6 Most Important Things in Business Now

By Douglas A. McIntyre Updated Jan 12, 11:05AM EST · Published Jun 14, 4:56AM EDT

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The International Energy Agency (IEA) said that oil demand will not pick up until 2018. Crude has traded around $50 for the past two months. It has recently dropped below $46 as U.S. shale production continues to rise and OPEC output has been slightly higher than expected. The news also raises concern that there will be little improvement in the world economy.

The Federal Reserve is expected to bump up interest rates, which it has hinted about at recent meetings. The economy is strong enough to support the action, although there is very little sign of inflation. The Fed’s move has been encouraged by falling unemployment, rising corporate profits, residential real estate activity and strong consumer confidence.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) will dump about 50 management people as its works to cut costs at its defense business. The move is the latest in a series of cost reductions meant to streamline decision-making and lower expenses, even as Boeing’s share price trades near a 52-week high.

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Uber board member David Bonderman resigned after making a sexist comment, further destabilizing a board and management transition that has included the decision of CEO Travis Kalanick to take a leave of absence. According to CNBC, Bonderman said:

I directed a comment to my colleague and friend Arianna Huffington that was careless, inappropriate, and inexcusable.

Having worked with the company for some months on the Holder report, I recognize the importance of implementing the requirements of the report.

Uber is examining the issues with its culture, making significant changes and working to right what has been done wrong, which is extremely important for the future of the company. I do not want my comments to create distraction as Uber works to build a culture of which we can be proud.

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will lead an investigation into the company’s culture, which includes concerns about sexism.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) has completed its buyout of Yahoo, which will be merged with AOL. The merged entity will be rebranded Oath.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU) has begun the search for a CEO to replace long-time chief Sergio Marchionne.

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About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.