Bloomberg Meredith Corp. agreed to acquire Time Inc. for $2.8 billion including debt, swallowing the once-mighty home of Fortune and Sports Illustrated after the internet age wreaked havoc on even the most prestigious magazine titles. The $18.50-a-share offer is an all-cash one, Meredith said in a statement. The deal gives Meredith, publisher of Better Homes & Gardens, a larger audience ...

Bloomberg Italian consumer confidence unexpectedly fell this month as shoppers start to plan their Christmas gift expenditures. The household sentiment dropped to 114.3 from a revised 116.0 in October, statistics agency Istat said Monday in Rome. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 12 analysts called for a November reading of 116.5. “It’s bad news ahead of Christmas,” said ...

Bloomberg Cable companies are settling on a new strategy to combat streaming services like Netflix and Hulu: If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. Comcast Corp. and Charter Communications Inc., the two biggest US cable operators, are in talks to offer Hulu’s on-demand service through their set-top boxes, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Comcast, the largest cable ...