Reader’s Digest parent files for bankruptcy
NEW YORK >> The parent company of Reader’s Digest has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in less than four years, saying it needs to cut its debt so it can continue restructuring. RDA Holding Co. says it will keep publishing the magazine during the bankruptcy, and aims to be out of Chapter 11 within six months.
Burger King to apologize after Twitter hack
Somebody hacked Burger King’s Twitter account Monday, posting obscene messages and changing its profile picture to a McDonald’s logo.
The tweets stopped after a little more than an hour, and Burger King said it had contacted Twitter to suspend the account. A Twitter spokesman did not immediately respond to a phone message left Monday.
Burger King, which usually tweets several times a week, said it was working to get the account back up. Typical tweets promoted sales on chicken sandwiches or asked how many bites it takes to eat a chicken nugget.
But just after noon EST on Monday, someone tweeted via Burger King’s account, "We just got sold to McDonalds!" They also changed the icon to rival McDonald Corp.’s golden arches and the account’s background picture to McDonald’s new Fish McBites.
About 55 tweets and re-tweets followed over the next hour and a quarter, including some that contained racial epithets, references to drug use and obscenities. The account tweeted, "if I catch you at a wendys, we’re fightin!"
Monday’s appropriation of Burger King’s Twitter account was a relatively mild example of cybersecurity problems, which are causing increasing concern in Washington and for industry. White House officials and some lawmakers are pursuing legislation that would make it easier for the government and industry to share information on how to defend against hacking.
Hong Kong Disneyland posts first profit
Hong Kong Disneyland reported its first profit seven years after the theme park opened, as visitors from mainland China spent more at the venture between Walt Disney Co. and the city’s government.
The theme park, which opened in September 2005, made a profit of HK$109 million ($14 million) in the 12 months ended Oct. 1, compared with a loss of HK$237 million a year earlier, it said in a statement Monday. Walt Disney owns 48 percent of the park, and the Hong Kong government holds 52 percent.
Hong Kong Disneyland has been adding attractions that include Toy Story Land and the Space Mountain ride to woo visitors from government-owned Ocean Park and to benefit from an increase in tourists from mainland China.
Fiscal year sales rose 18 percent to HK$4.27 billion. Attendance climbed 13 percent to 6.73 million.
Express Scripts’ profit jumps 74 percent
ST. LOUIS » Mail-order and online druggist Express Scripts said Monday its quarterly earnings jumped almost 74 percent as more people used generic drugs and it continued to absorb Medco Health Solutions.
Express Scripts Holding Co. acquired Medco in April, making it the largest pharmacy benefits manager by far. It now manages more than a billion prescriptions per year.
The company’s outlook for this year also topped Wall Street expectations.
Express Scripts earned $504.1 million, or 61 cents a share, in its fourth quarter, which ended Dec. 31. Its adjusted earnings were $1.05 a share, slightly better than the $1.02 a share expected by analysts. Revenue more than doubled to $27.41 billion. Analysts predicted $27 billion.
In the fourth quarter a year ago, it earned $290.4 million, or 59 cents a share. Revenue was $12.1 billion.
The company’s $29.1 billion acquisition of Medco made it big enough to handle the prescriptions of more than 1 in 3 Americans. Revenue and prescription counts have swelled. In the most recent quarter, the number of claims it handled more than doubled to almost 411 million.
Samsung to upgrade its high-end TV sets
Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest TV maker, plans to introduce upgraded models with voice-recognition capability and ultrasharp images this year to expand its market lead.
"Samsung will strengthen its extra large-sized premium TV lineup, focusing on ultra high-definition sets and smart TVs, to cement our presence in the premium market," the Suwon, South Korea-based company said in an emailed statement Monday. Samsung plans an "aggressive" global marketing strategy, it said.
TV makers including Samsung and LG Electronics Inc., its biggest competitor, are increasing their focus on pricier models that offer higher profit margins, as unit sales slow amid a shift in consumer preference toward portable devices such as smartphones.
On the Move
Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties has announced that Phillip McCaffray has rejoined the firm’s Kahala office. He joined CBP as a Realtor associate in 2004 and was previously a principal broker at Hawaii Resort Condos.
Central Pacific Bank has promoted Mark Harner to senior vice president and senior manager of the special credits department and other real estate owned administration. He has more than 25 years of experience in financial structuring, underwriting, real estate transactions, project management and asset management.
Hale Kipa has announced that Zachary McNish has joined its board for 2012-13. He is a legal counsel for RevoluSun and has been an associate attorney for law firm Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing as well as an associate corporate counsel for Hoku Scientific. He is a member of the Community Council on the Purchase of Health and Human Services.
