Italy’s antitrust authority has fined travel planning website TripAdvisor $600,000 after complaints of improper business practices lodged by a national hoteliers’ association and a consumer protection agency. The antitrust authority said Monday that TripAdvisor had failed to adopt controls to prevent false reviews, while at the same time promoting the site’s content as “authentic and genuine.” The federation of hoteliers welcomed the decision, citing what it called defamatory reviews on the site. The National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes fell 6.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.93 million. The combination of higher home prices and relatively stagnant incomes has reduced affordability and restrained buying activity. The recent decline in mortgage rates has yet to lure more buyers into the market. Airbus has at last delivered its first A350 jet, handing over the wide-body plane to Qatar Airways after years of delays and a multibillion-dollar redesign. Qatar is working to become a major aviation hub as the natural gas-rich Gulf nation prepares to host the soccer World Cup in 2022. The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug from Bristol-Myers Squibb to treat the deadliest form of skin cancer. The approval was based on preliminary studies showing the drug helped shrink tumors in some patients. Melanoma long has been considered one of the toughest cancers to treat, with few drug options up until a few years ago. Since 2011, the FDA has approved seven drugs for the skin cancer, including Opdivo. Beleaguered retailer American Apparel Inc. said Monday it is considering a takeover bid, a day after adopting a poison pill plan to fend off unwanted buyers. A person familiar with the matter said that private-equity firm Irving Place Capital was interested in making an offer in that range and bringing back Dov Charney, the founder who was fired last week after an investigation found inappropriate conduct including misuse of company apartments and improper behavior with employees. To protect itself from unwanted suitors, American Apparel has adopted a shareholder rights plan to prevent a person or group from accumulating more than 10 percent of the stock. Facebook shares rose to a record as the social network caps a year in which mobile advertising increased and marketing expanded with applications and video. The shares advanced 2 percent to close at $81.45, more than double the price of Facebook’s initial public offering in May 2012. Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion has also been paying off: A Citigroup analyst said last week that the photo-sharing app is worth $35 billion.
Reported by SFGate 8 hours ago.
↧