A federal judge ruled this week that Apple colluded with major book publishers to drive up e-book prices. It was the latest development in an antitrust case that has already led to settlements between the Justice Department and five major publishers. It is also something of a strange case in that, while there is evidence of collusion by the publishers, they were colluding for the purpose of creating more competition. Publishers have a love-hate relationship with Amazon, which, through Kindle e-book platform and its large share of physical book sales, has an uncomfortable degree of control over the industry. In their negotiations with Apple over making e-books available in iTunes, the publishers may have been violating antitrust law, but it was, ironically, to try to stop Amazon from having monopoly power in the e-book market.
Business
Wal-Mart, Gap and 15 other major U.S. retailers announced an initiative Wednesday to improve safety conditions in Bangladeshi garment factories after a building collapse in April killed 1,127 workers. It calls for inspections of all the factories that the retailers work with within the first year, the development of common safety standards within three months, and the transparent sharing of inspection reports.
McGraw-Hill Financial, Fitch Group, and Moody’s were sued by liquidators of two collapsed Bear Stearns hedge funds seeking more than $1 billion over allegedly faulty investment ratings.
Hulu owners Walt Disney Co., Comcast’s NBCUniversal and 21st Century Fox called off their sale of the video-streaming service and will instead invest $750 million in the company. The decision ends an auction that had been underway.
The Financial Stability Oversight Council on Tuesday designated American International Group and GE Capital as systemically important, formally bringing the companies under stricter regulatory oversight. Prudential Financial disclosed that the council proposed designating it as systemically risky, but the company has said it will contest the proposal.
The owner of the New York Stock Exchange will take over the running of Libor in an attempt to restore credibility to the benchmark interest rate rocked last year by a global rate-rigging scandal.
Gasoline prices rose the most in eight months, with futures climbing four straight days, up 7.6 percent for the week. That was the largest weekly increase since Sept. 30. Valero Energy began shutting the fluid catalytic cracker at its Port Arthur, Texas, refinery.
The SyFy channel’s “Sharknado” television movie attracted widespread commentary on Twitter. But the buzz appeared not to translate into high ratings, with about 1.4 million viewers reported by Nielson.
Deals
Kroger will acquire competing grocery chain Harris Teeter for $2.5 billion, or $49.38 per share. The combined company aims to compete with larger grocery chains more effectively.
Tribune Co., publisher of the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Baltimore Sun, plans to spin off its newspapers into a separate business, letting the company focus on its more lucrative local television stations. The plan would create a newspaper company called Tribune Publishing and a TV-focused business named Tribune with 42 stations in 33 markets, mimicking the breakup of News Corp.’s newspaper and TV assets in June.
Caesars Entertainment shares surged after the company’s new online gambling business said it would sell up to $1.18 billion in stock. Caesars shareholders will receive the right to buy one share of Caesars Acquisition stock for each of their shares.
AT&T said it will buy Leap Wireless International for $15 per share in cash.
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is offering shareholders a chance to own a bigger stake in Dell, seeking to force Michael Dell to sweeten his $24.4 billion buyout offer for the personal-computer maker. Icahn is adding a warrant to his $14-a-share offer that holders could exchange for additional stock, he said in a letter.
Business
Wal-Mart, Gap and 15 other major U.S. retailers announced an initiative Wednesday to improve safety conditions in Bangladeshi garment factories after a building collapse in April killed 1,127 workers. It calls for inspections of all the factories that the retailers work with within the first year, the development of common safety standards within three months, and the transparent sharing of inspection reports.
McGraw-Hill Financial, Fitch Group, and Moody’s were sued by liquidators of two collapsed Bear Stearns hedge funds seeking more than $1 billion over allegedly faulty investment ratings.
Hulu owners Walt Disney Co., Comcast’s NBCUniversal and 21st Century Fox called off their sale of the video-streaming service and will instead invest $750 million in the company. The decision ends an auction that had been underway.
The Financial Stability Oversight Council on Tuesday designated American International Group and GE Capital as systemically important, formally bringing the companies under stricter regulatory oversight. Prudential Financial disclosed that the council proposed designating it as systemically risky, but the company has said it will contest the proposal.
The owner of the New York Stock Exchange will take over the running of Libor in an attempt to restore credibility to the benchmark interest rate rocked last year by a global rate-rigging scandal.
Gasoline prices rose the most in eight months, with futures climbing four straight days, up 7.6 percent for the week. That was the largest weekly increase since Sept. 30. Valero Energy began shutting the fluid catalytic cracker at its Port Arthur, Texas, refinery.
The SyFy channel’s “Sharknado” television movie attracted widespread commentary on Twitter. But the buzz appeared not to translate into high ratings, with about 1.4 million viewers reported by Nielson.
Deals
Kroger will acquire competing grocery chain Harris Teeter for $2.5 billion, or $49.38 per share. The combined company aims to compete with larger grocery chains more effectively.
Tribune Co., publisher of the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Baltimore Sun, plans to spin off its newspapers into a separate business, letting the company focus on its more lucrative local television stations. The plan would create a newspaper company called Tribune Publishing and a TV-focused business named Tribune with 42 stations in 33 markets, mimicking the breakup of News Corp.’s newspaper and TV assets in June.
Caesars Entertainment shares surged after the company’s new online gambling business said it would sell up to $1.18 billion in stock. Caesars shareholders will receive the right to buy one share of Caesars Acquisition stock for each of their shares.
AT&T said it will buy Leap Wireless International for $15 per share in cash.
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is offering shareholders a chance to own a bigger stake in Dell, seeking to force Michael Dell to sweeten his $24.4 billion buyout offer for the personal-computer maker. Icahn is adding a warrant to his $14-a-share offer that holders could exchange for additional stock, he said in a letter.