For fashion designers, donating a couture gown to a celebrity such as Reese Witherspoon or Jennifer Lopez that makes it onto the red carpet at an event like this weekend's Academy Awards is more than good luck - it's a strategic business move.
ZURICH (Reuters) - The merger of the asset management divisions of ABN AMRO and Fortis is proceeding faster than planned, a senior Fortis banker was quoted as saying. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 23 Feb 2008 | 11:28 am
ZURICH (Reuters) - The merger of the asset management divisions of ABN AMRO and Fortis is proceeding faster than planned, a senior Fortis banker was quoted as saying.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission will consider
a code of conduct asking sovereign wealth funds run by
countries to stress commercial goals rather than strategic
considerations when making investments, an EU official said.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission will consider a code of conduct asking sovereign wealth funds run by countries to stress commercial goals rather than strategic ... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 23 Feb 2008 | 11:15 am
Reuters - The European Commission will consider
a code of conduct asking sovereign wealth funds run by
countries to stress commercial goals rather than strategic
considerations when making investments, an EU official said. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 23 Feb 2008 | 11:15 am
Wall Street staged a dramatic turnaround Friday, shooting higher in the last half-hour of trading after word that a bailout plan for troubled bond insurer Ambac Financial could be... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 23 Feb 2008 | 9:35 am
The United Auto Workers and General Motors Corp. have taken a big legal step toward shifting billions in retiree health care costs from the automaker to an independent trust fund. The... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 23 Feb 2008 | 9:27 am
California's big reds are coming on strong these days as winemakers pursue riper, fuller-flavored fruit. A number of wines have been creeping past 14 percent alcohol and even into the... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 23 Feb 2008 | 9:22 am
Time Warner Inc. said in its annual regulatory filing Friday that it expects to cut more jobs in its magazine publishing division in the first quarter, resulting in $10 million to $20... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 23 Feb 2008 | 9:17 am
Alabama football fans can buy pens, ties, video games, phones and socks that play the Crimson Tide's fight song, and a New York company is humming the tune all the way to the bank. In... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 23 Feb 2008 | 9:13 am
Gas prices jumped Friday to their highest level since June, a possible preview of what many analysts believe will be a record spike in pump prices this spring. But the current price... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 23 Feb 2008 | 9:04 am
Not too long ago, Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. seemed all but certain to announce a combination soon. That still could happen in the next few days, but an impasse... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 23 Feb 2008 | 9:02 am
The Air Force is likely days away from handing out one of the biggest Pentagon contracts in years _ a deal valued at up to $40 billion to replace 179 planes in its fleet of aerial... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 23 Feb 2008 | 8:57 am
Bridgepoint Capital, a London-based buyout firm, agreed to buy Pret A Manger for 345 million pounds ($678 million), a year after the UK sandwich chain's founders initially put the company up for sale.... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 23 Feb 2008 | 8:10 am
Time to go Time Warner said in its annual regulatory fil ing that it expects to cut more jobs in its maga zine publishing division in the first quarter, re sulting in $10 million to $20 million in expenses.... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 23 Feb 2008 | 8:10 am
A curtain of gloom is settling on the hedge fund world, with another fund going bust here while others reeled worldwide from their worst month in eight years. D.B. Zwirn & Co. said yesterday it will... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 23 Feb 2008 | 8:10 am
Talk about feeling dazed and confused. Many of Wall Street's veteran traders and market participants left their desks after the closing bell rang yesterday reeling from the volatility they had endured... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 23 Feb 2008 | 8:10 am
Microsoft Corp., seeking to reassure employees concerned that the purchase of Yahoo! will result in job cuts, will aim to move talented workers from overlapping positions into other departments. "People... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 23 Feb 2008 | 8:10 am
While foreclosed homeowners across America pack cartons of belongings this weekend, a band of junk-mortgage bankers is checking into a lavish Aspen, Colo., lodge to celebrate and dine on $105 steaks -... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 23 Feb 2008 | 8:10 am
A TV report that a rescue of bond insurer Ambac is in the works sparks a reversal in financial shares.
Stocks rallied in the final 30 minutes of trading Friday, helping blue-chip indexes post their second straight weekly gain, as speculation that bond insurer Ambac Financial Group might be rescued overcame worries about the economy's slowdown.
The punitive damage award is the first of its kind and has prompted the giant medical insurer to scrap practices that have recently come under fire. ... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 23 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
The British bankers each get three years in prison for participating in a financial scam.
Three British bankers were sentenced Friday to just over three years in prison for their roles in a fraudulent scheme with former Enron Chief Financial Officer Andrew S. Fastow.
Michael Sitrick plans to appeal a ruling that shields a film producer from a legal judgment.
A Los Angeles judge on Friday blocked public relations executive Michael Sitrick from trying to collect on a $7.7-million legal judgment he won from Hollywood producer Ryan Kavanaugh more than five years ago.
Unlike rivals, the Chevy muscle car won't be reaching showrooms until next year.
The new Chevy Camaro would seem to have everything going for it: a genuinely storied tradition, a built-in fan base, even a starring role in a blockbuster movie.
Shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fell Friday after a Merrill Lynch & Co. analyst said the housing and debt market slumps would stifle earnings at the mortgage-finance companies through 2011.
Determined to avoid another strike, major stars pressure their guild to stop posturing and start negotiating.
Two of Hollywood's biggest stars -- George Clooney and Tom Hanks -- dropped in at the home of Screen Actors Guild President Alan Rosenberg this week to deliver a message: Start negotiating.
Proposed measure would affect liners sailing from California ports.
Seeking to improve public safety on the high seas, a state senator introduced a bill Friday that would require cruise ships sailing from California ports to have a peace officer on board.
Shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fell Friday after a Merrill Lynch & Co. analyst said the housing and debt market slumps would stifle earnings at the mortgage-finance companies through 2011. ... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 23 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
A TV report that a rescue of bond insurer Ambac is in the works sparks a reversal in financial shares. Stocks rallied... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 23 Feb 2008 | 8:00 am
The punitive damage award is the first of its kind and has prompted the giant medical insurer to scrap practices that have recently come under fire.
One of California's largest for-profit insurers stopped a controversial practice of canceling sick policyholders Friday after a judge ordered Health Net Inc. to pay more than $9 million to a breast cancer patient it dropped in the middle of chemotherapy.
The FDA approves the drug's use despite a lack of evidence that it extends patients' lives.
In a surprise decision that could portend significant changes in how federal regulators approve cancer drugs, the Food and Drug Administration Friday approved the use of a $100,000-a-year drug for use by women with breast cancer although there is little evidence it helps breast cancer patients live longer.
Reuters - Bain Capital Partner's $2.2 billion
bid to buy 3Com Corp with China's Huawei Technologies
failed due to acquisition complexities and rising costs, Huawei
said in its first public comments since U.S. national security
concerns scuppered the deal on Wednesday. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 23 Feb 2008 | 7:05 am
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Bain Capital Partner's $2.2 billion bid to buy 3Com Corp with China's Huawei Technologies failed due to acquisition complexities and rising costs, Huawei said in its first public comments since U.S. national security concerns scuppered the deal on Wednesday.
Investors hope that a last-minute plan to bail out ailing bond insurers next week will spark optimism for a market that has remained plagued by the ongoing credit crisis and worries that the economy is on the brink of recession.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A rescue for bond insurer Ambac Financial Group Inc may be announced on Monday or Tuesday, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday.
SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp suggested on Friday that it had no plans to make major lay-offs if it succeeded in buying Yahoo Inc, saying there were plenty of employee opportunities throughout the company.
Argentina and Brazil agree to build a joint nuclear reactor to address looming energy shortages. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 23 Feb 2008 | 2:22 am
FORT WORTH, Texas (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is in a slowdown that could steepen but inflation is also a threat that must not be ignored, the president of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank, Richard Fisher, said on Friday.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rallied late on Friday on news that banks were near an agreement to bail out bond insurer Ambac Financial, a deal that could prevent further damage to the banking industry and credit markets.
With few exceptions, commodities are rallying again, breaking records and keeping inflation pressures on the boil. How should investors play that trend as the U.S. economy slows down?
Mobile phone entrepreneur Sarah McVittie has hit out at Alistair Darling's concessions over capital gains tax (CGT), saying the economy will still suffer under his new regime. Source: Telegraph Business | 23 Feb 2008 | 12:31 am
A group of banks is preparing to inject $2bn to $3bn into the troubled bond insurer Ambac, which is racing against time to come up with fresh capital to avoid a sharp cut in its triple-A credit rating that could trigger wider financial market turmoil Source: FT.com - US homepage | 23 Feb 2008 | 12:20 am
Microsoft moved to reassure Yahoo insiders about its plans for the internet group in the event of an eventual takeover, indicating that there would be no major job cuts in the event of a merger Source: FT.com - US homepage | 23 Feb 2008 | 12:10 am
Reuters - Microsoft Corp suggested on
Friday that it had no plans to make major lay-offs if it
succeeded in buying Yahoo Inc , saying there were
plenty of employee opportunities throughout the company. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 23 Feb 2008 | 12:05 am
Farming leaders believe that a viable domestic pig sector could be wiped out within months unless urgent action is taken by the government and retailers. The national pig herd has already halved over the past 12 years. Source: Telegraph Business | 23 Feb 2008 | 12:01 am
It had been an extremely bad week for Aston Martin, the once-failing British sports car maker that went through a miraculous make-over to re-establish itself as an iconic marque - and to return to profit. Source: Telegraph Business | 23 Feb 2008 | 12:01 am
The takeover of Resolution Group was last night delayed for a third time, leading to mounting concerns that the £5bn bid for the zombie fund operator could collapse. Source: Telegraph Business | 23 Feb 2008 | 12:01 am
Which issue unites voices as diverse as civil liberties campaigners and big business? The Lib Dems and the Tories? Hedge-fund managers, private equity and directors of public companies, not to mention thousands of Telegraph readers? Source: Telegraph Business | 23 Feb 2008 | 12:01 am
The three former NatWest bankers linked to the collapse of energy giant Enron have each been sentenced to 37 months in jail. Source: Telegraph Business | 23 Feb 2008 | 12:01 am
Citigroup is facing further financial write-downs after revealing it has an exposure of $4bn (£2.03bn) to the troubled bond insurance sector and has been forced to move a $10bn hedge fund on to its balance sheet after significant losses. Source: Telegraph Business | 23 Feb 2008 | 12:01 am
British American Tobacco has won the auction for Turkey's state-owned tobacco group Tekel, with a bid of $1.72bn (£894m), in the company's first major takeover in five years. Source: Telegraph Business | 23 Feb 2008 | 12:01 am
npower has become the latest energy supplier to come under fire for higher bills after posting a 41pc jump in operating profits. Source: Telegraph Business | 23 Feb 2008 | 12:01 am
John Lewis sent a shudder through the high street and sparked fresh fears over
the health of the British economy yesterday by reporting its biggest sales
decline for almost a year. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 23 Feb 2008 | 12:00 am
Terra Firma, the private equity firm, and Suez, the French utility giant,
could wait until the last possible moment to launch a joint £1.5 billion
counter-bid for Biffa, sparking an eleventh-hour bidding war for the waste
firm. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 23 Feb 2008 | 12:00 am
For months the German public has been entertained and outraged by courtroom
tales of lovers and prostitutes subsidised by a slush fund run by
Volkswagen, Europe's largest car manufacturer. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 23 Feb 2008 | 12:00 am
The credit crunch, triggered last February by a surge in defaults on
high-risk, sub-prime mortgages, appeared to have travelled right across the
financial system yesterday, as it emerged that the cost of insuring even the
most robust corporate bonds had reached a record high. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 23 Feb 2008 | 12:00 am
A successful Microsoft bid for Yahoo! would create an internet company with a
three-quarters share in web mail and instant messaging – figures that rivals
are expected to use in an attempt to derail any merger between the two
companies. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 23 Feb 2008 | 12:00 am
Attempting to bribe the Attorney-General of the United States to keep your
pyramid scheme afloat must rank as one of the most optimistic business
investments of all time. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 23 Feb 2008 | 12:00 am
The trio of British bankers known as the NatWest Three were jailed for 37
months each yesterday for their part in a complex multimillion-dollar fraud
that made them a temporary cause célèbre. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 23 Feb 2008 | 12:00 am
On his recent visit to the Tokyo stock exchange, a nervous-looking Alistair
Darling was asked whether Britain could not perhaps learn a trick or two
from Japan about coping with a banking crisis. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 23 Feb 2008 | 12:00 am
China's increasingly aggressive sovereign wealth fund is poised to unleash a
$10 billion ($£5 billion) investment spree in Japan and is initially expected
to set its sights on the energy sector. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 23 Feb 2008 | 12:00 am
British American Tobacco (BAT) has won the auction to buy Tekel, Turkey’s
state-owned cigarette company, for $1.7 billion ($£860 million). Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 23 Feb 2008 | 12:00 am
Some churning in the retail and energy sectors over the holiday-shortened week plus continuing economic worries may mean investors will have to tread cautiously. But changes on the international front offer some interesting opportunities.
Following are the week's biggest winners and losers. Find out why shares of Nucor and Chalco popped while Suntech Power and Best Buy dropped. Source: CNBC Top News and Analysis | 23 Feb 2008 | 12:00 am
Investor's Business Daily - Price pressures could build even if the economy slows further, said Dallas Fed chief Richard Fisher, who voted against the central bank's half-point 14terest-rate cut Jan. 30 due to inflation fears. U.S. growth is "anemic" but the economy should avoid a recession, Fisher said. He questioned "whether inflation expectations are well anchored." Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 22 Feb 2008 | 11:43 pm
A two-year war to define the next-generation format of DVD technology is over. So should owners of high-definition televisions rush out and buy a Blu-ray player now?
Reuters - The U.S. economy is in a
slowdown that could steepen but inflation is also a threat that
must not be ignored, the president of the Dallas Federal
Reserve Bank, Richard Fisher, said on Friday. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 22 Feb 2008 | 11:28 pm
The United Nations' nuclear watchdog said Iran had failed to answer important questions on its nuclear programme, in a move that strengthened the hand of western powers seeking tighter sanctions on Tehran Source: FT.com - US homepage | 22 Feb 2008 | 11:08 pm
Hillary Clinton benefited from a surge in online financial donations following what her campaign described as the emotional 'moment of the night' at her debate with Barack Obama in Texas Source: FT.com - US homepage | 22 Feb 2008 | 11:05 pm
Stocks staged an impressive comeback Friday, with the Dow surging more than 200 points late in the session, after a report said that troubled bond insurer Ambac Financial could see a bailout as soon as next week.
Reuters - U.S. stocks rallied late on Friday on
news that banks were near an agreement to bail out bond insurer
Ambac Financial, a deal that could prevent further damage to
the banking industry and credit markets.
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- As the credit crisis roils markets and financial stocks, many regional banks look undervalued, creating opportunities for small and large investors.
Two high-profile former Wall Street CEOs and the head of the nation's largest home lender will testify next week before a congressional committee examining the link between executive pay and the mortgage crisis.
Suspense ran as high Friday as on even the most melodrama-packed Oscar night, with U.S. stocks mounting a late-session rebound, not only erasing the day's steep declines but also looking in the final minutes as if they might end the day, and the week, in the black. Did their bid succeed? The envelope, please.
Sovereign wealth funds will be asked to accept a voluntary code of conduct governing their investment activities under European Union proposals Source: FT.com - US homepage | 22 Feb 2008 | 10:30 pm
Microsoft is at a critical moment in its history and is taking brilliant steps to remake itself. Thursday's announcement that it would open itself up to far greater interoperability with other types of software, including open source, is the latest big move. But the bigger step is its $44 billion bid for Yahoo.
US stocks rebounded in late trading on hopes that a plan to bail out troubled bond insurer Ambac Financial would soon be announced and calm fractious markets Source: FT.com - US homepage | 22 Feb 2008 | 10:03 pm
How are you supposed to decrypt the changes to the tax code for 2007? Tess asks Tom Herman to walk us through what we need to know before filing our returns. Source: Marketplace Money | 22 Feb 2008 | 9:55 pm
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A record number of homeowners thought their homes decreased in value in February, according to a Reuters/University of Michigan survey published on Friday.
Berlin's finance minister vowed to 'tighten the screws' on Europe's tax havens, amid a global government backlash against financial centres with secrecy rules that foster evasion Source: FT.com - US homepage | 22 Feb 2008 | 9:30 pm
Credit doctors promise to clean up your credit and help you qualify for loans in the midst of the credit crunch. Tess asks Ed Mierzwinski if their prescription really works. Source: Marketplace Money | 22 Feb 2008 | 9:17 pm
NEW YORK (Reuters) - D.B. Zwirn & Co., a $5 billion hedge fund group managed by investor Daniel Zwirn, will liquidate its two largest hedge funds after investors demanded some $2 billion in withdrawals, a person familiar with the situation said on Friday.
Three British bankers are sentenced to 37 months in prison for their role in an Enron-related fraud. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 22 Feb 2008 | 8:32 pm
The U.K. is giving out big tax breaks to British movies in an attempt to boost its film industry. But defining what makes a film British isn't always easy. Stephen Beard reports. Source: Marketplace | 22 Feb 2008 | 8:28 pm
The Democratic Republic of Congo wants to revise mining contracts it considers unfair to the state. Its action is part of a growing trend in which developing countries are seeking better terms for their natural resources. Bob Moon reports. Source: Marketplace | 22 Feb 2008 | 8:28 pm
Stockbroker and business analyst David Johnson chats with host Kai Ryssdal about what happened on Wall Street this week and what may lie ahead. Source: Marketplace | 22 Feb 2008 | 8:28 pm
GM, Ford and Chrysler have offered $100,000 buyouts to many of their hourly auto workers. But for some of those employees the money isn't worth the uncertainty of getting another job. Dustin Dwyer reports. Source: Marketplace | 22 Feb 2008 | 8:28 pm
Microsoft says it will make available about 30,000 pages of once-secret technical information on its products. Lisa Napoli reports on what the company may be hoping to gain by giving out the documentation. Source: Marketplace | 22 Feb 2008 | 8:28 pm
U.S. government officials are raising the fines for companies hiring illegal immigrants by 25%. But some business owners believe the tougher penalties ignore a fundamental problem. Dan Grech reports. Source: Marketplace | 22 Feb 2008 | 8:28 pm
Though the White House has proposed rescue plans for halting the mortgage crisis, analysts still predict more trouble ahead. Kai Ryssdal talks to Sharon Price at the National Housing Conference about what else the government can do. Source: Marketplace | 22 Feb 2008 | 8:28 pm
Just because you unlock locks for a living doesn't mean you always remember your own keys. On this week's A Day in the Work Life, we get a locksmith to open up. Source: Marketplace Money | 22 Feb 2008 | 8:25 pm
The latest strategy to get Americans saving: psychology. As Steve Tripoli found out, reframing retirement planning can help get portfolios growing. Source: Marketplace Money | 22 Feb 2008 | 8:07 pm
You've got questions about the stimulus package, the IRS has answers and we get you connected. Tess has Frank Keith of the IRS answer your refund questions. Source: Marketplace Money | 22 Feb 2008 | 7:51 pm
A money management shop whose stratospheric growth propelled it to the ranks of the financial elite is closing its two biggest hedge funds after investors demanded $2 billion of their money back.
Farming Systems Uruguay (NZFSU), which listed in December, posted a first-half net loss of US$6.8 million thanks to a performance fee payable to parent PGG Wrightson.
The deficit, up from a US$124,000 loss a year earlier, was... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 22 Feb 2008 | 7:30 pm
Fierce competition has forced companies to offer Wall Street-type compensation, especially in the fund management industry say industry executives and headhunters Source: FT.com - US homepage | 22 Feb 2008 | 6:59 pm
The Motley Fool - In 1913, the income tax was simple, with a one-page form. Taxes ranged from 1% to 7%, and less than 1% of the population made enough money to have to pay the tax. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 22 Feb 2008 | 6:38 pm
The US and EU called for restraint as Turkey pursued a cross-border land offensive to hunt Kurdish PKK guerrillas amid fears the move could undermine Iraq's only stable region Source: FT.com - US homepage | 22 Feb 2008 | 6:35 pm
Mainfreight has reported a net profit after tax and before non-recurring items of $29.4 million for the first nine months of the 2008 financial year.
That represented a $4.4 million or 17.5 per cent increase compared to the same... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 22 Feb 2008 | 6:30 pm
Inflation talk may have been pushed to the back burner, but that won't distract our economics editor Chris Farrell. Chris sets the story straight on inflation and protecting yourself. Source: Marketplace Money | 22 Feb 2008 | 6:19 pm
Our listeners weigh in on our stories about a Supreme Court decision, insuring college loans, the digital TV conversion and free advice to entrepreneurs. Source: Marketplace Money | 22 Feb 2008 | 6:11 pm
Eurozone economic activity rebounded this month, according to a closely-watched purchasing managers' index survey whcih still pointed to a gradual slowdown Source: FT.com - US homepage | 22 Feb 2008 | 6:03 pm
In this edition of Getting Personal, Chris and Tess talk about covering a relative's debt, declaiming property, short sales, being too responsible with credit, and saving for college. Source: Marketplace Money | 22 Feb 2008 | 5:59 pm
For $12.5m profit Skellerup Holdings said its December half year net profit rose 6 per cent to $6.1 million. The company reconfirmed it was on track for a full-year net profit of $12.5 million compared with $637,000 last year after... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 22 Feb 2008 | 5:30 pm
FT.com - London equities ended lower on Friday after a clutch of broker downgrades hit the retail sector, while falling metals prices promted some profit taking in the miners. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 22 Feb 2008 | 5:15 pm
Life is hard enough without having to decipher everything. This week, if your retirement plan goes out of hand, you'll want to know about "ERISA." Source: Marketplace Money | 22 Feb 2008 | 5:07 pm
As the property downturn starts to bite, mainstream real estate agents are following the lead of now defunct rival The Joneses, offering fixed-price flat-fee sales commission discounts. Russell Malcolm, licensee of Kiwi Real at Orewa,... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 22 Feb 2008 | 5:00 pm
Backdoor listings, which are a longstanding feature of the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges, are in the spotlight again because of Blue Chip's problems and the collapse of The Joneses real estate agency.
These reverse... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 22 Feb 2008 | 5:00 pm
Although its first-half result was hit by rising gas prices, Contact Energy is forecasting a 4 per cent increase in earnings for the full year, underpinned by its ability to exploit the tight electricity market.
Contact yesterday... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 22 Feb 2008 | 5:00 pm
The liquidators of 19 Blue Chip-related companies have been granted a two-week extension on filing their initial reports.
Liquidator Jeff Meltzer said the statutory five-day timeframe for filing first reports was insufficient,... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 22 Feb 2008 | 5:00 pm
Half-year net profit at Sky Network Television has jumped 40.3 per cent to $51.2 million.
The broadcasting company's operating revenue for the six months ending December 31 rose 8.3 per cent to $328.7 million, while operating profit... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 22 Feb 2008 | 5:00 pm
Crash or correction? That is the question for anyone trying to assess the direction of the housing market in 2008.
Certainly the numbers are not encouraging.
Latest Real Estate Institute figures show house sales hit a seven-year... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 22 Feb 2008 | 5:00 pm
Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide chief executive Kevin Roberts has a polarising effect on people, but as ad folk will tell you, some of the best advertising does the same thing.
The lad who grew up in Lancaster in the north of England... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 22 Feb 2008 | 5:00 pm
The popularity of text messaging has put cell phone bills on the rise. What to do about the the compulsive texter on your plan? Lisa Napoli has some answers. Source: Marketplace Money | 22 Feb 2008 | 4:22 pm
UK firm British American Tobacco has won the auction for Turkish state cigarette company Tekel. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 22 Feb 2008 | 4:14 pm
Inflation in India rise more than expected in early February to a six month high on rising food prices. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 22 Feb 2008 | 3:57 pm
The government will review the future of broadband amid calls that it should help firms pay for new infrastructure. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 22 Feb 2008 | 3:19 pm
Budget airline Ryanair is closing its customer bookings website for three days from late on Friday. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 22 Feb 2008 | 3:08 pm
Women without children are most likely to do unpaid overtime, a report from the TUC says. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 22 Feb 2008 | 2:24 pm
Quantitative hedge fund managers, or quants, who were hammered by the market turmoil and credit freeze last summer, are still struggling.
Jenny Strasburg of Bloomberg News reports that one of the best-known quants, the $35 billion AQR Capital Management, has seen its largest hedge fund tumble nearly 15 percent for the year through February 15.
Quants use sophisticated computers to make big trading bets on stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities, and derivatives. Until this summer, AQR, co-founded in 1998 by Clifford Asness, a former Goldman Sachs executive and University of Chicago Ph.D., had been a star performer.
Now the assets of its Absolute Return fund have dropped to $2.9 billion last month from $4 billion in the fourth quarter, Bloomberg says, citing "two people with knowledge of the matter."
"Quants traditionally do well when the market moves in broad strokes, and during choppy markets, their practices suffer," Geoffrey Bobroff, an independent investment consultant, told Bloomberg.
The continued losses will only stoke a debate over whether there is a fundamental flaw in an investing strategy that relies on computer models: that the models don't work when freak events happen and markets act irrationally. (Remember long-term capital management?)
Talking to Joe Nocera of the New York Times in August, Asness disputed that notion, saying,''In theory, what just happened is impossible. So if we stuck to the theory, we'd be dead. We know this stuff happens."
In a post about the debate in October, Portfolio.com's Felix Salmon noted that "quant fund managers are well aware that their strategies don't last forever, or even, nowadays, for much longer than a few months at best."
"They don't kid themselves that there are any universal truths about markets which can be easily arbitraged and monetized. But they do think that at any given point in time there are some temporary truths about markets which will give them their precious alpha."
Grocery giant Safeway reported what appeared to be some pretty good numbers the other day: sales that exceeded analysts' estimates by $400 million and a strong earnings forecast for the year.
But Safeway's shares fell nearly 10 percent on the news, as investors focused on slightly lower same-store sales.
Investors have been punishing the big supermarket chains. Share prices of the Big Three—Kroger, Safeway, and Supervalu—have all slumped in recent months.
At first glance, that would seem to make sense. The food and beverage industry is struggling with climbing commodity prices at the same time that consumer spending is slowing. Wal-Mart, the retailing behemoth, has made successful inroads into the grocery business.
Yet some argue that the selloff has been grossly overdone.
"U.S. grocers have been unfairly punished as investors have doubted their ability to manage food-cost inflation, a changing consumer, and a more promotional pricing strategy at Wal-Mart," said Perry Caicco, an analyst with CIBC World Markets, in a note last fall.
Indeed the latest results from Safeway, which operates 1,743 supermarkets in the United States and Canada, underscore why grocers are better positioned than most to weather the recession.
"We've seen a very modest impact on identical-store sales in the first seven weeks of the year; nothing that gets in the way of producing earnings," Steve Burd, the company's chief executive, said on a conference call. "The worst thing that happens to a good supermarket operating during a recession is that earnings slow. They never go negative. Safeway doesn't expect any slump."
High commodity prices may squeeze grocers in the short term, but unlike casual dining and fast-food chains, they have the ability to pass on the price increases to the consumer and retain healthy margins.
"Although the grocers have raised prices to catch up with inflation, it has yet to deter the consumer from making a trip to the local grocery store," says independent credit research CreditSights, which raised its recommendation on the grocery sector to "overweight" from "marketweight" earlier this week.
Those higher prices, meanwhile, raise revenue overall for the supermarkets.
Most of grocers' gains come about as consumers, worried about the economy, exhibit "trading down" behavior.
As a result, spending on food at home is outpacing food away from home for the first time in six years, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. Big grocers are taking advantage of that trend by investing in prepared-food offerings.
Safeway has been moving toward prepared offerings since 2000, when the chain first introduced frozen soups, and is currently in the midst of a major experiment with selling prepared entrees.
At the end of 2007, Safeway began piloting new prepared meals in 10 stores, and Burd says consumer interest "has beat internal expectations by a factor of three."
While no details have been provided, Deborah Weinswig, an analyst with Citigroup, says that Safeway plans to further invest in prepared offerings by opening small-format stores based around the category—imitating a strategy recently tried by the British supermarket chain Tesco on the West Coast with great successes.
Burd noted that some of the "softness" observed in the first seven weeks of 2008 involved trading down in highly discretionary categories like the ultra-premium wine market, and general growth in the sale of private-label products over name brands.
Safeway has positioned itself to capture its portion of that high-margin business by expanding its own offering of private-label products in its own store and elsewhere. New brands include O Organics (organic-food line), Eating Right (health-food line), Basic Red (paper-product line), and Priority (dog-food line).
Aside from the general economic forces shaping the retail industry, there is still the competitive threat from Wal-Mart.
But rather than compete with Wal-Mart on price, Safeway has chosen to diverge from the value categories with its own unique branding.
Over the past four years, Safeway has rapidly remodeled stores in what they call a "lifestyle" format, a renovation that focuses attention on fresh produce and creates a more upmarket, fresh, and modern feel.
"Safeway's focus on a differentiated shopping experience has allowed it to retain and gain market share in the increasingly competitive food-retail industry," says Deborah Weinswig.
This more premium feel (if not pricing), combined with Safeway's O Organics, also positions the grocer to catch consumers trading down from Whole Foods, which itself is hoping to benefit from brisk prepared-food sales.
"Regardless of what happens in 2008, there's nothing that shakes our confidence of being able to deliver our guidance," Burd says.
The boss of an Indian call-centre worker murdered on the way home faces charges for not providing security. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 22 Feb 2008 | 12:54 pm
There have been many stories about how the big law firms coddle associates with lush perks and big bonuses. Now there is some tough love.
Kirkland & Ellis has sent a memo to its associates informing that should there be a dispute with their employer that cannot be resolved internally, they will have to go to arbitration rather than court.
The new policy, first reported by David Lat of the AboveTheLaw.com blog, asks employees to hit the "acknowledge" tab on this email by March 3.
"It's the first I've ever heard of it," says Leslie Corwin of Greenberg Traurig in New York, who counsels many of the largest law firms on their partnership agreements. He added, "I don't think any firm wants to deal with these disputes in a public forum."
The move appears to be a response to the publicity generated by the legal battle between Aaron Charney, a young associate at Sullivan & Cromwell, who sued the firm, contending that it discriminated against him based on his sexual orientation.
The Kirkland memo says that management believes "this program will provide a more efficient means to resolve disputes that cannot otherwise be resolved internally." An employee who initiates a dispute before the American Arbitration Association will pay only the first $25 dollars of the association's fees. Should Kirkland fire first in the dispute, there's no charge at all.
The policy will apply to all at-will employees, not just its associates. And while some young lawyers may try to find a way to challenge it in court—based on the fact that the associates are giving up their right to go to court without adequate compensation—employment lawyers don't hold out much hope.
"Continued employment in most states is adequate compensation for an arbitration procedure," says Michael Casey III, a Miami partner with Epstein Becker & Green, a law firm that specializes in employment and labor issues. Casey has advised several firms to put mandatory arbitration policies into place. He says a number of large law firms have them, but he declined to name names.
There's still hope for those Kirkland associates who toil in the firm's Los Angeles and San Francisco offices. A decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit struck down a mandatory arbitration policy at O'Melveny & Myers. The Ninth Circuit has generally found "these are contracts of adhesion and are unconscionable," says Gary Friedman, an employment partner with Weil Gotshal & Manges. But Friedman says arbitration agreements are "still relative rarities" in the world of law firms.
Once an associate gets the brass ring and becomes a partner, many law firm partnership agreements provide for mandatory arbitration of disputes between the partners of the firm, who are considered owners. Forcing associates, who are at least in theory being groomed for that brass ring while they slave over document production, may send a mixed message.
"It certainly changes the tenor of the relationship between associates and their firms," says James Cotterman of Altman Weil, which provides consulting services to law firms. "And I'm not sure it's going to be for the better."
For its part, Kirkland declined comment. "We don't comment about employment matters," says Jay Lefkowitz, a New York partner on the firm's global management committee.
Lefkowitz is a litigator, and, as it happens, Kirkland won "Litigation Department of the Year" in the latest American Lawyer contest. The firm doesn't seem to care for litigation when it involves itself, however.
Reuters - Top U.S. electronics retailer Best Buy
Co , facing stagnant sales at home, said on Friday it
would ramp up its expansion in China but would not grow through
partnerships with local rivals. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 22 Feb 2008 | 12:03 pm
Reuters - U.S. stocks rallied late on Friday on
news that banks were near an agreement to bail out bond insurer
Ambac Financial, a deal that could prevent further damage to
the banking industry and credit markets.