BANKING
Citizens buys mergers and acquisitions advisory firm
Citizens Financial Group bought a Midwestern mergers and acquisitions advisory firm as it tries to beef up its commercial services and increase revenues through fees. The Providence-based bank announced the deal with Western Reserve Partners LLC, of Cleveland, on Tuesday but did not disclose how much it spent on the acquisition. Western Reserve’s nearly 30 employees will join the four current Citizens bankers who mainly handle mergers and acquisitions work. Western Reserve will retain its name, said Donald McCree, head of commercial banking at Citizens. Citizens expects to see an uptick in the sale of companies as business owners near retirement age and look to cash out. And the bank is looking to increase its fee revenue by helping private companies determine their value and find buyers. Western Reserve provides financial advice to mid-size businesses that are either looking to expand or to be bought out. — DEIRDRE FERNANDES
OFFICE SUPPLIES
Two private equity firms reportedly interested in Staples
Two New York private equity firms are considering an acquisition of Staples Inc., the Framingham-based office supply retailer, Reuters reported Tuesday. Cerberus Capital Management, which specializes in investments in distressed companies, and Sycamore Partners, which focuses on retail, both are in the running, the report said. Staples’ founding investment firm, Boston’s Bain Capital, is not pursuing a deal, according to a person briefed on the matter. It was reported last month that Staples was exploring a sale, after a challenging year in which federal regulators blocked its planned merger with rival Office Depot on antitrust grounds. The Massachusetts company has been closing stores, under pressure from Internet sales. A Sycamore spokesman declined to comment on Staples. Cerberus, the majority owner of Boston-area hospital group Steward Health Care System, did not respond to a request for comment. A Staples spokesman also declined to comment. — BETH HEALY
COMPUTERS
Microsoft unveils new laptop
Microsoft has already cracked the professional and creative markets with inventive tablets and a desktop that turns into a virtual drafting table. Now it’s chasing another category many believe is Apple’s to lose: the $1,000 laptop for everyone. Microsoft, a company once derided for buggy software, unstable hardware and indifferent design, debuted the Surface Laptop on Tuesday. The machine boots up in seconds, has a touch screen, and gets a claimed 14 hours of battery life (two better than Apple’s MacBook Air). Weighing in at 2.76 pounds, about a quarter-pound less than the Air, the Surface Laptop boasts a 13.5-inch screen and is one of the thinnest and lightest products in its class. Microsoft is targeting the education market — and even threw laptops inside backpacks stuffed with textbooks, notepads, and keys to simulate college-kid wear-and-tear. Yet the Surface Laptop’s affordable price, portability, and features could appeal to a far broader audience — including Mac loyalists. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
ENTERTAINMENT
Writers strike averted in Hollywood
The Golden Age of TV lives to see another day. An agreement reached late Monday between Hollywood screenwriters and some of the world’s largest media companies averted a strike that would have sent television production screeching to a halt at a time when the media industry could least afford it. Writers claimed victory in the negotiations. They won pay increases, more residual income when shows are rerun, and got higher contributions to their health plan. Credit memories of a costly strike a decade ago and the emergence of newer online players like Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., whose lavish spending on shows have drawn audiences away from live TV and may have strengthened the writers’ position with the networks. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
OUTSOURCING
Infosys to hire 10,000 US workers in next two years
Infosys, a global tech outsourcing giant under fire from President Trump for stealing American jobs, announced Tuesday it plans to hire 10,000 new US workers over the next two years. The firm, based in India, plans to open four US-based ‘‘hubs,’’ starting in Indianapolis in August. The company expects that the Indiana site will create 2,000 jobs by 2021, said Vishal Sikka (right), chief executive of Infosys. ‘‘We want to create a culture of close proximity,’’ said Sikka, touting the company’s desire to train and hire graduates from local universities and community colleges during a news conference at the State Capitol in Indianapolis. Critics have recently ramped up their attacks on outsourcing firms, including Infosys, in light of Trump’s forceful ‘‘America First’’ rhetoric and the companies’ rampant use of H-1B visas to bring tech workers to the United States. — WASHINGTON POST
PHARMACEUTICALS
Troubled Valeant looking to change its name
Valeant is ready to move on from “Valeant.’’ Chief executive Joe Papa said that Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. is considering a name change after a two-year stretch that has seen the company lose more than 95 percent of its value amid harsh criticism of its business practices and future prospects. There’s a long history of corporate name changes after scandals, reputational blows, or other negative associations. In 2003, tobacco giant Philip Morris changed its name to Altria Group after a tobacco litigation settlement. Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. changed its name to Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc. in 2015, shedding the association with the violent group in the Middle East. And security contractor Blackwater Worldwide changed its name to Xe Services after a controversy around a shooting in Iraq that killed civilians. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
AIRLINES
Alitalia headed for receivership again
Struggling Italian carrier Alitalia headed toward its second period of receivership in a decade on Tuesday with the board saying it had no choice after workers rejected a relaunch plan that would have unlocked new investments. The board expressed ‘‘deep regret’’ that workers had voted against the government-brokered relaunch plan, which had softened planned job and salary cuts but was criticized for not having a realistic strategy to revive revenue. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEDIA
CNN refuses to run Trump ad because of ‘fake news’ graphic
President Trump’s supporters are accusing CNN of censorship for not airing an advertisement touting the president’s accomplishments, which the network said Tuesday it rejected because it was its own form of fake news. The ad from Trump’s campaign — he became a declared candidate for reelection in 2020 on Jan. 19 — says that ‘‘America has rarely seen such success’’ and lists a series of actions from the first 100 days of his presidency. ‘‘You wouldn’t know it from watching the news. America is winning, and President Trump is making America great again,’’ the ad says. The faces of NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, and CBS’s Scott Pelley are shown onscreen behind the phrase ‘‘fake news.’’ CNN said it requested the campaign remove the ‘‘false graphic.’’ ‘‘The mainstream media is not fake news, and therefore the ad is false and per policy will be accepted only if that graphic is deleted,’’ CNN tweeted. The campaign is refusing to change its ad, which is running on Fox News Channel and the Fox Business Network. Trump’s team is spending $1.5 million to spread its message. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHARMACIES
CVS profit drops as it loses big customers
CVS Health’s profit sank 17 percent in the first quarter as the drugstore chain started feeling the loss of some big customers, but it still beat Wall Street expectations. Net income fell to $952 million in the quarter after its pharmacies were excluded from some prescription coverage networks. One big loss was the government’s Tricare program, which provides coverage for military personnel and their families. CVS Health also saw a slump in sales outside the pharmacy area of its drugstores, but the company’s pharmacy benefits management business helped counter that. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
