• The US Postal-Service announced its decision to end Saturday mail delivery beginning Aug. 5. The decision is part of a plan to curb the losses the Postal Service has suffered as paper mail steadily declines, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• Dell Inc. announced on Tuesday, Feb. 5 that it had agreed to a $13.65-per-share buyout offer lead by founder Michael Dell and the private-equity firm Silver Lake Partners. The buyout requires that all shareholders approve and there is some opposition from the company’s largest outside investor, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• Boeing flew a 787 Dreamliner test plane for more than two hours on Saturday in an effort to uncover what caused the lithium-ion batteries to catch on fire. The flight was uneventful, but the Federal Aviation Administration’s investigation is still expected to last several weeks, according to the New York Times.
• Wendy’s, the world’s third largest burger chain, has been enacting a plan to revamp its menu and marketing plan. The food chain has added new menu items and wants to get back to its roots as a high-quality burger maker, according to Barron’s Magazine.
• Homeowners are once again looking to use their homes as a form of ATM through home equity loans and lines of credit. The sudden burst of loans is triggered by rising housing prices and an increase in consumer confidence, according to CNBC.
• Popular music streaming site, Spotify, is being commended by the music industry for creating a business model that allows music to be streamed and listened to conveniently while also paying the artist. The praise comes from an industry damaged by illegal downloading, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• US Airways and AMR Corp, parent company to American Airlines and American Eagle Airlines, are coming close to an $11 billion merger that would create the world’s largest airline, according to CNBC.
