FAA approval to test deliveries by unmanned drones is too little too late: Paul Misener

Last week, e-commerce company Amazon was awarded with an 'experimental airworthiness certificate' by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The certificate allows Amazon to test a delivery drone outdoors in the US as the company wants to deliver packages to customers by air. At a congressional hearing on Tuesday, Amazon blasted the FAA for the delay in the approval of commercial drone testing.

Paul Misener, Amazon's vice president for global public policy, told lawmakers at the hearing that the approval is too little and too late. According to him, the six-month delay in approval made the test delivery drones obsolete and irrelevant as the company has already moved past the drone design that regulators approved last week.

Slave-Caught Seafood is Major Source of Supply to Supermarkets, Restaurants and Even Pet Stores in US

The Associated Press carried out an interview of Burmese slaves sitting on floor staring through the bars of the cage in which they were locked. These slaves were on a tiny tropical island thousands of miles away from their home.

An Associated Press video camera also captured few salves loading cargo ships with slave-caught seafood, a few yards away.

The seafood caught by the slaves is the major source of supply to major supermarkets, restaurants and even pet stores in the United States.

Eight imprisoned men were considered a flight risk as there were laborers who might dare to run away. These slaves live on very less rice and curry a day and have barely enough space to lie down.

Uber will not operate in San Antonio

San Antonio announced on Tuesday that ride-sharing company Uber cannot operate in the city. But, the neighboring towns of the second most populous city in the state of Texas said that they want the company provide its ridesharing services in their cities.

Earlier this month, San Antonio officials signed off a rule which requires drivers to have permission to operate in Alamo city. According to reports, if a driver picks up a passenger in nearby cities, the Uber driver will not be able to use streets of San Antonio to reach at the destination.

Lexmark to purchase Kofax for $1 billion

Lexmark International, an American corporation that manufactures laser printers, announced that it would buy software developer Kofax for $1 billion to boost its software business.

According to Lexmark, the deal would help its Perceptive Software business to achieve its revenue target of $500 million in 2016. It would also add about 10 cents per share to the company's adjusted profit in 2015.

This is the deal made by Lexmark in recent years. The deal has changed the company from a primarily printer maker to a printing, imaging and software company.

Kofax provides data services to financial, insurance and health care companies such as Citigroup, Metlife and Humana. The financial advisor to Lexmark and Kofax are Goldman Sachs and Lazard respectively.

US Government Proposes New Definition of Farms

The U.S. Government is revising its definition of a farm. As per the new definition, some people who receive farm subsidies but do not carry out any sort of work would receive less government money.

Congress last year assigned the Agriculture Department a task of creating a new definition for what it means to be 'actively engaged' in farming, a criteria to receive subsidy.

USDA on Tuesday proposed that farms must document their managers and must put in 500 hours of substantial management work annually or 25% of the time necessary for the success of the farming operation to qualify.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said, "We want to make sure that farm program payments are going to the farmers and farm families that they are intended to help".

Ruth Porat to be new CFO of Google

Google has announced that Ruth Porat, who is presently Chief Financial Officer at Morgan Stanley, will join as CFO of the technology major. The announcement was made after Google CFO Patrick Pichette expressed his plan to retire through Google+ post.

In 1987, Ruth joined Morgan Stanley and was posted at various positions at the company, together with Global Head of the Financial Institutions Group, Vice Chairman of Investment Banking and co-Head of Technology Investment Banking. During the financial crisis, Ruth handled the Morgan Stanley teams, giving advice to the US Treasury on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the New York Federal Reserve Bank on AIG.

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News in Focus

Tata Steel Share Price Could Reach Rs 230: ICICI Securities

ICICI Securities has retained its BUY call on Tata Steel with a revised sum-of-the-parts target of Rs 230, implying 24% upside from Rs 185 over 12 months.

Pricol Share Price Target at Rs 935: Axis Securities

Axis Securities has kept its BUY call on Pricol Ltd with an unchanged target price of Rs 935, about 28% above the Nov. 5 closing price of Rs 728.

Mahindra & Mahindra Share Price Target at Rs 4,387: BOB Capital Markets

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Stylam Industries Share Price Target at Rs 3,750: ICICI Direct

ICICI Direct, the retail research arm of ICICI Securities, has maintained its BUY call on Stylam Industries with a revised 12-month target price of Rs 3,750, about 21% above the current market pric

Saregama Share Price Target at Rs 740: ICICI Direct

ICICI Direct, the retail research arm of ICICI Securities, has reiterated its BUY call on Saregama India with a 12-month target price of Rs 740, about 16% above the Rs 638 market price, after the R