This week’s top business news – March 23-27, 2015

Business news this week centered around two events: the tragic crash of Germanwings flight 9525 and the acquisition of Kraft by Warner Buffett-backed Heinz.

Monday

• Apple Pay’s pitch: Simpler is better. But some security experts disagree., by Hayley Tsukayama and Sarah Halzack of The Washington Post
• With sales sliding, McDonald’s plans 24 hours of “joy” around the world, by Mariah Summers of BuzzFeed

Tuesday

• Germanwings crash in French alps kills 150; cockpit voice recorder is found, by Nicola Clark and Dan Bilefsky of The New York Times
• Exclusive: Greece to run out of cash by April 20 without fresh aid-source, by Jeremy Gaunt of Reuters

Wednesday

• Schlumberger unit to plead guilty to violating Iran, Sudan sanctions, by Nicole Hong of The Wall Street Journal
• Heinz, Kraft merge to form 5th-largest food company, by Bruce Horovitz and Jane Onyanga-Omara of USA Today

Thursday

• CEOs tell Congress: Patent trolls are giving us the shakedown, by Jeff John Roberts of Fortune
• Buffett’s Kraft deal will send PepsiCo, General Mills shopping for acquisitions, by Brain Sozzi of TheStreet

Friday

• BlackBerry is financially under control: CEO John Chen, by Reem Nasr of CNBC
• S. economic growth slows in fourth quarter; corporate profits fall, by Lucia Mutikani of Reuters