Americans aged 19 to 29 who are about to be dropped from their parents' insurance policies needn't go without.
Elaine Farrell deals with insurance forms and rules every day at the dental office where she works. But she recently found out that she's as much a novice as anyone else when it comes to general health insurance. ¶ Her oldest daughter, Kristen, turned 23 last week and was booted off her parents' medical plan. The insurance company had mailed a notice about the impending change in status only a month earlier, sending Mom into panic mode. ¶ "I never had to do anything like this before," Farrell said. "There were so many things to think about." ¶ Farrell's daughter, a full-time Cal State Long Beach student who had a severe case of asthma as a child, uses inhalers and takes medication. ¶ That would be enough for many companies to deny coverage altogether, especially in California, where state law won't allow insurers to issue policies that exclude most preexisting conditions. The Long Beach residents got their share of rejection letters until they finally found a bare-bones policy -- no dental, no vision, high co-payments, three doctor visits annually -- for $126 a month.
Still, employers may have to change some policies to comply with court ruling.
The California Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage raises workplace issues that companies need to consider, even though last week's ruling will have little direct effect on employee benefits, legal experts say.
With gasoline prices hitting record levels, it seems everyone has a tip on how to save fuel. Much of the advice is well-intentioned, but in the end, much of it won't lower your gas bill.
U.S. stocks remain on track for Friday losses but full-week gains, as crude-oil prices probe another record high and persistently weak consumer confidence overshadow a surprising rise in April home construction.
No doubt about it, the new Chevy Malibu is light years ahead of the car that it replaced. In style, design, execution, and probably even in the quality of the lube used on the door hinges.
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - American International Group Inc plans to establish a global shared services and data centers in Malaysia through one of its subsidiaries, the insurance giant said on Saturday.
Drowning in a mortgage you can't afford? Whether or not you get a new one will be decided by someone you've probably never met at a company whose role is barely visible: the mortgage servicer.
Demand for new homes collapsed last year. Next up could be a similar drop in the rest of the construction market -- and that could be the latest drag on an already sputtering U.S. economy
The government said Friday that it would halt deliveries to the strategic oil reserves in July, a move many lawmakers have been calling for in an attempt to boost oil supplies and bring down gas prices.
Saudi Arabia will increase oil production by 300,000 barrels a day, a significant jump. The price of crude should drop sharply when the market opens. According to the FT "Analysts said it was likely that Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, which have spare production capacity, would follow the Saudi lead and raise output." If other OPEC members follow, oil could be pressured back toward $100 as supply increases and speculators move out of the market and cover bets on prices moving above $130. The leading OPEC members are almost certainly worried about the incredible run oil has had to...
Banks will post much better earnings as the year goes on. Most of their write-offs are behind them. What else is there on their balance sheets to revise down in value? That thinking is a colossal example of delusional thinking. It has been spread, due to excess optimism or mediocre analysis, by bank and brokerage CEOs. The matters of fact are that housing prices continue to fall, default rates on ARM subprime mortgages continue to rise, and inflation in the costs of food and gas suck the spending power of the lower middle classes to zero. Reuters makes the point...
Late news out of the economy track system is that the buildings are collapsing all around. After Goldman Sachs (GS) panicked and said that oil would rise to $141, crude immediately spiked to $128 as traders jumped on the railroad of self-fulfilling prophesies. It will get worse. US refineries reported that they are making more diesel and less gas. Look for the pump to read $5 a gallon by Labor Day. In Ann Arbor, the Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment dropped to a 17-year low with a figure of 59.5. According to Bloomberg, this "compared with an...
Economic data, oil prices cause volatile week for stocks Wall Street closed higher Monday, as the U.S. dollar rose and oil prices fell. However, Monday’s gains were lost on Tuesday as, despite a better-than-expected retailers report, Wal-Mart reported a cautious outlook for 2008. Wednesday’s consumer price report delivered good news, raising the Dow from Tuesday’s low. Weak reports on manufacturing and jobless claims didn’t keep Wall Street down on Thursday, as oil prices fell. The TSX started the week at a record high on news from EnCana and RIM, but by Tuesday had lost those gains on weak energy stocks,...
Major crude oil producer Iran said on Saturday that any output hike by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries as requested by the United States would not affect skyrocketing... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 17 May 2008 | 10:09 am
Carlyle buy Carlyle Group, the private-equity firm run by David Rubenstein, agreed to buy Booz Allen Hamilton's US government-consulting business for $2.54 bil lion, its biggest buyout since the credit... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 17 May 2008 | 8:34 am
Construction of US single-family houses in April dropped to the lowest level in 17 years, even as building of condominiums and townhouses rebounded. Builders broke ground on 692,000 single-family homes... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 17 May 2008 | 8:34 am
As analysts ring new alarms for ever-rising doomsday oil prices, consumers are facing the grim reality of having to live with far less if they want to keep their gas tanks filled. Crude oil and gasoline... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 17 May 2008 | 8:34 am
The scythe is about to fall at investment banking powerhouse Lehman Brothers. The white-shoe firm is expected to cut about 5 percent of its workforce, according to a person familiar with the bank's plans... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 17 May 2008 | 8:34 am
Time Warner Chairman Richard Parsons yesterday said he is likely to step down in the next year, clearing the path for Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Bewkes to assume the role. During opening remarks... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 17 May 2008 | 8:34 am
Two Detroit pension funds are claiming that Yahoo! is intentionally blocking public portions of their lawsuit against the company's board because it would lend support to Carl Icahn's efforts to oust the... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 17 May 2008 | 8:34 am
The Philippine air force will buy 18 trainer planes from Italian aircraft manufacturer Alenia Aermacchi for 625 million pesos (14.6 million dollars), an air force spokesman said Saturday. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 17 May 2008 | 8:30 am
After nine months of turmoil that started with the collapse of the subprime mortgage market, Wall Street appears to be at a turning point of sorts. The data of the past few weeks have... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 17 May 2008 | 7:57 am
The conglomerate confirms that it is considering the sale of its signature division.
General Electric Co. was long known for the brutal management style called "rank-and-yank": Everybody got an annual performance rating, and the bottom 10% were fired.
Policyholders are being pressured by hospitals and doctors when insurers refuse to pay them enough. Celina Fuentes,... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 17 May 2008 | 7:00 am
Almost 200,000 more people were out of work in April than a year earlier, however. California's monthly unemployment... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 17 May 2008 | 7:00 am
The gain, the biggest since 2006, beats expectations after months of declines in new-home building. Construction... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 17 May 2008 | 7:00 am
Their massive vehicles' low mpg weighs down the bottom line, spurring cultural and technological shifts.
If you think gas is expensive, be thankful you're not a trucker. Filling up their 18-wheel, 80,000-pound leviathans can cost more than $1,300 these days.
Policyholders are being pressured by hospitals and doctors when insurers refuse to pay them enough.
Celina Fuentes, 80, had a heart attack a year ago and was taken by ambulance to La Palma Hospital in Orange County. She pulled through, paid the $250 deductible for the four-day hospitalization, and thought her payment issues, at least, were over.
Reuters - The United Auto Workers and American
Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc reached a tentative
contract agreement late Friday aimed at ending an 11-week-long
strike that had triggered thousands of layoffs and cost General
Motors Corp at least $1 billion. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 17 May 2008 | 6:07 am
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Cathay Pacific Airway Ltd , Hong Kong's dominant airline, is considering cutting its money-losing routes amid soaring fuel prices, South China Morning Post said on Saturday, citing the airline's chief executive as warning in an internal newsletter.
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Cathay Pacific Airway Ltd , Hong Kong's dominant airline, is considering cutting its money-losing routes amid soaring fuel prices, South China Morning Post said on... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 17 May 2008 | 5:37 am
DETROIT (Reuters) - The United Auto Workers and American
Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc reached a tentative
contract agreement late Friday aimed at ending an 11-week-long
strike that had triggered thousands of layoffs and cost General
Motors Corp at least $1 billion.
A bitter 80-day United Auto Workers strike against an auto parts maker that has crippled dozens of General Motors Corp. factories could be coming to an end soon with a tentative contract... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 17 May 2008 | 4:24 am
Stocks will attempt to continue the market’s two-month advance next week, with rising investor optimism about the U.S. economy helping overcome concerns over surging crude and other commodities.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. consumer confidence tumbled to a 28-year low this month as rising prices strained household finances, while another drop in single-family housing starts underscored problems still plaguing the economy.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. consumer confidence tumbled to a 28-year low this month as rising prices strained household finances, while another drop in single-family housing starts... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 17 May 2008 | 1:49 am
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rich Nottenburg, Motorola Inc's chief strategy and technology officer, has become the latest senior staff member to exit since activist investor Carl Icahn strengthened his influence, a spokeswoman said on Friday.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks finished little changed on Friday as surging oil prices lifted energy shares and offset data that showed consumer confidence sank to its lowest in 28 years.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks finished little changed on Friday as surging oil prices lifted energy shares and offset data that showed consumer confidence sank to its lowest in 28 years. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 17 May 2008 | 12:07 am
British Airways posted record full-year profits, triggering a £35m staff bonus and a return to the dividend list, but warned of rising fares and route cuts as oil spikes above $120 a barrel. Source: Telegraph Business | 17 May 2008 | 12:01 am
Property website Rightmove saw its shares tumble 6¾ to 378¾p after Halifax, its second-largest shareholder after Swindon Building Society, announced plans to offload its entire stake in the group. Source: Telegraph Business | 17 May 2008 | 12:01 am
The price of oil soared to yet another record high as President George W. Bush's second trip to Saudi Arabia in four months appeared to deliver a token victory in the battle for increased oil output. Source: Telegraph Business | 17 May 2008 | 12:01 am
Cancer drug specialist Antisoma has acquired rival pharmaceutical company Xanthus in an all-share deal worth £26.8m. Source: Telegraph Business | 17 May 2008 | 12:01 am
Barclays Wealth has advised clients to jump back into stock markets across the world, believing the danger of a severe downturn has receded after the dramatic rescue moves by central banks. Source: Telegraph Business | 17 May 2008 | 12:01 am
City veteran Andy Stewart, chief executive of Cenkos Securities, says the stockbroker walked away from take-over target Arden Partners after non-executive directors demanded a higher price than first agreed. Source: Telegraph Business | 17 May 2008 | 12:01 am
"Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I'm Willie Walsh your captain and I'd like to welcome you aboard this British Airways flight. It's time to sit back and enjoy the in-flight entertainment of our results presentation for the 12 months to March 31. Source: Telegraph Business | 17 May 2008 | 12:01 am
British Airways' 43,000 staff may beg to differ as they share a £35m bonus worth an average £800 each. So too may Willie Walsh, the plucky Irishman at the airline's controls, who is nobly forgoing £700,000 as penance for the Terminal 5 screw-up. But BA's full-year results must be the least relevant record figures for ages. Source: Telegraph Business | 17 May 2008 | 12:01 am
KKR is to begin investing in infrastructure assets for the first time as the traditional private equity market continues to stagnate in the wake of the continued credit crisis. Source: Telegraph Business | 17 May 2008 | 12:01 am
The central banks of Norway, Sweden and Denmark have joined forces in a stunning move to rescue Iceland, offering a credit line of €1.5bn (£1.2bn) to beat back speculators and shore up the battered krona. Source: Telegraph Business | 17 May 2008 | 12:01 am
As the ultimate expression of the American Dream, it is fitting that Las Vegas
should lie at the centre of the US housing nightmare. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 16 May 2008 | 11:00 pm
A takeover battle for control of British Energy was gathering momentum as it
emerged yesterday that the company had received two more preliminary
proposals, one of which valued it at almost £11 billion. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 16 May 2008 | 11:00 pm
Fresh evidence emerged yesterday that the credit crisis is hitting companies'
technology budgets and jobs as a leading IT services firm said it was
bracing itself for far tougher times. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 16 May 2008 | 11:00 pm
After months in the doldrums, the buyout market is staging a modest recovery
with Carlyle, the private equity group, agreeing to buy part of Booz Allen
Hamilton for $2.9 billion.$ Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 16 May 2008 | 11:00 pm
Regent Inns, the pub company, said that it is considering a number of bids
after sales fell 11 per cent this year. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 16 May 2008 | 11:00 pm
More people were looking for jobs last month in London’s financial services
industry than at any time in the past three and a half years, according to
research released yesterday. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 16 May 2008 | 11:00 pm
The UK is to offer the Indian film industry tax breaks and grants in an effort
to entice more Bollywood projects to British locations. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 16 May 2008 | 11:00 pm
A nailbiting finish to the football season in England has helped Ladbrokes to
weather the storm blowing through the rest of the economy. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 16 May 2008 | 11:00 pm
Investor's Business Daily - While China grapples with the devastating May 12 earthquake in Sichuan -- now thought to have killed 50,000 people, leaving 5 million homeless and property damage at $20 billion -- the economic toll may be mild, analysts say. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 16 May 2008 | 10:57 pm
Robert Mondavi, the pioneering vintner who helped put California wine country on the map, died at his Napa Valley home Friday. He was 94. Mondavi died peacefully at his home in... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 16 May 2008 | 10:48 pm
Reuters - Morgan Stanley cut 1,500 jobs
this week across its investment banking, trading and asset
management businesses, a person familiar with the situation
said Friday, a 5 percent reduction of non-broker employees.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley cut 1,500 jobs this week across its investment banking, trading and asset management businesses, a person familiar with the situation said Friday, a 5... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 16 May 2008 | 10:46 pm
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley cut 1,500 jobs this week across its investment banking, trading and asset management businesses, a person familiar with the situation said Friday, a 5 percent reduction of non-broker employees.
Twenty years is the magic number when it comes to nostalgia, and that time's arrived for Generation X, whose members are now becoming parents with purchasing power. Caitlan Carroll reports on how the entertainment industry is getting in position. Source: Marketplace | 16 May 2008 | 10:33 pm
Even the business of sports has been affected by the credit crunch. Dan Kaplan of the Sports Business Journal explains to Kai Ryssdal. Source: Marketplace | 16 May 2008 | 10:33 pm
Stockbroker and business analyst David Johnson chats with host Kai Ryssdal about what happened on Wall Street this week and what may lie ahead. Source: Marketplace | 16 May 2008 | 10:33 pm
President Bush travels from Saudi Arabia to Egypt on Saturday for meetings with Arab leaders. The economic fortunes of those two countries are very different. But commentator and journalist Mona Eltahawy says they've got one unfortunate thing in common. Source: Marketplace | 16 May 2008 | 10:33 pm
For the first time, cancer doctors and researchers have put the abstracts of their cancer studies online in advance of their major annual meeting later this month. And you can bet Wall Street has been poring over the reports. Janet Babin has the story. Source: Marketplace | 16 May 2008 | 10:33 pm
Fannie Mae, one of the big government-backed mortgage financers, is trying to jump-start the flagging real estate market. It's lowering downpayment requirements for neighborhoods where home prices were falling. John Dimsdale reports. Source: Marketplace | 16 May 2008 | 10:33 pm
Demand for gas may be dropping, but worldwide demand for diesel is increasing. And prices have risen nearly three times as fast as for regular gas. So refiners are going all out to boost production. Sam Eaton reports. Source: Marketplace | 16 May 2008 | 10:33 pm
Visiting Saudi Arabia, President Bush asked the Saudis to open the taps on their oil production a little wider. The Saudis said sure, they'll boost production, but they'll decide how much. Jeremy Hobson reports. Source: Marketplace | 16 May 2008 | 10:33 pm
Oil prices hit a record approaching $128 a barrel for the first time on fresh worries about global supplies. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 16 May 2008 | 10:29 pm
Despite a bad reputation, payday loan stores are popping up on every corner and now, online. Scott asks Stephen Franklin about the success of payday lenders and the pitfalls of signing up. Source: Marketplace Money | 16 May 2008 | 10:28 pm
Barack Obama accused George W. Bush and John McCain of trying to fool the US electorate by comparing advocates of talks with America's adversaries to the "appeasers" of Nazi Germany Source: FT.com - US homepage | 16 May 2008 | 10:20 pm
The announcement of an increase production by about 300,000 barrels a day came after a plea by US president George W. Bush to King Abdullah at a meeting in Riyadh Source: FT.com - US homepage | 16 May 2008 | 10:17 pm
With budgets tight, more people are turning to the Internet to trade their possessions for cash. Scott speaks to one such seller who just parted with his prized amp collection. Source: Marketplace Money | 16 May 2008 | 10:14 pm
Shareholders suing Yahoo Inc. for its alleged mishandling of Microsoft Corp.’s acquisition offer requested a hearing Friday to address what they say are the company’s attempts to wrongfully conceal “unflattering” details of the failed merger talks.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S.government proposed on Friday to auction some takeoff and landing rights at the New York area's two international airports, as a way to boost competition, a... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 16 May 2008 | 10:13 pm
Are you one of the millions of waiters in LA hoping for your big break? On this week's "A Day in the Work Life," we see how casting director Felicia Fasano finds the next famous face. Source: Marketplace Money | 16 May 2008 | 10:07 pm
In this edition of Getting Personal, Chris and Scott talk about a sorority's collection agency threat, dissolving an LLC, timeshares and digging up an investment firm's past. Source: Marketplace Money | 16 May 2008 | 10:03 pm
The U.S. Department of Energy announces it will stop sending oil to the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve in anticipation of upcoming legislation that would temporarily halt such shipments.
Stocks were mixed Friday, with the S&P 500 managing to eke out a multi-month high, despite record oil and gas prices and a weak consumer sentiment index.
The Internet has allowed us to automate more aspects of our lives. Commentator Ron Lieber introduces us to the next step: subscription toiletries, courtesy of Amazon. Source: Marketplace Money | 16 May 2008 | 9:56 pm
Booz Allen, a government and corporate consulting firm, will split its business in two and sell a stake in its government advisory branch to Carlyle Group, the Washington-based private equity firm Source: FT.com - US homepage | 16 May 2008 | 9:56 pm
Wheat shortages mean rising prices for a loaf of bread. Ashley Milne-Tyte examines the impact on bakers and bread lovers alike. Source: Marketplace Money | 16 May 2008 | 9:48 pm
If prices are up, how are inflation fears decreasing? Economics editor Chris Farrell sets the story straight, explaining how the CPI relates to your rising grocery bill. Source: Marketplace Money | 16 May 2008 | 9:40 pm
The US bank is looking to sell its German retail banking operations as part of the radical steps being taken by Vikram Pandit, chief executive, to scale back his company's operations in the wake of the credit crisis Source: FT.com - US homepage | 16 May 2008 | 9:40 pm
A down market can be the best time to rearrange your money. Scott talks to Christine Fahlund about taking advantage of the moment to convert your Traditional IRA to a Roth. Source: Marketplace Money | 16 May 2008 | 9:36 pm
The Treasury Department said Friday it sent out more than 15 million economic stimulus payments this week, totaling more than $13.5 billion, in an effort to boost the nation's spending power.
The Serious Fraud Office will have its work cut out investigating allegedly fraudulent investments that have left Kiwis around $600 million out of pocket.
After months of speculation, late yesterday SFO director Grant Liddell announced... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 16 May 2008 | 9:20 pm
NEW YORK - Oil shot to a record high near $128 a barrel as a bullish price forecast from investment bank Goldman Sachs drowned out an offer of more supply from Opec kingpin Saudi Arabia.
US crude settled up $2.17 at $126.29 a barrel... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 16 May 2008 | 9:19 pm
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fannie Mae, the largest U.S. home funding source, is setting a single national standard for down payments on mortgages it buys, including areas where home prices are falling, in an effort to stimulate the housing market.
Mac's Brewery in Stoke, the small beer maker which sparked a craft brewing revolution is to close at the end of May.
Production will be transferred to parent company Lion Nathan's plants in Christchurch and Wellington.
Terry... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 16 May 2008 | 9:08 pm
Reuters - U.S. consumer confidence tumbled to a
28-year low this month as rising prices strained household
finances, while another drop in single-family housing starts
underscored problems still plaguing the economy.
AP - Teen retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. said Friday that its first-quarter earnings rose 3 percent from a year ago on stronger sales. Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 16 May 2008 | 8:52 pm
We'd all like some guidance on our finances, but how can you make sure your adviser has your best interests in mind? Jeremy Hobson explains how to pick the right financial planner. Source: Marketplace Money | 16 May 2008 | 8:50 pm
Reuters - Stocks finished little changed on
Friday as surging oil prices lifted energy shares and offset
data that showed consumer confidence sank to its lowest in 28
years.
There's no question about it, a new breed of speculator is pouring money into the oil market and helping drive prices to record levels. What's less certain is if this new money is essential to a healthy market.
Matthew Garrahan looks at California's increasingly uphill struggle to remain the capital of the entertainment industry Source: FT.com - US homepage | 16 May 2008 | 7:46 pm
Today didn't look like the normal 52-week low brigade. Usually there is a massive implosion of some sort that took a stock under. Most of these were just more selling trends on news that has already been out. Here are today's featured lows: GenCorp Inc. (NYSE: GY) wasn't under its 52-week low in the last hour today, but hit $8.23 vs. an $8.28 prior. Aerospace & Defense and Real Estate. Bad combo. Globalstar (NASDAQ: GSAT) got back above its prior $3.08 low over the last 52-weeks, but this one just seems to keep getting worse. Lionbridge Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: LIOX)...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc will begin cutting jobs starting next week, CNBC Television reported on Friday, without citing sources.
Reuters - Investment bank Lehman Brothers
Holdings Inc will begin cutting jobs starting next
week, CNBC Television reported on Friday, without citing
sources.
Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTI) is seeing shares under pressure because of its secondary offering. The company priced a secondary offering of 3,800,000 shares of common stock for $14.00 per share. After the drop and before the added share inclusion, Ascent's market cap was $210 million. J.P. Morgan was the managing lead underwriter; co-managers were listed as Cowen & Co., Jefferies, and Merriman Curhan Ford. Ascent plans to use the net proceeds from the offering for the design, purchase, installation, qualification and testing of production tools for approximately 30 MW capacity for the production of thin-film PV modules, and...
Wall Street stocks slipped back but remained ahead for the week as resurgent oil prices boosted energy stocks but threatened to squeeze already weak consumer spending and financials lost ground Source: FT.com - US homepage | 16 May 2008 | 5:59 pm
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Time Warner Inc Chairman Richard Parsons said he is likely to step down in the next year, clearing the path for Chief Executive Jeffrey Bewkes to assume the role.
A powerful aftershock Friday near the epicentre of the quake caused landslides, hindering rescuers, as President Hu Jintao visited the disaster area for the first time Source: FT.com - US homepage | 16 May 2008 | 5:52 pm
Burma has failed to respond to a series of offers to let the US military deliver aid to the country, as the official death toll from the cyclone rose to 78,000 Source: FT.com - US homepage | 16 May 2008 | 5:50 pm
Del Monte Foods Company (NYSE: DLM) is responding to written reports and confirmed that the company is exploring strategic alternatives for its seafood business, which could include a potential sale of the business. Of course it cannot assure that its exploration of strategic alternatives will result in a transaction and that the Board of Directors has not approved a transaction at this time. Del Monte Foods generated $3.414 Billion in sales for fiscal April 29, 2007, and StarKist Seafood operating segment had sales of $542.4 million, a decrease of $23.5 million or 4.2%, compared to fiscal 2006. Del Monte's total...
The central banks of Sweden, Denmark and Norway unveiled a €1.5bn emergency funding package to support Iceland's troubled currency and stabilise its banking system Source: FT.com - US homepage | 16 May 2008 | 5:20 pm
The four key economic indicators at present are the housing market, retail sales, unemployment and inflation.
Data on all these have been released in the past 10 days, giving us an opportunity to assess how the economy is travelling... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 16 May 2008 | 5:00 pm
We're amazed at how difficult it's been to sell," says Maureen Renno of her four-bed apartment at Calahonda, near Marbella on the Costa del Sol.
"We thought it would go really quickly but it's been on the market for over two years."
Renno... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 16 May 2008 | 5:00 pm
It is sad to see glamorous multi-million dollar property developments going to mortgagee sales.
As much as it is disappointing for those who have their investment dollars tied up in such schemes, it is also another reminder of... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 16 May 2008 | 5:00 pm
Yahoo chief executive Jerry Yang spent months fending off Microsoft's unsolicited takeover bid. Now he may only have a few weeks to persuade the software maker to revive its last offer of US$47.5 billion ($62.7 billion), or risk being... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 16 May 2008 | 5:00 pm
Helen Clark's international legacy will not be as a champion of the earth but as the Prime Minister whose highly nuanced diplomacy ensured New Zealand a seat at the Asian table.
A prime minister who has done us proud on the international... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 16 May 2008 | 5:00 pm
While many small Auckland city fringe industrial and warehouse buildings have been demolished in recent years to make way for apartment developments or refurbished character offices, they are still hot properties in their own right.
Light... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 16 May 2008 | 5:00 pm
Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to invest in one of the largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in the world.
The oil major's decision yesterday to co-sponsor the final stage of the £80 million ($205 million) Weyburn-Midale... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 16 May 2008 | 5:00 pm
Indian mobile firm Bharti Telecom is in talks about buying South Africa's MTN, reports say. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 16 May 2008 | 4:41 pm
Japan's economy grew by just 1 per cent in the first three months of 2008 as strong exports to China and other emerging economies failed to offset weak capital spending Source: FT.com - US homepage | 16 May 2008 | 4:29 pm
British Airways reports a sharp jump in annual profits to £883m but its boss says he will not accept a bonus. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 16 May 2008 | 4:17 pm
US conglomerate General Electric is set to quit the household appliances market after 100 years. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 16 May 2008 | 4:00 pm
Carl Icahn is a billionaire financier, activist, and investor. Most think of Icahn as an activist investor that wants to get inside and drive value without having to acquire the whole company to resell it later. This strategy works and works well, so long as the right strategies and efforts are applied properly to each stock. The underlying sector a company is in is critical too, and for some reason Carl Icahn has been trying to do this in biotech stocks. We took the biotech filings from both Mr. Icahn's own holdings and from Icahn Capital LP to see what...
US consumer sentiment is now at its lowest level in almost 28 years, says a closely-watched survey. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 16 May 2008 | 3:30 pm
A row breaks out over Bangalore's new international airport, as it gets ready to open on 23 May. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 16 May 2008 | 3:05 pm
When credit was easy, private equity's multibillion-dollar buyout frenzy was like a great party: The champagne was flowing and no one was too concerned about who was picking up the tab.
After the summer's credit crunch, the party ended. Some deals collapsed. One that may survive is the buyout of the radio-station chain Clear Channel Communications after the private equity buyers and six banks reached a settlement this week over $22 billion in financing.
In the sober light of today, are there lessons for dealmakers from Clear Channel?
Yes, lawyers say.
"We need to look at ways to get the financing lined up and locked in sooner—potentially right away, right after or before the merger agreement," says Marilyn Sonnie, a partner with the New York office of Jones Day, who advised Harman International on its failed buyout with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., which was terminated last August.
In the case of Clear Channel, the financing for the deal was memorialized in a May 2007 commitment letter that left open many terms, heading toward a closing.
By late fall and winter, those open terms, according to Clear Channel and the two private equity firms sponsoring the leveraged buyout, became an opportunity to inject "poisonous terms" to jettison the financing deal. Two lawsuits in New York and Texas followed.
Defending the lawsuits, the six banks, led by Deutsche Bank and Citigroup, were put in the bizarre position of arguing that their standard operating procedure—the use of a commitment letter to memorialize financing—could not be enforced.
The New York case sought to hold the banks to $22 billion in financing—"specific performance" in the legal jargon. In one deliciously schizophrenic line, the banks' motion seeking summary judgment dismissing the claims said: "The commitment letter is a binding preliminary agreement that left open numerous terms to be negotiated over time by the parties." It is Contracts 101 that an agreement with open terms is an illusory contract. Leaving the law aside, taken away from the litigation, the argument has the hint of commercial suicide for its relationships in the marketplace.
The banks were confident that they were going to win the summary judgment motion, but Justice Helen Freedman of the New York State Supreme Court said that the breach of contract claims could go to trial. But her opinion pretty much evenly divided the risks of going to trial between both sides. She described the plaintiffs' evidence that the defendants had threatened to refuse to finance the deal unless they agreed to "poisonous" terms as "not compelling."
The deal lawyers who read her May 7 opinion had one word for it: She wrote a "settlement document." It offset the early wins by Clear Channel in the Texas case, accusing the banks of "tortuous interference" with the merger agreement—a claim with potentially unlimited damages, filed in the state known for the landmark Pennzoil verdict. (Clear Channel even tapped Joe Jamail, who won the $11 billion Pennzoil case in 1985, as its lead counsel. For a peek at Jamail in action, watch this video.)
By Monday, May 12, Freedman's tactic seemed to have worked. Court was adjourned and CNBC's David Faber reported on a deal to settle the litigations. The next day at 2 p.m., the plaintiffs' first witness, John Connaughton, a managing director at Bain, took the stand and offered a rare glimpse into the private equity world, suggesting the banks were off the reservation, especially in changing language known in the industry as "sponsor precedent," lingo for "terms customer" in these deals.
The clean-cut Connaughton, whose youthful appearance does not show the stress of 19 years in private equity at Bain, was a strong witness on direct, and offered plain English translations of the language of private equity to Freeman with ease. (Even though he had not slept in two nights.) Connaughton would have returned to the stand Wednesday morning to testify that the banks had drawn a line in the sand, restricting use of loan proceeds to pay off Clear Channel's preexisting debts.
But that never happened. The $36-per-share deal, down from the original $39.20-per-share deal, signed late Tuesday night requires the banks and the buyers to put cash into an escrow account to fund the deal while Clear Channel seeks shareholder and regulatory approvals.
An escrow fund is probably an unrealistic option for obtaining certainty outside the context of litigation. But other aspects of the amended deal, as memorialized in an Securities and Exchange Commission filing by Clear Channel on Wednesday, could be adopted by other deals, to make sure they in fact close in a timely fashion. For instance, Clear Channel shareholders will get an increased price if the deal closes after the third quarter.
But lawyers predict the protracted battle will alter the way the players approach these deals in the future: "The way the litigation arose and was concluded will have implications regarding the way in which lenders and private equity firms structure the terms of the debt in future transactions and the way in which the parties—sellers, private equity buyers and lenders—will protect themselves from uncertainty until closing," says Michael Hefter, a securities lawyer with the New York office of Orrick.
But Elizabeth Nowicki, a corporate law professor at Tulane Law School, is not so sure how much things will really change. "A target now knows they need to get something more specific from a bank than a commitment letter," she says.
On the other hand, "the banks want no specific performance" from their end. "The question is whether we are going to see any change. I don't know if we are going to end up with documents or deals that are more clear. This case has highlighted that there is so much room for play and ambiguity and litigation."
It has been a long 18 months since the Clear Channel deal was announced, time in which its management and employees have been districted and its stock has inched down. "It's very hard to run a company and focus on making profits when you are in limbo," says Jones Day's Sonnie.
And Nowicki, for one, doesn't even think the saga is yet over.
Construction of new US homes increased in April, raising hopes that the housing market may be recovering. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 16 May 2008 | 1:49 pm
Pharmacopeia, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCOP) is seeing shares surge in pre-market and at the open of trading today. The company said that PS433540, its first-in-class Dual Acting Receptor Antagonist, showed statistically significant blood pressure reductions in a Phase IIa study in patients with mild to moderate hypertension. PS433540 is being evaluated and developed as a potential treatment for hypertension and diabetic nephropathy, and the company said this is a novel blood pressure product candidate that possesses two validated action mechanisms in a single molecule. The data will be presented today at the at the American Society of Hypertension Scientific Meeting and...
There is a glut of housing, driving down prices. So let's build some more!
Construction starts on new homes surged a surprising 8.2 percent in April from March, the Commerce Department reported. The unexpected positive headline may buoy markets today and support those who argue that the worst in housing is over.
But the strength was entirely in multiunit construction, apartments, and condominiums: Those starts jumped 36 percent in April.
Construction starts on single-family homes fell 1.7 percent in April from March, to a rate of 692,000, its lowest level in 17 years.
"The headline increase in starts means nothing, it is all due to a rebound in the hugely volatile'' category of multiunit housing, Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, New York, wrote in a note, Bloomberg News reported.
Still, building permits for single-family homes, an indicator of future activity, rose 4 percent in April from March.
Housing starts data are notoriously volatile, and the government gives the numbers wide margins of error.
And homebuilders remain in a bleak mood about the near future. An index of confidence by the National Association of Homebuilders and Wells Fargo fell in late April and early May, to near its record low of December 2007.
The president of the association said on Thursday, "The single-family housing market is still deteriorating, and Congress and the Administration must move immediately to enact legislation that will help reverse the trend."
Shares in the world's largest miner BHP Billiton rise on speculation about investment from China. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 16 May 2008 | 12:54 pm
General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) has confirmed that it is reviewing strategic options for its Appliances business operations. Three possibilities were noted for the unit: a strategic partnership or joint venture; spin off; or the sale of the business. GE's Chairman & CEO Jeff Immelt said that it has exited slower growth and more volatile businesses and generated $52 billion in gross proceeds from those dispositions. Well, when you have Ecomagination, GE Oil, jet engines and services, medical tech, key finance operations, and more, maybe kicking out the appliances operations will let the company get closer to that old target...
One advertising deal helped drive away Microsoft. Can Yahoo do the trick enough times to stave off Carl Icahn?
Yahoo has again become active on the advertising front, striking an alliance today with ad-agency giant WPP. And Peter Lauria and Holly Sanders of the New York Postreport that Yahoo is near a deal with Google on a search-ad alliance.
In the WPP deal, the company's ad agencies, working through its 24/7 Real Media unit, will develop a trading platform that connects to Yahoo's online ad exchange.
Stephanie Clifford of the New York Timesexplains: "The thousands of Web publishers that use Yahoo's advertising auction service to sell space on their sites will get more direct access to WPP's clients. Those clients, in turn, will be able to funnel their messages to website visitors who might be particularly receptive, using technology" from 24/7 Real Media.
"More and more, we see the need for agencies and media and technology companies to work together to create a new level of value," said Mark Read, WPP's director of strategy and chief executive of WPP Digital.
The deal comes just a week after WPP's chief executive, Martin Sorrell, was bemoaning the collapse of the talks between Microsoft and Yahoo on CNBC, saying that advertisers need a competitive alternative to Google.
Yahoo plans to announce a more permanent alliance with Google than its brief test in the next week, the Post says.
The alliance will be structured as an "open platform," allowing anyone to bid for the right to place ads on search results.
That approach, as Karen Donovan explained last month at Portfolio.com, is the only chance the alliance has of passing regulatory muster, given that a Yahoo-Google combination represents 90 percent of the search market.
While the approach may not exclude any competitors, Google's superior technology means that it would likely win a majority of the bids.
Consumers will be "crucified" unless ministers change the target for fighting inflation, a leading economist warns. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 16 May 2008 | 11:52 am
The US should lower trade barriers and grow exports to boost its economy, the World Trade Organization says. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 16 May 2008 | 11:42 am
Reuters - Morgan Stanley cut 1,500 jobs
this week across its investment banking, trading and asset
management businesses, a person familiar with the situation
said Friday, a 5 percent reduction of non-broker employees.
Reuters - U.S. consumer confidence tumbled to a
28-year low this month as rising prices strained household
finances, while another drop in single-family housing starts
underscored problems still plaguing the economy.
Reuters - Stocks finished little changed on
Friday as surging oil prices lifted energy shares and offset
data that showed consumer confidence sank to its lowest in 28
years.
Reuters - Investment bank Lehman Brothers
Holdings Inc will begin cutting jobs starting next
week, CNBC Television reported on Friday, without citing
sources.