Oracle sees software growth September 20, 2012 ■ Oracle’s hardware sales are expected to drop further after tumbling 24 per cent from a year ago, the software maker said last night, as it strives to turn around its Sun computer division amid tight technology budgets. The company run by Silicon Valley billionaire Larry Ellison reported yesterday that hardware product sales fell to [...]
US leverage buyouts double September 20, 2012 ■ US leveraged buyouts (LBO) almost doubled in the third quarter of 2012 from a year ago, reaching their highest levels since before the financial crisis as cheap financing fueled private equity’s appetite for deals. Robust debt markets and buyout funds flush with uninvested capital have combined to give rise to the strongest quarterly US [...]
Xstrata ready to give verdict on Glencore offer September 20, 2012 GLENCORE’s £36bn takeover of Xstrata headed for its climax last night as the Xstrata board prepared to give its verdict on Glencore’s improved offer for the miner. A decision by the Xstrata board is expected as early as this morning for Glencore’s improved offer of 3.05 shares for every one Xstrata share. A Takeover Panel [...]
Madoff victims get $2.48bn boost to compensation fund September 20, 2012 COMPENSATION paid to Bernard Madoff’s fraud victims more than tripled yesterday after liquidators increased the amount set to be paid out by $2.48bn (£1.53bn). Irving Picard, the trustee liquidating Madoff’s firm Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, yesterday said he had recovered $3.63bn from the firm – a boost of $2.48bn. Madoff, 74, was sentenced to [...]
Publicis in deal to snap up Dutch ad firm September 20, 2012 FRENCH advertising agency Publicis has agreed to buy Dutch agency LBi International in a deal valuing the company at €416m (£332m), the group’s latest move to boost its exposure to digital advertising. The €2.85 per share offer in cash, which LBi’s board has accepted, is at a 7.5 per cent premium to the ad agency’s [...]
Jefferies earnings boosted by bank’s stake in Knight Capital September 20, 2012 JEFFERIES Group reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit yesterday, with the investment bank’s stake in Knight Capital Group boosting earnings and trading revenue. Jefferies acquired a 22.8 per cent stake in Knight Capital last month as part of a rescue plan after the market-making firm suffered a trading loss of $440m (£271.6m) due to a software glitch. [...]
James Murdoch eyes promotion despite critics September 20, 2012 JAMES Murdoch will be given more responsibility over News Corp’s US television operations more than a year after he became a central figure in the company’s telephone hacking scandal in the UK, two sources familiar with the matter said. News of the promotion comes on the heels of a ruling earlier yesterday that BSkyB is [...]
Fund managers say more Libor resignations are on the way September 20, 2012 THE VAST majority of fund managers expect more heads to roll over the Libor crisis as more banks become implicated, according to a survey out today. Capital Spreads found 84 per cent expect more chief executives to follow former Barclays boss Bob Diamond in resigning over rate manipulation. “So far management at other major UK [...]
iPhone 5 launch hit by maps outcry September 20, 2012 APPLE faced embarrassment yesterday on the eve of today’s iPhone 5 launch, as users who upgraded to the latest version of the phone’s operating system vented their anger over changes to the device’s mapping software. Apple, led by Tim Cook (pictured), has ditched arch-rival Google’s trusted maps for the iOS6 upgrade, but on its first [...]
London to ease flotation rules for tech firms September 20, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT yesterday proposed relaxing rules on fast-growing businesses to float on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), in an effort to prevent British technology firms fleeing to America. Science minister David Willetts announced the plans at Google’s innovation hub in London, saying he wanted to reform rules on free float – the proportion of a [...]
