[naviga:h3]Best Buy names Barry new CEO[/naviga:h3]

NEW YORK — The executive credited with reviving a struggling Best Buy is stepping aside.

Hubert Joly, 59, is handing leadership of the reinvigorated electronics retailer to longtime executive Corie Barry, 43, as part of the company’s succession plan effective June 11. Barry, who is currently the company’s chief financial and strategic transformation officer, will become the fifth CEO in Best Buy’s 53-year history and the company’s first female CEO.

Joly will become executive chairman of the board after stepping down.

It was only a few years ago when skeptics were ready to write the obituary of Best Buy. But under Joly, who took over as CEO in 2012, the company is being reinvented, focusing on driving online revenue as well as improving the in-store experience as many traditional retailers face dwindling foot traffic and sales. Online sales now account for about 22 percent of Best Buy’s business.

[naviga:h3]Citigroup’s 1Q profits rise 2% [/naviga:h3]

NEW YORK — Banking conglomerate Citigroup said its first quarter profits rose by a relatively quiet 2 percent from a year earlier, as higher interest and investment banking revenues helped offset a decline in trading.

Citi’s results were similar to those of its Wall Street competitors, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, which both reported similar declines in trading revenue in the quarter.

Citi said Monday that it earned $4.71 billion, or a profit of $1.87 per share, compared with a profit of $4.62 billion, or $1.68 per share, in the same period a year ago. Analysts were looking for Citigroup to report a profit of $1.78 a share, according to Zacks Investment Research.

Citi reported a 24 percent decline in stock trading revenue, while bond and currency trading revenue fared better, up 1 percent from a year earlier. Citi’s trading operations focus more on currencies and foreign exchange, which was less volatile last quarter than the stock and bond markets. That allowed Citi’s trading revenue in that division to do better than its peers.

The bank did well in investment banking, posting significantly higher fees for advisory services and debt underwriting.

[naviga:h3]Disney, Comcast now Hulu’s owners[/naviga:h3]

NEW YORK — AT&T has sold its 9.5 percent share in Hulu back to the streaming TV company, leaving Disney and Comcast as its owners.

Hulu said Monday that AT&T sold its stake for $1.43 billion, valuing the unprofitable Hulu at $15 billion.

The Walt Disney Co. wound up with a 60 percent share after its purchase of much of 21st Century Fox, which included Fox’s Hulu stake.

NBCUniversal parent Comcast Corp. owns 30 percent. There is speculation that Comcast will sell too, leaving Disney the sole owner and perhaps making Hulu’s content much more Disney-centric.

Disney may bundle Hulu with its upcoming kids-focused streaming service, Disney Plus, and its sports service, ESPN Plus, executives said last week.