News

Dallas -- PeopleAnswers announced a software licensing agreement with Boston Market to use the PeopleAnswers HR solution to help identify and select all field employees in its 476 locations across the United States.

RICHMOND, Va. — Eight supermarkets in the Richmond, Va., area are using one of the most important parts of the store to promote healthy eating: the checkout lane.

Martin's Food Markets, part of the Ahold USA's Giant-Carlisle chain, announced it had partnered with the Richmond City Health District and Greater Richmond Fit4Kids in launching "Healthy Ideas" checkout lanes at the stores. Items will include fruit, nuts, snack packs from the store's Nature's Promise natural and organic section, nutrition bars and 100% fruit juice.

Walmart will offer its holiday layaway 30 days earlier this year and extend the program to more product categories, the company announced Monday.

Hubert Joly is the new CEO at Best Buy.

Best Buy named former food service and hospitality executive Hubert Joly as president and CEO even as uncertainty lingers regarding a possible leveraged buyout engineered by former chairman and founder Richard Schulze.

Joly joins Best Buy after serving since 2008 as CEO of Minneapolis-based Carlson, a global hospitality and travel company known for such brands as Radisson hotels and TGI Friday’s restaurants. From 2003 to 2007, he led Carlson’s travel division.

Mooresville, N.C. -- Lowe's Cos. Inc. on Monday reported lower-than-expected second quarter results, with its results hurt by a timing shift and a charge tied to job cuts. The chain also lowered its fiscal 2012 earnings and revenue outlooks.

Lowe’s earned $747 million for the period ended Aug. 3, down from $830 million in the year-ago period. Sales fell 2% to $14.25 billion. Same-store sales fell 0.4% and dipped 0.2% at U.S. locations.

The company noted that fiscal 2012 has one less week than last year.

MINNEAPOLIS — Supervalu on Monday announced Robert Bly will join the company as president of Shoppers, a 56-store division in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C., market.

Bly is expected to begin his new role on Aug. 22 and will report to Chuck Elias, SVP retail operations. Bly replaces Tim Lowe, who recently accepted a new leadership role in Supervalu's merchandising organization.

New York -- Apple Inc. became the most valuable public company of all time on Monday, after its market value climbed beyond $620 billion to surpass a milestone set by Microsoft Corp. more than 10 years ago, Reuters reported.

Apple shares reached a high of $664.74 on Monday morning, giving them a total value of $623.14 billion. This broke past the record of $620.58 billion set by Microsoft back in 1999, according to the report.

ST. LOUIS — Pitbull, Brad Paisley, Flo Rida and The All-American Rejects, will be among the musical acts to perform at the Bud Light Port Paradise Music Festival, a private two-day concert event in the Bahamas. The concert will take place at Atlantis in Nassau on Saturday, Nov. 17 and on the private island of Coco Cay on Sunday, Nov. 18.