6 Most Important Things in Business

July 19, 2017 by Douglas A. McIntyre

IBM (NYSE: IBM) missed revenue expectations, and its stock fell again. The oft-mentioned turnaround is now into its fourth year, with only modest advances in its cloud initiative. IBM still sits well behind the tech company leaders in cloud market share.

Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA) and Scripps Networks Interactive (NASDAQ: SNI) are in merger talks, according to Reuters. The news service reports:

 Discovery Communications and Scripps Networks Interactive Inc are in merger talks, revisiting a deal that was scrapped three years ago, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

Scripps, whose channels include HGTV, Travel Channel and a majority stake in Food Network, is looking for a buyer at a time when it and other smaller media companies are under pressure to grow to give them negotiating power with cable and satellite companies.

Google, a division of Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), will try to re-launch its Glass wearable product, which sold poorly when it first came to market. The Wall Street Journal reports that the target of the new product will be companies and not consumers.

Restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) faces another food poisoning scandal. It closed one of its restaurants due to an outbreak of food poisoning. Similar problems drove away customers and tanked its stock over a year ago. The stock fell nearly 5% on the news.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has a new chief in China. It has struggled with iPhone sales, lagging behind Samsung and several local manufacturers. The company announced:

Apple today announced that Isabel Ge Mahe, vice president of Wireless Technologies, has been named vice president and managing director of Greater China, reporting to CEO Tim Cook and COO Jeff Williams. In this newly created role, Isabel will provide leadership and coordination across Apple’s China-based team.

The fact that she reports to Cook signals the importance of her job.

A new legal action against Uber claims that it discriminates against people in wheel chairs, according to the AP. The news service reported:

A nonprofit disability rights organization filed a class-action lawsuit against Uber, claiming the ride-hailing service discriminates against New York City riders with disabilities by not providing enough access to vehicles that can accommodate wheelchairs.

“Having grown rapidly since it began operating in New York in 2011, Uber provides hundreds of thousands of rides a day in New York City, but for riders who need wheelchair-accessible vehicles, it provides vastly inferior service, or in many cases, no service at all,” according to the lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan on Tuesday by Disability Rights Advocates.

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