Investment firm 3G Capital bought Burger King today for $3.26 billion. 3G Capital is backed by Brazilian tycoon Jorge Paulo Lemann, known in Brazil for founding the prestigious investment firm Banco Garantia and owning Brazilian brewing giant AmBev, which eventually merged with Belgium’s Interbrew to become InBev. Burger King isn’t 3G’s first US fast food investment. The firm invested in Wendy’s in the past, according... 

Finally, a recall the middle class doesn’t have to worry about. Ferrari has recalled 1,248 Ferrari 458 Italias after fires destroyed five existing models. The BBC has more : …a Ferrari spokesman said the company had investigated the five reported incidents of spontaneous fires in the 458, and traced the problem to materials in the wheel arch lining and heat shield. According to Ferrari, the glue securing the wheel arch lining and... 

Today’s Apple announcement revolved around the iPod Touch 4, a new line of redesigned iPods, iOS 4, and more (see the NYT’s complete liveblog here.) Apple, aside perhaps from its Apple TV, is once again leading the industry in product design, aesthetics, and capability. Here’s a summation of Steve Jobs’ announcements on the new iPods and Apple TV: New versions of all …  Read More →

Sprint-owned Clearwire , a wireless ISP service that currently provides 4G services Sprint phones like the HTC EVO 4G, will offer pay-as-you-go 4G access. The service, nicknamed “Rover,” will charge by the day, week, or month for users who buy a special connection device. From CNNMoney : Customers can buy one of two devices to connect to the service: a $150 “Puck” that serves 4G mobile broadband to up to 8 devices or... 

French company Sanofi-Aventis , the world’s fourth-largest prescription drugmaker, is looking to buy US-based biotech giant and rare disease treatment specialist Genzyme. But Genzyme rejected S-A’s $18.5B offer, meaning that negotiations for the mega-merger may drag out. FiercePharma’s Tracy Staton sums up the situation: Even if Sanofi goes hostile, as CEO Christopher Viehbacher’s letter to Genzyme hinted, the deal could... 

It happens to all of us – that logo you spent hours, days, weeks working on with a graphic designer turned out beautiful. You slapped it on all your letterhead, business cards, signage, websites and other promotional materials. And once it was out in the open, you realized, “Maybe it’s not quite right.” Now what? Redesigning anything – whether it’s a website, a logo or an entire rebranding of the company – is costly, since it involves... 

This is a guest post by Julia Weingrad of Wall St. Cheat Sheet Wall Street and Silicon Valley always need something hot. Although unemployment is high and optimism resembles the scenes at the start of an anti-depressant commercial, we have found 5 CEOs who are building companies which haven’t stopped to notice the recession … 1) Dennis Crowley — CEO Foursquare Foursquare is a location-based social networking website, involving an application... 

JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater made history yesterday by cursing up a storm on his just-landed flight’s PA system, then sliding down the plane’s emergency slide and running away like a bandit. The New York Times has more : (On the flight from Pittsburgh to JFK), one passenger stood up to fetch belongings from the overhead compartment before the crew had given permission. Mr. Slater instructed the person to remain seated.... 

After 7 years in business , VOIP company Skype has filed for an IPO. InformationWeek has more : The Luxembourg-based company said it expects to sell as much as $100 million of depositary shares held by existing owners. Founded in 2003, Skype pioneered VoIP calling and now claims 560 million registered users with 52 to 124 million active users; 8.1 million of those customers pay for the service. Users can call other Skype users free of charge... 

Hewlett Packard CEO Mark Hurd , best known for his 5-year HP turnaround success, in which HP stock outperformed the market by 101%, resigned Friday. The reason? Like so many other successful leaders, Hurd couldn’t keep his pants on (or expense reports straight) when it came to one female contractor. From the Wall St. Journal : H-P said Friday that Mr…  Read More →

I ran across TaskRabbit, which matches you with people who can run your errands for you –or hooks you up with people who need errands run–while reading this excellent Wall St. Journal article on work-at-homers. With TaskRabbit, you put up a task, price it, and a “runner” (errand runner, rabbit, person who does your errands) picks it up, usually within 30 minutes. Once the task is complete, you pay and rate your runner. There... 

Here in the US, you’d think Toyota would be a bad investment, based on its perpetual recalls. But the automaker made $2.2 billion in profit last quarter, thanks to cost-cutting measures and strong sales in emerging markets. From the Detroit Free Press : (Toyota’s) strong results come despite higher incentive costs in the U.S. and the negative impact of a strong yen. A strong yen makes vehicles Japanese-assembled vehicles more expensive... 

Beleaguered book chain Barnes & Noble has announced it’s looking for someone to buy it. Reuters reports : Barnes & Noble, whose shares soared 25 percent on the news, said company founder and top shareholder Leonard Riggio is considering bidding for the company as part of a larger investor group. An auction for Barnes & Noble could draw interest from several other quarters, including billionaire investor Ron Burkle, as well... 

Image: Puamelia /Flickr A driver for Connecticut beer and wine wholesaler Hartford Distributors has shot and killed at least 8 at the workplace. The Hartford Courant has more: Sources said Omar S. Thornton, 34, was a driver for the company and was described by a Teamsters Union official as a recent hire and a “disciplinary problem.” “The union was bringing him in to meet with the company to remedy the problem,” said John... 

The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia will ban certain Blackberry mobile functions because their governments can’t monitor them. The BBC reports : The United Arab Emirates is to block sending emails, accessing the internet, and delivering instant messages to other Blackberry handsets. Saudi Arabia is to prevent the use of the Blackberry to Blackberry instant messaging service. Both nations are unhappy that they are unable to monitor...