Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) smashed earnings expectations, due in part to its Amazon Web Services cloud business. Its shares soared.
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) earnings were better than expected, primarily because of strength of its traditional Google ad business.
CVS Health Corp. (NYSE: CVS) is rumored to have offered $66 billion for insurance firm Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET), which would give it end-to-end capacity to offer health care pharma access and insurance.
The Saudi Arabian government may sell a private interest in huge oil company Aramco instead of having and initial public offering, according to the Financial Times.
A large merger in the chemical business was killed by several investors. According to CNNMoney:
Swiss chemicals giant Clariant and its U.S. rival Hunstman have axed their $20 billion merger after it came under attack from an activist investor group.
The two companies said Friday that they decided call the deal off because of doubts that Clariant would be able to get the backing of enough shareholders to push the deal through.
Amazon will be able to get into the wholesale drug business in several states. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Throughout the past year, and without much fanfare, Amazon.com Inc. has gained approval to become a wholesale distributor from a number of state pharmaceutical boards, according to a review of public records.
It’s unclear, though, whether the regulatory filings support speculation that the e-commerce giant is planning a move into the prescription drug delivery business, territory currently dominated by a handful of companies.
Industry analysts in recent weeks have raised the possibility that Amazon was eyeing this lucrative new business, posing a potential threat to such companies as north St. Louis County-based Express Scripts Holding Co.
According to a review of records by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Amazon has received approval for wholesale pharmacy licenses in at least 12 states, including Nevada, Arizona, North Dakota, Louisiana, Alabama, New Jersey, Michigan, Connecticut, Idaho, New Hampshire, Oregon and Tennessee.
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