Uber’s decision this summer to release its application programming interface (API) could be a game changer for the travel industry. An API is software code that lets other applications and websites easily integrate each other’s functionality. By making its API public, Uber lets customers book rides directly from TripAdvisor (TRIP), Hyatt Hotels (H), United Airlines (UAL) and a handful of other apps and sites, including Starbucks (SBUX).
These days, media-industry giant Gannett is making plenty of news. McLean, Va.-based Gannett (GCI) on Oct. 20 posted third-quarter earnings that jumped 49% from the year-earlier quarter, as its broadcast and digital businesses compensated for its newspaper operation. Gannett’s $1.5 billion acquisition last year of Belo Corp. went a long way toward redefining the company. It also recently concluded its $1.8 billion acquisition of the 73% of
Flemming Ornskov has been at Shire for only 18 months, but his term has been quite an adventure already. In January, he closed the Anglo-Irish drugmaker’s biggest acquisition, buying U.S. biotech ViroPharma for $4.2 billion. That brought Shire (SHPG) deeper into the growing field of rare-disease drugs, helping it diversify from its core business in attention-deficit treatments. It has also made a number of smaller buyouts. This year, Shire’s