Motorola plans to split into two public companies in 2011 February 11, 2010 Motorola aims to split into two companies in the first quarter of 2011, separating its cellphone and television set-top box businesses from the rest of the company, it said yesterday. Motorola said each company would be independent and publicly traded, and that the separation would provide the businesses flexibility to grow in the long term. [...]
INVESTORS’ GLOSSARY February 10, 2010 ALPHA Alpha is one of the two measures traditionally used to judge the performance of a money manager. It refers to the excess return that a money manager can generate by using his skills to pick the best performing stocks in the financial markets. If a money manager generates a positive alpha this means they [...]
Exiled banker thrown $7.5m lifeline by CIT February 8, 2010 Ousted banker John Thain has been brought in from the cold with a new role as chairman and chief executive of US commercial lender CIT worth up to $7.5m (£4.8m) a year. The former Merrill Lynch boss, who oversaw the bank’s acquisition by Bank of America (BoA), will receive $500,000 in cash, $2.5m of restricted [...]
Lazard pays out bonuses to lure staff February 3, 2010 Lazard, the Investment bank, yesterday said it would pay staff more in cash and less in equity in a bid to retain key workers and lure top banking talent away from rivals. While other Wall Street firms have deferred bonuses under pressure to align rewards more closely to long-term performance, Lazard has eliminated deferred cash [...]
Exxon and factories light up Wall Street February 1, 2010 US stocks rose yesterday as better-than-expected data on the manufacturing sector and earnings from ExxonMobil revived bullish sentiment after stocks closed out their worst month in almost a year. Exxon’s stock gained 2.7 per cent to end at $66.18 after the largest US oil company reported natural gas products boosted results at its exploration arm. [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 28, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES VEKSELBERG FACES RECORD FINE IN OERLIKON CASE Swiss authorities are seeking to impose a record SFr120m ($114m) fine on Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg and two Austrian investors for allegedly breaching reporting rules in building stakes in the troubled Oerlikon industrial group. The fine – which was announced on Thursday – was immediately rejected [...]
BlackRock up as profits top expectations January 27, 2010 INVESTMENT manager BlackRock yesterday cheered the market with forecast-topping fourth quarter profits, although its acquisition of exchange-traded funds (ETF) business Barclays Global Investors (BGI) took some of the shine off the figures. The world’s biggest asset manager reported net income of $256m (£158m), or $1.62 a share, in the quarter to 31 December, up 392 [...]
Rusal off to a slippery start January 27, 2010 RUSAL, the Russian aluminium producer owned by oligarch Oleg Deripaska, suffered a rough debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange yesterday after its $2.2bn (£1.4bn) float. The company’s shares tumbled 11 per cent to HK$9.66 from their listing price of HK$10.80. Analysts attributed the poor performance to market worries over Rusal’s $14.9bn debt pile and [...]
Political fears cast shadow on earnings January 26, 2010 US stocks slipped late yesterday due to trepidation over churning political and regulatory developments, offsetting solid earnings and improved consumer confidence data. Gains faded late as investors turned cautious before the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement and President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address today. US stocks fell 5 per cent in a three-day span [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 25, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES CHAIRMAN OF HSBC HITS AT BIG BONUSES Stephen Green, chairman of HSBC and British Bankers’ Association, has hit out at the inflated level and distorted structure of bonuses, predicting future pay-outs will be lower and more rationally calculated. In a video interview with the FT, published on the eve of the World Economic [...]