BlackRock, which manages more shareholder equity - $1.7 trillion in active funds - than any other entity, is telling corporate America that it must have a "sense of purpose" if it wants its support, and it asserts that "the time has come for a new model of shareholder engagement - one that strengthens and deepens communication between shareholders and the companies that they own."

Danish toymaker Lego and Chinese digital monolith Tencent Holdings have formed a partnership to create an online video and gaming platform and to explore building a "safe" social network for children in the world's second-largest consumer market - $31 billion in toys and games alone, according to Reuters.

Ford delivered a jolt to the burgeoning electrified vehicle market yesterday by saying that it would invest $11 billion and put 40 EVs on the road by 2022 as the North American International Auto Show got rolling in the Cobo Center in Detroit.

Walmart had some good news to share yesterday, and it did so with a flourish in an early morning press release. Thanks to the recently passed, GOP-led tax cuts, it said, it was raising its starting wage to $11, expanding maternity and parental leave benefits and doling out a bonus to workers (as much as $1,000 for those with 20 years seniority).

Despite its $3,995 price tag - and a $39 per month subscription - a few techie types covering the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas seem to have experienced runner's highs as they got their steps in on the new Peloton Tread. It comes equipped with a 32-inch TV screen, "powerful" surround sound and all the soft-pedaled haranguing and training you need from instructors in everything from "mellow" walking to high-intensity boot camps.

Sue Kroll, the well-connected and long-tenured guru of worldwide marketing and distribution at Warner Bros., is stepping down to take a three-year deal to produce movies for the Burbank-based studio. Toby Emmerich, meanwhile, has been promoted to chairman of Warner Bros. Pictures Group. He will assume her responsibilities and oversee worldwide theatrical production, marketing and distribution at the studio.

GoPro yesterday grounded its drone division - on which its hopes for a revival once soared - eliminating about 250 jobs, or about 20% of its workforce. The San Mateo, Calif.-based company also lowered its guidance for the fourth-quarter holiday season in a preliminary report and has hired JP Morgan Chase to consider a possible sale or partnership with another company. Its shares tumbled 20% on the news.

The Apple iPhone is far and away the most popular mobile device among teens - too popular, in fact, according to two of the company's investors who are calling on the company to study its "unintentional negative consequences."

If there's one thing nearly everyone can agree on about President Donald Trump it's that he has a slick knack for making a sale. He might have wanted to restrain that flair a bit in the case of a new book that purports to be a fly-on-the-wall look at rampant dysfunction in the West Wing. Instead, he seems to be intent on goosing sales, leading at least one Twitter wag to wonder if Trump had not wangled a cut of the book's profits.

What price do you put on something like restoring a person's eyesight? Spark Therapies says $850,000 with a money-back guarantee for its Luxturna gene therapy.