Automakers understand buyers often shop by price range before looking at features and settle within the middle when presented with multiple price levels, writes Pamela Hazelton. In addition, car buyers are encouraged to make a purchase when websites feature plenty of imagery and user-generated content, Hazelton writes.
More US community colleges are offering "guided pathways" to help adult students, in particular, stay on track and earn a degree within three years. The Alamo Colleges District, a five-college system around San Antonio, saw its three-year graduation and transfer rate rise from 28% in 2011 to 47% in 2015 after implementing such an initiative.
The Federal Reserve says it will leave interest rates unchanged until it sees whether the economy stabilizes as the stimulative effect of 2017 tax cuts fades. Chairman Jerome Powell says the central bank expects a modest economic slowdown, "with overall conditions remaining favorable."
Three Whole Foods Market locations in California will join the state's energy demand management project, relying on Axiom Exergy's Refrigeration Battery to manage power use. In taking part, the stores will be eligible for financial incentives for reducing their consumption at peak times.
A study in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine found that 37.5% of 6,539 patients taking warfarin were also taking aspirin for no clear reason, putting them at greater risk for major bleeding events and other adverse outcomes. Senior author Dr. Geoffrey Barnes said aspirin use is often not documented in medical records, complicating efforts to ensure patients do not double up on anti-clotting drugs.
Amazon plans to offer video ads on its shopping app that enable companies to tailor messages based on search query results and has been testing them on Apple's iOS platform, according to reports. One source said Amazon is requiring a $35,000 budget to run the ads at 5 cents per view for two months, and another noted that rates will vary by category.
Walmart's chief technology officer, Jeremy King, has been named head of engineering at Pinterest. The hire comes as the image-driven social site moves up the timetable for a planned initial public offering of stock, which is now set to happen next month, sources said.
Microsoft is offering a brief look at the company's new discless console, the Xbox One S All-Digital edition. The entirely digital console will offer a 1 terabyte hard disk drive and will come with three games: "Sea of Thieves," "Forza Horizon 3" and "Minecraft."
Certain manufacturers will be allowed by the FDA to distribute blood pressure drug losartan that contains N-Nitroso-N-methyl-4-aminobutyric acid levels above acceptable limits until it can be eliminated. The agency anticipates firms to be able to manufacture losartan without the impurity and replenish the US supply in about six months.
A jury in a US federal court in San Diego ruled that Apple violated three Qualcomm patents in the iPhone 7, 8 and X and awarded Qualcomm $31.6 million in damages. The fight isn't over though since the companies are due back in a San Diego court April 15 in what is expected to be a much more intense face-off over patent licenses and royalties.
Officials at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and Mayor Rahm Emanuel were on hand for a ceremony to mark the beginning of construction of the airport's two-year, $1.2 billion expansion. Crews will add 350,000 square feet of space to Terminal 5 and increase gate capacity by 25%.
Speaking at CERAWeek in Houston, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on the oil and natural gas industry to assist the US in using its energy riches to reduce the geopolitical influence of China, Russia and Iran, as well as promote American values such as free trade and democracy. "The more we can spread the US model of free enterprise, of the rule of law ... the more successful the US will be," Pompeo said.
Alaska Airlines has a history of using technology to enhance the passenger experience, from being the first to implement kiosks and mobile check-in to offering inflight Wi-Fi and virtual reality experiences. "We know that our travelers care very much about technology, so we're looking at ways to be creative," said Annabel Chang, vice president for the Bay Area at Alaska Airlines.
United Airlines is adding 18 new routes, boosting service to cities including Cleveland; San Francisco; New York; Washington, D.C.; Tampa, Fla.; and Denver. "These new routes demonstrate our continued commitment to offer our customers more choices than any other airline," said Ankit Gupta, United's vice president for domestic network planning.
