Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) received approval for their first autonomous or “self-driving” car. Nevada residents, keep your eyes peeled for the red license plate and infinity symbol! Don’t worry as it won’t be scuttling around the state all on its own. The vehicle is required to have two people in it at all times, including one behind the wheel to take control if the need be. Wild stuff. The days of behemoth Google just being a search engine are long gone.

Steve Kanaval from TheStreetBeat.com reports on the news:

Google (GOOG) Stock Quote and News:

Working in partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products, Activision Publishing, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ; ATVI), is slated to release “Ice Age: Continental Drift – Arctic Games” to stores this summer. The fourth installment of the Ice Age franchise, Ice Age: Continental Drift, will be available for Wii™, Nintendo, Nintendo 3DS™ and DS™ handheld systems, and Kinect™ for Xbox 360®. The game, which will allow Read More

Following in the footsteps on fellow major miner BHP Billiton Ltd (NYSE:BHP), Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE:RIO) said this morning that it is conducting a strategic review of operations and considering options to exit its diamond operations.  BHP, who also has projects in iron ore, potash and titanium, announced a review of its diamond workings in November 2011, which was followed in December by the sale of its 51 percent holdings in a Baffin Island, Canada exploration project for $9 million and future royalties to Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. Read More

Some movers with volume in today’s trading include:

WebSafety Inc. (OTCBB:WBSI): up $0.0016 to $0.0044 (+57.14%) on 4.16 million in volume, no news released. Read More

Saved by not repeating charges that smacked financial reports in 2010, office products supplier Office Depot, Inc. swung to profitability in the fourth quarter of 2011.  The company reported net earnings of $12.28 million or $0.04 per share for Q4, compared to a net loss of $108.63 million or $0.39 per share in the 2010 quarter.  In the 2010 period, the financial report was damaged by charges related to restructuring, assets sales and asset impairment that totaled 29 cents a share.  Total sales rang-in at $2.97 billion from $2.96 billion in the year prior quarter. Read More

Falling right into the expected range of $10 – $12 a share, Brightcove, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:BCOV) initial public offering if for five million shares at $11 each. Read More

The Battle Creek, Michigan food outfit Kellogg Company (NYSE:K) said this morning that it has entered into an agreement with Procter & Gamble’s (NYSE:PG) Pringles® business for $2.695 billion in cash, calling it an “excellent strategic fit” with its business.  Kellogg is looking to bolster its global snack business to levels that parallel its cereal operations.  The company Read More

On Monday, the world’s biggest platinum producer, Anglo American Platinum, said that output would probably be flat in 2012 as safety stoppages hamstringed production that fell short of targets last year.   The company said that it plans to refine and sell between 2.5 and 2.6 million ounces of platinum in 2012 after selling Read More

Healthcare company Angeion Corporation (NASDAQ: ANGN) said that it has signed an agreement with HealthTrust Purchasing Group, L.P., a group purchasing organization that supports nearly 1,400 not-for-profit and for-profit acute care facilities, as well as 10,600 ambulatory surgery centers, physician practices, and alternate care sites, to provide its members with Angeion’s complete line of MedGraphics® cardiorespiratory Read More

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) announced Wednesday that it will expand the selection on its streaming service catalog through a new rights agreement with Viacom (NASDAQ:VIA).  Included in the deal are Paramount movies, as well as shows from Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, to name a few. Read More