6 Most Important Things in Business Today

September 21, 2017 by Douglas A. McIntyre

Toshiba decided to sell its chip business to an alliance that includes Bain and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL).

Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google will hire approximately 2,000 hardware workers from troubled cellphone company HTC. It will pay $1.1 billion to get further into the smartphone hardware business, according to The New York Times. The deal puts Google into more direct competition with companies that include Apple and Samsung.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission website was hacked last year. The agency said that the hackers may have used some of the data for insider trading. In a press release, the SEC said:

In August 2017, the Commission learned that an incident previously detected in 2016 may have provided the basis for illicit gain through trading. Specifically, a software vulnerability in the test filing component of the Commission’s EDGAR system, which was patched promptly after discovery, was exploited and resulted in access to nonpublic information.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) are at work on an artificial intelligence chip to be used in self-driving cars, according to CNBC.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) has turned to 3D to help it design cars. According to CNNMoney:

Ford designers can now put on a pair of 3D goggles and see an entire car in the middle of the office. It’s a technology that promises to speed up the car design process and make it easier to involve designers on a global scale.

The designers are working with Microsoft’s Hololens goggles running software created specifically for the task of designing — and altering the designs of — automobiles. With the goggles, designers in different offices can see and work on the same virtual car at the same time.

Airbnb will get into the restaurant reservation business. According to The New York Post:

Airbnb already hooks you up with bed and breakfast. Now it’s looking to expand into lunch and dinner.

The home-sharing site said Wednesday it will partner with restaurant reservation service Resy, allowing users to reserve tables without leaving the app.

The move marks the next step toward the startup’s ultimate goal of becoming a service customers can use to plan every aspect of their trip. In 2016, Airbnb launched “Experiences,” which allows users to book tours, concerts or other activities.

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