Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) has announced full details for its venture capital arm's Intel Capital global venture investment activities in China with the launch of a second China investment fund. The Intel Capital China Technology Fund II is a new US$500 million fund that will invest in wireless broadband, tech, media, telecom, and clean tech ventures that it believes will complement and expand Intel's corporate initiatives and technology efforts in China.
U.S. stocks open lower after Alcoa Inc.’s earnings fall short of forecasts and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. projects revenue under what it had anticipated and said it would cut its workforce 10%.
NEW YORK -- Washington Mutual Inc, the largest U.S. savings and loan, said today it received a $7 billion capital injection from private equity firm TPG Inc and other investors.
The IMF says the worldwide credit crunch could cost banks and others nearly $1 trillion in losses. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Apr 2008 | 2:19 pm
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures swing between gains and losses after surging to a three-week high of $109 a barrel in the previous session.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks added to losses on Tuesday following a report that showed pending home sales sunk to the lowest on record in February, fueling worry that the housing market outlook.
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. fell more than 3% Tuesday morning after the chipmaker said it plans to reduce its workforce and expected a bigger decline than expected in first-quarter revenue.
Japan's opposition says it will approve the appointment of Masaaki Shirakawa as central bank governor. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Apr 2008 | 2:16 pm
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pending sales of previously owned homes fell a bigger-than-expected 1.9 percent in February to the lowest reading on record, according to a report from a real estate trade group on Tuesday that pointed to more troubles in the beleaguered housing market.
Everywhere you look, bad news abounds. The falling stock market, the floundering economy, tumbling home values, vanishing jobs - it's enough to make you want to hide your money in a lockbox and throw away the key.
Water firm Severn Trent faces a possible £35.8m fine after admitting providing false data to regulator Ofwat. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Apr 2008 | 2:14 pm
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Energy shares traded mixed Tuesday as the sector resisted jitters over the economy that undercut the broader stock market following an earnings miss by blue-chip bellwether Alcoa.
Reuters - Stocks added to losses on Tuesday
following a report that showed pending home sales sunk to the
lowest on record in February, fueling worry that the housing
market outlook.
BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- AstraZeneca plc led drug stocks lower in early action Tuesday, with shares of the U.K. drugmaker sliding after analysts at Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to neutral from buy.
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- In a sign that the housing market may weaken further, an index of sales contracts on previously-owned U.S. homes fell 1.9% in February from the prior month, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday.
House builders and mortgage lenders are among the top decliners in London after some weaker-than-expected house-price data adds to growing evidence of a softening housing market.
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Washington Mutual Inc. is getting a $7 billion investment from a group of investors led by private-equity firm Texas Pacific Group, in a deal that the lender hopes will help it survive the mortgage meltdown.
Reuters - Record gasoline prices and a
contracting U.S. economy will reduce summer gasoline demand for
the first time in 17 years, the government's top energy
forecasting agency said Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Record gasoline prices and a contracting U.S. economy will reduce summer gasoline demand for the first time in 17 years, the government's top energy forecasting agency said Tuesday.
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Declines by Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Apple Inc. highlighted the tech sector's early action Tuesday as nearly every bellwether issue fell into the red.
Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic admitted today that it is reviewing the
future of its famous onboard massage treatments. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Apr 2008 | 1:58 pm
Reuters - Investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co Inc
does not plan to raise more capital and will continue
to shrink its balance sheet amid the global credit crunch,
Chief Executive John Thain said on Tuesday. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 8 Apr 2008 | 1:52 pm
TOKYO (Reuters) - Investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co Inc does not plan to raise more capital and will continue to shrink its balance sheet amid the global credit crunch, Chief Executive John Thain said on Tuesday.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Washington Mutual Inc, the largest U.S. savings and loan, said on Tuesday it received a $7 billion capital injection from private equity firm TPG Inc and other investors.
Washington Mutual, one of the largest US mortgage lenders, gets a cash injection of $7bn from a consortium. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Apr 2008 | 1:49 pm
Reuters - Morgan Stanley Chief Executive
John Mack said markets are the most difficult he's seen in 40
years, but there are several signs that the investment bank is
closer to coming through its mortgage and corporate loan
difficulties.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley Chief Executive John Mack said markets are the most difficult he's seen in 40 years, but there are several signs that the investment bank is closer to coming through its mortgage and corporate loan difficulties.
Reuters - Washington Mutual Inc , the
largest U.S. savings and loan, said on Tuesday it received a $7
billion capital injection from private equity firm TPG Inc and
other investors.
It's got all the makings of an international geopolitical thriller: World powers move their armies into a violent, remote, and politically fragile region brimming with valuable oil and natural gas resources; except it's not fiction.
AFP - The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday the worldwide losses stemming from the US subprime mortgage crisis could hit 945 billion dollars as the impact spreads in the global economy.
Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM) has outlined its details of a financial aid or rescue finance package. The company is raising a total of $7 Billion via direct stock sales to an investment vehicle managed by TPG Capital, which includes others and existing top institutional holders. Unfortunately, this is more of a takeunder financing and more similar to past rights offerings than anything. TPG as the anchor will buy $2 Billion in newly issued securities. Outside of this, it is issuing 176 million shares at $8.75 and 55,000 contingently convertible perpetual non-cumulative preferred stock at a purchase price and liquidation preference...
Losses from the credit crisis by financial institutions worldwide are set to
balloon to almost $1 trillion ($£500 billion) threatening to trigger severe
economic fallout, the International Monetary Fund said today. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Apr 2008 | 1:13 pm
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of First Marblehead Corp , one of the largest securitizers of student loans, plummeted on Tuesday after a major client filed for bankruptcy protection. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Apr 2008 | 1:01 pm
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of First Marblehead Corp , one of the largest securitizers of student loans, plummeted on Tuesday after a major client filed for bankruptcy protection.
Chipmaker AMD is to cut 10% of its workforce, which means more than 1,600 jobs will go. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Apr 2008 | 1:00 pm
Goldman Sachs has issued a call on its asset manager universe, and says it's time to go on the offensive. Its rating on the group is now attractive. The bulge bracket brokerage leader has also made some key calls in the financial sector this morning. In the call it has raised the following to Buy from Neutral: Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE: BEN), Janus Capital Group, Inc. (NYSE: JNS), NYSE Euronext, Inc. (NYSE: NYX), MetLife Inc. (NYSE: MET) There were actually some downgrades as well, with the following downgraded to Neutral from Buy: Federated Investors, INC. (NYSE: FII), Knight Capital Group,...
Wall Street stocks were set for a lower start on Tuesday, after Alcoa, the aluminium producer, kicked off first quarter earnings season with a downbeat set of results. After the close on Monday, Alcoa... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Apr 2008 | 12:57 pm
US stocks were set for a lower start after Alcoa, the aluminium producer, kicked off first quarter earnings season with a downbeat set of results and Washington Mutual said it would receive $7bn capital infusion from a group of investors Source: FT.com - US homepage | 8 Apr 2008 | 12:57 pm
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. summer gasoline prices will hit a monthly peak of just over $3.60 a gallon in June, helping to reduce motor fuel demand by 0.4 percent this busy driving season... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Apr 2008 | 12:49 pm
Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) has announced a dual-pronged deal this morning. It has signed an agreement to acquire eScription, a provider of computer aided medical transcription technology. The total consideration for this transaction is approximately $363 million, which is broken down as $340 million in cash and $23 million in Nuance common stock. It will also include the assumption of vested employee options with a value of roughly $37 million. With an estimated $7 billion spent on medical transcription in North America annually, this acquisition of eScription is intended to accelerate Nuance's ability to effectively serve the medical transcription...
House prices fell by 2.5% in March, the biggest monthly decline since September 1992, says the Halifax. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Apr 2008 | 12:39 pm
Europe's main stock markets sank on Tuesday after uninspiring performances overnight on Wall Street and earlier in Asia, analysts said. In London, the FTSE 100 of leading... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Apr 2008 | 12:38 pm
John Thain, chief executive of Merrill Lynch, seems to be spending an awful lot of time in Japan just a week before Merrill is expected to report an ugly first quarter.
That has led to speculation that the Wall Street firm will announce an alliance with Mizuho Financial Group, the world's largest bank.
In comments to reporters today, Thain declined to comment on possible alliances with Mizuho, which announced in January that it would invest $1.2 billion in Merrill. "We are not being specific about it at this moment,'' Thain said, according to Bloomberg News.
Thain also repeated comments that Merrill will not need to raise more capital, but will continue to shrink its balance sheet. The firm has raised nearly $13 billion since the credit crunch hit it last fall.
"We deliberately raised more capital than we lost last year," Thain said, according to Reuters.
Merrill is set to report first-quarter earnings on April 17. Many analysts are expecting the firm to take a loss on an additional write-down of several billion dollars.
World oil prices spiked on Tuesday close to record high points as supply concerns were stoked by a recent fire at a Finnish refinery and comments from the OPEC cartel, traders said. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Apr 2008 | 12:20 pm
Prior to the events of last summer, the UK had undergone the biggest investment boom since the late nineties. This was not the promise of new technology that will revolutionise business and increase profitability, like the dot-com bubble. Instead, the latest craze is something you can paint magnolia and turn over at a 15pc profit - housing. Source: Telegraph Business | 8 Apr 2008 | 12:16 pm
Prior to the events of last summer, the UK had undergone the biggest investment boom since the late nineties. This was not the promise of new technology that will revolutionise business and increase profitability,... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Apr 2008 | 12:16 pm
The Bank of England will pump an extra £5 billion into the financial system in
a further move to boost liquidity and today hinted it may re-consider the
type of assets UK banks can use as collateral. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Apr 2008 | 12:11 pm
These are the top individual analyst calls we are focusing on this Tuesday morning: Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) Cut to Underperform from Market Perform at Morgan Keegan. Corning (NYSE: GLW) raised to Outperform at RBC Capital Markets. Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) raised to Overweight at Lehman. Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) raised to Overweight at Lehman. Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL) Cut to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs. Kinetic Concepts (NYSE: KCI) Raised to Outperform at Wachovia. Level 3 Communications (NASDAQ: LVLT) Started as Market Perform at FBR. MetroPCS (NYSE: PCS) Raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia. Time Warner Telecom...
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - TomTom , the Dutch navigation device maker, cut its 2008 revenue outlook on Tuesday and warned price cuts would hit first quarter sales and profits, sending the stock to a 32-month low.
According to James Arthur Ray, there are more than a trillion cells in a human body, and each cell has the capacity to generate 1.17 volts of electric power. "And you're telling me you don't have energy? Give me a frickin' break: You have no idea what you're capable of!" he likes to say.
DETROIT (Reuters) - When Tom Weatherbee swapped his minivan for a Toyota Prius hybrid two years ago, he was mostly hoping to save money at the gas pump.
The most contentious campaign of the year isn't between Obama and Clinton, it's over the legacy of Alan Greenspan.
The former Federal Reserve chairman is an astute politician. And so, even without a book to promote, he is making another big public push, spinning his view in the wake of the rescue of Bear Stearns and moves by Congress to deal with the housing crisis. In an opinion article in the Financial Times on Monday and in an article based on a series of interviews with Greg Ip of the Wall Street Journal, Greenspan defends his record, contending he is being wrongly blamed for the credit crisis.
Also on Portfolio.com: His Fault John Cassidy on why Greenspan is to blame. The Tenure What happened in his 18 years.
Critics, he says, are ignoring the factors that led the Fed to cut interest rates under his leadership and are being selective about the record in second-guessing him.
"I was praised for things I didn't do," Mr. Greenspan tells the Journal. "I am now being blamed for things that I didn't do."
Greenspan tells the Journal that he was "wrong about the improbability of a housing bubble."
"Yet he has long maintained that bubbles are an unavoidable feature of a dynamic economy," the Journal says. "No sensible policy, he maintains, could have prevented the housing bubble."
His critics are not being swayed by the latest from the stump. Barry Ritholtz of the Big Picture blog, who describes him as "the grand architect of a Fed era which will forever be known for easy money and nonregulation," says "Alan Greenspan seems to be hell-bent on destroying what little reputation he has left."
The main argument against Greenspan is that the Fed failed in its regulatory oversight at a time when financial institutions' holdings of opaque, over-the-counter derivatives ballooned.
The Institutional Risk Analysts, discussing the failure of Bear Stearns, notes, "by replacing exchange-traded securities with ersatz O.T.C. instruments, Greenspan and the quant economists who dominate the Fed's Washington staff have created vast systemic risk that need not exist at all and that now threatens our entire financial system."
House prices across the nation saw the largest monthly fall since 1992 last month, according to Halifax, which cut its annual forecast for average prices today signalling more gloom for Britain's property market. Source: Telegraph Business | 8 Apr 2008 | 11:50 am
House prices across the nation saw the largest monthly fall since 1992 last month, according to Halifax, which cut its annual forecast for average prices today signalling more gloom for Britain's property... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Apr 2008 | 11:50 am
Shares in TomTom fell as much as 15 per cent after the Dutch satellite
navigation-systems maker warned that its revenue in 2008 would be lower than
expected due to weaker demand in the first quarter. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Apr 2008 | 11:48 am
Prior to the events of last summer, the UK had undergone the biggest investment boom since the late nineties. This was not the promise of new technology that will revolutionise business and increase profitability, like the dot-com bubble. Instead, the latest craze is something you can paint magnolia and turn over at a 15pc profit - housing. Source: Telegraph Business | 8 Apr 2008 | 11:26 am
(Reuters) - Investors should resist the temptation to time the bottom in global financial stocks based on their perceived undervaluation, said Merrill Lynch chief investment strategist... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Apr 2008 | 11:25 am
Michael Dell, CEO of Dell (DELL) predicted that 2008 would be a prosperous and profitable year for the company, even in the teeth of a recession. According to Reuters, the company will "expand its profitability this year as the company shifts its resources to faster-growing emerging market regions ." The firm is looking to regions like China and the Middle East. What Dell did not mention is that Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Apple (AAPL), Lenovo, and Acer are already working hard in the same markets. Douglas A. McIntyre
The dollar fell against the euro on Tuesday as the foreign exchange market awaited minutes from the US central bank's most recent interest rate meeting. In early European... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Apr 2008 | 11:15 am
Oil prices inched downward Tuesday after jumping by almost $3 a barrel in the previous session on concerns about falling gasoline supplies and expectations that U.S. interest rates will... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Apr 2008 | 11:15 am
The Walt Disney Co.'s video game arm will buy a Chinese game developer as the U.S. entertainment giant expands in China. Disney Interactive Studios plans to buy Chinese company... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Apr 2008 | 11:15 am
Kazakhmys on Tuesday went to the UK Takeover Panel to ask it to set a deadline by which fellow London-listed, Kazakhstan-based miner ENRC should say if it intended to bid for Kazakhmys.The put-up or shut-up... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Apr 2008 | 11:15 am
Groupe Eurotunnel SA, which runs the rail tunnel linking England and France, reported its first annual profit Tuesday after the company restructured its debt. Net income at the... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Apr 2008 | 11:13 am
The nominee to head the Bank of Japan told lawmakers Tuesday he would preserve the central bank's independence as he tried to avoid the political sparring that has thwarted two previous... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 8 Apr 2008 | 11:10 am
Dutch digital navigation device maker TomTom tumbled on Tuesday after a surprise profit warning as wider European markets snapped a two-day winning streak on fears of that more downbeat first quarter sales... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Apr 2008 | 11:01 am
Former phone monopoly BT has named Ian Livingston, its current head of retail, as its new chief executive. Source: Telegraph Business | 8 Apr 2008 | 11:00 am
London equities fell on Tuesday, with banking stocks at the forefront of the selling as the FTSE 100's six-session rally faded. The benchmark index lost 1 per cent to 5,956.9, a fall of 58 points, with... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Apr 2008 | 10:59 am
Palm (PALM) took a $25 million write-off yesterday due to the falling value of the auction-rate securities on its balance sheet. Diamond, Kaplan, and Rothstein is the first law firm to file suit against a major bank, USB, for mis-representing the "cash" nature of auction-rate paper. Jeff Kaplan, who leads the legal action, says that even some brokers will testify against the banks. Their customers are than upset and may sue the brokers themselves. The auction-rate market froze when several large banks and brokerages stopped underwriting the auctions, something which they had done since 1985. Kaplan says the market, at...
There are only six companies left with "AAA" ratings from both S&P and Moody's. The are Automatic Data Processing (ADP), Berkshire Hathaway (BRK), GE (GE), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Exxon (XOM), and Toyota (TM). Wall St. might think that companies with strong ratings would be modest market performers because they make "safe" business decisions. In reality, all of the companies, except Toyota, have out-performed the S&P over the last year. Toyota at least has the excuse that it operates in an industry which has had two brutal years. The trick for doing well might seem to be that the companies...
Reuters - Leon Black's buyout firm Apollo
Management is mulling the idea of a "prepackaged" bankruptcy
plan for ailing home furnishings retailer Linens 'n Things, the
New York Post reported online on Tuesday, citing sources. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 8 Apr 2008 | 10:38 am
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Leon Black's buyout firm Apollo Management is mulling the idea of a "prepackaged" bankruptcy plan for ailing home furnishings retailer Linens 'n Things, the New York Post reported online on Tuesday, citing sources.
The board of ailing airline Alitalia is meeting to discuss whether to seek protection from its creditors. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Apr 2008 | 10:37 am
The Big Three reason that if they cannot sell enough cars in the US, they can make them here and send them overseas. There new agreement with the UAW and a weak dollar make the projects feasible. According to The Wall Street Journal "General Motors Corp is looking to export U.S.-made vehicles to Europe as well as to China and Latin American markets such as Brazil." The plan makes a great deal of sense, at least on the face of it. GM (GM), Ford (F), and Chrysler have people who want to work and plants that want to produce. The...
Severn Trent, one of Britain's largest water companies has been fined almost 35m for under-reporting leakages which resulted in customers being hit with higher bills. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Apr 2008 | 10:24 am
Severn Trent, one of Britain's largest water companies has been fined almost £35m for under-reporting leakages which resulted in customers being hit with higher bills. Source: Telegraph Business | 8 Apr 2008 | 10:24 am
TomTom shares fall by 10% after the Dutch satellite navigation company issues a profit warning. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Apr 2008 | 10:08 am
The market for desktop PCs and notebooks gets more competitive by the day. Just ask Michael Dell of Dell (DELL). He has cut more people and plans to shut a facility in his hometown, Austin. Citizens throw rotten fruit at him in the streets. The resurrection of the Apple (AAPL) Mac has put one more significant player in the field. With a slow economy, the pie is not growing as fast as it did for several years. It is an ugly situation. Enter the tiny PC. Selling for as little as $300, it does not do much. It has very...
Baugur has sold its media and technology interests alongside its financial
investments for £430 million in two separate deals that will hand the
Icelandic investment giant a “war-chest” for retail acquisitions around the
world. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Apr 2008 | 10:03 am
Yahoo! yesterday responded to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's three-weeks-or-else ultimatum by saying publicly for the first time that it is not opposed to a deal with the software giant - it just wants... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Apr 2008 | 9:26 am
Betting that the housing boom would come to a nasty end made many hotshot traders on Wall Street rich last year. New York-based hedge fund manager John Paulson alone brought home more than $3 billion... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 8 Apr 2008 | 9:26 am
Mortgage lending to home buyers falls to its lowest level since early 1992, with loans down a third in the past year. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Apr 2008 | 9:22 am
House prices across the nation saw the largest monthly fall since 1992 last month, according to Halifax, which cut its annual forecast for average prices today signalling more gloom for Britain's property market. Source: Telegraph Business | 8 Apr 2008 | 9:20 am
Japan adds to the growing calls for the G7 countries to discuss joint action to tackle the credit crisis. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 8 Apr 2008 | 8:31 am
UK house prices fell by an average of 2.5pc last month, according to Halifax, the largest monthly fall since the recession in the early nineties. Source: Telegraph Business | 8 Apr 2008 | 8:30 am
Severn Trent, one of Britain's largest water companies has been fined almost £35m for under-reporting leakages which resulted in customers being hit with higher bills. Source: Telegraph Business | 8 Apr 2008 | 8:10 am
Ben Verwaayen, the Dutch chief executive of BT is stepping down at the end of next month after six years in the job. He will be succeeded by Ian Livingston, who was many people's favourite for the post Source: FT.com - US homepage | 8 Apr 2008 | 7:56 am
House prices in Britain plunged last month by the worst figure since the
financial crisis in the early 1990s. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Apr 2008 | 7:47 am
Former phone monopoly BT has named Ian Livingston, its current head of retail, as its new chief executive. Source: Telegraph Business | 8 Apr 2008 | 7:45 am
Energy regulator Ofgem has launched an investigation into whether Scottish
Power and Scottish & Southern Energy have abused a dominant position in
the UK power market. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Apr 2008 | 7:27 am
BT, the telecoms giant, confirmed today that Ian Livingston, the head of its
retail division, will succeed Ben Verwaayen as group chief executive when he
leaves at the end of May. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Apr 2008 | 7:11 am
The annual report overall finds U.S. carriers had more delays, lost bags and, not surprisingly, generated more complaints.
Low-cost carriers AirTran Airways, JetBlue Airways Corp. and Southwest Airlines Co. took the top three spots in a national survey of airline quality, while the industry overall fared poorly amid rising fuel prices and increasingly fed-up consumers.
It's mustering a serious challenge to India, but language and culture could hold it back.
In the foothills of Yuelu Mountain here, a young Mao Tse-tung found inspiration in nature for his political aspirations. Today, Communist Party officials have a different vision for this area: a valley of global outsourcing firms.
The company warns investors that first-quarter sales will miss forecasts.
Battered by product delays and acquisition costs, beleaguered chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. said Monday that it would jettison 10% of its workforce and warned investors that first-quarter sales were lower than expected across all business lines.
Coastal bargains are to be had amid the housing downturn, but the properties are holding their value better than homes inland.
The housing market's wipeout means there are deals to be found, even at the beach. ¶ Grant Niman landed his dream home in Hermosa Beach after a careful six-month search. The 46-year-old certified public accountant is in escrow on a three-story, four-bedroom home within four blocks of the sand. The sale price came in just under $1.4 million. Comparable houses near Niman's pick were selling for as much as $200,000 higher in December. ¶ "It was an incredibly good deal. There were five serious inquiries on the home and at least two other offers. I bought it the second day it was on the market," said Niman, who can't wait to sit in his living room and "watch the sun go down over the ocean." ¶ Although home prices at the beach have so far avoided the high platform dive occurring in many areas of Southern California, they have taken a dip.
Yahoo criticizes Microsoft's weekend attempt to move the takeover proposal along. But the company says it remains open to a deal with the software giant if no better alternatives emerge.
Running out of time and options, Yahoo Inc. again rebuffed Microsoft Corp.'s buyout offer Monday and continued to seek refuge in the arms of Time Warner Inc.
Severn Trent, the Midlands water company, is to plead guilty on two fraud
charges today and face a £35.8 million fine from Ofwat for deliberately
misleading the regulator on customer service and performance. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 8 Apr 2008 | 6:59 am
A business survey across the Tasman has found rising interest rates continue to be the biggest concern for Australian businesses.
The Dun and Bradstreet business expectations survey also found fewer firms expected their sales and... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 8 Apr 2008 | 3:30 am
Oil and gas company Austral Pacific, which last week announced a $22 million net loss, says reports it is in financial difficulty are "misleading".
On March 31, Austral said its position raised questions as to its capability to... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 8 Apr 2008 | 2:30 am
The costs of the financial crisis are set to rocket to $1 trillion - higher than the Japanese banking collapse which caused a decade of stagnation, the International Monetary Fund has warned. Source: Telegraph Business | 8 Apr 2008 | 2:15 am
One of the most influential surveys of business opinion has today confirmed that a recession is uppermost in people's minds.
Business confidence plummeted in the March quarter while strong inflationary pressures remain persistent,... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 8 Apr 2008 | 1:00 am
Applications for personal credit have dropped significantly according to credit reporting agency, Veda Advantage.
Veda released figures showing a 52 per cent decrease in hire purchase applications for the first quarter of 2008.
Applications... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 8 Apr 2008 | 12:30 am
Beijing officials are to hold urgent talks with senior members of the Olympic movement about the torch relay, as concern grows among International Olympic Committee members over the effect of pro-Tibet protests on the games Source: FT.com - US homepage | 8 Apr 2008 | 12:06 am
A 31 per cent fall in the shares of household appliance manufacturer Fisher & Paykel Appliances Ltd so far this year could make it a takeover target, according to a brokers' report.
Citi is the second broker to put forward the... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 8 Apr 2008 | 12:00 am
Google, Microsoft and other online search companies could be forced to tighten further their privacy controls Source: FT.com - US homepage | 7 Apr 2008 | 11:48 pm
State Services Minister David Parker said today a decision would be made in the next couple of weeks on a Canadian bid to buy a stake in Auckland International Airport (AIA).
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has a conditional... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 7 Apr 2008 | 11:30 pm
The sharemarket opened down today after a week of slight rises.
The benchmark NZSX-50 index was down 4 points to 3640 at 10.15am today after closing up slightly yesterday and most of last week.
The local sharemarket started... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 7 Apr 2008 | 11:30 pm
John Mack, Morgan Stanley's chairman and chief executive, looks set to defeat opposition from a number of pension funds and win a comfortable re-election to the investment bank's board at the shareholder meeting Source: FT.com - US homepage | 7 Apr 2008 | 11:07 pm
It is highly likely, but by no means certain, that the Bank of England will
cut interest rates again this Thursday. What is not in any doubt is that the
Bank's decision, whatever it is, will bring renewed criticism of its
Governor, Mervyn King. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 7 Apr 2008 | 11:00 pm
NEW YORK - Airplane manufacturer Boeing said today it would update investors on the progress of its 787 Dreamliner later this week, likely heralding a widely anticipated further six- to nine-month delay for the troubled programme.
Such... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 7 Apr 2008 | 11:00 pm
Advanced Micro Devices, the second largest microprocessor maker behind Intel, issued a sales warning and announced plans to cut its workforce by 10 per cent Source: FT.com - US homepage | 7 Apr 2008 | 10:07 pm
Sovereign wealth funds and other overseas investors will face closer scrutiny by US regulators under changes to the way foreign deals are vetted on national security grounds Source: FT.com - US homepage | 7 Apr 2008 | 9:02 pm
You can bet that whenever one industry sector is losing money, another will find a way to rake it in.
One man's loss can definitely be another's gain.
Yes, even in the sub-prime credit crisis in the US.
While millions of... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 7 Apr 2008 | 9:00 pm
Vikram Pandit, Citigroup's chief executive, moved to streamline the troubled financial services conglomerate by selling the Diners Club International credit card network to Discover for $165m Source: FT.com - US homepage | 7 Apr 2008 | 8:49 pm
Wall Street stocks ended the day roughly where they began as jitters ahead of the opening burst of first-quarter earnings reports offset fresh gains for financials Source: FT.com - US homepage | 7 Apr 2008 | 8:41 pm
President George W. Bush moved to force a vote in Congress on a controversial free trade agreement with Colombia without the consent of Democratic leaders, setting the stage for a bitter fight over US trade policy Source: FT.com - US homepage | 7 Apr 2008 | 8:05 pm
With the brain drain in New Zealand showing no signs of stopping, I thought it will be refreshing to speak to someone coming the opposite way affecting our business DNA- and making a difference. An American, now settled and living... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 7 Apr 2008 | 8:00 pm
Protests around the Olympic torch have focused the world's attention on Tibet, but discontent is rippling through other parts of China, too. In Xinjiang province, Muslim Uighurs are also asking for religious freedom and economic opportunity. Scott Tong reports. Source: Marketplace | 7 Apr 2008 | 7:57 pm
Whoever is declared the winner of Zimbabwe's presidential election will have his hands full dealing with the nation's shattered economy. Kai Ryssdal talks with economist Tony Hawkins in Harare, Zimbabwe, about the job ahead. Source: Marketplace | 7 Apr 2008 | 7:57 pm
A growing movement is calling for a national service program that would require younger Americans to spend a year in the military or community service. But so far, says commentator and potential national service draftee Ben Casnocha, proponents are sending mixed messages. Source: Marketplace | 7 Apr 2008 | 7:57 pm
Job prospects for ex-cons are pretty dim, especially when the Internet makes it easy to dig up a person's past. But in Kansas City, Mo., some business owners are willing to give an ex-offender a second chance. Sylvia Maria Gross reports. Source: Marketplace | 7 Apr 2008 | 7:57 pm
A bartender and former high school teacher has won a fiction-writing contest sponsored by Amazon.com and Penguin Books. The competition is part of Amazon's promotion of its new self-publishing business. Lisa Napoli reports. Source: Marketplace | 7 Apr 2008 | 7:57 pm
Microsoft is giving Yahoo's management three weeks to accept its takeover bid before it goes straight to shareholders. But Yahoo's CEO says Microsoft just needs to make a better offer. Sam Eaton reports. Source: Marketplace | 7 Apr 2008 | 7:57 pm
Troubled mortgage lender Washington Mutual is close to nailing down $5 billion from a private equity firm. And, Switzerland's Novartis is spending $39 billion for a majority stake in the U.S. eye-care company Alcon. Jill Barshay reports. Source: Marketplace | 7 Apr 2008 | 7:56 pm
At least nominally, a conflict of interest with a foreign client, not bad strategy, cost Mark Penn his perch atop Hillary Clinton's message machine.
Still, Penn is widely blamed for the Clinton campaign's struggles, having dictated the campaign's reliance on "inevitability" and "experience," and rejecting the need to establish the candidate's "likeability."
Penn's biggest lapse, however, may have been his failure to correctly apply his signature approach, the creative segmenting of the electorate. This allowed Barack Obama's campaign to artfully leverage support from small groups who swing great weight in the limited universe of Democratic primary and caucus voters.
Penn gained national notice when Dick Morris handpicked his polling firm, Penn Schoen & Berland—a 20-year fixture in New York City's rough political world—for Bill Clinton's 1996 reelection team. President Clinton's comeback victory helped Penn Schoen & Berland attract major corporate clients while continuing its work for politicians like Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, and Michael Bloomberg, all of whom spent lavishly on polling.
(I was a client—a happy one, I should note—of a unit of Penn Schoen & Berland that provides research services to Condé Nast Publications, which owns Portfolio.com, and I once worked—also happily—for Geoff Garin, the pollster newly selected to replace Penn on Clinton's campaign.)
In 2001, advertising conglomerate WPP Group bought Penn Schoen & Berland. Penn became C.E.O. of Burson-Marstellar, the WPP-owned public relations and lobbying giant, a position he has juggled with his work on for Clinton.
On March 31 he met with the Colombian ambassador to the U.S., a Burson-Marstellar client, to map a strategy to persuade Congress to pass a bilateral trade agreement with Colombia. Senator Clinton opposes that pact, and has made doubts about free trade an issue in her tight primary race in Pennsylvania.
In the ensuing firestorm, Penn had to resign as chief strategist for Clinton.
What was surprising about Penn's tenure with Clinton's campaign is not the conflict that ended it (talented campaign strategists often lend their skills to corporate clients between election cycles), but Penn's failure to apply his own theories as well as the opposition did.
Penn is the best-selling author of Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes. This book mirrors his approach to elections: identify influential archetypes, like 1996's Soccer Moms, and fine-tune campaign proposals (for example, requiring parental-control "V-chips" in all new TVs) to win them over.
Microtrends applies this analysis to the social sphere: Penn's "microtrends" involve tiny but visible segments of the population who are growing in size or influence due to social and economic forces—like the 1 percent of California youths who list "sniper" as a career goal.
The book's critical reception was mixed. While it gained some corporate cachet, political writers showed Penn no love. Influential blogger Ezra Klein called Microtrends "so epically awful as to take the entire polling industry down with it." Maureen Dowd snarked that "the chapters all read like reports that Mr. Penn wrote for clients," and compared the names he gave his population segments—among them Shy Millionaires, Mildly Disordered, and Uptown Tattooed—to "a new lineup of Fox reality shows."
But perversely, Obama's success has vindicated Penn's microtargeting approach. This year, microconstituencies that could easily have fit Penn's book were poised to make a huge splash in the relatively small Democratic primary pool, swelling 2004's turnout of 16 million by 80 percent.
(Primary and caucus voters are a small, skewed fraction of those who cast ballots in November, estimated at 122 million voters in 2004 and certain to grow this year.)
Receptive to messages of inspiration, change and political reform, groups like newly energized Internet donors, nostalgic middle-aged liberals, freshly recruited pundits, and atypically upscale independents have provided Obama's keys to success.
Online Donors.
Foremost among the influencers are a new wave of political donors, who have always been a microconstituency. Most Americans donate to charitable causes like churches, medical research, even pet rescue—not political candidates. The total number of donors to all presidential candidates in 2004 totaled just one million—less than 0.5 percent of the adult population. But the Web has caused this smallish universe of political donors to rise sharply: Obama's backers now claim that, if nominated, he alone will attract two million donors by November.
These new donors' influence goes far beyond the attitudes changed by the ads they fund. They have rewritten the rules about how quickly a candidate can capitalize on sudden momentum, and pumped previously unseen amounts of cash into the campaign industry. These new online donors are perfect specimen of a Penn microgroup: small, but growing rapidly as a result of new outside forces (the Internet, here).
The Obama campaign's message perfectly suits the motivation of the kind of person who puts money behind a candidate: the desire to be part of history—a claim Clinton could have made as well, but rejected in favor of the "inevitability" approach. How many people are inspired to donate to the inevitable?
Political Junkies.
Once, political aficionados were too few for their votes to have noticeable impact, and surveys showed voters rarely based their choices on strategic considerations. But their ranks have risen ever since Theodore White's 1961 book The Making of the President, 1960 invented the mass market for political strategy.
This year, that audience is expanding thanks to a plethora of inside-baseball politics programs on three cable news networks and a growing stream of political websites. (They're still a microconstituency: the peak audience for a top political chat show is well below two million.)
Political views aside, these aficionados share an obsession with the rules of the game, the ups and downs of the daily news cycle, and process and story-line rather than policies. This year, it seemed that every undecided Iowan interviewed at a rally was second-guessing the candidates' strategies or weighing their "electability."
Dedicated political hobbyists could easily tip the scales in a state where, even in this record year, Democratic caucus turnout was just 250,000. Relatively upscale and educated, they can indulge their political passion by volunteering, attending rallies, donating, and, of course, voting.
Obama's history-making quest proved far more appealing to political junkies than Hillary's theme of the steady workhorse. Politicos love an exciting contest, and hate "inevitability"—and may now rally to Clinton only after it appears some are trying to force her from the race.
Entry-Level Pundits.
The steady increase in programming hours, columns, and websites devoted to political strategy fuels an ever-growing demand for analysts and bloggers who can explain the election.
Many local newspapers now have their own political blogs, while TV and talk radio need ever more guests with some pretence to political expertise. Even amateurs can get into the act, by commenting on blogs (or clawing their way into a Frank Luntz focus group).
But, rather than making political analysis more diverse, the relative inexperience of the expanded punditocracy, and their exuberance for the "horse race," produces more pack journalism. The conventional wisdom becomes more entrenched, skewing the information that flows to voters.
This year, Obama stoked media excitement that translated into a constant message over the airwaves. The Clinton campaign seemed to ignore this rising class of political interpreters, making no attempt to court them—in fact, infuriating them with a heavily packaged campaign that played into their stereotypes, and mocking the pundits' very purpose by claiming Clinton's victory as "inevitable."
Independent Crossovers.
Independents who vote in Democratic primaries aren't "typical" independents: they're more upscale, and much more politically engaged.
One stubborn barrier to the long-awaited development of a third party in the U.S. has been the reality that self-described independents agree upon almost nothing; a surprising majority of them are downscale, poorly informed and disengaged with politics.
A much smaller group fits the stereotype of the thoughtful, nuanced independent: liberal on social issues, perhaps, but fiscally conservative. These are the ones who might cross over to vote in a Democratic primary.
The one thing most independents do have in common is visceral dislike for the major parties. This is why Obama's message of post-partisanship works so well for them. Independents who vote in primaries tend to be well informed and engaged with the political process. They are predisposed to Obama's central themes, which concern politics itself (activism, unity, reform) and are more concerned with Hillary's campaign tactics than her policy proposals.
This year, the importance of states with open primaries has given the upscale independent voter new leverage; the relatively small electorate gives them large potential impact if they break a particular way. In Virginia and Wisconsin, nearly one in three Democratic primary voters were independents or Republicans; exit polls showed they tilted heavily toward Obama.
Weepy-Eyed Boomers.
Not every Baby Boomer is a nostalgic liberal or ex-Yippie. The "great silent majority" shunned the demonstrations and sit-ins. But the early Boomers for whom late '60s activism was formative are a small but visible group, now at the peak of its influence. Many of them are politicians, journalists, or donors.
For many of them, the wounds of the seminal year of 1968 never healed. Those who chanted "the whole world is watching" saw their hope and excitement dissipate. The promise of that slogan was never fulfilled, and as these children of the '60s start to enter their 60s, their sense of unfinished business takes on urgency.
Now Obama—seemingly Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King rolled into one—offers them a two-for-one redemption of 1968's political assassinations and the illusion of picking up where America left off.
The Obama campaign has fed the fantasy, converting their iconic Kennedy endorsements into a Camelot video ad. Meanwhile, Hillary—a genuine icon from that era, thanks to her Wellesley commencement address, which Life magazine profiled in 1969—neglected to offer her contemporaries any sense of completing the mission of their youth.
Quarterlife Activists.
It would be a mistake to believe that the typical 21-year-old can be found chanting "Yes We Can" at an Obama rally. Every post-'60s generation has seen its own popular cause sweep a certain segment of the young: anti-nuclear power in the 70's, apartheid in the '80s, globalization in the '90s. For all their visibility, these were fringe phenomena—most Americans aren't eager to join a movement.
But some are. After Vietnam, no youth cause translated into electoral politics until 2004, when Howard Dean managed to harness the idealism and the need to belong that characterizes the young and educated. He also pioneered the use of Web tools like social networking and blogging to channel that political energy. Obama offers young idealists a huge upgrade over Dean, with a better-focused message and a more inspiring delivery.
Still, 20-something activists may be the one group that Penn and the Clinton campaign can be excused for missing. Hillary's every-mom appeal is light years away from the idealistic dreams of a young Obama supporter, and probably no one attends a Clinton event in hopes of hooking up.
But considering the accusations that Penn had almost microtargeted the Clinton campaign into oblivion, it's ironic how thoroughly he missed the importance of so many small groups that did so much to benefit her opponent.
He provided no mechanism to harness the enthusiasm of online donors, no redemptive vision for nostalgic boomers, no sense of fresh thinking for upscale independents, and, until late in the game, no exciting storyline for the political junkies and entry-level pundits. Related Links Clinton, Short of Cash, Taps Her Own Coffers Obama Bucks The Long, Hard Slog
In 2004, three Harvard alumni filed a lawsuit against Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg accusing him of stealing the idea for Facebook from them. Since then, Zuckerberg has become a very, very rich man.
Rich enough, it appears, to make the lawsuit go away.
The New York Times' Bits blog says that Facebook is close to settling the lawsuit—filed by two brothers, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and a colleague, Divya Narendra—that accuses Zuckerberg of stealing the source code, design, and business plan for Facebook in 2003.
At the time, Zuckerberg briefly worked as a programmer for the plaintiff's own fledgling social-networking site, now known as ConnectU.
Terms of the settlement, if indeed there is to be one, have not been disclosed. A Facebook spokesperson declined to comment on legal matters. Portfolio.com emails to Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra were not immediately returned.
The lawsuit had been the source of much consternation to Facebook, because its core assertion contested Zuckerberg's claim to have founded Facebook while at Harvard.
At the time, Winklevoss described Zuckerberg's actions to Portfolio.com as "premeditated, well thought out, duplicitous, and conniving."
"We were shocked and in utter disbelief," Winklevoss said, describing his reaction when Zuckerberg launched Facebook in 2004. Zuckerberg, Winklevoss said, had done so after promising to help build Harvard Connection, now known as ConnectU. "This was our idea, and Mark stole it."
Eric Goldman, director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University, said a settlement would remove an obstacle to Facebook going public, an outcome that Zuckerberg is thought to be shooting for.
"It's fairly typical for a company to settle major litigation in anticipation of a major corporate event like an I.P.O. or an acquisition," Goldman said. "Settling the litigation reduces one of the risk factors that might depress valuation."
In the months since the lawsuit revved up, Facebook has exploded in popularity and received a $240 million investment from Microsoft, valuing the company at a cool $15 billion. Zuckerberg himself is now thought to be worth over $1 billion, making the 23-year-old techie the youngest billionaire in the world.
If the settlement goes through, it would represent a softening of Facebook's position toward the suit.
Two weeks ago, Carl Icahn said he was just in the first inning of his fight for changes at Motorola. Now he is in the late innings.
The company and the activist investor have reached an agreement, and Icahn will drop his proxy challenge. Under the deal, William Hambrecht, co-founder of Hambrecht & Quist, and Keith Meister, a managing director of the Icahn investment funds, will be nominated to the board of Motorola.
In addition, all litigation between the company and Icahn will be withdrawn.
"This is a very positive step for Motorola in that shareholder representatives will have strong input into board decisions affecting the future of our company," Icahn said in a statement.
It is quite a turnabout for Icahn, who lost a battle for a board seat last year. Since then, he has continued to push for changes at the company and to buy up shares. He has urged a breakup of the company, and late last month, Motorola said it would split off its troubled cell-phone business.
In the statement, Icahn expressed his support for the split. (The other company will encompass Motorola's fast-growing home and networks business, which sells television set-top boxes and modems, and its enterprise mobility solutions, which sells computing and communications equipment to businesses.)
The activism has yet to pay off in his investment, however. Icahn, who currently holds a 6.4 percent stake in Motorola, started buying shares when they were $19. They are now at $9.67.
Washington Mutual, one of the nation's biggest mortgage lenders, has often seemed like a cork during the credit storm.
Afloat, yes, but bobbing in a uncertain direction, driven by forces beyond its control. For months, it was viewed as a near-certain takeover target, most likely by J.P. Morgan Chase. That changed, of course, when J.P. Morgan swooped in to take control of Bear Stearns.
Now it may have found its mooring. Matthew Karnitschnig, Valerie Bauerlein, and Robin Sidel of the Wall Street Journalreport that private equity heavyweight TPG and other investors are nearing a deal to invest $5 billion in WaMu.
The new capital is greatly needed. Last week, David Hendler, an analyst with CreditSights, estimated that if the value of WaMu's mortgage investments continued to deteriorate, it might need to raise another $5 billion to $6.2 billion of capital.
This investment in the last remaining shaky pillar of the mortgage industry should go a long way toward bolstering investor confidence. Following the Bear Stearns rescue, the Federal Reserve's moves to open the discount window, and the new capital being raised by other firms, one can be justifiably optimistic in thinking that the worst of the credit crunch is behind us.
The deal would also come just days before a contentious meeting of WaMu shareholders on April 15. A number of major shareholders have been critical of the performance of the nation's largest savings and loan and the steep drop in its stock price. Last month, it had its credit rating cut a notch by Standard & Poor's. In the fourth quarter, WaMu reported its first quarterly loss since 1997. Some investors are looking to shake up the board.
For TPG, formerly Texas Pacific Group, the investment is an usual one for private equity, which tends to stay away from regulated financial institutions with capital requirements.
Yves Smith on NakedCapitalism.com says it appears that private equity is stepping into the vacuum left by sovereign wealth funds, which last year took a number of big investments in U.S. financial institutions, apparently to their regret.
"So the TPG move in theory is a positive development," Smith writes. "On the other hand if, like the sovereign wealth funds, they have merely acquired the right to lose money, TPG and any 'me too' deals could be the last private sector hurrah before banks start resorting to more desperate measures (dividend cuts, asset sales despite the weak market for banking businesses, rights offerings)."
Reuters - Stocks added to losses on Tuesday
following a report that showed pending home sales sunk to the
lowest on record in February, fueling worry that the housing
market outlook.
Reuters - Record gasoline prices and a
contracting U.S. economy will reduce summer gasoline demand for
the first time in 17 years, the government's top energy
forecasting agency said Tuesday.
Reuters - Morgan Stanley Chief Executive
John Mack said markets are the most difficult he's seen in 40
years, but there are several signs that the investment bank is
closer to coming through its mortgage and corporate loan
difficulties.
Reuters - Washington Mutual Inc , the
largest U.S. savings and loan, said on Tuesday it received a $7
billion capital injection from private equity firm TPG Inc and
other investors.
AFP - The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday the worldwide losses stemming from the US subprime mortgage crisis could hit 945 billion dollars as the impact spreads in the global economy.
AP - Consumers, battered by a credit crunch and prolonged housing slump, significantly slowed their pace of borrowing in February.