7-Eleven is sending a clear message: We’re not just Slurpees and cheap coffee anymore and we’ve grown.
On Friday, the company became the retailer with the most number of stores worldwide and unveiled an array of new offerings.
The Dallas-based convenience store chain announced its global domination by opening its 40,000 store this week. Get the full story »
Google Inc. announced a major change to its powerful search engine to reduce the appearance of what it calls “low-quality” Web sites in results.
The move comes after months of criticism from a few technology-industry insiders and an acknowledgement by Google last month that it “can and should do better” to beat back sites that game its system to rise up in search results but offer users little value. Get the full story »
From Bloomberg News | Toyota has won approval for a $10 million settlement in a suit over a sudden acceleration crash that killed a California Highway Patrol officer and three others.
U.S. oil demand rose for the first time in five years in 2010, capped by a gain of 2.7 percent in December, government data released Friday show.
Demand of 19.148 million barrels a day was up 2 percent, or 377,000 barrels a day, from a year earlier, compared with average declines of about 950,000 barrels a day in the last two recession-hit years. Consumption in the world’s biggest oil user was some 8 percent, or 1.7 million barrels a day, less than the 20.8 million barrels a day peak hit in 2005. Get the full story »
Daily deals Web site Groupon Inc. saw its revenue surge to $760 million last year from $33 million the previous year, with more than a third of its 2010 sales coming from outside the U.S., according to an internal memo.
The e-mail, sent by Groupon Chief Executive Andrew Mason to staffers in early January, also reveals the founder’s grand ambitions for the company started three years ago. Mason writes that he hopes to achieve “billions in revenue” in 2011. Get the full story »
Washington has started getting ready for a possible government shutdown.
Federal agencies are working on plans for shutting down and deciding how many workers they need to perform essential operations. Get the full story »
CME Group Inc. can stay competitive without joining the merger and acquisition frenzy that has caught up financial exchanges globally, Executive Chairman Terrence Duffy told Reuters Insider Friday.
The tie-ups, including London Stock Exchange’s plan to buy Canada’s TMX Group, and Germany Deutsche Boerse’s agreement to buy NYSE Euronext, have sparked speculation over whether futures exchange operator CME would need to bulk up. Get the full story »
Johnson & Johnson cut the 2010 performance bonus of its chief executive, William Weldon, by 45 percent, from 2009 levels to $1.98 million, according to a regulatory filing.
The CEO’s diminished bonus comes after a year in which the company faced repeated recalls of consumer health products, medical devices and other products that hit its bottom line. Get the full story »
J.C. Penney Co. raised investor concerns about how much more profitable it can be after the department story operator said many of its expenses would stay flat as a percentage of sales this year.
Analysts also questioned how well Penney’s price-conscious shoppers will contend with higher gasoline and clothing prices. Get the full story »
The head of Southwest Airlines Co. said Friday that successive fare increases brought on as the industry battles with soaring jet-fuel costs isn’t cutting into demand.
Gary Kelly, chairman and chief executive of Dallas-based Southwest, said he didn’t see signs of “demand destruction” and has no plans to cut capacity at this point. Get the full story »
Kraft Foods Inc. told a federal appeals court Friday that it will suffer “irreparable harm” if its distribution deal with Starbucks Corp. ends next week.
The two consumer products giants are in the midst of ending their 12-year partnership in which Kraft distributed Starbucks bagged coffee to supermarkets and other retailers. Starbucks plans to take on the business starting March 1. Get the full story »
Chicago-based Media Chaperone, developer of a free Facebook application that helps parents manage their children’s Internet gaming use, said it has raised $1 million in its first venture capital backing ever.
The investor group is led by Northbrook-based Leo Capital Holdings, which focuses on youth-oriented technology companies. Leo’s managing partner is Randy Rissman, who founded toymaker Tiger Electronics and in 1998 sold it to Hasbro for $335 million. Rissman will join Media Chaperone’s board of directors. Leo’s other investments include Chicago-based GrubHub.com. Get the full story »
