Staples, Office Depot Merger Puts Many Stores at Risk

Morning Money Memo:

The two biggest office supply retailers are set to become one. Staples has agreed to buy Office Depot for $6.3 billion, taking a major step toward consolidating the market for paper, pens and other office supplies. The deal, subject to approval by federal regulators, is expected to close by the end of this year. The merger could lead to the closure of many stores, where Staples and Office Depot have nearby outlets. Shares of Office Depot rose more than 5 percent this morning after a strong gain Tuesday.

Years of rapid growth at Chipotle could be slowing down. The fast-casual chain that has been called the restaurant industry's greatest success story of the past two decades gave a weaker-than-expected sales forecast after reporting strong fourth-quarter earnings. Shares of the restaurant chain fell more than 6 percent. Since 1993, when it launched with a single site in Denver, Chipotle has opened at more than 1,500 locations. The chain faces rising completion from Panera, Qdoba and other fast-casual restaurants.

More than ever the Internet and the digital revolution are changing the way we work and live. Many successful companies are changing their corporate culture, according to Accenture's Technology Vision report. "They don't just focus on their own products and customers and such, but they focus on partners and new ways to connect to customers," says Paul Daugherty, Accenture's chief technology officer. "Digital business is not just creating a change in the way individual companies do business but changing the landscape of the industry." He calls the shift in corporate thinking the outcome economy, "which means that companies focus not just on selling a product or service but solving a bigger need for a customer, solving the outcome."

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has begun talks with one of his country's main creditors, as the European Union waits for a clear signal from the new government on how it plans to pay off its debilitating debt burden. Tsipras was welcomed today at the European Commission, one of the three main institutions supervising Greece's finances. Jean-Claude Juncker, the commission's president, says the European Union would show flexibility helping Greece to deal with hundreds of billions of euros in foreign debts, but ruled out wholesale policy changes.