Barnes & Noble Inc said it would spin off its Nook tablets and college books business, letting go of the loss-making Nook e-reader business to focus on its book stores.The long-awaited decision sent Barnes & Noble's shares up as much as 10.6 percent to a year high as the company gave up trying to keep pace with deep-pocketed rivals such as Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc and Google Inc.The unit to be spun off, Nook Media, consists of the company's digital content, e-readers and tablets and college bookstores. It is 17 percent-owned by Microsoft Corp, while Pearson Plc owns 5 percent.Barnes & Noble did not say how it would split off the Nook business, which has lost hundreds of millions of dollars over the past five years.
Apple Inc. (Apple) designs, manufactures and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players, and a variety of related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications. Shares of AAPL traded higher by 0.21% or $0.19/share to $90.47. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $55.55 and as high as $95.05. On average, 68443296 shares of AAPL exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 25185696.
Amazon.com, Inc. (Amazon.com) serves consumers through its retail websites and focus on selection, price, and convenience. Shares of AMZN traded higher by 0.72% or $2.3399/share to $326.50. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $273.50 and as high as $408.06. On average, 4780140 shares of AMZN exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1459063.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (Barnes & Noble) is a bookseller. Shares of BKS traded higher by 3.6% or $0.74/share to $21.30. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $12.59 and as high as $22.41. On average, 1404950 shares of BKS exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 4376572.
Google Inc. (Google), is a global technology company. Shares of GOOG traded higher by 1.51% or $8.53/share to $573.15. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $502.80 and as high as $604.83. On average, 2168070 shares of GOOG exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 915615.
Pearson plc (Pearson) is an international media and education company with its principal operations in the education, business information and consumer publishing markets. Shares of PSO traded higher by 0.08% or $0.0159/share to $19.24. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $16.58 and as high as $22.40. On average, 403944 shares of PSO exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 90717.
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