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Stocks & Securities news Tesco helps itself to record half-year profits of £940m
JOANNA VALLELY IT was a case of "every little helps" today as supermarket giant Tesco said half-year profits had reached a record £940 million, up 14.4 per cent on a year earlier. The group continued to overshadow its competitors as it bucked the downward trend elsewhere in the retail sector with bumper results for the six months to August 13. In the UK, where Tesco has more than 250,000 staff and around 1780 stores, sales were ahead 8.2 per ... Grokster's Bid To Go Legit
Computer users loved Grokster when it gave them access to free music. Will it hold the same appeal if they have to pay? That's the bet the embattled file-sharing service appears to be taking after being slapped down by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this year. It is preparing to go legit by selling or merging itself with legal peer-to-peer service Mashboxx, according to people familiar with the discussions--but any deal will be contingent on Grokster first resolving its legal ... High-tech megamergers: Still make sense?
September 20, 2005, 4:00 AM PT By Steve W. Martin Fueled by Oracle's acquisition of Siebel Systems, Silicon Valley once again asks itself if megamergers are good for the industry. The answer to this philosophical question was inadvertently given by former president Jimmy Carter when he spoke about the nature of war. His comment could also be used to describe the essence of these acquisitions: "War may sometimes be a necessary evil, but no matter how necessary, ... Goldman Sachs 3Q Profits Soar 83 Percent
By MICHAEL J. MARTINEZ The Associated Press Tuesday, September 20, 2005; 9:48 AM NEW YORK -- Profits at Wall Street brokerage house Goldman Sachs Group Inc. climbed 83 percent in the third quarter on very strong fixed income trading and a surge in fees from the company's merger-and-acquisition business. For the quarter ended Aug. 26, Goldman Sachs reported Tuesday a profit applicable to common shareholders of $1.61 billion, or $3.25 per share, up ... Samsung Develops 1st 10-Chip Package
SEOUL (Yonhap) _ Samsung Electronics Co., the world's biggest maker of computer memory chips, said Monday it has developed a multi-chip package (MCP) that holds up to 10 memory semiconductor chips in one. The new 10-chip MCP, which Samsung claimed is the first in the world, is formed of two 4-gigabyte NAND flash memory chips, four 512-megabyte dynamic random access memory chips and four 256-megabyte NOR flash memory chips, and has a capacity of 11 gigabytes. The ... Siemens steps up revamp pace; to cut 2,400 jobs
By Georgina Prodhan FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German industrial group Siemens stepped up the pace of a promised turnaround of loss-making businesses, announcing on Monday it would axe 2,400 jobs in Germany and dissolve its logistics unit. Siemens, one of Europe's biggest employers, said it would shed the jobs over two years at ailing IT services unit SBS, cutting 1.5 billion euros in costs over the period -- equivalent to a third of the unit's annual sales. It ... Microsoft Files 8 Piracy Suits
The software giant files lawsuits against eight alleged software pirates across the U.S. September 19, 2005 Microsoft said Monday that it has filed lawsuits against eight software resellers for allegedly distributing pirated copies of its popular consumer and enterprise software products like Windows XP, Office 2000, Microsoft SQL Server, and FrontPage. The lawsuits were filed over the past two weeks against companies in Arizona, California, ... Microsoft Acquires Alacris
Acquisition enhances Microsoft's ability in providing administered identity and access management solutions. Microsoft Corp. today announced the acquisition of Alacris Inc., a provider of certificate management and identity assurance software products. The acquisition enhances Microsoft's strategy of providing easily administered identity and access management solutions. According to Microsoft, their customers feel that smart cards are fast becoming an ... Strong demand for cruises buoys Carnival
Consumers' appetite for cruises fuelled a 12 per cent rise in third-quarter net income at Carnival, the world's largest cruise operator. The group, which brands including Princess Cruises and P&O, said on Monday that good demand had pushed up ticket prices and onboard revenue. Third-quarter sales increased 11 per cent to $3.61bn. "Significant improvements in pricing, particularly for our North American brands, more than compensated for increases in fuel ... Deutsche Post to Buy Exel in $6.7B Deal
Deutsche Post Buys British Logistics Company Exel for $6.7 Billion in Cash, Stock LONDON Sep 19, 2005 — German mail and package delivery company Deutsche Post AG said Monday it has offered to buy British-based Exel PLC for 5.5 billion euros ($6.7 billion) in cash and stock in a deal that would make it the No. 1 company in the global logistics industry. The deal, which still has to be approved by Exel shareholders, is Deutsche Post's biggest international acquisition ... Verizon, Dell team on wireless broadband
Verizon Wireless has taken another step in its push to bring its wireless broadband technology to the masses. On Monday, it announced a deal with Dell to embed the technology directly into Dell notebooks. Verizon Wireless offers its BroadbandAccess service, which is based on a technology called Evolution-Data Optimized, or EV-DO, in 60 markets across the United States. The service allows customers to connect to the Internet wirelessly wherever a Verizon Wireless ... Wendy's President, COO Mueller Resigns
Wendy's International Inc., one of the nation's largest fast-food companies, said Monday that Tom Mueller resigned as president and chief operating officer, effective immediately. Mueller joined the company from Burger King in 1998 and led its North America business and international division, Wendy's said. The company said Chairman and Chief Executive Jack Schuessler will assume the role of president on an interim basis to oversee its operations, marketing, research ... Oracle takeover spooks some Siebel users
Oracle’s planned takeover of Siebel Systems has sparked fears among the latter's customers that support will be dropped, that maintenance costs will increase and that they will be forced to adopt Oracle’s CRM products. Siebel is the latest in a line of relentless acquisitions by Oracle, following the capture of PeopleSoft, and will enhance Oracle's existing collection of middleware applications. Even before the Siebel takeover was announced Sept. 12, Oracle had ... Acer Poised To Enter U.S. Digital Home Market
The company will introduce a line of digital convergence products next year, as it continues a measured expansion in the region that started with notebooks. By Kristen Kenedy Digital Connect Acer next year plans to release a line of digital home products in the United States as it continues a measured expansion in the region that started with notebooks. Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci said the burgeoning digital convergence market represents an ... Scary movie: Blockbuster CEO frets
According to paper, head of rental chain says industry is ailing; GE, Fox, others keep close eye. NEW YORK (Reuters) - Blockbuster Inc.'s chief executive said the entire video rental business "is in the tank," the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Also, News Corp.'s (Research) 20th Century Fox film studio has arranged some sort of financial hedge to protect itself in case Blockbuster doesn't pay its bills, the Journal reported, citing unnamed people familiar with ... File-sharing service may be sold
Newspaper reports Grokster in talks to be acquired by Mashboxx; would be legal file-sharing network. NEW YORK (Reuters) - File-sharing service Grokster Ltd. is in talks to be acquired by Mashboxx LLC, which is attempting to establish a legal peer-to-peer music company, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Financial terms could not be learned, the newspaper said, but Grokster itself is expected to have little or no value. Instead, Mashboxx would ... Report: Higher energy bills ahead
Some states could see prices jump by 15%, while others might see their utilities go bust. NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Along with soaring oil and gasoline costs, consumers may be hit with yet another hike in their energy bill in the near future, the price of electricity, a report said Friday. Due largely to the skyrocketing price of natural gas, utilities are faced with rising costs for producing power that could result in 15 percent higher residential electric bills and ... Hopes rise for a Genentech blockbuster
Herceptin could garner more sales with chemotherapy for women at risk for heart attacks. NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Genentech could get another lift in sales for a drug-chemo combination already projected as a blockbuster, and women at risk for heart disease could have a safer option for treating breast cancer. Genentech, Inc. (up $0.62 to $90.25, Research) unveiled data from its fourth test combining Herceptin, its profitable breast cancer drug, with chemotherapy, which ... Could Delta, Northwest merge?
Report: Analysts speculate that the two carriers could explore merger while in bankruptcy. NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - After almost simultaneously filing for bankruptcy this week, industry analysts now speculate that Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines could explore a possible merger, according to a report published Friday. "I wouldn't be at all surprised. In the past, these two airlines have talked and they have very little route overlap," Benchmark analyst Helane ... Microsoft Is in Talks To Buy a Stake in AOL
By JULIA ANGWIN and ROBERT A. GUTH Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL September 16, 2005; Page B1 Demonstrating its growing concern about Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. has entered talks with Time Warner Inc. about taking a substantial stake in the media giant's America Online unit, said people familiar with the matter. The conversations have centered on whether AOL would switch to using Microsoft's search engine instead of Google's, these people ... Wireless tower biz will boom: Greenhill
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Demand for wireless towers is surging, with the industry poised for a series of mergers, said Robert Niehaus, founder of Greenhill Capital Partners, the private equity arm of investment bank Greenhill & Co. Inc. "We have a long-term commitment to this technology that we think has a lot of legs left in it," Niehaus said at the Reuters Hedge Funds Summit. "The wireless tower industry is quite fragmented and we think it isn't even close to wrapping up its ... Wireless tower biz will boom: Greenhill
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Demand for wireless towers is surging, with the industry poised for a series of mergers, said Robert Niehaus, founder of Greenhill Capital Partners, the private equity arm of investment bank Greenhill & Co. Inc. (GHL.N: Quote, Profile, Research). "We have a long-term commitment to this technology that we think has a lot of legs left in it," Niehaus said at the Reuters Hedge Funds Summit. "The wireless tower industry is quite fragmented and we think ... advertisement
By Scott Malone NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher market open on Friday as investors awaited a report on consumer confidence for indications of how Hurricane Katrina and surging gasoline prices are affecting the psyche of the American shopper. Shares of software maker Adobe Systems Inc. could be in focus after the company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly profits late Thursday. Analysts expect a day of volatile trading as ... U.S. eyes exports for farm subsidy cuts
GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States is willing to cut farm subsidies to secure a new world trade deal, but wants greater export opportunities for its farmers in return, a senior U.S. official said on Friday. The United States spends far less than Japan and the European Union on protecting its farmers, the official said, pointing out that its farm trade rivals combine big agricultural subsidies with high tariff barriers. "The question is do we see global reform of ... advertisement
By Marie Maitre PARIS (Reuters) - Wall Street looked set for a firm opening on Friday as a new drop in oil prices eased worries over the outlook for economic growth, with Adobe's (ADBE.O: Quote, Profile, Research) solid results and fresh takeover activity also likely to help. Software company Adobe Systems delivered a 39 percent rise in quarterly profit, a sound result in a traditionally soft period, which analysts said was likely to reassure investors who had grown ... Southwest eyes expansion
By Michael Smith AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Leading U.S. low-fares carrier Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday it might expand its services if bankrupt rivals Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWAC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) scale back operations. "If they do, we are always open to that. We will be as aggressive as ever," Pete McGlade, vice president for schedule and planning, told ... Danone leaps on fresh US takeover talks
PARIS (Reuters) - Shares in French food company Danone (DANO.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) rose more than 3 percent on Friday on renewed talk it might be the subject of a takeover, this time by U.S. food and beverage companies Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) or PepsiCo Inc. (PEP.N: Quote, Profile, Research). A Danone spokeswoman said the company had "no comment because there was nothing new to report." But the stock led gainers on the Paris bourse. ... Japan's Nikkei Rises to 4-year High
Asia Asian Stocks: Japan's Nikkei Rises to 4-Year High; Cnooc Gains Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stock indexes climbed to four- year highs in the heaviest trading in the 56-year history of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. NEC Electronics Corp. and Tokyo Electron Ltd. gained after Texas Instruments Inc. and Intel Corp. forecast higher third- quarter sales. ``Good news from Texas Instruments and Intel makes it easier for ... How to Pick Winning Stocks
There is nothing more exciting than finding an undervalued stock and seeing it explode out of nowhere rising in value 100% or more in a few weeks. Some stocks can move as much as 1000% in a year and…. Even after the stock market crashed in 2000, some stocks still have gone up 500% or more in a year. So how do we find these? Well first let me say that there is no way to know which ones are going to double or triple in value. If we knew then we could literally “bet the farm” on ... Intro to the Stock Market
The stock market is full of stress and anxiety for almost everyone who has a fairly decent amount of money invested in it. It can be a very emotional roller coster ride as you watch your investments jump one day just to drop the next. One of the biggest mistakes investors make in the stock market is buying high and selling low. They jump on a stock that they see has made some excellent jumps in the past months only to have it drop shortly after buying into it. The people that made any money ... |
On the web: Stock market: Stocks close mixed to finish a strong week of gains (USA Today)Stocks shuttled between narrow gains and losses and closed mixed Friday after reports on retail sales and consumer confidence gave investors little new insight into the economy. Stocks trade flat after mixed economic reports (AP via Yahoo! News)Stocks shuttled between narrow gains and losses Friday after mixed reports on retail sales and consumer confidence gave investors little new insight into the economy. Sector Snap: Airline stocks mixed (AP via Yahoo! News)Airline stocks, which rallied strongly earlier this week, were mixed in Friday trading as oil prices surged, raising the prospect of higher costs for jet fuel. Stocks turn lower after weaker inventories report (AP via Yahoo! News)Stocks are erasing an early advance after the government said that business inventories were essentially flat in January. Stocks hover at 18-month highs (CNN Money)Stocks ended little changed Friday, as investors welcomed a report that showed a surprise rise in retail sales, but showed caution as the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 lingered below 18-month highs. Stocks higher on surprising retail sales growth (AP via Yahoo! News)Stocks are rising in early trading after retail sales unexpectedly rose in February, raising hopes that the economy may be gaining momentum. Stock market: Stocks inch higher; S&P 500 hits 17-month high (USA Today)A rally in financial stocks Thursday helped the market extend its grind higher to a third day. Stocks set for gains (CNN Money)U.S. stocks were poised to extend gains Friday after a government report showed surprising strength in retail sales for February. Stocks Dawdle, but Rise on Week (TheStreet.com)Stocks hugged the flat line Friday after March consumer sentiment dipped, though February retail sales data came in ahead of estimates. Gregg Greenberg has The Real Story. Emerging Stocks Climb; Post Longest Winning Streak Since May (Bloomberg)March 12 (Bloomberg) -- Developing-nation stocks climbed, sending the MSCI Emerging Markets Index to its fifth weekly gain, on rising commodities and increased speculation that Greece will get bailed out by the European Union. |
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