Briefs

After ramping up spending to better compete with Apple, Amazon.com reported a 73 percent plunge in third-quarter profit on Oct. 25, to $63 million. Shares closed down 13 percent the next day as investors showed impatience with the company’s strategy of sacrificing profit margins for sales and market share gains. In November, Amazon will begin selling its new Kindle Fire tablet for $199, which is half the price of Apple’s iPad and also less than the device costs to produce. The company aims to generate profits by selling digital music, books, and movies. Amazon’s operations could lose $200 million in the fourth quarter as costs mount, the company said.

Cigna, the fifth-largest U.S. insurer, agreed to buy HealthSpring, a health-maintenance organization, for $3.8 billion in cash. The deal will add 1.17 million Medicare customers, tripling the number Cigna currently serves. Three-quarters of seniors are covered directly by Medicare and not by commercial managed-care plans, making private plans the fastest-growing products for health insurers. After this move to target baby boomers, Cigna now is looking for acquisitions that will help direct sales to consumers younger than 65.