In early trading on Thursday, shares of Microsoft (MSFT) topped the list of the day's best performing Dow Jones Industrial Average components, trading up 2.8%. Year to date, Microsoft registers a 21.1% gain.

Microsoft is set to cut more than 6,000 jobs in an announcement expected early Thursday, according to sources familiar with the matter, as it trims its newly acquired Nokia phone business and reshapes itself as a cloud-computing and mobile-friendly software company. What could be the deepest job cuts in the company's 39-year history come five months into the tenure of Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella, who outlined plans for a "leaner" business in a public memo to employees last week.



General Motors Co said on Wednesday its global sales topped 2.5 million vehicles in the recent quarter, up 0.5 percent as it posted its best showing since 2005 for a second quarter. In the first half of the year, GM's sales were 4.92 million vehicles, up 1.4 percent. General Motors sold 2,505,889 vehicles in the second quarter, gaining 8 percent in China and 7 percent in the United States, its two largest markets. This year, the United States accounted for 32.2 percent of GM's second-quarter global sales.



IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hyperice Launches First-Ever Kickstarter Campaign Driven by Superstar Athletes to Introduce Revolutionary Fitness and Recovery Technology Device, the VYPER.

BMW is expanding a recall of its most popular models to fix a growing air bag problem that is hitting much of the auto industry. The German automaker says it will recall 1.6 million 3-Series cars from model years 2000 to 2006 across the world, including 574,000 in the U.S. The company says it's taking the precaution because other automakers using similar systems have reported problems. If the bags do not work properly, shards could fly out and cause injury.



Make room Juan Valdez, it's time to meet the black-aproned barista. On Wednesday, Starbucks is making its much-anticipated debut in the country synonymous with coffee after years of roasting Colombia's Arabica beans for billions of java lovers the world over. The three-floor coffee house in Bogota is the first of 50 that the Seattle-based company plans to open here in the next five years.

BlackBerry's U.S.-listed shares were down 4 percent at $10.85 after the closing bell and the stock was set to open at its lowest in a week. Earlier, International Business Machines Corp said it will partner exclusively with Apple Inc to sell iPhones and iPads loaded with applications geared at enterprise clients. IBM shares were up 1.9 pct while Apple shares were up 1.3 percent after the bell.



Hewlett-Packard's Interim Chairman Ralph Whitworth has resigned from the company's board to concentrate on personal health issues. Personal computer maker HP said that its board will discuss appointing a new chairman at its next meeting. Whitworth became HP's interim chairman in April 2013 after former chairman Ray Lane stepped down from his post. At the time that Lane stepped down, HP also announced that directors John Hammergren and G. Kennedy Thompson were leaving the board.



Swiss drugmaker Novartis has struck an agreement with Google to develop "smart" contact lenses that would help diabetics track their blood glucose levels or restore the eye's ability to focus. Novartis said, the device for diabetics would measure glucose in tear fluid and send the data wirelessly to a mobile device. The technology is potentially life-changing for many diabetics, who prick their fingers as many as 10 times daily to check their body's production of the sugar.

In this audio slideshow, discover how solid waste can produce carbon credits and help create jobs for the poor.

Citigroup reported second-quarter earnings of three cents per share Monday, as it agreed to a massive $7 billion settlement with the Justice Department. Excluding the settlement and other charges, Citi's earnings would have been $1.24 per share. Analysts were expecting $1.05 per share, excluding special charges. Citi shares rose $1.81, or 3.8%, to $48.81 per share in pre-market trading. The company took a charge of $3.8 billion before taxes in the second quarter because of the settlement with the Justice Department for its role in making and packaging toxic mortgage securities in the run-up to the 2007-2009 financial crisis.



The generic drugmaker Mylan is buying Abbott Laboratories' generic-drugs business in developed markets for stock valued at about $5.3 billion. Mylan says the deal will diversify and expand its business outside the U.S. The combined company will be organized in the Netherlands and headquartered in Pittsburgh, which help reduce tax expenses. The business to be acquired encompasses generic and specialty drugs sold in Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Abbott will own about 21% of the combined Mylan company but does not intend to remain a long-term shareholder. The deal is expected to close in early 2015. Mylan is based in Canonsburg, just outside of Pittsburgh.



Domestic Domestic sells what inspires. They sell what intrigues. And most importantly, they sell what we believe in. Their shop is a collaboration of sorts. We are the matchmakers connecting n conscientious consumers with ethical companies. The product selection is rigorous. They bring to you fine American products with attention to quality, function and design. Nothing is added without reason. The objects we curate tell a story and have a history. They’re potential heirlooms, unique in type, simply determined to be the best damn stuff on the market. It all works in harmony. Well made objects made by people who live their dreams and whose passion for their craft is undeniable in everything they do. They are committed to supporting these people. They are these people. And they are thankful to have you.

A Beijing court has ruled against Apple Incorporated, by upholding the validity of a patent held by a Chinese company. The ruling clears the way for the Chinese company to continue its own case against Apple for infringing intellectual property rights. Apple had taken Shanghai-based Zhizhen Internet Technology and China's State Intellectual Property Office to court, to seek a ruling that Zhizhen's patent rights to a speech recognition technology were invalid. According to the People's Daily, Apple said after the verdict that it intended to take the case to the Beijing Higher People's Court.



London has chalked up another financial technology investment today: Index Ventures has led a $7 million Series A round in Credit Benchmark, a startup that’s looking to improve financial market benchmarks by aggregating anonymized credit risk data from multiple banks. Credit Benchmark describes its system as a “contributed data” model.

Samsung Electronics Co. said its second-quarter operating income has declined to a two-year low hit by the strong local currency and slowing demand for smartphones in China. The South Korean company said Tuesday in its earnings preview its operating income was 7.2 trillion won for the three months ending June 30. The quarterly profit represents a 24 percent drop from the previous year.

U.S. stocks are slipping in midday trading, bringing the Dow Jones industrial average back near 17,000 points. The Dow was down 57 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,014 as of noon Eastern Time Monday. The Dow closed above 17,000 for the first time Thursday after the U.S. reported strong job gains. The Nasdaq fell 30 points, or 0.7 percent, to 4,455. Investors will get a sense of how companies are faring when some big names report quarterly results this week, including Alcoa and Wells Fargo.



The Dow is a group of 30 big corporations, nearly all of them household names, and its dips and jumps during the trading day reflect changes in their share prices. Its exclusive roster runs from American Express to Walt Disney. Other indexes, such as the Standard & Poor's 500, open their doors to many more companies, providing a better overall picture of the market's performance. The Dow may not be the best measure, but the oldest index remains the best-known shorthand for the stock market.



Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World (Kindle Edition)
By Gary Vaynerchuk

Buy new: $12.99
Customer Rating:

First tagged "entrepreneurship" by Starr Hardgrove "Live Truthfully Within The Given Circumstances-Sanford Meisner"
Customer tags: marketing, entrepreneurship

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--eBay and Argos today announced that they have entered an agreement to extend their offering of Click & Collect services via Argos stores to all eligible eBay sellers in the UK.