Amazon is said to expand its e-commerce business into physical bookstores. It plans to open 400 bookstores after its first opening in Seattle last year. However, Amazon still refuses to comment on this issue.
Sectors
Company Acquisition: French Company Veolia Acquired Silicon Valley Nuclear Cleaning Startup, Kurion, for $350 Million
The deal was a huge move forward for both Veolia and Kurion. Veoila is determined to expand its business to nuclear waste management and believes that Kurion is the perfect partner to achieve that goal. Kurion itself is a successful startup focusing in nuclear waste involved in the Fukushima nuclear incident clean-up in 2011.
Sharp to end the bidding war between Foxconn and Innovation Network Corporation of Japan
Sharp Corp board has gathered today to weigh the bidding offers. The competition is between the Taiwanese electronics giant, Foxconn and the Japanese government-backed establishment, Innovation Network Corporation of Japan. While ICNJ has always been the favoured choice, Foxconn is giving it a stiff competition by way of doubling the offered price along with debt pay-offs and retention of management and employees.
Wal-Mart Will Soon Operate Its Own Gas Station Without Murphy
Wal-Mart Will Soon Operate Its Own Gas Station in order to gain more profits. The company will leave Murphy USA Inc., which has become its gas stations operators for 20 years. However, Murphy will still continue its existing gas stations.
Cisco to acquire Jasper for $1.4 billion
Cisco announced its intention to purchase Jasper Technologies, a provider of cloud service for internet-powered devices, for $1.4 billion. The merger will enable Cisco to provide a full IoT solution which is inter-operable through devices and coordinates with application developers and IoT service providers.
Latest News
President Barrack Obama seeks an additional $1.1 billion in the face of increasing death rates due to overdoses of heroin and opioids. The Obama administration has already split the amount and categorized them to focus on different aspects like increasing medical-assisted facilities, prescriptions of antidotes, plans for overdose prevention, etc. These facilities are to be rolled out to the rural areas as well.
Takata Corp, a manufacturer of airbags used in vehicles for consumer safety, will announce its restructuring plan to automakers in May. The restructuring plan is expected to include the sharing of recall costs. The defective airbags are forcing automobile majors to recall millions of cars.
According to PwC and NVCA report, Charlottesville has been the fastest growing startup since 2010. Between 2010-2015, venture-backed startups increased 55% annually in the place where Thomas Jefferson's house is located.
Today, India's largest biotech company announced to have been able to make two vaccines for zika virus. A day before, France's Sanofi Pasteur planned to research on vaccine for the mosquito-borne disease.
The Shanghai Disneyland's ticket prices would be 20 percent cheaper than Hong Kong Disneyland at 539 yuan, even though the Shanghai's area would be much larger. After being constructed for more than six years, the park would be ready to open for public this summer with possible further expansion.
Vodacom Group Ltd has recorded 8.7 percent growth in third quarter revenues. The South Africa-based mobile phone company is focusing on subscribers and high-speed network expansion. Vodafone is expanding internet services and strengthening its network amid rising domestic competition.
The gold buying demand from China is surging from last December onwards owing investors' priority to safe haven assets. The sluggish stock markets, weaker currency and lower global prices are prime reasons for the rising demand for the yellow metal. The consumption rose 3.7 percent to 985.9 metric tons in 2015.
Stryker just reached an agreement with Sage to acquire the company for $2.76 billion in an all cash agreement. The acquisition is expected to boost Stryker's revenue in the coming years and the company will also enjoy $500 million in tax benefit.
The lower oil price for about 19 months is benefiting the consumers, but creating a lot of problems for the global governments and business firms. Many banks and the US government forecast oil price above $40 a barrel this year. The oil price fell to below $30 during the past 19 months from $107 a barrel.
