Avis Budget's purchase of Zipcar embeds the car rental company in the heart of the fast-growing car-sharing business. But the more interesting and price-friendly trend in car rental is being powered by companies that don't own any vehicles at all.
From an eco-friendly move that should drum up coffee sales to pulling the plug on some popular diversions, here are this week's smartest moves and biggest blunders from the business world.
Avis is buying Zipcar for $491.2 million, expanding its offerings from traditional car rentals to car sharing services. Zipcar, which was founded in 2000, has more than 760,000 members. It went public in 2011.
Disney posted mixed quarterly results after Thursday's market close. Revenue climbed just 3%, while net income soared 18%. But perhaps the most surprising nugget for Disney is that, of its five segments, theme parks continue to be its fastest growing segment.
While many city dwellers are familiar with companies like Zipcar, which allow customers to use cars on an occasional basis, if you own a car, you might think the trend has nothing to do with you. But you can get in on the car-sharing action yourself from the other side of the equation to earn some extra cash.
From apartments and cars to clothing and furniture, huge numbers of 20- to 34-year-olds are choosing to rent their possessions rather than buy. In an uncertain post-recession world, are they making the right financial choice?
When a major oil company predicts that the era of gas-powered cars is coming to an end soon, the rest of us might want pay attention. According to BP, you've got maybe 18 years left before your car is obsolete -- and probably a lot less than that.
Active Groupon users now have a way to sweeten their relationships with the daily deals leader -- but it's going to cost them. Groupon is rolling out Groupon VIP, a program where deal chasers pay $29.99 a year for enhanced benefits on the site.
Car sharing is sweeping the nation as companies cash in on the largely immobile nature of automobiles. Whether it's through a company-owned fleet or by encouraging neighbors to let each other borrow their wheels, it has never been easier to get by without a car.
There's never a dull moment on Wall Street, especially now that the market is hitting multi-year highs again. Let's go over some of the items that will help shape the week that lies ahead.
When traditional financial advice doesn't fit your situation, get creative and save money by ignoring conventional wisdom. Here are five savings strategies that may seem counterintuitive -- until you add up the dramatic results.
News items to watch next week include Groupon's long-awaited IPO, the release of Take-Two Interactive's Grand Theft Auto V, Dunkin' Brands second-ever quarterly report, and more from car rental companies to satellite radio.
After 18 months of letting potential buyers kick its tires, Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group announced that it's no longer for sale. This is bad news for Hertz, which seemed to be the last bidder standing after Avis Budget dropped out. The operators' loss is naturally the consumers' gain, and trends look ominous for this industry going forward.
Asset sharing has become a popular theme on Wall Street. There was no shortage of demand when HomeAway and Zipcar went public, and a second-wave of companies, led by airbnb, is currently attracting considerable interest from venture capital firms. Plus, private airplane firm NetJets is owned by a certain oracular billionaire's holding company.
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has grand plans to cut through the partisan noise and remind our country's politicians of their problem-solving duties: On Tuesday, he's hosting a gigantic, public telephone town hall, and asking all "concerned Americans" to join his movement and participate.