Company News: Wal-Mart, Shazam, Standard & Poor's, Netflix, Staples, Office Depot

January 22, 2015 at 8:37 PM UTC

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This article is part of the January 26, 2015 issue of businessweek.

● Wal-Mart Stores unveiled a new financial service that allows Americans to collect their income tax refunds in cash at more than 3,000 of its locations. Dubbed Direct2Cash, Walmart’s program will charge nothing, but tax preparers can charge as much as $7 at the time of filing to access the service. The retailer expects Direct2Cash will lift retail sales among the roughly one in four Americans who use check-cashing services or don’t have bank accounts.

● Shazam Entertainment, the company behind an app that identifies songs and TV shows through smartphones, is now worth $1 billion. The valuation is tied to an additional $30 million in financing secured by the London-based company. About 100 million people use Shazam’s app every month, and some marketers are keen on its ability to run location-based ads.