcript so you can follow along at home:

What will the cable business look like in 2018?

http://www.fool.com/investing/2017/1...e-in-2018.aspx

[Rewind]

This ruling could pave the way for government regulation of other Internet-based businesses.

Top EU court rules Uber is a taxi company, not a technology service, and should be regulated as such

http://www.abcnews.go.com/internatio...mpany-51901623

[Rewind]

Don't worry -- I won't ask for a show of hands from those who are guilty. This is from the Wall Street Journal:

Worker 'idle time' costs US employers $100 billion a year, study says
That is what research says is being spent on employees who are on the clock but not working.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/worker-...ays-1513785601

[Rewind]

Twitter, in conjunction with Bloomberg, has launched Tic-Toc, a full-time streaming news service. Twitter is also trying to get CEOs to tweet more. Hey, Twitter, don'tcha think maybe they're too busy?

Twitter seeks business ad dollars with live news, CEO tweets

https://www.usnews.com/news/technolo...ews-ceo-tweets

[Rewind]

This would be Boeing’s largest acquisition since since buying McDonnell-Douglas in 1997.

Boeing in talks for takeover of Brazil's regional jet maker Embraer

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...er-wsj-reports