Business Beat for Monday, Dec. 1, 2014

Girl Scout cookie sales go digital

For the first time, Girl Scouts of the USA will allow its young go-getters to push their wares using a mobile app or personalized websites. Troops in Chicago aren’t taking part this year but some in the western suburbs will be accepting online orders.

NTSB points to battery defect in Boeing 787 Dreamliner fire

A short circuit likely due to a manufacturing defect in a Boeing 787 airliner battery caused a fire last year that grounded the planes for 3 months.

ALSO: Ryanair finalizes 737 MAX 200 Boeing order

McDonald’s makes Cuties an option in Happy Meals

Clementines will be an optional side in McDonald’s kids’ meals through March. The chain also offers apple slices and Go-GURT.

Cyber Monday shoppers give retailers sales bump

Retailers rolled out discounts and free shipping deals on Cyber Monday, with millions of Americans expected to log on and shop.

ALSO: Amazon deploys new robot army to help shipping

ALSO: More shoppers turn out for Small Business Saturday but didn’t splurge

Stocks sink after retail sales slip, China slows

Mounting signs of weakness in the global economy and a poor start to the holiday shopping season knocked the stock market lower on Monday.

Death toll from GM ignition switches rises to 36

At least 36 people have died and 44 have been seriously injured in crashes involving General Motors cars with defective ignition switches.

Pfizer completes $635M vaccines purchase from Baxter

Deerfield-based Baxter sold two vaccines and part of the factory in Orth, Austria, where they’re made to Pfizer.

2 Berkshire Hathaway subsidiaries finish deals

Berkshire Hathaway’s utility division announced Monday it completed its $2.7 billion purchase of Canadian power transmission provider AltaLink. Lubrizol, another subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s company, said it will spend at least $750 million to buy businesses that make oilfield chemicals and drilling fluids.

AbbVie adds children’s AIDS drugs to shared patent pool

The shared patent pool is an initiative that should speed development of cheap new pediatric formulations for use in poor countries. [Reuters]

US factory growth slips in Nov. but still healthy

U.S. factories were slightly less busy in November, as production and hiring slowed, though the level of activity remained strong.

Intel buys password manager PasswordBox

PasswordBox saves and remembers passwords so users can log into different websites without having to remember or type in their passwords.