6 Most Important Things in Business Today

June 20, 2018 by Douglas A. McIntyre

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) was thrown out of the Dow Jones industrial average.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) have ended relationships with companies that may have misused their customer data. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Verizon Communications Inc., AT&T Inc. and Sprint Corp. pledged to stop selling the locations of individual customers to two middlemen amid accusations that one of the firms mishandled the information.

The carriers said they will wind down data-sharing agreements with LocationSmart and Zumigo Inc., which buy access to the real-time locations of users from major U.S. carriers and allow other businesses to tap into it. The data are used for everything from marketing nearby shops to preventing credit-card fraud.


Volkswagen and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) may work together to build new cars. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG are exploring how they could work together to better compete globally as cars become more technologically advanced and customer expectations evolve.

The companies said Tuesday they were exploring a strategic alliance that could include jointly developing a range of commercial vehicles as well as other projects. The two companies said they weren’t discussing cross-ownership stakes or stock arrangements, implying that the two companies aren’t in merger talks.

CVS Health Corp. (NYSE: CVS) has gotten into the home delivery business. According to The Wall Street Journal:

CVS Health Corp. has enlisted the U.S. Postal Service for a new home delivery service, as the drugstore giant strives to stave off Amazon.com Inc. and other rivals.

CVS struck a deal with the Postal Service to pick up prescriptions at CVS stores and bring them to customers’ homes in one or two days. Customers will be charged $4.99 per delivery, which could include over-the-counter products such as aspirin or face wash.

The theft of cryptocurrency coins caused the value of the market to drop. According to Bloomberg:

Cryptocurrencies dropped after the second South Korean exchange in as many weeks said it was hacked, renewing concerns about the safety of digital-asset trading venues.

Bithumb, ranked by Coinmarketcap.com as the world’s seventh-largest crypto exchange by traded value, said on Wednesday that hackers stole about 35 billion won ($32 million) and that Ripple was among the coins taken. The exchange halted cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals, said it will compensate victims and moved investor assets to a so-called cold wallet, which is disconnected from the Internet and less vulnerable to theft.

The use of recreational pot in Canada took another step forward. According to CNBC:

Canada’s upper house of parliament on Tuesday approved a revised bill to legalize recreational marijuana, setting the stage for the country to become the first Group of Seven nation to legalize cannabis.

The Senate voted 52-29 in favor of the revised bill from the elected House of Commons, paving the way for a fully legal cannabis market within eight to 12 weeks.

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