Etsy, which has crafted an authentic brand out of its homespun ethos and given artisans of the maker movement a cookie-cutter path to distribution and, sometimes, sustainability or more, priced its IPO yesterday at $16 a share, adding up to a market valuation of $1.8 billion. It raised $267 million by selling 16.7 million shares yesterday, the AP reports, and will begin trading publicly this morning under the Nasdaq ticker symbol ETSY.

Avon, which told analysts on Monday that it was postponing a May 13 investors meeting until autumn to give new EVP CFO James Scully time to acclimate himself to the business and "prepare for a more robust discussion," is investigating options including selling off its North American operations - a move that some analysts have urged for some time, according to an impactful analysis of the state of the company by Joann S. Lublin and Ellen Byron in the "Wall Street Journal."

A power struggle has erupted at the top of Volkswagen leadership after chairman Ferdinand Piech told the German magazine "Der Spiegel" last Friday that he is "keeping myself at a distance" from his former protege and current CEO, Martin Winterkorn, who is in line to succeed him.

In another indication that he's taking Sprint in a different direction than his predecessor was driving, CEO Marcelo Claure has come up with the idea of having a technician hand-deliver smartphone upgrades to eligible customers and then help them transfer their data and figure out the unfamiliar features of the new phone and software at no extra charge.

It doesn't take a genius to realize that online learning has huge potential, but it does take gumption, persistence and execution. Those qualities paid off big time yesterday for Lynda Weinman and her husband, Bruce Heavin, when LinkedIn acquired lynda.com, the online learning site they founded 20 years ago, for $1.5 billion.

Ikea, the Swedish self-assembly furniture and knick-knack purveyor that does a hefty side business in meatballs made the old-fashioned way, will be serving a new "vegan friendly veggie ball" version of the delicacy in its food courts in the U.S. starting today. Called Gronsaksbullar and costing $4.49 for a plate of 10, it is "the first step to include a wider variety of nutritious and more sustainable food choices," according to a release.

The adjective "madcap" fit Stan Freberg, who died of natural causes yesterday at 88, as tightly as eight great tomatoes stuffed into a "little bitty can." His "sprawling imagination fueled a multifaceted career that included pretty much inventing the idea of using satire in commercials," writes Douglas Martin in the "New York Times."

On the eve of the favorably received Samsung Galaxy S6 rollout Friday, the company released preliminary first-quarter results yesterday with earnings that were better than analysts expected. The move had the apparently intended effect of observers commenting that its business is catching some wind (even if it's still in the doldrums).

Universal's "Fast and Furious 7" lived up to its name over its opening weekend, busting out with the largest opening ever in April for Hollywood - good enough to squeak into the Top 10 overall - and satisfying fans of the late Paul Walker with "a happy ending" for his character Brian O'Conner, writes "USA Today"'s Brian Truitt, revealing that "he drives off into the sunset after one last ride with his friend till the end, Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel)."

Mattel yesterday not only named chairman and interim CEO Christopher Sinclair as its permanent - at least for the nonce - CEO, it also elevated chief brands officer Richard Dickson to COO, a move that Barbie might have good things to say about if she could talk. Oh wait, she can. (More about that later.)