aggregatedcontent

Alibaba Group Executive Chairman Jack Ma urged employees to relax about U.S. lawsuits against the firm over possible failure to disclose information to investors, in a letter to staff posted on his official microblog on Friday. A series of lawsuits have been filed in the United States after an unusually public fracas with a Chinese regulator last month over the issue of fakes being sold on Alibaba's websites. "As for the lawsuits that came about from recent events, I ask that Alibaba employees be at ease," Ma said in his annual letter, sent out before Lunar New Year. 

Best Buy wants to be that something blue in your wedding. The Richfield, Minn.-based electronics retailer is leaping into the lucrative wedding industry by launching its first gift registry, catching up to couples whose lives at home center around multimedia family rooms instead of dining rooms filled with the traditional bounty of crystal and china. Wedding registry kiosks, in the company's signature blue color, will begin rolling out to stores next month. Best Buy already quietly added a registry page to its website earlier this year and its mobile app will be updated with it next week.

Recently laid-off RadioShack employees are getting hit a second time. Former employees who were counting on severance pay are now in line with everyone RadioShack owes money to: landlords, consultants, suppliers and utilities, not to mention secured lenders. Terminated employees at RadioShack used to walk away with a lump sum based on their years of service. Two months before its bankruptcy filing last Thursday, the company changed its severance policy from a lump sum to weekly or biweekly payments until the full amount is reached.

Target is laying off 550 employees in its Minneapolis corporate offices, following its failed Canadian expansion. Of those 550 employees, Target said Wednesday that “approximately 350 Minnesota-based positions” are being eliminated immediately. Most of the other 200 employees “are needed through the closure of the Target Canada stores and their positions will be eliminated following the liquidation period,” Target said in a statement.

In a rare instance of corporate criticism of a president, Staples on Wednesday said that President Barack Obama "appears not to have all the facts" when he criticized the company's policy of limiting worker hours. BuzzFeed reported earlier this week that Staples had toughened up enforcement of a rule limiting part-time employees to 25 hours. The story reported that the company's stance was seen by many workers as an effort to avoid paying benefits. Under the Affordable Care Act, companies with more than 50 employees must pay for health insurance for people who work 30 hours a week or more.

Rite Aid, the big pharmacy chain, agreed on Wednesday to acquire a top pharmacy benefit manager, Envision Pharmaceutical Services, for $2 billion in cash and stock. Envision Pharmaceutical Services, known as EnvisionRx, is owned by the private equity firm TPG, making this one of the year's early successful exits for a buyout firm. Rite Aid will pay TPG about $1.8 billion in cash and $200 million in stock for EnvisionRx. The value of the deal also includes an expected future tax benefit of $275 million.

In 2015, an Affordable Care Act provision requiring large employers to offer health insurance to staff working more than 30 hours a week kicked into effect. Now, some part-time staff at Staples say management has become extra vigilant about limiting their hours.                  

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) asked Urban Outfitters Monday to remove a product from its shelves the group calls "eerily reminiscent" of uniforms that gay, male prisoners were forced to wear during the Holocaust. The product in question is a tapestry featuring a gray-and-white striped pattern and pink triangles, according to a statement from the ADL. The statement called the item "deeply offensive" and said it "should not be mainstreamed into popular culture."

Amazon.com announced a new self-service tool yesterday that allows customers to host giveaways on its website. Anyone is eligible to run these sorts of promotions on the platform, though in Amazon's case, the feature will likely attract authors, marketers, brands, bloggers, sellers and others looking to raise awareness about themselves, their products or those who want to engage their audience using promotions. The new system will leverage Amazon's shipping capabilities, as the company says it will handle the distribution of giveaway prizes directly to the winners.

Target revealed plans on Tuesday to shutter its online streaming service Target Ticket, which launched in 2013. Comparable to Amazon.com, Wal-Mart's Vudu and Apple's iTunes, the retail giant's cloud-based video provider offers up everything from television series like AMC's "The Walking Dead" to big-budget movies like Disney's "Big Hero 6." But services will be discontinued for good on March 7. Target announced the development on its website, explaining it intends to focus its "efforts on other entertainment offerings."