Amazon Likely Working On Spotify-Like Music Streaming Service - Forbes

Amazon Likely Working On Spotify-Like Music Streaming Service - Forbes: "Amazon has sold music for a while, of course, via its Prime service, but the amount of content available is literally a small fraction of that available by the Apple AAPL +3.09% Music and Spotifies of the world. The New York Post has a source that claims that Amazon is ready to throw its hat into that musical ring and has had some of its executives meeting with top-level music executives to try to hammer out a deal on par with what the other full-on streaming services offer. And, according to the source, it may be ready to press play as soon as this fall.

The source also says that Amazon would likely charge a competitive $10 a month for access, however there’s no word on if there would be a discounted (or even free) tier for Amazon Prime customers. Music licensing isn’t cheap, however it could be enough to convince those on the fence about Prime to make the move to subscription."



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Boeing (BA) 787-9 Enables United (UAL) to Plan Longest Flight by a U.S. Carrier - TheStreet

Boeing (BA) 787-9 Enables United (UAL) to Plan Longest Flight by a U.S. Carrier - TheStreet: "Once again United (UAL - Get Report) will use the world's most advanced airplanes on one of commercial aviation's most aspirational routes from what is now the most important developing U.S. hub.

Starting June 1, United will fly the Boeing (BA - Get Report) 787-9, the upgraded Dreamliner model, from San Francisco International Airport to Singapore. At 8,446 miles, the route will be the longest 787 route in the world as well as the longest scheduled flight by any U.S. carrier.

The flight will take 16 hours and 20 minutes westbound and 15 hours and 30 minutes eastbound.

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Aspirational network planners "dream about services like this and wish we had the airplanes to do it," said Brian Znotins, United vice president of network. "So when we reach the confluence of an airplane with range capability and can fly the only non-stop from North America to Singapore, we will jump at that.""



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Does IBM's CEO Deserve Her $4.5 Million Bonus? - Yahoo Finance

Does IBM's CEO Deserve Her $4.5 Million Bonus? - Yahoo Finance: "International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM)’s stock is down 19.4 percent in the past year and more than 30 percent in the past two years. While you might think CEO Virginia "Ginni" Rometty is taking some heat for the stock’s performance, she’s actually taking up to a $4.5 million bonus for 2015 and an 11 percent pay raise.

According to the company’s latest filings, Rometty will earn a base salary of $1.6 million in 2015, up from $1.5 million in 2014. In addition, she will be issued $13.3 million in restricted stock compared to the $12.75 million in stock she received last year.

If Rometty earns her full bonus, she will take home a total of $19.9 million in 2015, up 11 percent from her 2014 total of $17.9 million.

Related Link: Morgan Stanley: Recessions Aren't What They Used To Be

Many suffering shareholders are likely not pleased with the company’s generosity toward Rometty, who announced last year that IBM would be abandoning its push to achieve $20 EPS by 2015.

Only time will tell if Rometty’s push to turn around IBM’s business by trimming low-margin and unprofitable business segments and investing heavily in cloud computing will ultimately pay off in the end or if it's too little too late to save IBM."



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IBM's CEO writes a new chapter on how to turn failure into wealth - LA Times

IBM's CEO writes a new chapter on how to turn failure into wealth - LA Times: "On that day, IBM closed at $122.59. That was a drop of 37% from its peak of $194.34 (in dividend-adjusted terms) during her tenure, which was reached in September 2012, nine months after Rometty took the helm.

That stock price performance is not just bad. It's approaching Carly Fiorina bad. Fiorina took Hewlett-Packard's stock price down some 49% during her more than five years as CEO; since her firing in 2005 she hasn't had another corporate job and has been reduced to running for president. But Rometty is still in place at IBM, with no exit in sight.

One year ago, when Rometty was awarded her $3.6-million bonus, a 13.3-million-share incentive award payable in 2018, and a 6.7% bump in her base salary to $1.6 million from $1.5 million, we asked what the IBM board could have been thinking. The new bonus makes the question even more urgent, for the latest financial numbers are all pointing down. "



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