Top firms face worst pension deficit ever November 23, 2009 FTSE GLOBAL 100 companies are running a record combined pension deficit of €220bn (£200bn) as the financial crisis continues to bite. The deficit, as at the end of September, is the largest shortfall on record and compares with an equivalent figure of €180bn at the end of 2008 and just €20bn a year earlier. Consulting [...]
Lazard names Ken Jacobs as new boss November 17, 2009 LAZARD yesterday named insider Kenneth Jacobs as chief executive and chairman, succeeding legendary Wall Street dealmaker Bruce Wasserstein, who died last month. The move was widely expected and signals the investment bank is not seeking to change its focus on merger advisory and restructuring, analysts said. Jacobs, 51, has been with the firm since 1998 [...]
Ex HP boss Fiorina to run for Senate seat November 4, 2009 FORMER Hewlett-Packard chairwoman and chief executive Carly Fiorina said yesterday that she intends to run as a Republican candidate for the California Senate. The Silicon Valley star will take on Liberal Democrat Barbara Boxer, who now holds the seat. She had set up a campaign account earlier this year, but announced her candidacy in an [...]
Hewlett-Packard moves into telecoms by snapping up 3Com in a $3.1bn deal November 11, 2009 HEWLETT-PACKARD (HP) is making a move into the telecom equipment market by striking a $3.1bn (£1.9bn) deal for 3Com, in a major challenge to Cisco Systems. The deal is the latest sign that technology giants from IBM to Oracle are increasingly encroaching in each other’s markets as they seek to become one-stop shops for computing, [...]
Galleon founder attempts to get bail conditions reduced in US insider case October 29, 2009 THE head of hedge fund Galleon yesterday appealed for his bail in connection with insider trading charges to be slashed by $75m (£45m). Tycoon Raj Rajaratnam faces claims that he made $20m through illegal tips from companies including IBM and Intel. The 52-year-old billionaire asked a US judge to reduce his bail to $25m from [...]
Gloomy data drags Wall Street down September 30, 2009 US stocks fell yesterday after a key index of business activity in the American Midwest region showed a surprising contraction, but buying of technology bellwethers like Cisco Systems at the end of a strong quarter limited losses. The top drags on the session were some of the quarter’s best performers including industrials, materials and banks. [...]
Gloomy data drags Wall Street down September 30, 2009 US stocks fell yesterday after a key index of business activity in the American Midwest region showed a surprising contraction, but buying of technology bellwethers like Cisco Systems at the end of a strong quarter limited losses. The top drags on the session were some of the quarter’s best performers including industrials, materials and banks. [...]
US earnings rut could be at an end October 11, 2009 Though today is Columbus Day, a public holiday in the US, most of its markets are trading regular hours. This week is going to be defined by US corporate earnings. Tomorrow we have Intel and Johnson & Johnson, JP Morgan Chase is on Wednesday; on Thursday Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Google and IBM are all due [...]
EC to probe Oracle’s $7.4bn Sun takeover September 3, 2009 THE European Union (EU) has launched an investigation into whether software firm Oracle’s $7.4bn (£4.5bn) takeover of computer maker Sun Microsystems is in breach of European competition rules. The US justice department gave its approval to the deal last month, but the European Commission’s competition commissioner Neelie Kroes said the legislative body had a duty [...]
EC to probe Oracle’s $7.4bn Sun takeover September 3, 2009 THE European Union (EU) has launched an investigation into whether software firm Oracle’s $7.4bn (£4.5bn) takeover of computer maker Sun Microsystems is in breach of European competition rules. The US justice department gave its approval to the deal last month, but the European Commission’s competition commissioner Neelie Kroes said the legislative body had a duty [...]