Business News Roundup, March 9
Salesforce is expanding up its presence in New York City with a plan that would give it naming rights to a Manhattan skyscraper.
Under the deal, the building would be renamed Salesforce Tower New York, and the company’s logo would replace that of MetLife Inc. at the top of the property after the insurer leaves, said Elizabeth Pinkham, executive vice president for global real estate at Salesforce.
The company is expanding its operations around the world as it looks to bolster its reach with new customers.
While Pinkham declined to disclose how much of the tower’s space the company intends to take, she said the building’s lobby will showcase Salesforce’s products and services and be to open to the public.
QuickBase, which helps businesses create applications, will be purchased by Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe LP, the companies said Tuesday.
The unit, which joined Mountain View’s Intuit through an acquisition in 1999, will operate as a stand-alone company with headquarters in Cambridge, Mass., Welsh Carson said.
“We were really a hidden gem buried within Intuit, and we view this very much as our coming-out party,” said Allison Mnookin, who will become CEO of the company with the transaction.
QuickBase provides tools that help customers build and customize software without a lot of technical expertise.
[...] helping retailers manage construction projects and assisting manufacturers with purchasing processes.
The head of the Bank of England described Britain’s potential exit from the European Union as the single biggest domestic risk to the nation’s economy — even as he insisted the bank would remain neutral in the debate.
In testy exchanges with members of a House of Commons committee, Governor Mark Carney tried to dodge every effort to pin him to a position that either the “in” or “out” campaigners might use ahead of a June 23 referendum on EU membership.
Carney’s testimony was important in a debate where economic data is thrown about with abandon and facts are often in dispute.
The debate over continued EU membership also has the potential to “amplify risks” surrounding trade and investment, housing and financial markets, he said.
France’s four major rail unions have called a 36-hour strike that is set to disrupt train traffic as separate protests against a labor reform are expected Wednesday in French cities.
State railway company SNCF warned against “severely disrupted” traffic caused by the strike that began Tuesday night to protest a plan to change working hours and rules about days off.
In a separate action, several unions and student organizations have called on protests across France on Wednesday to reject the Socialist government’s contested labor reform.
Lockheed Martin Corp. says its aeronautics division is seeking to part with up to 1,000 workers as it works to stay competitive and keep its staff aligned with orders.