Former employees of The Messenger who were left without severance or health coverage when the news site suddenly shut down this week are now suing, arguing the company violated state and federal laws requiring advance notice of layoffs.
Why it matters: The Messenger's meltdown raises complex questions about what a collapsing company owes its employees.
Walmart stock splits used to be a regular event — there were six of them just between November 1980 and June 1990. But it's now almost 25 years since the last one, in March 1999.
Why it matters: Nowadays, almost every brokerage, including Walmart's own Associate Stock Purchase Plan, allows the purchase of fractional shares, making a company's nominal share price less important than ever.
Deep reservoirs of individual and philanthropic wealth are being tapped in an attempt to save or rebuild the news industry. In reality, however, large amounts of up-front liquidity never seem to be the solution to the problem.
Driving the news: The demise of The Messenger this week is just the latest in a stream of headlines about small or fast news-media implosions. Its founder, Jimmy Finkelstein, wrote this in his note to staff:
Over the past few weeks, literally until earlier today, we exhausted every option available and have endeavored to raise sufficient capital to reach profitability.
