For starters, Groupon's stock is at $23.18.
It's anyone's guess why it's suddenly rebounding this week, but many are speculating that LivingSocial -- its key rival -- announcing it would raise $400 million in a new funding round and delay its IPO has something to do with it. It doesn't really matter why, though, the point is: Groupon's stock is continuing to climb past its initial asking price for the first time in weeks.
Its new scheduling service might also have something to do with it. On the heels of that news comes the speculation from TechCrunch that Groupon might buy Clever Sense, the Silicon Valley-based startup behind Alfred, an iPhone app that makes restaurant and activity recommendations based on your tastes. Groupon had no comment on the matter, but it sounds like a great fit for Groupon's purposes. Decide for yourself, based on this video explaining the app:
David Wolinsky is a freelance writer and a lifelong Chicagoan. In addition to currently serving as an interviewer-writer for Adult Swim, he's also a columnist for EGM. He was the Chicago city editor for The Onion A.V. Club where he provided in-depth daily coverage of this city's bustling arts/entertainment scene for half a decade. When not playing video games for work he's thinking of dashing out to Chicago Diner, Pizano's, or Yummy Yummy. His first career aspirations were to be a game-show host.
