In Brief: Google buys corporate mobile-device manager Divide
Spokane County Commissioner Al French has been named chairman of the Spokane Airport Board.
He’s joined on the board’s executive committee by Kris Mikkelsen, vice chair, and Dave Clack, board secretary. All three have been serving on the seven-member board and their terms end in January.
The other four members are Ben Stuckart, Spokane city council president; Max Kuney; Collins Sprague; and Nancy Voorhees.
Spokane’s airports are owned and operated jointly by the city and the county. Each body nominates three board members, with a seventh member chosen by both.
Google buys corporate phone manager Divide
SAN FRANCISCO – Google has bought Divide, a startup that helps companies manage the mobile devices that employees are increasingly using to get their work done.
Financial terms of the acquisition announced Monday were not disclosed.
Google is counting on Divide’s technology to make companies feel more comfortable about allowing their employees to use Android devices for email and other on-the-job tasks involving sensitive information.
Divide also offers an app for Apple Inc.’s iPhones. Although Divide is joining Android, the company reassured existing iPhone customers that their device-management tools will continue to work.
Disneyland ticket price increases by $4 to $96
ANAHEIM, Calif. – The price of a ticket at Disneyland is creeping closer to triple-digits.
A single-day ticket for either the Magic Kingdom or California Adventure is now $96 for those 10 and up.
The $4 hike went into effect Sunday. Single-day ticket prices have more than doubled since 2003.
The cost for annual passes went up too.
A Disneyland statement said the price hikes were brought on by a variety of factors, but the tickets represent a great value given the breadth and quality of attractions and entertainment at the parks.
AT&T eyes football in DirecTV purchase
LOS ANGELES – One of the hidden benefits of AT&T’s $48.5 billion planned purchase of DirecTV is that it raises the possibility of making DirecTV’s programming crown jewel, NFL Sunday Ticket, more broadly available on mobile devices.
Making exclusive live NFL game programming available on AT&T smartphones could trump Verizon’s deal with the NFL for certain live game streams on its phones, because NFL Sunday Ticket involves most NFL games, not just a handful on certain nights of the week.
AT&T could potentially make mobile access a perk for its wireless customers.
It’s clear that AT&T has major plans for NFL Sunday Ticket. AT&T said in a regulatory filing Monday that if DirecTV fails to renew its contract on terms the two sides discussed privately, it could call off the takeover.
Soybean prices rise as supplies remain tight
Soybean prices are ending higher as traders expect supplies to remain tight.
The actively traded July contract for soybeans rose 20 cents to settle at $14.85 a bushel.
Mike Zuzolo, president of Global Commodity Analytics and Consulting in Atchison, Kansas, said supplies for beans have been extraordinarily tight as China’s demand for soymeal, which is used as animal feed, continues to increase even as U.S. production stays relatively steady. Soybean prices are up about 15 percent this year.
Corn fell six cents to $4.77 a bushel and wheat was little changed at $6.75 a bushel.