6 Most Important Things in Business Today

By Douglas A. McIntyre Updated Mar 13, 3:42PM EDT · Published Mar 16, 5:09AM EDT

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6 Most Important Things in Business Today — © Wikimedia Commons

A senior executive at Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) left after complaints about his behavior. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Nike Inc. said it had received complaints about inappropriate workplace behavior and that its No. 2 executive has resigned, setting off a management shuffle at the sportswear giant.

The company said Trevor Edwards, Nike brand president and a potential successor to Chief Executive Mark Parker, will leave his position immediately and retire from the company in August.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU) lost the appeal of a case about a car fire. According to The Wall Street Journal:

The Georgia Supreme Court upheld the results of a wrongful death trial that hit Fiat Chrysler Automobiles with nearly $40 million in legal damages on account of a Jeep fire that killed a 4-year-old boy.

The court’s nine justices on Thursday unanimously rejected arguments from the Italian-U.S. auto maker that a trial judge erred in allowing plaintiffs’ lawyers to present Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne’s compensation as evidence in the case.

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Toy makers will be hit hard by Toys “R” Us bankruptcy. According to The Wall Street Journal:

The liquidation of Toys “R” Us Inc. has sent the toy industry reeling, leaving Mattel Inc., Hasbro Inc. and other manufacturers without a large chain devoted to selling games and dolls and forcing them to scramble to secure other outlets to carry their items.

Toys “R” Us, which had more than $11 billion in revenue in its last fiscal year, is one of the retail chains that were once seen by vendors as “category killers” and have emerged as crucial checks on the power of Amazon.com Inc. Stores like Best Buy Co. and Barnes & Noble Co. provide electronics manufacturers and book publishers with vast networks of physical showrooms.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) believes it can beat Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) in the hybrid market. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Jim Hackett said Thursday he sees “upside” to the auto maker’s longer-term 8% target for profit margins, citing progress on cost-cutting initiatives and an overhaul of product-development procedures.

Mr. Hackett, nearing one year at the helm, said the company is emerging from an extended “think phase” during which about 10 top executives hammered out a series of strategic steps. “We’re just going to run the company better,” Mr. Hackett said.

Ford plans to surpass Toyota Motor Co. in annual U.S. sales of hybrid vehicles in 2021, for instance, looking to lead a segment where Detroit auto makers have long been laggards. Ford is a relatively strong in hybrids already, but Mr. Hackett said its presence in that market is “unsung.”

Chinese hackers have taken aim at several U.S. firms. According to Bloomberg:

Chinese hackers have launched a wave of attacks on mainly U.S. engineering and defense companies linked to the disputed South China Sea, the cybersecurity firm FireEye Inc. said.

The suspected Chinese cyber-espionage group dubbed TEMP.Periscope appeared to be seeking information that would benefit the Chinese government, said FireEye, a U.S.-based provider network protection systems. The hackers have focused on U.S. maritime entities that were either linked to — or have clients operating in — the South China Sea, said Fred Plan, senior analyst at FireEye in Los Angeles.

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) founder Steve Wynn could sell his holdings in the company. According to CNBC:

Wynn Resorts Ltd’s former chief executive, Steve Wynn, may elect to sell all or a portion of his stake in the company, according to a regulatory filing dated Thursday.

Steve Wynn is the largest shareholder in the company, owning about 11.8 percent of the casino operator followed by his former wife who has a 9.3 percent stake, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon data.

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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.