“AMR Corp., the parent of American Airlines, is considering what its CEO calls the “attractive option” of a merger with smaller competitor US Airways Group Inc. (NYSE: LCC) as the company prepares to exit bankruptcy by the end of this year. A decision could come in “a matter of weeks,” according to a report in the Financial Times”
Comments »$TSO Pops 5% on BP Refinery Purchase
$TSO will buy two refineries in California from BP. Markets are celebrating the news.
Comments »Pfizer’s Animal-Health Unit Zoetis Files Plans for $100 Million IPO
“Pfizer Inc.’s (PFE) animal-health business, Zoetis Inc., filed plans for an estimated initial public offering of up to $100 million in Class A common stock.
Pfizer said the offering is expected to represent an ownership stake of up to 20%.
Pfizer will transfer its animal-health business to Zoetis before the IPO is complete, which is targeted for the first half of 2013.”
Comments »Home Builder Stocks on a Tear
Home builder stocks are surging as investors are perceiving a rebound while shorts are covering.
Comments »$FMCN Halted on Private Buyout Offer
” SHANGHAI, Aug.13, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ — Focus Media Holding Limited (“Focus Media” or the “Company”) (FMCN) today announced that its Board of Directors has received a preliminary non-binding proposal letter, dated August 12, 2012, from affiliates of FountainVest Partners, The Carlyle Group, CITIC Capital Partners, CDH Investments and China Everbright Limited and Mr. Jason Nanchun Jiang, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Focus Media, and his affiliates (together, the “Consortium Members”), that proposes a “going-private” transaction (the “Transaction”) for $27.00 in cash per American depositary share, or $5.40 in cash per ordinary share. ”
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Gapping Up and Down This Morning
Gapping up
ASTI +3.8%, ELN +2.3%, GOOG +1.6%, SRI +13.5%, S +1.6%, CPB +1%,
IP +0.6%, TSO +1.6%, ASTI +3.8%, GME +3.2% , GALE +10.7%, SHLD +6.1%
Gapping down
TEVA -1.7%, SDRL -1.7%, FB -1.4%, RDS.A -0.5%, YHOO -0.3%, GSK -0.6%,
RIMM -1.0%, VC -1.5%, NPSP -2.5% , PSTI -5.4%
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FedEx to Offer Voluntary Buyouts to U.S. Employees to Reduce Costs
“(Reuters) – FedEx Corp said it will offer voluntary buyout incentives to certain U.S.-based employees to reduce costs as slow economic growth hurts shipping volumes and customers demand cheaper delivery options.
FedEx, which competes with United Parcel Service , said it expects the vast majority of those eligible for these incentives to be staff employees at its units FedEx Express and FedEx Services. The incentives will be offered to mostly non-operational staff groups.”
Comments »Google Will Pink Slip 4k Workers, Mostly Outside the U.S. From its Motorola Mobility Unit
“Google Inc. (GOOG) will cut about 4,000 jobs at its Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. unit, or 20 percent of the staff at the company it bought for about $12.5 billion.
Two-thirds of the reductions will be outside the U.S., the Mountain View, California-based company said in a regulatory filing today. Google will also shut down about one-third of Motorola Mobility’s 90 facilities and simplify its wireless product portfolio, it said. Google said the measure will incur severance-related costs of no more than $275 million.”
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Trade Opportunity: $FB Lock Up Coming This Week
We will have to see what happens as the $FB lock up comes in this week on the 16th. $MSFT is said to be keeping their 1.7% piece of the company.
Comments »Is $FB the Next $YHOO or $GOOG?
“How much more valuable do you think Facebook is than Yahoo? Let’s say I gave you 1% of Facebook’s stock. How much of Yahoo would I have to give you to part with that share? 5%? 10%? More? (Or would you just move to Singapore and renounce your U.S. citizenship?)
What about Google stock? Would you make a 1% for 1% trade? What about 0.5% of Google for your 1% Facebook stake?
Well here’s what the stock market thinks: ”
Comments »The CEO of $NFLX Just Picked Up $1 Million Worth of $FB
Surprise: DOJ Will Not Prosecute $GS for Their Role in the Financial Crisis
“WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department said it will not pursue criminal charges against Goldman Sachs Group Inc or its employees related to accusations that the firm bet against the same subprime mortgage securities it was selling to clients.”
Comments »E*Trade Dumps CEO, Names Chairman to Interim Post- $ETFC
“E*Trade Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFC) this morning ousted CEO Steven Freiberg, who had been the company’s chief for just over two years, and replaced him with Frank Petrilli, the chairman of E*Trade’s board of directors. Freiberg’s ouster follows a decline in the company’s stock price of nearly 50% in the past year.”
Comments »$FB Goes on a Phishing Expedition
Getting rid of people phising for your info is not all that easy. When it come to their site $FB is doing a good job, but what about your email? $FB launches a new address for you to forward suspected phishing emails mimicking $FB.
Comments »Attention MetLife Shareholders- $MET
“MetLife Inc. received a $3.2 million fine for loan service and disclosure practices connected to a banking unit that it’s planning to sell. As the New York insurer continues experiencing such problems, its investors have been increasingly exposed to the possibility of scandal-related losses this year.
MetLife’s financial statements have reflected an AGR score of 4 as of June, indicating higher accounting and governance risk than 96% of comparable companies. Between June 2010 and September 2011, MetLife’s AGR score had improved to as high as 48, putting it into average territory. Before that period the insurer’s AGR score had languished for at least five quarters at no higher than 7.”
Comments »Knight Held $7 Billion of Stocks Due to Glitch
“Knight Capital Group Inc. KCG +3.16% was holding about $7 billion of stocks at one point on Wednesday last week—a far bigger figure than previously known—as a result of errant trades that forced it to seek emergency funding, according to people familiar with the matter.
Knight’s traders worked frantically Aug. 1 to sell shares while trying to minimize losses due to a software problem, ultimately paring the total position to about $4.6 billion by the end of the trading day, the people said.
The position led to a $440 million loss that forced Knight to seek a rescue, agreeing on a $400 million funding package this past weekend from a group of investors.”
Comments »Google Incorporates Your Gmail Into its Search Engine
This seems like a silly idea. As if we needed more choices in outr search results.
Comments »If You Have an iPhone You’re in the Minority
“There were four Android phones for every iPhone shipped in the second quarter, research firm IDC said Wednesday. That’s up from a ratio of 2.5 to 1 in the same period last year.
The success of Samsung’s Android phones helped Google’s operating system extend its dominance in the smartphone market.”
Comments »Mobile Startup Square Gets a Caffeine Boost – $SBUX
Chevron Refinery Fire Expected to Raise Gasoline Prices – $CVX
“RICHMOND, Calif. (AP) — Analysts say a fire at one of the country’s biggest oil refineries will contribute to higher prices at the pump on the West Coast.
The fire at the Chevron refinery in Richmond, about 10 miles northeast of San Francisco, broke out Monday evening.
It sent plumes of black smoke over the San Francisco Bay area and sent scores of people to hospitals with breathing problems before it was out the following morning.”
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