Data & Analytics

By Jason Baker and Kenneth Katz, co-founders and principals, Baker Katz

San Jose, Calif. – Consumers around the world are accepting of mobile technology and think technology should make payments easier and more connected, according to a recent 15-country survey from PayPal.

Colorado Springs, Colo. -- Accellos and HighJump Software, each global providers of supply chain management software and trading partner network technology, have agreed to merge, creating a vendor with 11,000 customers in 23 countries with operations in North America, Asia and Europe. The combination of Accellos and HighJump brings together a set of technologies, including networked trading partner connectivity, warehouse management, transportation management, and route delivery.

Bed Bath & Beyond plans to spend nearly $3 billion buying back its own stock during the next two years after weak results earlier this year prompted a sell-off in the company’s shares.

The nation’s largest pet specialty retailer could be in for a long summer now that activist investor Jana Partners is pressing for a review of strategic alternatives after acquiring a 9.9% stake in the company.

Deerfield, Ill. – Same-store sales at both Walgreens and Rite Aid increased in June, compared to the same period a year earlier. Same-store sales grew 7.5% at Walgreens and 3.9% at Rite Aid.

Calendar day shifts helped boost same-store sales at Walgreens, while the introduction of new generic drugs had a negative impact. In addition, Walgreens had June sales of $6.28 billion, an increase of 8.9% from $5.77 billion for the same month in fiscal 2013.

Menlo Park, Calif. – Facebook has agreed to acquire LiveRail, an advertising technology company that helps companies serve better ads in the videos that appear on their websites and apps. LiveRail, founded in 2007, also provides marketers with access to premium video inventory and data to help decide where to show their ads.