Technology
Microsoft says 75 million devices are running Windows 10
SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft Corp. says its new Windows 10 software is running on more than 75 million computers, tablets, and other devices — in just under a month since the operating system was released. Analysts say that’s a good start; the company is aiming for a billion devices in three years. It hopes Windows 10 will help it rebuild loyalty among users who are increasingly relying on tablets, smartphones, and other mobile devices. Personal computer sales have been shrinking and that is likely to continue: Analysts at International Data Corp. predicted Monday that 2016 will mark the fifth consecutive year of declining PC sales worldwide. Computer makers hope to get a boost from Windows 10, which they are making available on new machines this fall. IDC noted that Microsoft is also offering the new software as a free download for existing PCs. The free upgrades probably account for the bulk of the 75 million devices now using Windows 10, said Moor Insights & Strategy. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
Investing
Year may be a weak one for college endowments
A well-known endowment watcher is projecting a disappointing fiscal 2015 for college fund investment returns, in the range of 4 to 6 percent. Charles A. Skorina & Co., a San Francisco executive recruiting firm, said the returns for large endowments through June 30 are likely to come in well under the schools’ typical goal of at least 7 percent. That would be a big drop from last year’s 16.5 percent average, Skorina reported Wednesday. The 10-year average is 8.2 percent for endowments with more than $1 billion in assets. Meantime, fiscal 2016 is off to a rocky start with the recent stock market correction. Last year’s results will be reported by many schools in September. — BETH HEALY
Games
Boston wins a spot on the Monopoly board
The annual Head of the Charles Regatta has traded up from the banks of the Charles River to a new piece of fancy real estate — halfway around the Monopoly board. The new “Monopoly Here and Now: US Edition” game, released this month, features Boston and 21 other US cities. Beantown got the 10th most votes in an online poll powered by Buzzfeed. Counting backward from the most coveted space on the traditional board, Boardwalk, Boston replaces Indiana Avenue on the red properties, near the Free Parking corner. The city at the most expensive property? Pierre, S.D., with an image of Mount Rushmore. Minneapolis, New York, Virginia Beach, and Los Angeles round out the top five. The Head of the Charles, the world’s largest two-day rowing race, which is actually based in Cambridge, celebrates its 50th anniversary in October, when more than 11,000 rowers will compete. Hasbro Inc., the game and toy maker, marked its 80th birthday by inviting fans to choose the featured cities for Monopoly. —JESSICA GELLER
Technology
Facebook tests AI-based digital assistant in challenge to Siri
SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook Inc. is testing a personal digital assistant to run inside its Messenger mobile application, an early step toward a challenge to artificial intelligence-based services like Apple’s Siri, Google Now, and Microsoft’s Cortana. The service, called M, can carry out tasks like making purchases, booking appointments, and sending gifts, according to a posting on the social network by David Marcus, a vice president. It’s being tested with a few hundred people in the San Francisco Bay area. “This is early in the journey to build M into an at-scale service,” Marcus wrote. “But it’s an exciting step towards enabling people on Messenger to get things done.” Messenger runs separately from the smartphone app for Facebook’s main social network. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
Automotive
Ford is said to be planning a new small pickup
DETROIT — Ford plans to return to again sell small pickup trucks, with a new version of the Ranger. It’s negotiating with the United Auto Workers union about making the truck in Wayne, Mich., a person briefed on the matter said. A new small SUV that may be called the Bronco is also under discussion, said the person, who asked not to be identified. The Wayne factory makes the Focus compact and C-Max gas-electric hybrid, but Ford plans to move them to a lower-cost factory in Mexico in 2018. ‘‘We actively are pursuing future vehicle alternatives to produce at Michigan Assembly and will discuss this issue with UAW leadership as part of the upcoming negotiations,’’ spokeswoman Kristina Adamski said Wednesday. In the 1990s, Americans bought 1 million small pickups per year, for their lower prices and reasonable gas mileage. Sales tumbled when bigger pickups, such as the Ford F-150, caught up in fuel economy. Smaller trucks that are more efficient could help Ford meet a US rule that new light vehicles must average 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mergers and acquisitions
Monsanto abandons $47b takeover bid for Syngenta
NEW YORK —
Pharmaceuticals
As waistlines grow, Novo Nordisk plans to produce more diabetes drugs
RALEIGH, N.C. — The Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk will open new factories in North Carolina and Denmark to keep up with demand for diabetes medications in an increasingly overweight world. Novo Nordisk plans to invest $2 billion over five years in the facilities, creating close to 700 new jobs in Clayton, where it now employs more than 700 people who make insulin products. About 100 jobs are planned for a new Danish factory. For its $1.8 billion investment in North Carolina, the company was promised nearly $16 million in tax breaks and assured that local taxpayers would purchase and lease back a 95-acre factory site. Production is to begin by 2020. The average salary would be more than $68,000, Novo Nordisk said. More than half of its sales and its growth come from the United States. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
Regulation
Vemma, accused of exploiting students, is shut down
NEW YORK — The Federal Trade Commission says Vemma Nutrition has been temporarily shut down for allegedly operating a pyramid scheme that promised college students riches — as much as $50,000 a week — if they sold its nutritional beverage Vemma, energy drink Verge, and protein shake Bod-e. Most ended up losing money, the FTC said. An investment of $600 paid for products and tools, and $150 in Vemma products had to be bought monthly to get bonuses, the FTC said, adding that Vemma provided little sales help and instead rewarded customers for recruiting more people. Vemma earned $200 million a year in 2013 and 2014, the agency said. Vemma, of Tempe, Ariz., did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A federal court temporarily seized the company’s assets. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
Retail
Walmart to stop selling AR-15, similar weapons
NEW YORK — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will stop selling the AR-15 and other semiautomatic weapons because fewer people are buying them. The retailer will replace them with hunting rifles and shotguns. A spokesman said the semiautomatic weapons were sold at fewer than a third of the company’s 4,600 US stores. WalMart is removing the weapons this week as it prepares its stores for fall merchandise. — ASSOCIATED PRESS