6 Most Important Things in Business Today: Go Vote

November 6, 2018 by Douglas A. McIntyre

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) may divide its second headquarters between two cities. According to Reuters:

Amazon.com Inc is planning to split its second headquarters evenly between two cities, people familiar with the matter said Monday, in a twist to a more than year-long contest that has drawn overtures from locales across North America.

Dallas, Long Island City in New York and Arlington near Washington, D.C. are all among the finalists with which Amazon is holding advanced talks, one of the people said on condition of anonymity. The person would not confirm which two are expected to win or if any others remain in the running.

Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UAA) employees will no longer have their bills paid when they take clients to strip clubs. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Under Armour Inc. employees received an email earlier this year that upended a longstanding company practice: They could no longer charge visits to strip clubs on their corporate cards.

Over the years, executives and employees of the sports-apparel company, including Chairman and Chief Executive Kevin Plank, went with athletes or co-workers to strip clubs after some corporate and sporting events, and the company often paid for the visits of many attendees, people familiar with the matter said.


The head of Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) may no longer be part of the company’s post-bankruptcy restructuring. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Sears Holdings Corp. is wrapping up an expanded bankruptcy financing package that will keep it afloat past the holiday season as it looks to sell its most profitable stores and other assets.

At the time of the retailer’s Oct. 15 bankruptcy filing, a group of banks consisting of Bank of America N.A., Wells Fargo & Co., and Citibank N.A. agreed to contribute $300 million in financing. Chairman and former Chief Executive Edward Lampert, through his hedge fund ESL Investments, was in negotiations with other lenders to provide an additional $300 million junior loan.

Now, the structure has changed. Mr. Lampert’s ESL is no longer expected to take part in the financing, according to people familiar with the situation.

Time magazine has a new CEO. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Four days after Salesforce.com Inc. co-founder Marc Benioff and his wife Lynne Benioff closed on their purchase of Time magazine from Meredith Corp., the new owners named Edward Felsenthal chief executive of the publication and said he would continue as editor in chief.

Mr. Felsenthal, 52 years old, will oversee all of Time’s editorial and business efforts, including advertising. The magazine industry has been buffeted by declining print advertising revenue and newsstand sales and is trying to make up for those declines by boosting revenue from digital advertising, paid events and video.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) plans to use some of the experience in China to bolster U.S. operations. According to CNBC:

Starbucks aims to eventually apply the lessons it has learned in China’s fast-paced delivery industry to the United States, according to Kevin Johnson, the company’s president and chief executive.

Speaking to CNBC’s Eunice Yoon at the world’s largest Starbucks store, located in Shanghai, Johnson praised the pace of innovation in China — “faster than any other part of the world” — as he discussed the company’s recent partnership with Alibaba.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s (NYSE: BABA) business will help China’s gross domestic product significantly in coming years. According to CNBC:

E-commerce giant Alibaba announced Tuesday it plans to help global businesses sell $200 billion in goods to China in the next five years.

A day earlier, Chinese President Xi Jinping said his country will import $30 trillion in goods and $10 trillion in services over the next 15 years. China’s trade deficit with the U.S. — which hit a record high in September — has been targeted by the Trump administration with tariffs this year.

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