6 Most Important Things in Business Today

By Douglas A. McIntyre Updated Mar 13, 4:03PM EDT · Published Feb 2, 5:05AM EST

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6 Most Important Things in Business Today — © Wikimedia Commons

Dell and VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) have decided to move forward with combination options, which include a merger. The move has been rumored for days. According to Reuters:

U.S. computer maker Dell Technologies Inc and business software provider VMware Inc have decided to explore options that could include a potential merger of the two companies, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The move, which may not result in any deal, comes as Dell, the world’s largest privately held technology company, seeks new avenues for growth following its debt-laden acquisition of data storage provider EMC Corp for $67 billion in 2016.

CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) and Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIAB) have decided to consider a merger. Both are controlled by billionaire Sumner Redstone. According to The Wall Street Journal:

CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc. said Thursday that their boards have formed special committees to evaluate a potential merger, a deal that would reunite the two big pieces of the Redstone family’s media empire.

Shari Redstone, vice chairman of both companies, is pushing for a merger, people close to the discussions say. She, along with her 94 year-old father, Sumner Redstone, controls CBS and Viacom, with a roughly 80% controlling stake in each company through their holding company National Amusements Inc.

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Bitcoin value continued to fall. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Bitcoin plunged below $9,000 on Friday, extending its sharp rout since the start of the year in a selloff triggered by a widening regulatory crackdown on cryptocurrencies.

The digital currency has now fallen more than 55% from an all-time high of close to $20,000 in December, according to research site CoinDesk Inc. That marks bitcoin’s third biggest drop over the past five years: It fell 76% in the spring of 2013, and 85% from November 2013 to January 2015.

Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) has a new CEO. According to CNBC:

Sony said on Friday that CEO Kazuo Hirai will be replaced by the company’s chief financial officer, Kenichiro Yoshida, effective on April 1.

Hirai, who stepped in as CEO in 2012, will become chairman of the electronics and entertainment company.

During Hirai’s six-year tenure, Sony has exited or cut back in areas such as PCs and TVs, and capitalized on the spread of smartphones with its image sensors. Yoshida is widely credited for being behind many of the changes, which have won over investors.

Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) has changed its corporate name. According to CNNMoney:

Wal-Mart is now officially Walmart.

The company had been known as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. since 1970, but it announced a change in December. That became official today when it filed new incorporation papers in Delaware.

Customers won’t notice the change. The corporate name is different, but Walmart storefronts, advertisements, bags and merchandise dropped the hyphen in 2008.

The chief financial officer of Airbnb left, opening questions about its financial future. According to Fortune:

In an executive shakeup, Airbnb Thursday said that its CFO, Laurence “L.T.” Tosi will be leaving the company and that CEO Brian Chesky’s longtime deputy, chief business affairs and legal officer Belinda Johnson, would be elevated to the new role of COO. The company also said it is not going public in 2018.

The Tosi news was sudden and unexpected, despite recent reports of tensions between him and Chesky; the news about Johnson is not likely to surprise anyone familiar with her prominent role and reputation within the company.

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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.