Business

A Boeing 787 took off from Seattle Monday on a test flight to see if a redesigned battery system works properly while the plane is in the air.

The test flight is an important step in Boeing's plan to convince safety regulators to allow airlines to resume using the plane, which the company calls the Dreamliner.

It appears that Boeing's comments about the smoldering batteries on its 787 have annoyed the National Transportation Safety Board.

Boeing gave its own account of two battery incidents, which include a fire, at a detailed press briefing in Tokyo last week. The problem is that the NTSB is still investigating the incidents.

The merger of Bellevue-based T-Mobile USA and its smaller rival, MetroPCS, has won regulatory approval and will likely move forward. But one analyst says even the combined company may not be large enough to compete with the biggest wireless carriers.

For a mobile phone company, having the biggest, fastest network is what counts, especially as more and more people use smartphones to stream video or listen to Pandora.

Morningstar analyst Allan Nichols says MetroPCS will give T-Mobile a much-needed boost of wireless spectrum as well as faster technology.

The CEO of Starbucks defended his support of same-sex marriage at the company’s annual meeting in Seattle. Starbucks came out in favor last year of Washington’s referendum legalizing same-sex marriage. Opponents of that measure vowed to make Starbucks pay, and the National Organization for Marriage launched a boycott of Starbucks.

At the company’s annual meeting Wednesday, shareholder Tom Strobhar suggested that the boycott had indeed bled the company of value.

Starbucks is planning a big push behind its loyalty program, with plans to double membership by the end of the year.

Starting in May, the world's biggest coffee company says members will be able to earn points when they buy bags of Starbucks coffee at supermarkets. Customers would have to go online and enter a code on the bag to get their point.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that U.S. government regulators are investigating allegations that some of Microsoft's partners resorted to bribery to help sell software in China, Romania and Italy.