Probe to clear top GM management, blame internal culture for Cobalt recall delays
The Wall Street Journal has a sneak peak at former US Attorney Anton Valukas’ inquiry into why it took General Motors a decade to recall Chevrolet Cobalts with defective ignition switches. The report will spare CEO Mary Barra and other executives, but blame the automaker’s culture of managers working in silos for letting the problem fester for 10 years. It will also reportedly say Barra did not know about the issue until last December. The company is expected to fire a number of managers connected to the crisis on Thursday, and Barra is set to outline steps to prevent a similar occurrence in the future.
T-Mobile, Sprint agree to merger framework
Sprint and T-Mobile have agreed to the basics of a deal that would see the former acquire its rival for about $40 a share, bringing T-Mobile’s valuation to about $32 billion. While the two companies have talked about combining for years, both sides cautioned that a number of details have yet to be worked out. Last month, telecommunications rival AT&T struck a deal to buy DirecTV for nearly $49 billion.
Twitter weighing major music-streaming acquisition
Apple isn’t the only technology heavyweight willing to spend big money to improve its music services. Twitter has contemplated buying music-streaming services SoundCloud, Spotify, and Pandora in recent months, according to The Financial Times. Last year, Twitter acquired three-person music-streaming startup We Are Hunted.
What Spurs lack in marketing flash, they make up with humor
The NBA Finals are set to kick off tonight — my pick is Miami over San Antonio in six games — and everyone knows the Spurs can’t compete with the flashier Heat and global superstar LeBron James in terms of marketing prowess and endorsement deals, right? Not so fast. What the workmanlike Spurs lack in glamour, they make up for with humor, shown off in this ad for Texas supermarket chain HEB, which The Wall Street Journal describes as "like an 80s sitcom."
