6 Most Important Things in Business Today

By Douglas A. McIntyre Updated Mar 13, 3:43PM EDT · Published Feb 28, 5:02AM EST

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TiVo Corp. (NASDAQ: TIVO) may find a buyer or go private. According to MarketWatch:

TiVo Corp. shares added more than 12% in late trading Tuesday after the company said in its fourth-quarter earnings report that the board is considering “strategic alternatives” that include a potential sale, buying another company or going private. “TiVo’s stock price is at a level that the company and its board do not believe reflects the true value of the business given the company has a strong foundation, with leading technologies, and solid cash flow from its long-term IP license agreements and guide deployments,” TiVo said in its announcement, before listing off the possible results of the review.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) will buy a smart door ringer company for $1 billion. According to MarketWatch:

Amazon.com Inc. acquired Ring, maker of video doorbells, in a deal valued at more than $1 billion, a person familiar with the transaction said, giving the online giant a bigger foothold in the burgeoning internet business of home security.

The acquisition, believed to be Amazon’s second biggest after its roughly $13.5 billion purchase of Whole Foods last year, is the latest in a string of moves that signal the company’s ambitions to enter a staggering variety of markets

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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will begin auctions of 5G spectrum. According to The Wall Street Journal:

The nation’s top telecommunications regulator on Monday laid out his plan for accelerating the development of 5G wireless service in the U.S. through market-oriented approaches.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, in a speech to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, said he would aim to auction two chunks of the airwaves for next-generation wireless service this fall, as the U.S. seeks to win an emerging global race to roll out the technology.

The Chinese version of Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) has filed to go public. According to CNBC:

Chinese video streaming service provider iQiyi, a unit of Baidu, on Tuesday filed for an initial public offering of up to $1.5 billion with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company plans to list its American Depository Shares on the Nasdaq under the symbol “IQ.”

The company, known for its Netflix-like services, has over 50 million subscribed members and more than 420 million mobile monthly average users.

China’s manufacturing numbers fell to a multimonth low. According to CNBC:

China reported that its official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index hit a 19-month low in February with the Lunar New Year holidays contributing to slowing business activities.

The country’s official manufacturing PMI came in at 50.3 in February, lower than a Reuters’ poll of 51.2, China’s National Bureau of Statistics reported. The official manufacturing PMI reading was 51.3 in January.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below that signals contraction.

Papa John’s International Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) will end its NFL sponsorship. According to CNNMoney:

Papa John’s is breaking up with the NFL.

The pizza chain, which last year blamed slumping sales on the NFL’s handling of player protests, is ending its sponsorship of the league.

“While the NFL remains an important channel for us, we have determined that there are better ways to reach and activate this audience,” CEO Steve Ritchie said a conference call to discuss the company’s quarterly earnings

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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.