Hello, friends and Fortune readers.
Stocks look set to rise Wednesday following the Dow’s first set of triple-digit losses in months, although anyone involved with the markets is likely keeping a close high on what’s happening in Syria (some markets in Europe are down again today.) Here’s what else you need to know today.
1. Saks is going downtown
Saks 5th Avenue, for some the ultimate name in luxury shopping, is opening a second store in New York City. The department store’s new location will be in Brookfield Place, the newly renovated and renamed office and retail space in downtown Manhattan, near the World Trade Center.
2. India joins the Mars club
India put a spacecraft in orbit around Mars early this morning, becoming the first country to do so on its first attempt — and also doing so for the least money. India spent $74 million to get its craft to orbit the red planet, compared with the $671 million NASA spent to get its Maven craft into orbit just days ago. India also spent less than the $100 million Hollywood spent to have Sandra Bullock and George Clooney pretend to be in space in Gravity, according to The Wall Street Journal.
3. Starbucks is buying back Japan
Since 1995, Starbucks has existed in Japan as a joint venture with Sazaby League. No more. The Seattle coffee giant is buying back the 60.5% of Starbucks Japan it doesn’t own for $913.5 billion. That’s a lot of lattes.
4. Citizens is hitting the market
After all the craziness behind last week’s Alibaba IPO, the start of trading for Citizens Financial Group today is fairly muted. The offering will be the second-biggest in the U.S. this year, but it priced below the expected range and will raise only $3 billion rather than the expected $3.5 billion.
5. Is Blackberry back?
Maybe. The onetime king of smartphones will debut its new Passport today in Toronto, London and Dubai. The device features a square screen and a touch-sensitive tactile keyboard. If the Canadian company formerly known as Research in Motion has any chance of a rebound, it has to start here.
