WTI Drops a Third Day as OPEC Boosts Output to Five-Month High
West Texas Intermediate crude fell for a third day, the longest run of declines in four weeks, as OPEC boosted output to the highest level in five months. WTI futures slid as much as 1 per cent in New York, and London-traded Brent decreased for a second day. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries produced...
Icahn With Southeastern Challenges Silver Lake’s Dell Offer
Billionaire Carl Icahn, seeking to upend a US$24.4 billion buyout of Dell Inc by its founder and Silver Lake Management LLC, offered to pay US$12 a share in cash and let investors hold on to equity in the computer maker. Shareholders can choose between a US$12 a share cash or US$12 in additional shares valued...
Fed Officials Spar Over QE3
Little over a week after US Federal Reserve policymakers overwhelmingly endorsed a plan to keep buying bonds to spur economic growth and hiring, they are airing their differences over their super-easy policy. “I think we should try as hard as we can” to turn things around, Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans said in...
Fed’s Credibility Tested as Inflation Drifts Below Target
With the inflation rate about half of the Federal Reserve’s 2.0 per cent target, the central bank is facing a major test and some experts wonder whether it will eventually need to ramp up its already aggressive bond buying program. The Fed cut official interest rates effectively to zero in late 2008 during the financial...
BMC Software’s US$6.9 Billion Buyout Reflects Cloud Shift
BMC Software Inc. (BMC) agreed to be taken private in a US$6.9 billion deal by Bain Capital LLC and Golden Gate Capital after struggling to compete with newcomers better equipped to handle the shift toward cloud computing. The buyout group, which includes Singapore’s GIC Special Investments Pte Ltd. and Insight Venture Partners, is taking control...
JPMorgan Investors Urged to Split Chairman Role, Oust Directors
JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM) should name an independent chairman and oust three directors, a shareholder advisory firm said, boosting pressure on the bank to overhaul its corporate governance after a US$6.2 billion trading loss. Stockholders should vote in favour of a proposal to split the roles of chairman and chief executive officer, both currently...
Adidas Net Beats Estimates as Profitability Widens to Record
Adidas AG (ADS) reported first-quarter profit that beat estimates and said its gross margin widened to a record, sending the shares to the highest level ever. Net income climbed 6.5 per cent to EUR308 million (US$403 million), the Herzogenaurach, Germany-based sporting-goods maker said today, exceeding the EUR298.5 million average estimate of 15 analysts in a...
Buffett Bets on Business Insurance ‘Big Time’
Warren Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A), is planning an expansion in commercial insurance after hiring four executives from American International Group Inc (AIG) “We would like to get into the commercial-insurance business very big time,” Buffett, 82, said yesterday in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Betty Liu, before the company’s annual...
Lehman Brothers Sues Intel over US$1 Billion in Seized Collateral
Bankrupt investment bank Lehman Brothers has sued Intel Corp, accusing the chip maker of seizing US$1 billion in collateral in breach of a swap agreement, a court filing showed. Under the swap agreement, executed days before Lehman filed for bankruptcy in 2008, Intel gave US$1 billion to a derivatives unit of Lehman Brothers in exchange...
BYD Prepares to Make Electric Buses in California in US Push
BYD Co, the Chinese automaker partially owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc, is preparing to make electric buses in California as the company seeks to bolster its visibility in the US The company will open facilities in Lancaster, California, on May 1 that will assemble electric buses, Marketing Director Sherry Li said. BYD’s K9,...
Dell Investors May Still Gain after Blackstone Pullout
Dell shareholders could still stand to profit even after Blackstone Group LP withdrew its bid to buy the world’s No 3 personal computer maker more than a week ago, Barron’s said on Sunday. On April 19, Blackstone’s move knocked Dell shares to a two-month low and narrowed the fight for Dell between activist investor Carl...
Gold Extends Gains in New York on Signs of More Metal Purchases
Gold extended gains in New York on signs of metal demand after the biggest drop in three decades. In China, buyers were hoarding the metal before next week’s holidays, Bernard Sin, head of currency and metal trading at bullion refiner MKS (Switzerland) SA in Geneva, said Friday. In Dubai, demand is “strong,” he said. Futures...
