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.
The New York Stock Exchange has been selected for Uber's initial public offering, which could give the company a valuation as high as $120 billion, a source said. The IPO is expected to be the biggest in the US this year, sources have said.
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.
The Missouri River's flooding along South Dakota, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa is leading to significant infrastructure bottlenecks and creating delays across supply chains. With limited rerouting options, BNSF and Union Pacific are dealing with service interruptions.
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."
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has called for a stricter scrutiny of EHR systems in light of reports of patient deaths, injuries and close calls related to the conversion from paper to electronic records. The 21st Century Cures Act prevents the FDA from overseeing EHRs as medical devices, and Gottlieb said companies have avoided adding functionality that could improve the systems because of concern the changes would bring them under FDA oversight.
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.