Small and medium-sized retail businesses with less than 99 employees might hold back investments in paid-search advertising this year, but according to an eMarketer study released Tuesday U.S. retail spend will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.3% to reach $12.91 billion in 2015 and $19.98 billion by 2019.

What the heck does "Altera" do? If you don't know the company, pay attention -- because Google likely will. Altera designs chips that go into phones and cars. In tech speak, one might describe the hardware as programmable semiconductors used in a variety of devices that can be configured by a car manufacturer, for example, to carry out a variety of tasks. Intel announced Monday that it will acquire Altera for $54 a share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $16.7 billion, allowing it to expand into smart cars and other technologies, such as those connected to digital advertising …