Albany, New York (09/22/2014) – Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO) said it would expand its electronic cigarette offering to more U.S. markets starting next month. The $89.24 billion company currently distributes its MarkTen e-cigarette brand in the West and Midwest through 60,000 stores. However, there are plans to tap opportunities in the eastern U.S. According to Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO) officials, the market for electric cigarettes is still small at around $2 billion annually. That compares with tobacco that boasts $85 billion in annual sales in the U.S. Nonetheless, the company is excited that the e-cigarette category is a growth opportunity.
Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M), a $21.22 billion retail organization, has plans to implement an array of new technologies to make it easy for shoppers to pay for their purchases. The omnichannel shopping service is expected to enhance customer experience while also supporting more sales. Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) announced plans to implement the newly unveiled Apple Pay mobile payment platform and some other mobile capabilities. With plans to implement Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s mobile wallet, Apple Pay, Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) appears to have broken ranks with peers Wal-Mart (WMT) and Best Buy (BBY) that said they would not implement Apple Pay in their stores.
CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) earned a favorable rating at SunTrust as its stock was raised to a “buy” from “neutral” in the previous note. SunTrust becomes the latest rating firm to weigh in on the stock, which now carries a consensus “buy” and average target price of $27.83. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) earned $0.25 per share on revenue of $1.88 billion in the most recent quarter. The results surpassed the estimate of $0.23 per share on revenue of $1.82 billion. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) recently performed flaring southeastern Houston.
Towards the push for greater workplace diversity, Professional Diversity Network Inc (NASDAQ:IPDN) is seeing business opportunities increasing for it. The company said that several leading organizations have selected it to handle exclusive diversity recruitment support. The areas that Professional Diversity Network Inc (NASDAQ:IPDN) has been selected to offer solution include hiring of Hispanic and African American professionals, mostly women.
