Business

Apple Now Worth More Than Microsoft, Google Combined

Sam Gustin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:10:43 +0000

How high can Apple soar? The tech juggernaut is closing in on $500 per share, a dramatic psychological threshold that underscores the company’s stunning performance over the last decade. How massive has Apple become? It’s now worth more by market capitalization than Google and Microsoft combined. The company’s latest stock price surge is being fueled [...]

Feds investigate Door Fires in 2007 Camrys, RAV-4s

Associated Press — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:48:36 +0000

DETROIT (AP) — Federal safety regulators are investigating reports of fires in the driver’s side doors of 2007 Toyota Camry sedans and RAV-4 crossover SUVs. The probe could affect as many as 830,000 vehicles, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday in documents posted on its website. The vehicles have not been recalled. The [...]

After Motorola Deal Approval, Can Google Hardware Be Far Behind?

Sam Gustin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:00:49 +0000

Now that federal regulators appear poised to approve Google’s $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility, speculation is mounting about what the Internet giant will do with its newly acquired assets. And what assets they are. Once the deal is formally approved — an announcement could come next week, according to multiple reports — Google will [...]

Three Cheers and Three Jeers for $25 Billion Foreclosure Settlement

Christopher Matthews — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:00:22 +0000

A key step was taken yesterday in moving the country beyond the housing crisis, a crisis that triggered the worst recession in decades and whose lingering effects continue to hinder the nation’s nascent recovery. The deal, which brought together 49 state attorneys general and the Justice Department, was a large-scale compromise between states, the federal [...]

Why the Greek Bailout Doesn’t Change Much of Anything

Michael Sivy — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:00:09 +0000

With time running out, Greece reached a deal yesterday with European institutions that could start 130 billion euros (more than $170 billion) in bailout funds flowing. If that money isn’t on the way soon, Greece might default when its next bond refinancing takes place in late March. Despite all that money, however, little has really [...]

FBI File on Steve Jobs Probed Apple Founder’s Drug Use, Character

Sam Gustin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:47:40 +0000

The FBI’s 191-page file on the late Steve Jobs — released Thursday — reveals that the feds were keenly interested in the Apple founder’s character, as well as his past drug use and criminal history. The FBI opened an investigation of Jobs in 1991, because he was under consideration for a presidential appointment to the [...]

JC Penney and Ellen, Lowe’s and All-American Muslim: A Tale of Two Bigotries

JAMES PONIEWOZIK — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:43:50 +0000

JC Penney did the right thing this week, standing by its celebrity spokeswoman Ellen DeGeneres despite a conservative activist group’s demand that it drop association with her because she’s gay. The group, One Million Moms, asked Penney to “remain neutral in the culture war” by firing a gay celebrity. (“Neutrality” must mean not employing heterosexual spokespeople, either, right? Any asexual [...]

TIME’s Interview With Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti

TIME.com — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:23:48 +0000

This week’s edition of TIME International features an interview with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti (subscribers can read the story here). In the mean time, check out our video interview with Italy’s new leader.

White House Announces $25 Billion Mortgage Settlement

Christopher Matthews — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:25:42 +0000

This post was updated at 1:25pm It’s been a long slog, but government officials and representatives from major U.S. banks have come to terms on a settlement that would put an end to federal and state investigations into alleged foreclosure abuses by financial institutions. Details of the settlement were announced this morning, and a website explaining [...]

Ford CFO Booth to Retire, CEO Mulally Staying Put

Associated Press — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:25:26 +0000

(DETROIT ) — Two top Ford executives who helped lead the company’s comeback from financial disaster are retiring, but CEO Alan Mulally says he has no plans to leave. Lewis Booth, the company’s chief financial officer, and Derrick Kuzak, its global product development chief, will both retire on April 1. Both were once were among [...]