Alistair Darling’s decision to raise taxes on drinkers and drivers is backed
by a clear majority of voters in an exclusive new Times poll. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 14 Mar 2008 | 7:35 pm
EMI last night edged closer to winning the auction for Chrysalis, one of
Britain’s last big independent music groups, as it emerged that rival Warner
Music had been sidelined. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 14 Mar 2008 | 6:51 pm
European stock markets clawed back some of their recent heavy losses on Friday, as investors paused for breath following a traumatic round of blood-letting across global equities. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 14 Mar 2008 | 11:23 am
The euro hits another record against the dollar as the credit crisis continues to undermine the US currency. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 14 Mar 2008 | 11:19 am
AP - Investment in factories and other urban assets in China jumped 24.3 percent in January and February from the same period last year despite controls aimed at preventing runaway spending, according to data reported Friday. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 11:19 am
Reuters - Stock index futures dipped on Friday as
investors geared up for key inflation data and comments from
the Federal Reserve chairman ahead of a rate-setting meeting
early next week.
LONDON (Reuters) - Stock index futures dipped on Friday as investors geared up for key inflation data and comments from the Federal Reserve chairman ahead of a rate-setting meeting early next week.
LONDON (Reuters) - Stock index futures dipped on Friday as investors geared up for key inflation data and comments from the Federal Reserve chairman ahead of a rate-setting meeting early... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 14 Mar 2008 | 11:12 am
The U.S. dollar was mixed against other major currencies in European trading Friday morning. Gold rose. The euro traded at $1.5557, down from $1.5587 late Thursday in New York. Earlier Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 14 Mar 2008 | 11:10 am
Investment in factories and other urban assets in China jumped 24.3 percent in January and February from the same period last year despite controls aimed at preventing runaway spending,... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 14 Mar 2008 | 10:59 am
Carlyle Group pledges to "stand by" investors in the firm's failed fund, the Financial Times reports. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 14 Mar 2008 | 10:59 am
China's state-backed Sinosteel Corp. launched a 1.2 billion Australian dollar ($1.1 billion) takeover bid Friday for iron ore miner Midwest in the first hostile approach by a Chinese... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 14 Mar 2008 | 10:58 am
Wall Street headed for a mixed opening Friday, as investors wait for a report on consumer-levcel inflation in February and a speech by President Bush on the faltering economy. The... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 14 Mar 2008 | 10:56 am
Russian steelmaker Evraz announced Friday it will buy Canada's IPSCO for $4 billion. Evraz is creating a stronger base in North America for downstream steel products, such as steel... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 14 Mar 2008 | 10:55 am
Jerome Kerviel, the rogue trader who plunged Societe Generale into crisis when
he lost €4.9 billion, will today plead to be freed from jail, arguing he
poses no threat to society. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 14 Mar 2008 | 10:50 am
Collins Stewart, the UK investment bank, has showed its resilience to the
credit crunch with a 29 per cent increase in profits despite a slowdown in
companies coming to the market. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 14 Mar 2008 | 10:48 am
A father and daughter showed "callous disregard" for the British victims of their share scam, US investigators say. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 14 Mar 2008 | 10:46 am
Motorists may fume when forking over $3 a gallon at the local service station, but as it turns out, your local filling spot makes chump change from a gallon of gas.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Banks must quickly disclose losses on investments hit by a global credit squeeze otherwise governments will intervene if the market fails to sort itself out, European... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 14 Mar 2008 | 10:23 am
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Banks must quickly disclose losses on investments hit by a global credit squeeze otherwise governments will intervene if the market fails to sort itself out, European Union leaders were set to agree on Friday.
Queen Elizabeth II is to unveil a new terminal at London's main Heathrow airport Friday, the day after a major security breach disrupted flights. Terminal Five (T5) will be... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 14 Mar 2008 | 10:19 am
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Nike Inc , the world's biggest
sneaker and sportswear maker, said falsified documents,
underage workers and unpaid wages were problems encountered at
suppliers in China, despite what experts say is one of the top
social compliance regimes in the industry.
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Nike Inc , the world's biggest sneaker and sportswear maker, said falsified documents, underage workers and unpaid wages were problems encountered at suppliers... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 14 Mar 2008 | 10:16 am
Swatch Group, the world's leading watch manufacturer, on Friday predicted another buoyant year of profits and sales despite fears of a looming downturn in the luxury goods sector.The forecast came as the... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 14 Mar 2008 | 10:14 am
Brazilian plane firm Embraer has a jump in profits at the end of last year, helped by an increase in orders. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 14 Mar 2008 | 10:13 am
EU leaders meeting in Brussels are poised to agree on an ambitious plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 14 Mar 2008 | 10:09 am
Mark Tucker, chief executive of Prudential said there were no plans for a separate listing in Asia, despite the fact that he believed the company was undervalued given its strength in the region.Speaking... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 14 Mar 2008 | 10:03 am
A Nomura-led consortium has been selected to take over Ashikaga Bank, the regional lender nationalised in 2003, following a two-year bidding process.Japan's Financial Services Agency on Friday selected... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 14 Mar 2008 | 10:02 am
When John Mack returned to Morgan Stanley in 2005, the Wall Street giant's rank and file cheered him as he strode across the trading floor. Less than three years later, the firm's investors are likely to be applauding if he's walking out the door.
If pressure from angry shareholders pushes Mack from his perch at Morgan Stanley, it'll be the third high-profile job he's been kicked out of in the past decade. That's impressive work for a guy who carries a reputation of being a Wall Street fixer—"Mack the Knife"—who turns around troubled financial titans.
With the glamor that always surrounds him and the strange praise that follows, you'd think the guy was Ace Greenberg or even Bob Rubin, who built great companies and stuck around. Instead, he keeps getting pushed out of seemingly prime situations by the most unimpressive of rivals.
During his first go-round with Morgan, he rose through the ranks as a dutiful pro and eventually became the president of the merged Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.
Going into the deal with an upper hand over the decidedly mediocre and middle-brow partner, Mack wasn't savvy enough to outmaneuver Dean Witter C.E.O. Phil Purcell, a former management consultant of all things (and from Chicago, to boot!) and found himself unemployed.
Next, Mack took his knife to Credit Suisse First Boston in 2001. Admittedly, the firm was on the brink of being criminally indicted and he was smart enough to bring in top-shelf lawyers like Gary Lynch and Steve Volk to get the firm out of regulators' cross-hairs.
Once out of the woods (and lighter a $100 million government settlement), First Boston insiders will tell you, Mack alienated bankers and morale fell along with the firm's standing in the league tables.
He turned a profit at the place, but it came at a high cost, and once he began pushing hard for a merger, his co-C.E.O. Oswald J. Grübel (a European, no less!) pushed back. Another political pratfall: Mack was summarily executed by the firm's Swiss board. "Bankers were doing the happy dance when he left," one First Boston pro told me a few days ago.
Morgan Stanley shareholders have been doing anything but dancing in the past few months.
The firm, trying to emulate Goldman Sachs, kept ramping up its risk profile but the party ended early, leaving Morgan exposed to a walloping by the credit crunch.
Mack, who is famed for breeding loyalty in the ranks, tossed his No. 2 Zoe Cruz overboard after the firm wrote down $6 billion (that number has since ballooned to $11 billion).
And now, CtW Investment Group wants Mack—who made more than $40 million in 2006 but took no bonus and just $1.5 million in 2007—removed from the chairman's job, while letting him remain C.E.O. It also wants two board members booted from the audit committee.
But Mack's harshest critics may be looking for more—primarily his scalp.
After all, Morgan shares are now about where they were when Mack returned in 2005—after having about one-third sheared from their value over the past four months. Mack the Knife, indeed.
Reuters - Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt
dismissed on Friday fears about the weakness of the dollar,
saying overseas investors would need to continue holding U.S.
Treasuries.
LONDON (Reuters) - Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt dismissed on Friday fears about the weakness of the dollar, saying overseas investors would need to continue holding U.S. Treasuries.
The dollar rebounded against the euro and trimmed losses against Japan's yen and other major currencies on fears the greenback's steep fall may eventually spark market intervention, analysts said Friday.
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda will consider a range of options on how best to resolve the looming leadership crisis at the Bank of Japan over the weekend, after the opposition-controlled upper house of parliament rejected the government’s preferred choice earlier this week.
Asian equity markets failed to hang onto the slender gains offered by a Standard & Poor's report that suggested an end was in sight for subprime-related writedowns at large financial companies.As the... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 14 Mar 2008 | 9:33 am
The dollar has plummeted against all major currencies on dire US retail sales and fears that the Federal Reserve may need to slash interest rates further to stop the downward spiral in the credit markets. Source: Telegraph Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 9:30 am
Shares of Carlyle Capital Corp. rallied Friday, gaining after the co-founder of private-equity giant Carlyle Group pledged to look at options for compensating investors in the stricken fund.
PARIS (Reuters) - A Paris court is due to decide on Friday whether or not Jerome Kerviel, the trader accused of causing record losses at French bank Societe Generale , should be allowed to leave prison.
Bob Diamond, president of Barclays and head of its investment banking business, will spend half of his time in New York from now on, as the British bank moves to beef up its US operation. Source: Telegraph Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 9:15 am
PARIS (Reuters) - Private equity group Carlyle will look at ways to help investors who have lost money in Dutch-listed Carlyle Capital Corporation (CCC) , Carlyle co-founder David Rubenstein was quoted on Friday as saying.
U.S. stock futures edged lower on Friday, ahead of the release of data on inflation that could limit the Federal Reserve’s ability to slash interest rates next week.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to tell public companies they can give investors a wider range of possible market values for hard-to-price assets, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
Asian markets are mixed, with Japanese stocks retreating from early highs as worries about global credit markets weigh down financials. Australian stocks are lifted by the resources sector.
London equities started a tentative recovery on Friday after US and Asian markets found their feet on an improving outlook for banking stocks. Insurers also received a boost after well-received numbers... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 14 Mar 2008 | 8:44 am
Mark Tucker, chief executive of Prudential, this morning hit out at the
government's controversial changes to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) as the insurer
reported a 25 per cent increase in full-year operating profit driven by its
expansion in Asia, which now accounts for more than half of the UK insurer's
new business. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 14 Mar 2008 | 8:35 am
With gold prices recently crossing the $1,000 an ounce threshold, investors looking for ways to join in the gold rush will have to navigate volatile waters.
Reuters - Spot gold jumped on Friday and held
within sight of the $1,000-an-ounce barrier broken on the
futures market after the dollar hit a record low against the
euro, boosting the metal's appeal as an alternative investment.
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Spot gold jumped on Friday and held within sight of the $1,000-an-ounce barrier broken on the futures market after the dollar hit a record low against the euro, boosting the metal's appeal as an alternative investment.
David Rubenstein, co-founder of the Carlyle Group, pledged to compensate investors hit by the collapse of a $22bn mortgage-backed securities fund his private equity group floated seven months ago Source: FT.com - US homepage | 14 Mar 2008 | 8:17 am
David Rubenstein, co-founder of the Carlyle Group, on Thursday pledged to compensate investors hit by the collapse of a $22bn mortgage-backed securities fund his private equity group floated seven months... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 14 Mar 2008 | 8:17 am
More Americans than ever before are being audited, as the Internal Revenue Service is working hard to collect every single greenback it can. The total number of individual returns audited last year increased 7% from 2006, shooting up from 1.29 million to 1.38 million audits in 2007.
Although Carlyle Group Chief David Rubenstein is used to making loads of money for his investors, yesterday the global credit crisis took its toll on the highly respected private investment firm. Investors... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 14 Mar 2008 | 8:07 am
The vice chairman of International Securities Exchange Holdings Inc. and two financial consultants have been charged with insider trading prior to ISE's merger with Eurex last year, officials said yesterday... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 14 Mar 2008 | 8:07 am
Time Warner's AOL is coughing up $850 million in cash for Bebo to tap into the social media phenomenon and shore up its own online advertising strategy. Although Bebo doesn't have much of a foothold in... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 14 Mar 2008 | 8:07 am
SIR Anthony O'Reilly, one of the wealthiest men in Ireland, is planning a return business venture in the United States - testing a locally produced version of his Dublin-based Irish Independent daily... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 14 Mar 2008 | 8:07 am
Matt Blank couldn't help himself. The CEO of Showtime Networks recently hosted a private screening of "Secret Diaries of a Call Girl." The series, which debuts on the cable channel on June 16, is about a high-priced prostitute - played by Billie Piper - who takes viewers behind the scenes of her profession. She even shares tips on how she pleases her well-heeled clients.
The London market made a subdued start to trading on Friday as a couple of
large FTSE companies led the index slightly higher, but nervousness over the
likelihood of a US recession continued to infect trading. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 14 Mar 2008 | 7:53 am
Reuters - Private equity group Carlyle
will look at ways to help investors who have lost money in
Dutch-listed Carlyle Capital Corporation (CCC) ,
Carlyle co-founder David Rubenstein was quoted on Friday as
saying.
The Bush administration announces a series of measures that will focus on improving weakened standards in lending.
Amid new signs of financial turmoil, the Bush administration Thursday raised the prospect of tighter regulation of U.S. financial markets. But it once again stopped short of the step its critics are demanding -- sweeping government intervention in the worsening economic crisis.
Investors gain hope after Standard & Poor's says the end of big bank and brokerage write-downs of sub-prime bonds may be in sight. The Dow, which skidded 235 points, finishes up 36 to 12,145.
The stock market closed higher Thursday after a steep morning slide, as hopes were again raised that the bottom might be near in the sub-prime mortgage crisis.
Tests for 1,4 dioxane in 100 well-known consumer products reveal that nearly half of them had detectable levels of the cancer-causing chemical -- a byproduct of petrochemicals used in manufacturing.
Of the 100 personal care and housecleaning products tested, 47 contained traces of 1,4-dioxane, which is classified as a probable carcinogen. The cancer-causing chemical is not intentionally added; it is a byproduct of petrochemicals used in surfactants that create foam in shampoos, soaps and other cleansers.
FDA advisors say Amgen's Aranesp should still be used but suggest it be limited to certain cancer types.
In mixed news for biotech giant Amgen Inc., a Food and Drug Administration panel recommended Thursday that doctors continue to prescribe the company's lucrative anemia drugs for patients with cancer. But the panel suggested scaling back which patients should be treated based on their type of cancer and the severity of the disease.
Region sees a 19% decline from the peak in less than a year. Experts predict a continuing slide.
Southern California home prices are now 19% below their peak last year, and the surprisingly rapid decline is leading experts to predict that the housing slump will be worse than initially thought -- surpassing the severe downturn of the 1990s.
A cancer-causing chemical is found in almost half of 100 such goods studied.
New tests of 100 "natural" and "organic" soaps, shampoos and other consumer products show that nearly half of them contained a cancer-causing chemical that is a byproduct of petrochemicals used in manufacturing.
The US Senate and House pass
budget plans in opposition to President George W Bush's $3 trillion budget. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 14 Mar 2008 | 6:55 am
Tayto announces a further expansion with the acquisition of Birmingham firm Red Mill Snack Foods. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 14 Mar 2008 | 6:50 am
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Target Corp is in discussions with JPMorgan Chase & Co about taking a half-interest in the retailer's credit-card operations, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
US policymakers lay out plans for stricter regulation of mortgage lenders to avoid another housing crisis. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 14 Mar 2008 | 6:49 am
Reuters - Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc
met on Monday to discuss Microsoft's takeover offer
for the Internet company, the Wall Street Journal reported on
Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc met on Monday to discuss Microsoft's takeover offer for the Internet company, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Maybe if the IRS had published its list of top tax scams earlier, Eliot Spitzer would have realized the error of his ways. No. 10 on the latest list of “dirty dozen” tax scams is “disguised corporate ownership.”
As tourists flooded New York City over the recent Christmas holiday, Lord & Taylor CEO Jane Elfers wanted to make sure her store got its share of the crowds. She taped a 15-second spot that ran in 3,500 taxis inviting people to visit a Manhattan landmark: Lord & Taylor's flagship Fifth Avenue store.
The future ownership of Auckland International Airport (AIA) is now down to the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) and two cabinet ministers.
AIA announced today that the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP) had received the... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 1:10 am
BNZ economists are becoming increasingly convinced New Zealand is heading for a recession.
They say it may in fact already be here.
BNZ economist Stephen Topliss said today the housing slump and global credit crunch have formed... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 1:00 am
Any perception of unethical behaviour could prove particularly damaging for John McCain because his reputation for integrity is among his strongest electoral assets Source: FT.com - US homepage | 14 Mar 2008 | 12:52 am
The dollar plummeted to a record low and the price of gold touched $1,000 as retail sales figures added to fears that the US is in recession and concern intensified about spreading distress among hedge funds Source: FT.com - US homepage | 14 Mar 2008 | 12:45 am
Retailer The Warehouse Group today forecast tough trading conditions to continue, and a lower full-year net profit.
It forecast a July year net profit in the range of $94-98 million, including an $8m warranty provision reversal.... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 12:45 am
The BBC gives the Office of Fair Trading files showing plans to thwart competition in heartburn medicine sales. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 14 Mar 2008 | 12:42 am
Retirement planning is a topic that threatens to send many people to sleep. But when you look at retirement as a potential two or three decade period at the end of your life, where you will have total freedom to do whatever you like... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 12:40 am
From iPods to navigation systems, some of today's hottest gadgets are landing on store shelves with some unwanted extras from the factory -- pre-installed viruses that steal passwords, open doors for hackers and make computers spew spam.
It's all been fairly quiet from Tower New Zealand lately. After a very rocky start to the decade, the company's shareholders are probably relieved that various fires have been extinguished and dividend payments have begun again.
However,... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 12:35 am
Retail chain Briscoe Group said today its January year net profit fell 14 per cent to $22.4 million.
The result slightly bettered guidance of $22m announced in November.
The fall was despite a 9.6 per cent lift in sales to $407.7m.
It... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 12:30 am
Explorer Premier Oil reported a 35pc jump in operating profits, boosted by high oil and gas prices and an 8pc increase in production. Source: Telegraph Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
The UK technology industry is to suffer a major setback with the move of Yahoo!’s European headquarters from London to Geneva. Source: Telegraph Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
The trial involving Parmalat starts today, almost five years after the Italian dairy company collapsed in one of Europe's biggest-ever accounting scandals. Source: Telegraph Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Clients of failed broker Global Trader Europe (GTE) could lose more than £20m, according to the latest update from administrators Smith & Williamson. Source: Telegraph Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
The increasingly bitter war of words between Tesco and online rival Ocado has escalated - with the UK's largest supermarket threatening to complain to the Advertising Standards Authority about Ocado's latest advertising campaign. Source: Telegraph Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
NILS TAUBE, who has died after suffering a stroke at the age of 79, was probably the longest-serving fund manager operating in the City. He was certainly one of its most successful investors, having returned more than 15pc a year in two funds he ran continuously between 1969 and 2006. Source: Telegraph Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
US Treasury secretary Henry "Hank" Paulson has warned that America's largest banks need extra capital on top of the $70bn (£34.4bn) raised to date in order to prevent the credit crisis from worsening. Source: Telegraph Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Stockbrokers are not known for showing emotion, but yesterday morning 40 retail analysts cast aside their customary reserve to give Sir Ken Morrison, the 76-year-old supermarket chairman, a minute-long standing ovation. Source: Telegraph Business | 14 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
A lack of a transformational discovery over the past year has proved no
obstacle to Premier Oil. Shares in the mid-cap explorer have rallied more
than 50 per cent from their August low. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 14 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Henry Paulson urged Wall Street banks yesterday to raise new capital rapidly
to shore up their finances as a $22 billion ($£10.8 billion) investment fund
collapsed, marking one of the worst casualties of the credit crisis. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 14 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Nestlé is making money from the soaring cost of commodities, with the Swiss
multinational forcing consumers to absorb the higher price of its food
products containing milk, cocoa, coffee and cereals. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 14 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
No one can complain that they weren’t warned. The implosion of Carlyle Capital
Corporation is a spectacular failure, probably the most damaging to
sentiment in credit markets since Northern Rock. But this time all those
closely involved were consenting adults. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 14 Mar 2008 | 12:00 am
Gold futures hit a record above US$1000 an ounce this morning, joining oil which also reached an all-time peak of US$111 a barrel.
"They (gold and oil) look very much like a safe-haven, because if you look at other asset classes... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 13 Mar 2008 | 11:40 pm
I'm a longtime fan of that most powerful of icons, the smiley face. I use one every now and then to give an emoticon nod to a smart idea.
There's something so direct about that little face. It expresses not only approval... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 13 Mar 2008 | 10:35 pm
A fall in Auckland Airport (AIA) shares after the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) achieved its 40 per cent partial takeover target helped pull the sharemarket down today.
Warehouse shares were untraded but were quoted lower than yesterday's... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 13 Mar 2008 | 10:35 pm
American International Group is urging regulators to change controversial accounting rules on asset valuations to stem the tide of writedowns that have wreaked havoc on Wall Street Source: FT.com - US homepage | 13 Mar 2008 | 10:03 pm
The price of gold hits new heights, trading at $1,000 an ounce for the first time, spurred by a weak US dollar. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 13 Mar 2008 | 9:36 pm
When you see a woman in Dubai covered in black from top to bottom, including her face, but sporting hot-pink stilletto heels, you might assume some kind of disconnect between Islam and the present day. Commentator Samer Shehata says that's not the case at all. Source: Marketplace | 13 Mar 2008 | 9:26 pm
Thursday night is the start of the weekend in Dubai, so Kai Ryssdal and the Marketplace crew checked out the scene at Jumeirah Beach Park. Source: Marketplace | 13 Mar 2008 | 9:25 pm
Dubai's Healthcare City is shelling out half a billion dollars to build Harvard Medical School Dubai. Sean Cole grew up hanging around Harvard Square, so we figured he was the guy for this one. Source: Marketplace | 13 Mar 2008 | 9:25 pm
Abu Dhabi is about to launch an English-language newspaper that it plans to make into the Gulf's paper of record. Kai Ryssdal talked with its Deputy Editor Hassan Fattah, formerly of The New York Times. Source: Marketplace | 13 Mar 2008 | 9:25 pm
On his trip to Dubai, Kai Ryssdal flew on Emirates Airlines, one of the top 10 airlines in the world measured by passengers carried and miles flown. But it's not operated like other airlines. Here's his report. Source: Marketplace | 13 Mar 2008 | 9:25 pm
It's all the ones - 111 - for the price of oil today.
Oil prices jumped to a record US$111 a barrel this morning, extending a rally that has added nearly 30 per cent to prices in just over a month, amid all-time weakness in the... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 13 Mar 2008 | 9:10 pm
Barry Diller took the witness stand this afternoon in the Delaware Chancery Court to tell his side of the story of a disintegrating marriage—his 13-year partnership with John Malone, chairman of Liberty Media Corp.
Dressed in blue suit and blue and white tie, Diller's testimony was often more emotional and witty than Monday's testimony from Malone. Diller was often laughing himself and creating laughter in the courtroom gallery.
Malone and IAC/Interactive Corp, the $5 billion company built by Diller with Malone's backing, have filed dueling lawsuits, a show-down billed as the Clash of the Moguls.
Diller, for one, still holds hope for his relationship with Malone, whom he got to know in the early 1990s because both men are boating enthusiasts.
In the midst of a contentious cross-examination, Kevin Abrams, Liberty Media's lead lawyer, asked Diller what he envisioned of his relationship with Malone. Diller called that "a good question," and paused for a pregnant moment. "Well, I have hopes for it. That's the honest thing I can say."
In fact, Diller testified that talks continue "Up until the other day, and probably today as well, depending on the circumstancses," to end this marriage in an amicable divorce, a deal in which Liberty Media would get the Home Shopping Netowrk in a swap for its shares in IAC.
The lawsuits follow Diller's proposed plan to spin off four businesses from IAC, each having a one-tier voting structure, wiping out the super voting stock now held by Liberty Media and its majority voting position in IAC. Under their partnership, Diller has a proxy to vote the Liberty Media stock.
Even as IAC's stock price stalled, and as Liberty Media C.E.O. Gregory Maffei complained publicly and privately about that performance, Diller said he viewed his partnership with Malone as a "first rate relationship."
That all changed on the morning of October 27, 2007, when the Wall Street Journal ran a page-one story under the headline "Can This Marriage Be Saved?"
Both Maffei and Malone were critical of IAC in the lengthy article, and Malone was quoted in the story saying this: "The hook is set. It is our company. Barry ain't going to be able to spit the hook." Diller, on the witness stand, said "I expected John Malone to call me and apologize" Diller said he spent the next two weeks, like a scene out of a movie, "waiting for the phone to ring."
At the time the article ran, IAC management was considering the spin-offs with a single tier voting structure. The article was the final straw: "They are trying to manipulate me. It's just too clear. It pushed me further."
Diller called the Journal story a "nasty article," and wondered, on the stand, "How could they be that mean? How could they be that hostile? I was embarrassed by it.
The next time he heard from Malone was December 21, when he conveyed, at some point in the conversation, the one-tier structure. At that moment, Diller told Malone, "You lost me."
In reply, Malone said they were headed toward a "messy public proxy fight." And Diller told him that he didn't care.
By the time of the December 21 call, Diller had already relayed the single-tier structure to former General Electric C.E.O. Jack Welch, who serves as a consultant to IAC and, Diller testified, is paid $1 million a year for his services.
Diller said he never would have agreed to give Liberty veto rights over his decision, as Liberty claims. Diller said the provision Liberty cites to back up its claim was intended to address regulatory concerns. Specifically, he added, concern about regulations barring cross-ownership of broadcast companies.
The provision was last modified in 2001, when IAC acquired an interest in Vivendi Universal Entertainment. Diller contradicted earlier testimony from Robert Bennett, Liberty Media's former chief executive, who said he had a conversation with Diller about the catchall veto provision.
"Did that conversation occur, Mr. Diller?" Theodore N. Mirvis of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, asked.
"No," Diller responded.
"Are you sure?" Mirvis asked.
"Absolutely," Diller said. "I would not have done the transaction—if anybody would have whispered it, an alarm bell would have gone off in my head."
Until 2001, Liberty had this transactional veto power, but gave it up in the Vivendi deal, with one caveat: It was subject to keeping IAC's debt under a certain limit.
Diller said he didn't have a problem with that. "That was okay with me," he testified. "I am fairly famous as someone who does not like excessive leverage." Mirvis also tried to soften some of the blows made by Malone earlier in the week, such as his testimony that Diller had refined use of the corporate plane into a "fine art."
Diller said his salary at IAC has never gone about $900,000 and put total compensation, including perks such as the use of the corporate jet, at about $3 million a year.
Abrams, of Wilmington, Del.'s Abrams & Laster, tried to suggest that Diller had taken more than $1.35 billion in stock option gains from IAC as the company's stock tanked. Diller wasn't cooperating. He said he could not, for instance, recite yesterday's closing price of IAC. "I don't track it daily," Diller said.
The Wachtell lawyers objected to the chart used to show the value of the options, created by Daniel Fischel of the economic consulting firm Lexecon. Fischel was hired as an expert who was originally scheduled to testify until the parties agreed to a shortening of the trial. Wachtell first saw the chart at noon yesterday.
Vice Chancellor Stephen Lamb, who is presiding over the case, said there was a "certain unfairness" in the use of the chart, but allowed it.
Diller harrumphed when Abrams referred to $295 million in compensation he made in 2005, saying most of it came from options he exercised at the end of their 10-year period. "Look at it over 10 years if you want to make a real comparison!" Diller said, laughing sarcastically.
Liberty has presented the spinoffs and single-tier stock as Diller's plan to get "hard" control over IAC. On the stand, Diller didn't deny that, but doubted whether he could succeed in getting it.
The spinoffs, he said, were more an effort to allow each business—including Lending Tree and HSN, which runs the Home Shopping Network—to have their own management and get their own valuation in the market, separate from Liberty. "These are fresh little babies," he said. "I want them to be able to have the time to function as public companies."
At the end of the day, Abrams pressed Diller on Malone's history as a persistent investor. When he asked Diller whether he agreed that Maffei is "tenacious," Diller shot back, "I have no comment."
It's clear Diller has no illusion about repairing his relationship with Maffei. In fact, he disputed that they had a relationship, noting that they had met just three times. "Three times and change does not make a relationship," Diller said.
At the last of those meetings, a lunch where Diller arrived on a motor scooter, Maffei made a crack about buses and scooters—a crack that referred to a clause in the proxy that would give voting power back to Liberty in the event of Diller's death or disability.
"I don't really remember," Diller said, his tone exasperated. "It was a joke."
Diller is scheduled to return to the stand on Friday.
Can economic cooperation with olive growers in the West Bank contribute aid efforts at peaceful co-existence between Palestinians and Israelis? Sam Eaton reports. Source: Marketplace | 13 Mar 2008 | 8:45 pm
AOL claimed it could "supercharge" the revenues from advertising on social networks after the Time Warner-owned portal agreed an $850m offer for Bebo, the closest rival to Facebook and MySpace Source: FT.com - US homepage | 13 Mar 2008 | 8:40 pm
AFP - US retail sales slumped more than expected in in February as consumers retrenched in the face of economic turmoil and rising energy costs, the government reported Thursday.
Shedding subscribers and struggling to turn around, AOL has appeared as if it would soon be given up by its Time Warner parent.
But now the unit is looking less like an orphan after it announced an $850 million acquisition of Bebo.com, a social-media network.
With more than 40 million members, Bebo is an also-ran to MySpace, which reportedly has as many as 100 million active users, and Facebook, which says it has more than 67 million members. Interest in social-networking sites has been strong, especially after Microsoftinvested $240 million in Facebook last fall, valuing that site at $15 billion.
For Bebo, AOL is paying much less per member than Microsoft did for Facebook, but Bebo is a smaller, much more bare-bones experience than Facebook is. It is however, the No. 1 social network in Ireland and New Zealand and is the "leading" one in Britain, according to AOL's press release.
Some in the industry scoffed.
The Gawker Media website Valleywag reprinted a message from Randy Falco, AOL's chief executive, to employees this morning, hailing the sale and contending that it puts AOL "in a leading position in social media." Valleywag calls Falco "delusional," and several site commentators point out that they've never even heard of Bebo.
Still, analysts see Bebo as an important part of an endgame for Time Warner and AOL.
"Time Warner has been trying to divest itself of AOL, but they haven't been able to find a buyer," says Rob Enderle, principal analyst and founder of the Enderle Group in San Jose, California. "They got Bebo to increase the value of the bundled property to a Google or a Microsoft, neither of whom have any interest in AOL the way it is."
Enderle notes that Time Warner has consistently blamed AOL for pulling down the company's financial performance, has halted investment in AOL, and recently collapsed the company's Netscape division.
By snapping up Bebo, AOL adds a social-networking site to its two major instant-messaging services—ICQ and AIM—hoping to attract Microsoft's attention in particular.
Assuming Microsoft buys Yahoo and adds its instant messenger service to Microsoft's own, a purchase of AOL down the road would round out a grip on all four I.M. services. Bebo would be the icing on the cake.
"What the market's always wanted to do, is get them all to work together," says Enderle, of the dueling I.M. platforms. Such an acquisition "would give Microsoft significant power."
Of course, that's assuming that Microsoft, after a successful Yahoo battle, really wants to pounce again.
Fred Singer, an AOL senior vice president who left the company in 2002 and is now C.E.O. of a media company called Anystream, says there doesn't need to be another deal for Bebo to make sense.
The Bebo acquisition "stands on its own merits," he says. "Geographically, Bebo tends to be better internationally, and that's where AOL will benefit from growing its audience."
Hank Paulson called on financial institutions to raise more capital and reduce their dividends in order to strengthen their balance sheets as he set out the US government's regulatory response to the credit crisis Source: FT.com - US homepage | 13 Mar 2008 | 3:42 pm
The global market turmoil extended to Wall Street as US equities tumbled and the dollar hit new lows against the yen and the euro. Gold and oil reached fresh all-time highs Source: FT.com - US homepage | 13 Mar 2008 | 3:09 pm
After $100 oil, the $1.50 euro, and the 100-yen dollar, gold has broken through the psychologically significant barrier of $1,000 an ounce.
Gold, the oldest investment safe haven in times of financial and political turmoil, got a big boost today as the credit market was roiled by news that Carlyle Capital was near collapse. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the April contract for gold reached $1,000 an ounce before retreating.
Gold has been on the ascent, with some brief retreats, since 2001. So far this year, it has gained 20 percent.
"In the near term, the market is still strong, and it will remain strong as long as the Fed rate-cutting cycle is intact, and the dollar remains on the defensive. I think that is a function of the credit crisis, which is still ongoing," James Steel, metals analyst with HSBC in New York, told Reuters.
The last time gold was this high was in 1980, after the 1979 oil shock and the turmoil in Iran and Afghanistan, when it reached $875 an ounce. Adjusted for inflation, however, gold would need to reach roughly $2,241 to match that level.
Reuters - U.K. hedge fund Toscafund Asset
Management LLP has approached Washington Mutual Inc ,
offering to participate in any consortium looking to
recapitalize the bank, The Wall Street Journal reported on
Wednesday. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 13 Mar 2008 | 1:36 pm
AP - European and Asian markets tumbled and Wall Street headed for a sharply lower opening Thursday as Carlyle Capital appeared close to collapse, the dollar plunged against foreign currencies and oil hovered near record highs.
A mortgage bond fund taken public in Europe by private equity powerhouse Carlyle Group is on the brink of collapse after talks with lenders fell apart.
The information stirred anew fears on world markets that the credit crisis was widening even as the Federal Reserve and other central banks take steps to try to stabilize credit.
But after tumbling in morning trading, U.S. stocks came back after Standard & Poor's said in a report that "the end of write-downs is now in sight for large financial institutions."
The ratings agency increased its estimate of total write-downs on credit derivatives tied to subprime assets to $285 billion from $265 billion.
However, "the positive news is that, in our opinion, the global financial sector appears to have already disclosed the majority of valuation write-downs of subprime asset-backed securities," Scott Bugie, S&P credit analyst, said in a statement.
At 3:15 p.m., the Dow Jones industrial average is up about 60 points. Earlier, the Dow and other market measures were down 2 percent on credit worries.
In addition to the Carlyle news, these concerns have been compounded by continued concerns over Bear Stearns and Countrywide Financial. And the Times of London says that a number of American hedge funds are weighing shutting down or freezing withdrawals as a result of the credit crunch.
The bond fund that sparked today's market turmoil, Carlyle Capital Corp., said that it "has become apparent to the company that the basis on which lenders are willing to provide financing against the company’s collateral has changed so substantially that a successful refinancing is not possible."
As a result, lenders are expected to take possession of the fund's remaining $16.6 billion in assets. A decline in the value of its mortgage-backed securities would have resulted in margin calls of nearly $98 million in addition to the $400 million in margin calls made earlier, the fund said.
The response of the banks would appear to be contrary to the spirit of the effort the Federal Reserve to encourage greater confidence in lending and keep the banks from panicked repossessions. On Tuesday, the Fed said it would allow Wall Street banks to swap as much as $200 billion of mortgage-backed securities and other debt for Treasury securities.
Robert Peston of the BBC argues that the Fed action has had the opposite effect, in fact, encouraging banks to seize assets from borrowers like Carlyle. Peston says:
Because the Fed’s new emergency lending facility allows the banks to swap mortgage-backed debt for Treasury bills in a way that Carlyle could not do, it would be rational for the banks to take Carlyle’s assets and exchange them for top-quality, liquid U.S. government bonds, rather than leave loans in place to a business, Carlyle, whose assets remained highly illiquid. If that’s the case, there will be some very scared people in hedge fund land today.
A forced liquidation of the Carlyle fund would be a huge blow to the reputation of the Carlyle Group, one of the biggest and most respected private equity firms in the world. The fund was listed on the Amsterdam exchange by Carlyle last summer, and Carlyle Group partners, including co-founder David Rubenstein, own 15 percent of Carlyle Capital.
Carlyle Group said in a statement that Carlyle Capital "is a separate legal and business entity, and we believe it will not have a measurable impact on any of our other funds, investments, and portfolio companies."
One man's tragedy can be another's business opportunity.
Since news of Eliot Spitzer's link to a prostitution ring became public on Monday afternoon, a small cottage industry has sprung from the rubble of the New York governor's reputation.
Such websites as Zazzle.com, Cafepress.com, Bustedtees.com, and BostonSucks.com began offering merchandise poking fun at Spitzer's hard luck as early as Monday evening: "I was Client No. 8 and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt"; "Spitzer Swallows 2008"; "I'm Not Only the Governor, I'm Also a Client"; the slogans and designs go on and on.
There are already dozens of Spitzer-themed gags among the 3.4 billion user-designed products on Zazzle.com, the on-demand retail platform allowing users to instantly design and sell everything from T-shirts to tote bags (products are shipped within 24 hours of purchase).
James Heckman, chief strategy officer for Zazzle.com, says that eight of the 10 top-selling products on Zazzle.com are currently Spitzer-themed.
"Just a few days ago, the top 10 shirts were all about Hillary, Obama, and the election," says Heckman, who characterizes Zazzle's annual revenues as in the "decamillions."
Traffic on the site has soared by 10 percent since Monday evening, the likes of which Zazzle has never before seen during its three years in operation.
"We saw a bit of a spike when the Giants won the Super Bowl. '18 and 1' T-shirts started selling within minutes after the game—but nothing like this," Heckman says.
Heckman credits Zazzle's success to its exceptional speed in executing new designs, which allows the company to instantly capitalize on flash-in-the-pan.
"You could have ordered one of these T-shirts right when the scandal broke and be wearing it on Wall Street tomorrow," Heckman says.
But Spitzer hasn't been a golden goose for everyone. Take the fast-fingered purchaser of the Client9.com domain name, who has gotten more than his fair share of media attention but hasn't seen the money follow.
Nick Galbreath, the 37-year-old software engineer who snapped up that URL just minutes after the scandal first broke, had racked up $21.77 in ad revenue as of Wednesday evening—which covers the $10.13 annual fee he paid for the domain name, but little more.
Reuters - Stock index futures dipped on Friday as
investors geared up for key inflation data and comments from
the Federal Reserve chairman ahead of a rate-setting meeting
early next week.
Reuters - Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt
dismissed on Friday fears about the weakness of the dollar,
saying overseas investors would need to continue holding U.S.
Treasuries.
Reuters - Spot gold jumped on Friday and held
within sight of the $1,000-an-ounce barrier broken on the
futures market after the dollar hit a record low against the
euro, boosting the metal's appeal as an alternative investment.
Reuters - Private equity group Carlyle
will look at ways to help investors who have lost money in
Dutch-listed Carlyle Capital Corporation (CCC) ,
Carlyle co-founder David Rubenstein was quoted on Friday as
saying.
Reuters - Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc
met on Monday to discuss Microsoft's takeover offer
for the Internet company, the Wall Street Journal reported on
Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
AFP - US retail sales slumped more than expected in in February as consumers retrenched in the face of economic turmoil and rising energy costs, the government reported Thursday.
AP - European and Asian markets tumbled and Wall Street headed for a sharply lower opening Thursday as Carlyle Capital appeared close to collapse, the dollar plunged against foreign currencies and oil hovered near record highs.