This week, one of America’s most popular fast food chains, Burger King (BKW), completed its acquisition of Tim Hortons (THI), an iconic Canadian restaurant establishment. The result is the creation of the third largest quick service restaurant company in the world.
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Fiat's Final Breath
Fiat (F.MI), Italy’s largest automobile manufacturer, and major producer of P. Diddy commercials, is leaving its Italian home, after 115 years, in a last ditch effort to survive. At its latest quarterly shareholder meeting, stakeholders agreed to merge Fiat with American car company, Chrysler, to form Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
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Customers Love Competition
Like so much that emanates from the complex science, the economic idea of “competition” is something of an abstract concept. It can be difficult to envision how the desire of individual firms to outperform one another, in the market, can translate to better products and lower prices in the long-run.
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Storm On The Horizon
Last month, my colleague, Zac Cherin, covered Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk’s decision to share Tesla’s technology patents with its competitors. His analysis of the long-term benefits to Tesla — a new market for its batteries, potential allies in lobbying the government, and a chance to share the cost of expanding its supercharger network — over the short-term losses of an exclusive rights to technology was superb.
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Dirty Dov: The American Apparel Scandal
After accusations of sexual harassment and misconduct, the American Apparel (APP) Board of Directors has fired long time CEO and founder Dov Charney. The highly anticipated announcement was released two weeks ago. However, the outspoken and flamboyant Charney has made it clear that he will not go down without a fight, vehemently defending himself from the company he established.
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Navigating The Maps Market
Apple (AAPL) has acquired social maps application Spotsetter to address its problematic maps application. In an attempt to differentiate itself from the competition, Spotsetter was designed to provide personalized destination recommendations for its users. This is accomplished by linking your social media accounts to Spotsetter's mapping service (i.e. via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter).
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Two Tech Titans Clash
Last Friday, May 2, a California court ruled in Apple’s favor during an ongoing (and ridiculous) patent lawsuit against South Korean tech giant Samsung. The case, brought by Apple (APPL), accused Samsung of four patent infringement violations. After the courts deemed Samsung had knowingly violated U.S. Antitrust laws, Apple was awarded $119.6 million in damages - a fraction of the $2.2 billion they sought.
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