Drax, which runs the UK's largest coal-fired power station, has become the latest victim of the credit crunch after being forced to pull its refinancing plans. Source: Telegraph Business | 12 Jun 2008 | 1:30 pm
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock futures cut gains on Thursday but remained in positive territory after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc replaced its chief financial officer and chief operating officer.
Two senior executives at Lehman Brothers are to step down days after the US bank announced huge losses. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 12 Jun 2008 | 1:22 pm
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc said on Thursday it demoted its chief financial officer, Erin Callan, and named a new chief operating officer as well, days after the investment bank said it expects to post a $2.8 billion quarterly loss.
Lehman Brothers, days after announcing a $2.8 billion loss, said Thursday that it would replace two of its top executives, including its chief financial officer, Erin Callan.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales at U.S. retailers rose a much stronger-than-expected 1 percent in May as many consumers had more spending cash in their wallets from government tax rebate checks, a report on Thursday showed.
AP - Retail sales jumped by the largest amount in six months in May as 57 million economic stimulus payments helped offset the headwinds buffeting consumers.
Jump-started by an infusion of nearly $50 billion in stimulus checks from Uncle Sam, retail sales rose a surprising 1% in May, the fastest increase in six months, the Commerce Department reports.
Retail sales rose more than expected in May, the first full month of payments aimed at stimulating the economy, according to a government report released Thursday.
Shares in Lehman Brothers fell in pre-market trading on news that Erin Callan was leaving her role as chief financial officer. The move punctured the mood on Wall Street where stocks were set to rebound from sharp losses as investors cheered lower oil prices, takeover news and better -than-expected retail data Source: FT.com - US homepage | 12 Jun 2008 | 1:08 pm
U.S. stock futures on Thursday rose as a $46 billion takeover bid for Anheuser-Busch, a big decline in oil prices and a rise in retail sales set the stage for a rebound from the last session’s rout.
AFP - US retail sales surged a stronger-than-expected 1.0 percent in May, as American consumers appeared to splurge out more on purchases, a government report showed Thursday.
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) - Israeli shares traded in a tight range a day after declines on Wall Street, with the chemicals producers and Alvarion higher and Teva Pharmaceutical slipping.
Thornburg Mortgage Inc. on Thursday reported a quarterly loss of more than $3 billion as the company was hit hard by falling market values in its mortgage and loan portfolios.
South Korea said it would send its top trade negotiator to the United States to try to revise an agreement to resume imports of beef that has triggered major demonstrations. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 12 Jun 2008 | 12:42 pm
BANGALORE (Reuters) - Thornburg Mortgage Inc , a specialist in jumbo home loans that nearly went bankrupt in March, on Thursday posted a $3.31 billion first-quarter loss as the value of mortgages and other securities it owns plummeted.
Reuters - Stock futures extended gains on
Thursday as a report showing that retail sales grew at a
stronger-than-expected pace in May calmed worries about the
impact of higher gasoline prices on consumer spending.
U.S. stock futures on Thursday rose as a $46 billion takeover bid for Anheuser-Busch, a big decline in oil prices and a rise in retail sales set the stage for a rebound from the last session’s rout.
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Caterpillar Inc. and Navistar International Corp. will begin cooperating to pursue new on-highway truck business and cooperate on a variety of engine platforms.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Invitrogen Corp would buy Applied Biosystems Inc in a deal valued at $6.7 billion to form a global leader in providing tools for the life sciences industry, the companies said on Thursday.
Ethanol stocks appear to be under pressure this morning. Citigroup has downgraded the group to a SELL rating, partially based upon the Midwest flooding. VeraSun (NYSE: VSE) and BioFuel Energy (NASDAQ: BIOF) were cut to a "SELL" rating from "BUY" and Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM) was cut to "HOLD" from "BUY." Over the last week and a half the flooding has caused irreparable damage to this year's corn market. Corn prices have risen and are likely to destroy margins despite the subsidy. Cash costs are running above sell-through rates for small and mid-sized producers and Citi even believes some...
U.S. stock futures on Thursday rose as a $46 billion takeover bid for Anheuser-Busch, a big decline in oil prices and expectations that retail sales will be on the positive side gave a filip to a market derailed during the last session.
First-time filings for state unemployment benefits spike upwards in the latest week, hitting their highest level since late March, as the number of continuing jobless claims marked their highest level since early 2004, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Prices of goods imported into the U.S. rose 2.3% in May, the Labor Department reported Thursday, with elevated prices for petroleum and natural gas mostly behind the gain.
Reuters - Total sales at U.S. retailers rose a
full percentage point in May as many consumers had more
spending cash in their wallets from government rebate checks, a
report on Thursday showed.
Reuters - InBev began courting
Anheuser-Busch owners and staff on Thursday and its stock rose
strongly after it made a $46.3 billion bid to add Budweiser to
its own Stella Artois and Beck's beers and create the world's
largest brewer.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - InBev began courting Anheuser-Busch owners and staff on Thursday and its stock rose strongly after it made a $46.3 billion bid to add Budweiser to its own Stella Artois and Beck's beers and create the world's largest brewer.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - General Motors Corp's head of European operations said rising oil prices, high commodity costs and the strength of the euro could drive European sales down to levels not seen in decades.
These are ten of the analyst calls we are focusing on this Thursday morning: Archer-Daniels (NYSE: ADM) cut to Hold at Citigroup. ASM Intl NV (NASDAQ: ASMI) started as Underperform at Jefferies. China Netcom (NYSE: CN) and China Unicom (NYSE: CHU) raised to Hold at Deutsche Bank. Fortress Investment (NYSE: FIG) cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse. Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN) raised to Outperform at KBW. Martha Stewart (NYSE: MSO) cut to Neutral at JPMorgan. Nortel (NYSE: NT) raised to Overweight at JPMorgan. Ryland Group (NYSE: RYL) raised to Buy at UBS. Teradyne (NYSE: TER) started as Neutral at Piper...
Stockholm, June 12 British oil major BP accused its Russian billionaire partners in TNK-BP of being corporate raiders and said the Kremlin was doing nothing to stop them trying to wrest control of the... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 12 Jun 2008 | 12:09 pm
Back in 2001, the executives running Australian mining giant BHP Billiton sensed that China's economic growth was gaining critical mass. So they commissioned a study on how the country's rapid industrialization might affect the global markets for copper, coal, iron ore, oil - all the stuff that the company pulls out of the earth and sells.
Mobile phone firm O2 loses a four-year court battle with Hutchison 3G for using its bubbles trademark in adverts. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 12 Jun 2008 | 12:03 pm
Music giant Universal Music loses a court battle to stop an eBay trader from reselling promotional CDs. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 12 Jun 2008 | 12:02 pm
Reuters - Thornburg Mortgage Inc , a
specialist in jumbo home loans that nearly went bankrupt in
March, on Thursday posted a $3.31 billion first-quarter loss as
the value of mortgages and other securities it owns plummeted.
The British public expects the cost of living to soar at more than double the
rate of official targets in the coming year, according to the Bank of
England’s latest survey of inflation expectations. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 12 Jun 2008 | 11:22 am
The Russian partners in oil group TNK-BP plan to take legal action against BP after a power struggle, reports say. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 12 Jun 2008 | 11:10 am
European stock markets rose on Thursday, shrugging off heavy share-price falls in Asia and on Wall Street which were driven by another spike in oil futures and inflation worries, analysts... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 12 Jun 2008 | 11:10 am
The dollar climbed against the euro and the yen on Thursday as traders waited to see whether Group of Eight finance ministers would voice support for a stronger greenback, dealers said. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 12 Jun 2008 | 11:08 am
PEORIA, Ill., June 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) will conduct a real-time, listen-only teleconference with security analysts and institutional Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 12 Jun 2008 | 11:02 am
Mortgage lender HBOS mounted a strong rally on Thursday taking the rest of London's banking sector and the benchmark FTSE 100 index with it.By midday, the FTSE 100 climbed 43 points, or 0.8 per cent, to... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 12 Jun 2008 | 11:01 am
Cat And Navistar To Focus On Global Truck Business And Cooperate On Engine Technologies PEORIA, Ill., June 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT)... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 12 Jun 2008 | 11:00 am
- EARN YOUR WAY INTO SPACE - EARN 3 MILES FOR EVERY $1 SPENT ON VIRGIN ATLANTIC - EARN UP TO 1.5 MILES ON EVERYDAY SPEND - EARN REWARDS AMONG THE BEST IN INDUSTRY Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 12 Jun 2008 | 11:00 am
Two big development groups say they will invest in new roads and develop new technologies to boost Africa's agriculture. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 12 Jun 2008 | 10:58 am
LONDON, June 12 /PRNewswire/ -- - Moneybookers Offers Secure and Instant Money Transfers Worldwide and at Very low Cost For many teenagers,... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 12 Jun 2008 | 10:52 am
Iberdrola, the Spanish energy company, has pulled out of the running for
British Energy, dealing another blow to the Government's plan to sell the
nuclear generator. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 12 Jun 2008 | 10:41 am
The dollar rose to a one-month high against a basket of currencies on Thursday, benefiting from hopes that the US economy would hold up better than expected and give the Federal Reserve more room to fight... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 12 Jun 2008 | 10:41 am
Portuguese hauliers make a deal to end a strike against rising fuel prices, but action by Spanish colleagues continues. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 12 Jun 2008 | 10:36 am
Starbucks (SBUX) is going to put another 150 stores in Europe. They are closing them in the US, so perhaps it all balances out. The coffee chain has come up against competition from places like McDonald's (MCD) and Dunkin Donuts in the US. And, the economy does not support people who can buy $5 a cup coffee. Maybe Europe is different. But, McDonald's is there along with a recession. Starbucks is doing a clever job of hedging its bets as it expands on the continent. Instead of opening its own stores, it will "license 150 new locations in Britain, France...
European stocks edged into positive territory on Thursday, breaking a six-day fall as Belgian brewer InBev jumped after making an unsoliticited takeover bid for Anheuser Busch and oil stocks lent further... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 12 Jun 2008 | 10:33 am
Afghanistan's president appeals for $50bn in aid, amid concerns about how funds are spent as donors meet in Paris. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 12 Jun 2008 | 10:30 am
Woolworths, the UK retailer, has been fined £350,000 by the Financial Services
Authority (FSA) for taking too long to disclose sensitive information to the
stock market. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 12 Jun 2008 | 10:30 am
KIRKLAND, Wash., June 12 /PRNewswire/ -- A few months ago, members of Congress asked the Social Security Commission to clear up a misperception of many Americans... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 12 Jun 2008 | 10:30 am
Company Launches 2nd Compliance Fund for Industrials Required to Cut Emissions Participants Include Union Fenosa and Eneco NEW YORK and LONDON, June 12 /PRNewswire/ --... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 12 Jun 2008 | 10:30 am
Oil prices dipped on Thursday after a strong rise in the previous session but corn continued its record breaking run after jumping by its daily trading limit on Wednesday. In electronic trading, CBOT July... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 12 Jun 2008 | 10:25 am
Gordon Brown urges the two sides in a dispute over fuel deliveries to reach agreement to prevent strike action. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 12 Jun 2008 | 10:24 am
Investors figure the only way that GM (GM) makes it out of its current troubles is that its overseas operations make money to offset trouble in the US. In the domestic market, GM is faced with losing share to Honda (HMC) and Toyota (TM). Worse, the size of the total market for vehicles is falling. The program got a blow when the head of GM Europe said things there are as bad as they were in the 1980s. According to Reuters, "General Motors Corp's head of European operations said rising oil prices, high commodity costs and the strength of the...
The chief executive of Home Retail Group, the owner of Argos and Homebase, said that the outlook for the UK consumer is getting worse. Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 12 Jun 2008 | 10:10 am
The chief executive of Home Retail Group, the owner of Argos and Homebase, said that the outlook for the UK consumer is getting worse. Source: Telegraph Business | 12 Jun 2008 | 10:10 am
UK mortgage lenders are continuing to turn the screws on first-time buyers as
the average deposit rose to a three-year high of 13 per cent and the number
of new loans granted in April slumped by 36 per cent. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 12 Jun 2008 | 10:03 am
Analyst and Investor Conference Call / Webcast Today at 9.30 A.M. EST / 3.30 P.M. CET Interview with Chief Executive Officer Carlos Brito Available on Website ... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 12 Jun 2008 | 10:00 am
DENVER, June 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MDC) announced today it will broadcast a presentation being made at the Bank of America 2008... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 12 Jun 2008 | 10:00 am
Some of AIG's (AIG) big investors wanted to throw out management. But, that was not enough for them. With the smell of blood in their nostrils they have decided that the board of directors should go as well. The big players in the matter, which include billionaire Eli Broad and fund manager Shelby Davis "said in a letter sent to the board Wednesday that "significant and immediate changes at both the management and board level are clearly called for," according to The Wall Street Journal. They have a point. The insurance company has lost $13 billion in the last two...
Citigroup is to close an $800 million hedge fund co-founded by its chief
executive Vikram Pandit, following bad returns and the loss of top managers.$ Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 12 Jun 2008 | 9:52 am
Carphone Warehouse on Thursday sounded a cautious note on growth in mobile connections and broadband subscriptions in the face of the poor economic climate.Charles Dunstone, chief executive, said the group... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 12 Jun 2008 | 9:43 am
One of the hedge funds that Citigroup (C) bought from its CEO Vikram Pandit's money management company, an operation called Old Lane, has gone belly-up. Pandit got $165 million from the deal and was eventually made head man at Citi as a booby prize. To overcome the embarrassment, he can hide in the executive washroom for a day. By the time he comes out other, more pressing problems, will be barreling down on the bank. Pandit's sin is not that he made a sale to Citi which did not work out. He has done something much worse. On his watch...
US coffee chain Starbucks is to open more outlets in Europe after signing a licensing deal. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 12 Jun 2008 | 9:32 am
Asia shares plunged on Thursday as oil jumped by $5 a barrel overnight in New York and worries about inflation deepened. A lower-than-expected figure for Chinese inflation in May failed to lighten the... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 12 Jun 2008 | 9:16 am
SYDNEY (Reuters) - BHP Billiton Ltd/Plc on Thursday took its case for a takeover of rival Rio Tinto Ltd/Plc to well-heeled investors on Thursday, saying a marriage could better capture markets in fast-industrializing Asian economies.
Mortgage lender HBOS mounted a strong rally on Thursday taking the rest of London's banking sector and the benchmark FTSE 100 index with it.The FTSE 100 climbed 35 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 5,759.9 by... Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 12 Jun 2008 | 8:48 am
Shares in HBOS, Britain's biggest savings bank and largest mortgage lender,
continued their fall beyond its rights issue price today despite a rally at
mid morning. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 12 Jun 2008 | 8:36 am
The share price of InBev was up sharply after it unveiled an unsolicited $46.3bn takeover bid for US rival Anheuser-Busch which could give it control of about one-quarter of the world's beer market Source: FT.com - US homepage | 12 Jun 2008 | 8:18 am
MELBOURNE - Australian share market closed sharply lower today as economic uncertainty and high oil prices pulled most stocks back.
At the 1615 AEST close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index had fallen 138.1 points, or 2.53 per cent,... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 12 Jun 2008 | 8:11 am
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc Chief Executive Eric Schmidt on Wednesday detailed his theory of competition in the Web industry while saying Google's famous mantra of "Don't be evil" is often misunderstood.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Starbucks Corp is boosting its European presence with plans to license 150 new locations in Britain, France and Germany over the next three years in a deal with UK group SSP, Starbucks said on Thursday.
According to Reuters, InBev made $46.3 billion offer for Anheuser-Busch (BUD). Reuters reports that AIG (AIG) shareholders are demanding board changes. Reuters writes that the GM (GM) Europe sales chief sees a sales slump. Reuters reports that Saudi Arabia is bringing the oil producers and consumers together for a summit on the high price of oil. Reuters reports that Starbucks (SBUX) will open 150 more stories in Europe. Reuters writes that Washington Mutual (WM) said it had no regulatory problems as its shares sold off. Reuters reports that continuing concerns about its balance sheet drove Lehman (LEH) shares down. The...
Markets in Asia were down sharply. The Nikkei fell 2.1% to 13,889. NEC fell 4.5% to 547. Sony (SNE) fell 2.8% to 5130. Toyota (TM) fell 2.7% to 5400. The Hnag Seng dropped. 1.6% to 22,960. China Life (LFC) fell 2.4% to 28.40. China Petroleum (SNP) dropped 2.7% to 7.35. The Shanghai Composite moved down 2.2% to 2,958. Data from Reuters Douglas A. McIntyre
Argos today provided fresh evidence that the consumer slowdown has spread to
every corner of the high street as it reported first quarter like-for-like
sales had fallen flat and its executives spoke of their increased pessimism
for the year ahead. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 12 Jun 2008 | 7:30 am
Reuters - Starbucks Corp is boosting
its European presence with plans to license 150 new locations
in Britain, France and Germany over the next three years in a
deal with UK group SSP, Starbucks said on Thursday.
Three leading shareholders in AIG stepped up their campaign to shake up the board of the company, calling for 'significant and immediate changes' to the management of the US insurance group Source: FT.com - US homepage | 12 Jun 2008 | 7:24 am
Reuters - General Motors Corp's head of
European operations said rising oil prices, high commodity
costs and the strength of the euro could drive European sales
down to levels not seen in decades.
Inbev, the maker of Stella Artois, has launched an audacious $46.9bn (£23.9bn) takeover bid for the US’s biggest brewer and Budweiser owner Anheuser-Busch. Jonathan Sibun looks at how it could shake up the brewing world. Source: Telegraph Business | 12 Jun 2008 | 7:05 am
The European Commission launches an investigation into the French utility Gaz de France. Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 12 Jun 2008 | 6:59 am
Carphone Warehouse gave warning today that it expects to see lower growth in
its broadband business as the slowdown in the housing market, combined with
strong sales of mobile broadband, start to take effect. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 12 Jun 2008 | 6:56 am
Fletcher Building slid to a more than two-year low today, and the sharemarket capitulated to weakness across the Tasman and on other markets.
With markets down more than 2 per cent in Australia and Japan, the NZSX-50 benchmark... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 12 Jun 2008 | 6:54 am
The New Zealand dollar made gains on the Australian dollar today after Australian employment data printed much worse than anticipated.
Employment in Australia fell sharply in May, snapping a 19-month growth spurt. Economists had... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 12 Jun 2008 | 5:49 am
US authorities have issued a 'wanted' poster of Samuel Israel who vanished after leaving an apparent suicide note written in dust on the hood of his abandoned car on a bridge in upstate New York. Source: FT.com - US homepage | 12 Jun 2008 | 2:44 am
Media Technology Group said today it had a March year net profit of $701,000 against a loss of $585,000 a year ago.
The result included a $811,000 profit on sale of its Australian business and is after deducting depreciation of... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 12 Jun 2008 | 2:30 am
Trips to the supermarket continued to get more painful on the wallet last month.
Food prices leapt 1 per cent in May, Statistics New Zealand figures reveal today.
The Food Price Index was up 6.8 per cent in the past 12 months.
The... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 12 Jun 2008 | 1:00 am
Brandes Investment Partners, the US fund manager which has made hundreds of millions of pounds investing in UK retailers, has sold more than a third of its holding in HMV, the high street entertainment group. Source: Telegraph Business | 12 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
The board of Independent News & Media, publisher of the Independent newspaper, has defeated its dissident shareholder Denis O'Brien after a row over the independence of its non-executive directors. Source: Telegraph Business | 12 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
Britain's housebuilders will soon be required to declare buyers' incentives to ensure that lenders are able to offer mortgages that reflect the true value of a property. Source: Telegraph Business | 12 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
The businessman fronting the proposed rescue of business class-only airline Silverjet is a director of late-filing companies, whose most recent venture has left investors nursing heavy losses. Source: Telegraph Business | 12 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
The Government may have "damaged" Britain's international competitiveness with its "poorly handled" tax reforms, a Lords finance committee has found. Source: Telegraph Business | 12 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
Some of the smaller stockbrokers now believe that Barratt Development's shares have fallen too far and are reiterating a 'buy' recommendation on the shares, bucking the trend among the big investment banks which are advising clients to sell. Source: Telegraph Business | 12 Jun 2008 | 12:01 am
KiwiSaver enrolment numbers are still soaring, with the Government saying more than 70,000 new members joined the super scheme last month.
Total numbers have now passed 670,000, with an average 2,300 signing up every day during... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 12 Jun 2008 | 12:00 am
It looks as if the Bradford & Bingley Carry On may have been merely a
trailer for the main feature, the HBOS Rocky Rights Horror Picture Show. Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 11 Jun 2008 | 11:00 pm
Another hefty fall in Fletcher Building led the sharemarket down today.
The lead from Wall Street was again very negative as the latest spike in crude oil prices undermined sentiment in a market already worried about inflation... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 11 Jun 2008 | 10:31 pm
The plight of the forestry industry is highlighted in a new survey which indicates a general slight contraction in manufacturing activity.
The Bank of New Zealand - Business NZ performance of manufacturing index dropped 2.2 points... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 11 Jun 2008 | 10:30 pm
Wall Street securities firms are unlikely to face the borrowing limits imposed on commercial banks even if the US financial system emerges from the credit crisis with a single regulator, according to Robert Steel, US Treasury undersecretary Source: FT.com - US homepage | 11 Jun 2008 | 10:05 pm
A fall in mortgage rates which started with last week's Reserve Bank statement has now seen a widespread move by banks to lower rates.
A standard two-year fixed rate of 9.2 per cent is now common.
Last Thursday Reserve Bank... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 11 Jun 2008 | 10:00 pm
The dispute over TNK-BP escalated sharply on Wednesday night as the Russian billionaire co-owners of the Anglo-Russian oil joint venture said they planned to sue BP Source: FT.com - US homepage | 11 Jun 2008 | 9:57 pm
Crude oil prices jumped more than US$5 this morning (NZ time) to within sight of the record after a report showed stockpiles in the United States fell sharply for the fourth week in a row, intensifying worries of a worsening global... Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 11 Jun 2008 | 9:45 pm
Barack Obama took his first direct hit of the general election when he accepted the resignation of Jim Johnson, the head of his vice-presidential search committee, over allegations of impropriety Source: FT.com - US homepage | 11 Jun 2008 | 9:43 pm
Accounting rule-makers are so steeped in theory and academia that they risk endangering the smooth functioning of the world's capital markets, according to a senior industry figure, says Michael Starkie, BP's chief accountant Source: FT.com - US homepage | 11 Jun 2008 | 9:35 pm
Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc. (NYSE: BUD) came out and confirmed some discussions that were making the rounds today. The beer giant noted that it has received a unsolicited and non-binding $46 Billion proposal from InBev to acquire all of the outstanding shares of the company with a buyout price of $65.00 per share. The company said it will evaluate the proposal carefully and "in the context of all relevant factors" including the company's own long-term strategic plan. As far as when a decision will be made, that is noted merely as "in due course." We noted the highly unusual options activity...
A federal judge has ruled in favor of CSX in the railroad giant's legal battle with two hedge funds waging a proxy challenge.
The judge, Lewis Kaplan of the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, found that the hedge funds violated the securities laws by using swaps contracts to gain voting power without disclosing their "beneficial ownership" as required by those laws.
He also found that the two funds —the London-based Children's Investment Group and 3G Capital Partners—formed a "group" to agitate for management change long before they made that fact public.
These two rulings will rock the hedge fund world.
Kaplan, who was a securities lawyer at the corporate firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison for many years before his appointment to the bench, alarmed Wall Street with this comments from the bench at a two-day trial in late May—so much so that they rushed to the courthouse with amicus briefs.
Kaplan delivered on those comments in the stinging 115-page opinion he released this afternoon, which begins with his signature biting prose: "Some people deliberately go close to the line dividing legal from illegal if they can see a sufficient opportunity for doing so. A few cross that line, and, if caught, seek to justify their actions on the basis of formalistic arguments even when it is apparent that they have defeated the purpose of the law."
Alas, CSX may have won the substantive battle, but lost the war: While very much persuaded by the novel arguments presented by CSX's lawyers at Cravath, Swaine & Moore on the law, the judge found that they fell short on convincing him that there would be "irreparable harm" should the hedge funds be allowed to vote their 6.8 percent of CSX shares at the June 25 annual shareholders meeting, to be held at a railway yard—albeit in air conditioned tents—in New Orleans.
Judge Kaplan found that his hands were tied by the appellate precedent, which precludes the "sterilization" of the votes. He rejected the argument of Rory Millson, the Cravath litigator who addressed the court with the lilt of his native South Africa, and asked Kaplan to order the remedy as "deterrence for future violations." It was clear that Kaplan was not happy about his hands being tied: "Were the court free as a matter of law, however, to grant such an injunction, whether on the basis that such relief is warranted to afford deterrence or on another basis, it would do so."
Wall Street fell sharply as financials resumed their relentless downward path and technology stocks came under heavy selling pressure after a key industry group cut its sales outlook for semiconductors Source: FT.com - US homepage | 11 Jun 2008 | 8:40 pm
MGIC Investment (MTG) Money still moving out of bond insurers. Down to $8.75 from 52-week high of $62.94. US Airways Group (LCC) Oil prices up driving airlines down. Company say fuel bill could move up $2 billion of year. Down to $3.11 from 52-week high of $36.81. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Still dropping for losses and concerns about balance sheet. Down to $4.18 from 52-week high of $11.50. Bank of America (BAC) Worries over losses and buy-out of Countrywide (CFC) Sells down to $28.93 from 52-week high of $52.96. Merrill Lynch (MER) Brokerage stocks still being hurt by Lehman...
A planned rise in eurozone interest rates next month to combat mounting inflation pressures will be a warning shot – and not necessarily followed by further increases, a senior official at the European Central Bank has indicated Source: FT.com - US homepage | 11 Jun 2008 | 6:52 pm
Philadelphia's plan for citywide Wi-Fi has fallen apart, but other cities are starting to see the benefits of providing Internet access. Stacey Vanek-Smith reports. Source: Marketplace | 11 Jun 2008 | 6:51 pm
Rating agencies are being blamed for giving high marks to bonds backed by subprime mortgages. Marketplace's Amy Scott talks to Kai Ryssdal about the SEC's attempts to reform the system. Source: Marketplace | 11 Jun 2008 | 6:51 pm
Barack Obama has raised three times as much cash as John McCain. Commentator David Frum says this has turned the usually flush GOP into an unconvincing underdog. Source: Marketplace | 11 Jun 2008 | 6:51 pm
The Colombian free trade deal awaits a vote in Congress two years after the president's signature. Kai Ryssdal talks with Colombian Trade Minister Luis Plata about the agreement. Source: Marketplace | 11 Jun 2008 | 6:51 pm
The Lisbon Treaty aims to reform the way the 27-country European Union runs, but a referendum in Ireland might bring the treaty to a halt. Stephen Beard explains. Source: Marketplace | 11 Jun 2008 | 6:51 pm
Retailer Gap Inc. plans to consolidate its various specialty stores into its main stores to save on real estate costs and unite its brand. Janet Babin reports. Source: Marketplace | 11 Jun 2008 | 6:51 pm
Skyrocketing oil costs and high food prices have stirred inflation worries around the globe, and a weak dollar means we'll definitely feel the effects. John Dimsdale explains. Source: Marketplace | 11 Jun 2008 | 6:51 pm
The Energy Department says high gasoline prices are here to stay. But is there anything the government can do to alleviate the pressure? Jeremy Hobson reports. Source: Marketplace | 11 Jun 2008 | 6:51 pm
For those of you disappointed to find out that Google's Virgle, "a venture dedicated to the establishment of a human settlement on Mars," was just an April Fool's Day hoax, you'll be excited to hear that one of the company's founders has his sites set on outer space after all.
Space Adventures announced at a press conference today that Sergey Brin has invested $5 million toward a flight into space with the company, which has sent five private citizens into orbit since 2001.
As the first official member of the company's "Orbital Mission Explorers Circle" (there will be six in total), Brin now has a spot on a future orbital spaceflight of his choosing.
Before hitching a ride to the international space station with the Russian space agency in a Soyuz rocket, Brin will have to spend eight months training in Russia, not to mention forking over the remainder of the trip cost—which in the past has been $35 million or more for a little over a week in space.
The price tag might not be enough to faze Brin, who is a billionaire many times over, but the risks and time commitment ought to be.
This isn't Brin's first sign of interest in galactic exploration. Last year Google announced that it would sponsor the $30 million Lunar X Prize, awarded to the first team to land a privately funded robotic rover on the moon.
Assuming Brin's plans for planetary orbit are more than just personal curiosity, what is Google's big interest in space, and Space Adventures specifically?
For a company that helps turn the gears of the world's great democratic medium, the private-sector prospects for outer space so far seem decidedly elitist.
Space Adventures, which has been around for 10 years, already offers flights into orbit and has its sites set on adding on to the current voyages with trips around the moon and spacewalks. The company has also been working with Russian firms to build suborbital passenger spaceships, which within a few years will be offering flights—a technology that Sir Richard Branson is also pioneering with Virgin Galactic.
And this year Space Adventures acquired Zero Gravity, which offers "weightlessness flights" via Boeing 727s flying here on earth.
The costs of participation are—to most of us, at least—prohibitive. Orbital flights cost in the tens of millions, varying based on the details of the mission; Space Adventures plans to charge $100,000 for a 90-minute suborbital flight, which slingshots passengers 62 miles up into Earth's atmosphere. Zero Gravity, which has flown 5,000 people to date and hopes to expand to as many as 100,000 passengers annually by 2018, charges $4,000 per 90-minute flight. More reasonable indeed, but still unlikely to replace an afternoon at Six Flags for your average American family.
Eric Anderson, founder of Space Adventures, admits that those prices are unlikely to change anytime soon.
"For the foreseeable future, the way 99.9 percent of us are going to experience space is in a zero-gravity plane," he says.
So while Space Adventures may make a decent living on billionaire passengers in search of a galactic vacation, the vast majority should plan on remaining earthbound.
But Google's interests may lie simply in performing its own research, rather than opening the next frontier to the masses.
David Garriott, a son of a NASA astronaut and the next Space Adventures client scheduled to blast off in a Soyuz (on October 12) stresses the commercial, educational, and research opportunities that can make a private flight like this more than just a joyride.
Garriott said he personally will be conducting a number of experiments for academic groups and governments while in space, as well as providing a live video downlink to classrooms around the world. He is also subsidizing part of the cost of his trip with contracts from pharmaceutical companies to crystallize proteins for them in space (which are apparently very valuable for research purposes).
Garriott believes that with enough effort, one could offset most if not all of the entire cost of a flight with commercial contracts—and from Brin's perspective, he might believe that there is research and development to be done that is worth $35 million.
"Space tourism isn't really the right word for what we do. This is private space exploration," Anderson said.
Moving into the future, Space Adventures is gearing up to provide more support for research activities. The company announced today that it had agreed to purchase a Soyuz flight of its own (complete with Russian cosmonaut to fly it) from the Russian Federal Space Agency, which would add to the flights already scheduled by the Russian space agency in 2011.
That arrangement would not only give travelers valuable cargo space for experiments, but double the number of available passenger seats from one to two.
AFP - Leading shares closed lower, with banks suffering as a statement from Royal Bank of Scotland failed to inspire and HBOS fell below its rights issue price, and with Wall Street weaker in early trade, as oil prices rose.
Early advertising sales by the broadcast networks have proved surprisingly strong, despite an economic slump, the writers' strike, and double-digit ratings declines for many shows this year.
"Broadcast TV is still the only game in town for the mass audience that advertisers want to reach," says Guy Rancourt, vice president and associate media director at Hill Holliday, a national group that buys advertising on behalf of corporate clients like CVS, Dunkin' Donuts, and Liberty Mutual.
That goes against predictions made by many in the industry in the weeks leading up to the ad sales known as the Upfronts, which largely wrapped up this week, that the market this year would be slower. The networks were expected to be forced to sell smaller percentages of their prime-time inventories because of a lack of demand.
Indeed, just a few weeks ago broadcast executives were struggling through Upfront presentations that were distinctly lacking in the glitz and glamour of previous years, with star-studded presentations and open-bar after parties falling by the wayside.
But sales for most of the networks are expected to rise from last year, thanks to a combination of increased ad rates and advertisers' willingness to buy more ad space earlier than last year.
NBC, which finished its Upfront sales last week, sold 80 percent of its prime-time ad inventory, up 3 to 4 percentage points over 2007, according to a spokeswoman. With that increase, ad sales for the network this year will total $1.9 billion, up $100 million over last year.
At ABC, which is still selling slots for prime-time sports programming and doesn't have a final tally, the network sold between 80 and 85 percent of its prime-time ad inventory, compared with 77 to 82 percent last year, and also expects a bump in overall sales from last year's $2.4 billion.
According to ad buyers and network spokespeople, advertisers were willing to buy more space than usual during network Upfront season because the "scatter" ad market—or ads sold from remaining inventory throughout the year—has been unusually expensive lately.
And, says one network representative, if the money shows up during Upfronts, the networks won't turn it away—especially since the economy may worsen, creating a tough environment for ad sales later in the year.
Fox declined to comment on Upfront sales, but it is widely expected to do better than last year's $1.9 billion, thanks in part to the 30 to 40 percent premiums levied on advertisers who will participate in the network's "Remote-Free TV" experiment this fall, which limits the number of companies allowed to hawk goods during two new dramas. CBS was predicted to match ABC's haul of about 2.5 billion.
The overall take for prime-time ad sales, including the CW, is expected to be $9.23 billion this year, up 1.2 percent over last year.
This year's apparent network Upfront motto? Die another day.
The company said it would promote Wenda Harris Millard, president of media, and Robin Marino, president of merchandising, to the positions of co-chief executive.
Splitting the top job is unusual, but this is a company dominated by founder and nonexecutive (thanks to a 2004 conviction on obstruction of justice) Martha Stewart.
In April, the company reported a small loss for the first quarter and warned that its revenue in the second quarter would fall shy of analysts' estimates.
Under Lyne, Martha Stewart has expanded its publishing, broadcasting, and internet brands, but shares of the company have fallen 57 percent.
Jeff Bercovici wonders how Lyne's availability may now affect succession planning at Time Inc. Lyne has been often mentioned as a possible successor to Ann Moore.
Speculation that Lyne would leave Martha Stewart emerged early this year after reports that her original three-year contract, which paid her $4.4 million a year, had expired on December 31. Rumors grew so loud that Lyne had to deny them in a memo to employees.
Today, Lyne said, "Four years ago when the board asked me to take on this role, our principal goal was to rebuild the company and return it to profitability. We have done that." She will stay on in an advisory role for a period of time and will remain a director during that period.
Shares of Martha Stewart Living tumbled 4 percent today. Noting the market reaction and the fact that Martha Stewart has outperformed some other media companies, Douglas A. McIntyre of 24/7 Wall St. says the wrong executive got the ax.
"Neither of the people replacing Lyne has done a terribly good job," he says. "Wenda Harris Millard runs the media group. In the last quarter, advertising was flat at $40.7 million. Robin Marino, who runs merchandising, turned in equally dismal results with the revenue in her group slightly down at $13 million."
A sign of a possible peak in the oil boom has emerged.
Lois Weiss of the New York Postreports that the Abu Dhabi Investment Council is negotiating an $800 million deal for a 75 percent stake in the Chrysler Building.
Buying trophy properties can be a bad omen. In the 1980s, amid fears that Japan would overtake the United States as the leading economic power, Japanese investors bought properties like the Pebble Beach golf course, the Sony movies studio, and Rockefeller Center. It was the pride before the fall.
The Persian Gulf sovereign wealth funds have been more agile, more sophisticated investors, taking stakes in businesses from Barneys to Sony. Late last year, the Abu Dhabi Investment Council's larger sister, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority took a 4.9 percent stake in Citigroup for $7.5 billion, to become the bank's largest shareholder.
But with hundreds of billions of oil dollars to invest, and with oil headed for $150 a barrel, it may be a harder temptation to resist a famous name.
Since 1930, the Chrysler Building has been a major symbol of Manhattan, defining its Midtown skyline.
The talks come as the sale of another famous Manhattan building, the General Motors Building, has just closed. Mort Zuckerman, along with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and funds based in Qatar and Kuwait bought that building for $2.9 billion.
Indeed, there may be a wave of deals involving Manhattan landmarks. Daniel Pimlott of the Financial Timesreports that the Sorgente Group, an Italian family-run property investor, is in talks to take the largest stake in the Flatiron Building in a deal that could eventually transform it into a luxury hotel.
In the Chrysler deal, Weiss says the 75 percent stake would be sold by TMW, which is the German arm of an Atlanta-based investment fund. Tishman Speyer Properties owns the other 25 percent.
It may be unfair to assume that with oil prices sky-high, Persian Gulf funds are losing their investment focus.
Dubai International Capital recently walked away from talks to buy 50 percent of Liverpool Football Club, for nearly $400 million, even though its chief executive is a huge fan of the soccer team.
And the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, for one, is becoming a more conservative investor, according to an article by Emily Thornton and Stanley Reed in BusinessWeek.
The fund, with an estimated $875 billion in assets, is cutting its investments in hedge funds and putting more money into index funds.
And the recent history of Japan is very much on the minds of the fund's managers.
"When people ask what keeps you awake at night, it is trying to avoid investing massively in another Japan in 1990," Jean-Paul Villain, a French executive in charge of strategy at the fund, told BusinessWeek.
AP - Retail sales jumped by the largest amount in six months in May as 57 million economic stimulus payments helped offset the headwinds buffeting consumers.
Reuters - Stock futures extended gains on
Thursday as a report showing that retail sales grew at a
stronger-than-expected pace in May calmed worries about the
impact of higher gasoline prices on consumer spending.
Reuters - Total sales at U.S. retailers rose a
full percentage point in May as many consumers had more
spending cash in their wallets from government rebate checks, a
report on Thursday showed.
Reuters - InBev began courting
Anheuser-Busch owners and staff on Thursday and its stock rose
strongly after it made a $46.3 billion bid to add Budweiser to
its own Stella Artois and Beck's beers and create the world's
largest brewer.
Reuters - Thornburg Mortgage Inc , a
specialist in jumbo home loans that nearly went bankrupt in
March, on Thursday posted a $3.31 billion first-quarter loss as
the value of mortgages and other securities it owns plummeted.
Reuters - Starbucks Corp is boosting
its European presence with plans to license 150 new locations
in Britain, France and Germany over the next three years in a
deal with UK group SSP, Starbucks said on Thursday.
Reuters - General Motors Corp's head of
European operations said rising oil prices, high commodity
costs and the strength of the euro could drive European sales
down to levels not seen in decades.
AFP - Leading shares closed lower, with banks suffering as a statement from Royal Bank of Scotland failed to inspire and HBOS fell below its rights issue price, and with Wall Street weaker in early trade, as oil prices rose.