INTEL BUYS GERMAN DRONE COMPANY
Intel Corp. said Monday it has purchased German drone maker Ascending Technologies, a 75-employee company that focuses on professional-grade drones that automatically detect and avoid obstacles.
Intel said the acquisition lets it “integrate the computing, communications, sensor and cloud technology required to make drones smarter and more connected.”
Some of Ascending Technologies products already use Intel’s RealSense 3-D camera. Autoavoidance systems, such as the ones being developed by Ascending Technologies, could prevent drones from crashing into trees, people and airplanes.
Taubman, Macerich spend $660 million for retail, office. Taubman
Centers Inc. and Macerich Co. said Monday they have agreed to acquire the Country Club Plaza retail and office space in the heart of Kansas City, Mo., from Highwoods Properties Inc. for $660 million.
The acquiring companies each will hold a 50 percent stake in the property.
The Plaza assets include 18 properties totaling 804,000 square feet of retail space and 468,000 square feet of office space. The Plaza portfolio generated cash and net operating income of $31 million in 2015.
Target names new stores chief. Target Corp. fired
the head of its stores Monday, the latest move by CEO Brian Cornell to remake the executive ranks in his second-year at the helm.
Tina Tyler, 50, Target’s chief stores officer, has been stripped of her title, and her last day will be Jan. 9. Janna Potts, 48, another Target veteran who most recently was a human resources executive, will take over the role immediately.
Tyler’s removal is related to Cornell’s ongoing efforts to transform the retail chain, spokeswoman Dustee Jenkins said. He is trying to regain Target’s cachet in key categories like fashion and home goods, grow its online business and focus new store openings on urban centers instead of its suburban stronghold.
Tokyo market holds final New Year’s auction. It’s
among the biggest of Japan’s many New Year holiday rituals: Early on Tuesday, a huge, glistening tuna will be auctioned for a lot of money at Tokyo’s 80year-old Tsukiji market. Next year, the tradition won’t be quite the same.
The world’s biggest and most famous fish and seafood market is due to move in November to a massive complex farther south in Tokyo Bay, making way for redevelopment of the current downtown spot.
The closure of the Tsukiji market will punctuate the end of the postwar era for many of the mom-andpop shops just outside the main market that peddle related wares.
GM’s Barra adds chairman title. General Motors
CEO Mary Barra is taking on the added role of chairman at the nation’s largest automaker. The company’s directors Monday unanimously elected her to lead the board, effective immediately.
She replaces former Cummins Inc. chairman and CEO Theodore Solso as GM’s chairman. He will stay on as the board’s lead independent director, the company said Monday in a statement.