Groupon sets sights on $1B in revenue
CHICAGO, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- The founder of U.S. Internet firm Groupon revealed in an e-mail that he wants the company to hit the $1 billion in revenue mark this year.
That ambition many have seemed a stretch in 2009, when Groupon took in revenue of $33 million. But revenue skyrocketed to $760 million last year, closing the gap considerably, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.
The discount-offer company achieved its revenue jump in part by acquisitions in Europe and Asia. In 2010, Groupon went from a company with 120 employees in 30 cities to one with 4,000 employees in 565 cities.
The email sent to staff by Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mason says, "By this time next year, we will either be on our way to becoming one of the great technology brands that define our generation, or a cool idea by people who were out-executed and out-innovated by others that were smarter and harder working."
Mason wrote the company's goal was "at least $1B in revenue from new products we launch in 2011."
Nasdaq mulls possible NYSE Euronext bid
NEW YORK, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Nasdaq is looking to compete with German firm Deutsche Borse for a chance to by NYSE Euronext's stock trading business, sources told The Wall Street Journal.
NYSE Euronext has already announced a $10 billion deal for its stock trading business to be sold to the German firm. But Nasdaq OMX Group is shopping around for a partner to put together a bid that the newspaper said Saturday would be worth at least $11 billion.
Nasdaq is hoping to spark interest in a deal with either CME Group Inc. or IntercontinentalExchange Inc, sources said.
CME Executive Chairman Terry Duffy said this week that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange was studying "different transactions around the world," but most likely to make acquisitions on its own.
Neither company would comment on any deal, but IntercontinentalExchange Inc, known as ICE, is said to be interested in the derivatives business in Europe, which NYSE acquired when it purchased Euronext in 2007.
NYSE Euronext Deputy Chief Executive Officer Dominique Cerutti said this week that a rival bid "would never create as much value for the different shareholders."
A rival proposal would be viewed as hostile, he said.
Continental flight attendants approve deal
CHICAGO, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Continental Airlines flight attendants voted to approve a new contract with the U.S. carrier with 68 percent approving the deal, the union said.
Continental merged with United Airlines in October, which means its 9,300 flight attendants may not stick with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which now represents them, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Saturday.
Fight attendants at United are represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA.
At some point, the two groups will decide on which of the two labor organizations will represent them.
Continental is technically a subsidiary of United Continental Holdings Inc.
Consumer Reports: Thumbs down on iPhone
YONKERS, N.Y., Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Consumer Reports has declined to recommend the Verizon iPhone 4 because of a problem that can cause dropped calls.
The magazine said the Verizon phone has the same problem its testers found last summer in the AT&T iPhone. If a user holds the phone so that the hand covers a gap in the external casing, a position Consumer Reports calls the "death grip," performance declines and calls will be dropped in areas where the signal is weak.
"The phone performs superbly in most other respects, and using the iPhone 4 with a case can alleviate the problem," Consumer Reports said.
Users appeared to be less unhappy with the Verizon phone, Time magazine said, possibly because a tighter grip is needed to cause the problem than with the AT&T phone.
