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Amazon closes $3.9B buyout of health company One Medical

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon said Wednesday it has closed its $3.9 billion acquisition of the primary care organization One Medical. The e-commerce giant has said the buyout, which was announced in July, is a key component of its growing health care business, which includes its online drugstore Amazon Pharmacy and a patient to doctor messaging service called Amazon Clinic. One Medical, which was owned by an Francisco-based 1Life Healthcare Inc, has about 815,000 members and 214 medical offices in more than 20 markets. Its membership-based service offers virtual care as well as in-person ...

Microsoft makes case for Activision

BRUSSELS (AP) — Microsoft’s Xbox video game division on Tuesday announced new partnerships with Nintendo and chipmaker Nvidia as it tries to persuade European regulators to approve its planned $68.7 billion takeover of game publishing giant Activision Blizzard. A key audience for the announcements were the European Union antitrust regulators who held a closed-door meeting Tuesday with executives from Microsoft and some of its competitors, including Sony and Google. Microsoft announced a 10-year agreement with chipmaker Nvidia to bring Xbox games to Nvidia’s cloud gaming ...

Microsoft makes case for Activision merger amid scrutiny by EU

BRUSSELS (AP) — Microsoft’s Xbox video game division on Tuesday announced new partnerships with Nintendo and chipmaker Nvidia as it tries to persuade European regulators to approve its planned $68.7 billion takeover of game publishing giant Activision Blizzard. A key audience for the announcements were the European Union antitrust regulators who held a closed-door meeting Tuesday with executives from Microsoft and some of its competitors, including Sony and Google. Microsoft announced a 10-year agreement with chipmaker Nvidia to bring Xbox games to Nvidia’s cloud gaming ...

Stocks tumble; Dow down 635

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is tumbling Tuesday, and stocks are heading for their worst day in two months amid worries about the tightening squeeze of higher interest rates and about upcoming profits for companies. The S&P 500 was 1.9% lower in afternoon trading, which would mark its sharpest drop since a sell-off for the market in December. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 650 points, or 1.9%, at 33,190 as of 3:00 p.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 2.2% lower. Home Depot fell to one of the market’s larger losses after giving financial forecasts that fell ...

4-day workweek trial participants report happy, less-stressed employees

LONDON (AP) — Work less, get more. A trial of a four-day workweek in Britain, billed as the world’s largest, has found that an overwhelming majority of the 61 companies that participated from June to December will keep going with the shorter hours and that most employees were less stressed and had better work-life balance. That was all while companies reported revenue largely stayed the same during the trial period last year and even grew compared with the same six months a year earlier, according to findings released this week. “We feel really encouraged by the results, ...

Pay-Per-Chew: More restaurants trying subscription programs

The Associated Press Consumers are willing to pay monthly subscription fees for streaming services, pet food and even toilet paper. And now some restaurants are betting they’ll do the same for their favorite meals. Large chains like Panera and P.F. Chang’s as well as neighborhood hangouts are increasingly experimenting with the subscription model as a way to ensure steady revenue and customer visits. Some offer unlimited drinks or free delivery for a monthly fee; others will bring out your favorite appetizer each time you visit. They’re following a trend: The average American ...