General Electric selling division that bred the toaster

General Electric, a household name for more than a century in part for making households easier to run, is leaving the home.

The company is selling the division that invented the toaster in 1905 and now sells refrigerators, stoves and laundry machines. GE instead wants to focus on building industrial machines such as aircraft engines, locomotives, gas-fired turbines and medical imaging equipment – which are bigger and more profitable than washers.

GE, based in Fairfield, Connecticut, announced Monday the sale of its appliance division to the Swedish appliance maker Electrolux for $3.3 billion. Electrolux will still sell appliances under the GE brand.

Man who helped firm profit from secret data gets 9 years

A former portfolio manager convicted of helping his firm earn more than a quarter-billion dollars illegally through insider trading has been sentenced in New York to nine years in prison.

Boca Raton, Florida, resident Mathew Martoma was sentenced Monday. Prosecutors say Martoma and Stamford, Connecticut-based SAC Capital Advisors dumped millions of shares of two pharmaceutical companies after Martoma learned in 2008 about the secret results of an Alzheimer’s drug trial.

The government says Martoma corrupted a University of Michigan professor in charge of the safety committee for what was hoped to be a breakthrough drug.

Amazon smartphone prices slashed ahead of new iPhone

Amazon slashed the price of its Fire smartphone Monday, a day before Apple is expected to unveil its latest version of the iPhone.

The online retailer said the Fire with 32 gigabytes of memory will now cost 99 cents when customers sign a two-year contract with AT&T. That’s down from $199.

The phone with 64 gigabytes of memory will now cost $99 with a two-year contract, down from $299.

– From news service reports