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Newspaper wrap-up: Merrill Lynch notified pension boards of SEC investigation

MAJOR PAPERS:
  • Next year the sale of prescription drugs in the U.S is expected to be the slowest in years, resulting from tough regulation and cost-controls, according to IMS Health Inc., a health-care information and consulting firm, and reported by the Wall Street Journal.
  • NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) has paid $90M for a 1% stake in Bovespa, the owner of Brazil's largest exchange. The move is seen as an attempt by NYSE Euronext to increase its presence in Brazil, reported the Financial Times.
OTHER PAPERS:
  • The U.K. Times reported that British telecom company BT Group (NYSE: BT) is expected to announce that it will cut thousands of jobs when it reports its Q2 results next week.
  • Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) has notified pension boards that it is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which believes the company may have violated federal regulations, reported the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
  • The Detroit News reported that Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) and the UAW talks adjourned at 1am and will continue later this morning. Sources say that progress was made in the talks although no agreement was reached.

Newspaper wrap-up: Disney to spend $1.1B to improve theme park

MAJOR PAPERS:
OTHER PAPERS:
  • General Motors said today that it will lay off 767 workers at its HamTramck assembly plant and cut one of the two shifts, reported the Detroit News.
  • Chrysler may eliminate as many as five vehicle models this month, according to the Detroit Free Press, citing a source.
  • Brazilian authorities raided Cisco Systems' (NASDAQ: CSCO) vehicles and seized merchandise, following a two-year investigation into alleged tax avoidance on products shipped from offshore havens, reported the U.K. Times.
WEBSITES:
  • According to a totally unsubstantiated rumor, News Corporation's (NYSE: NWS) MySpace is going to acquire RockYou, a top Facebook application developer, for $800M, reported ValleyWag.com.

General Motors (GM) (finally) planning for the future

General Motors Corp (NYSE: GM) eliminated overtime at six of its North American SUV and pickup assembly plants for 2007, citing fuel prices and the competitive market. Spokesman Tom Wickham said the automaker cut production to manage its inventory levels, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The move by General Motors hints that the auto industry is moving towards a "longer and more painful downturn in the U.S. than many had expected," according to the Wall Street Journal.

What's baffling is that GM, as well as the WSJ, didn't see this coming any earlier. SUV and truck sales for General Motors were down 9% over the first seven months of the year. Auto sales were surprisingly weak in June and even worse in July for the whole industry. Add the weak housing environment, the current credit market debacle, the ever rising price of oil and the global demand for hybrid technology to the mix and one has to question who didn't see this coming.

Continue reading General Motors (GM) (finally) planning for the future

Newspaper wrap-up 3-6-07: Cerberus shows interest in Chrysler

MAJOR PAPERS:
  • The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported that Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) said it may have lost internal emails that it was required to produce in the antitrust litigation with Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NYSE: AMD).
  • The Financial Times (subscription required) reported that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) is attacking Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) over copyright policies.
  • The Financial Times also reported that Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C) has launched a bid for control of Japan's Nikko Cordial.
OTHER PAPERS:
  • According to the Detroit News, Cerberus met with Chrysler executives on a possible bid for the DaimlerChrysler (NYSE: DCX) Chrysler Group unit.
  • Investors Business Daily reported that Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ) and Dell Inc (NADSAQ: DELL) have entered into the Palm Inc (NASDAQ: PALM) acquisition speculation.

Newspaper wrap-up 3-1-07: Blockbuster in talks to acquire Movielink

MAJOR PAPERS:
  • The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported that Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) has agreed to acquire Hyperion Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ: HYSL) for $52 per share.
  • The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that Blockbuster Inc (NYSE: BBI) is in advanced talks to acquire Movielink LLC, an online movie-downloading company owned by major Hollywood studios.
  • Also reported in the Wall Street Journal, McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is moving closer to adding lattes and cappuccinos to its menu, a move that would be a direct shot at Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX).
  • According to the Financial Times (subscription required), DirecTV Group Inc (NYSE: DTV) is considering ways to bundle high speed internet access to its 15 million satellite television customers.
  • The Financial Times reported that private equity is "hovering" over Home Depot Inc's (NYSE: HD) wholesale supply business, which could fetch $11B in a sale.
OTHER PAPERS:
  • The Detroit News reported that Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) won a court order forcing diesel engine supplier Navistar to resume shipments to Ford's Louisville plant.
  • Investor's Business Daily's "New America" column highlighted bank and broker SWS Group (NYSE: SWS).

Newspaper wrap-up 2-13-07: Home Depot unit may be sold

MAJOR PAPERS:
  • According to the Wall Street Journal's (subscription required) "Heard on the Street" column, Crocs Inc (NASDAQ: CROX) is quietly planning a surprising strategy aimed at avoiding fad status: a bold step into everything from women's fashion footwear to apparel.
    • Also in today's Wall Street Journal, a new Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) program is reportedly offering credit cards to customers without Social Security numbers, mainly illegal Hispanic immigrants.
  • According to the Financial Times (subscription required), citing the European Union, Iran will be able to develop enough weapons-grade material for a nuclear bomb and there's little that can be done to prevent it.
    • Also in the Financial Times, Vodafone Group (NYSE: VOD) is still looking for more emerging market deals, targeting Africa, eastern Europe and Asia.
OTHER PAPERS:
  • The U.K. Times reported that BHP Billiton Limited (NYSE: BHP) and Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) are independently looking to take over Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA).
  • According to the Detroit News, General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) is expected to announce a ramped-up incentive program.
  • The Daily Telegraph reported that Woolseley may buy the wholesale distribution business of Home Depot Inc (NYSE: HD). The unit is said to be worth around $10B.

Newspaper wrap-up 2-9-07: Samsung to challenge Apple iPhone

MAJOR PAPERS:
  • According to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), Apple Inc's (NASDAQ: AAPL) Steve Jobs helped to negotiate a Pixar employment pact with a film director that included an options grant with a "well-timed date". Also featured in the Journal:
    • EMI Group plc (OTC: EMIPY) has been holding talks with online retailers over the possibility of selling its entire digital music catalog in an unprotected MP3 format.
    • Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) is expected to raise as much as $19B for its newest private-equity fund.
  • The Financial Times (subscription required) reported that Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) broadened corruption inquiries and has identified individual incidents of apparent bribery.
OTHER PAPERS:
  • According to the Detroit News, DaimlerChrysler AG (NYSE: DCX) is expected to eliminate about 1,000 salaried jobs in Michigan.
  • Asian IT website DigiTimes.com reported that Samsung introduced the Ultra Smart F700 yesterday. The phone is being referred to as a possible "iPhone Killer."
  • In Investor's Business Daily, ViaSat Inc (NASDAQ: VSAT) was mentioned positively in the "New America" column.

General Motors after the bell 9-21-06: Trouble with Renault-Nissan deal?

Earlier this year it looked like we could be seeing a possible merger between auto giants General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Renault-Nissan. Shares of GM have done pretty well since we first heard about the possible merger back on June 30th, picking up over 15.5% since the possibility first came into focus.

All of a sudden it is looking like what could have been a great deal for the auto maker may no longer be in the making. While we have still not seen any official announcements from either auto maker, the Detroit News reported today that sources close to the talks claim that negotiations have stalled as Renault-Nissan is interested in heading up operations at far more plants and covering more models than GM is willing to allow. Wall Street did not like hearing this and shares of GM finished out the day down 2.6% to $30.93, slightly off it's daily low of $30.54.

Rival auto maker Ford Motor (NYSE: F) will definitely be keeping a close eye on these recent developments as they too have expressed interest in forming an alliance with Renault-Nissan late last month. Shares of Ford were flat today only picking up $0.01 to $7.76.

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA+20.0310,246.97
NASDAQ-2.982,151.08
S&P 500-0.071,093.01

Last updated: November 11, 2009: 08:12 AM

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