May 1, 2012

With controversy building over its role in a Mexican bribery scandal, Wal-Mart’s desire to stay out of the limelight grows.

The deal, which gives Microsoft a 17.6 percent stake, values the Nook unit at $1.7 billion — roughly double Barnes & Noble’s entire market value as of last Friday — and bolsters the bookseller’s efforts to make its digital business the linchpin of its future growth.

“An Early History of Fire,” a tumultuous work that has been given a surprisingly flat production by the New Group, is the first new play in a decade from David Rabe.

Concerned about Wal-Mart’s reported cover-up of bribery, leaders of New York City’s pension funds said they would vote their 4.7 million company shares against five directors standing for re-election.

Tom Allen, a partner in a Hollywood marketing firm that aims to attract churchgoers to movies and theater, hopes to take advantage of a “faith moment” on Broadway.