SAN FRANCISCO — The co-founders of Instagram are resigning their positions with the social media company without explanation.
Chief Executive Kevin Systrom said in a statement late Monday that he and Mike Krieger, Instagram’s chief technical officer, plan to leave the company in the next few weeks and take time off “to explore our curiosity and creativity again.”
No explanation was given for their sudden departure from the photo-sharing network they founded in 2010.
Facebook bought Instagram in 2012, just before going public, at a price that seemed inconceivable at the time — $1 billion. At the time Instagram was ad-free, with a loyal following of 31 million users who were all on mobile devices. Since then, the service has grown to more than 1 billion users and has of course added plenty of advertisements.
Home prices rise at slowest pace in nearly a year
U.S. home prices rose in July at the slowest pace in 10 months as climbing mortgage rates become a more significant factor for a growing number of prospective buyers.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index increased 5.9 percent in July compared with a year earlier, down from a 6.4 percent annual gain the previous month.
Home prices are rising at twice the rate of wages, which has likely contributed to a cooling in the market this year. Sales of existing homes have dropped 1.5 percent in the past 12 months. Mortgage rates last week reached their highest level since May.
Las Vegas, Seattle and San Francisco reported the biggest annual gains, with all three cities seeing double-digit increases. Yet in 15 of 20 cities, price gains were smaller in July than in the same month a year earlier.
Dunkin’ drops donuts from its name
Dunkin’ is dropping the donuts — from its name, anyway.
Doughnuts are still on the menu, but the company is renaming itself “Dunkin’” to reflect its increasing emphasis on coffee and other drinks.
The 68-year-old chain has toyed with the idea for a while. In 2006, it released a new motto — “America runs on Dunkin’ — that didn’t mention doughnuts. Last fall, it tested the “Dunkin’” logo on a new store in Pasadena, California; it has put the name on a few other stores since then.
Coffee and sandwiches have become increasingly important to the Canton, Massachuetts-based chain, which has more than 12,500 restaurants globally.
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