Budgets/Spending/Market Size

Orlando, Fla. -- Darden Restaurants on Friday said it has reached an agreement to sell its struggling Red Lobster chain to private equity firm Golden Gate Capital for $2.1 billion.

"Red Lobster is exactly the type of company in which we seek to invest given its great brand profile and strong management team,” said Josh Olshansky, managing director at Golden Gate Capital. “We see significant opportunities for future growth by partnering with Kim Lopdrup and the management team to support the long-term success of Red Lobster."

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $6 million in grants to 700 schools, nonprofits and literacy organizations across the 40 states Dollar General serves to support adult, family and summer literacy programs.

Chantilly, Va. -- Social media advertising revenues in the United States will grow from $5.1 billion in 2013 to $15 billion in 2018, for a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24%, according to BIA/Kelsey’s latest U.S. Social Local Media Forecast. This year represents the greatest year-over-year jump in social media ad revenues, growing to $8.4 billion in 2014, largely due to increases in mobile and native advertising.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl’s Corp. missed Wall Street expectations for profits, revenue and same-store sales during a difficult first quarter. Net income, which had been expected to rise slightly, fell 15% to $125 million, from $147 million.

In addition, net sales declined 3% to $4.07 billion from $4.2 billion, while analysts had expected them to rise to $4.22 billion. Same-store sales, also expected to increase, fell 3.4%.

According to a report by digital measurement firm comScore, desktop-based e-commerce spending rose 12% year-over-year to $56.1 billion, marking the 18th consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth and 14th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.

M-commerce spending on smartphones and tablets added $7.3 billion for the quarter, up 23% compared to a year ago, for a digital commerce spending total of $63.4 billion in the first quarter.

Montpelier, Vt. – The Vermont state legislature has voted to raise the minimum wage in the state from $8.73 an hour to $10.50 an hour. The increase will occur gradually during a four-year period and Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin is expected to sign the bill.

“We're raising the minimum wage higher in each of the next four years, joining a growing number of states nationwide that are moving on their own in the face of congressional inaction," Gov. Shumlin said in a prepared statement.

Retail sales rose ever so slightly in April, putting a damper on hopes of a sharp uptick in economic growth in the second quarter. According to the U.S. Commerce Department, retail sales, which include categories such as automobiles, gasoline stations and restaurants, rose 0.1% in April, following a revised 1.5% increase in March that ranked as the biggest since March 2010.

Alpharetta, Ga. – Three-quarters (74%) of businesses report that the time spent on social media has increased since last year, and 54% report that social spending has increased. According to a new study from Social Media Marketing University (SMMU), top social media expenditures include internal staff compensation (37%), social advertising (18%), external staff compensation (10%) and content (7%).

Other notable findings include:

• 60% report that content development requires the bulk of the time dedicated to social.