“SHANGHAI—General Motors Co. posted strong sales growth in China in May as demand for microvans produced by a local joint venture boosted overall sales.

The company’s robust performance in May comes alongside healthy sales growth by other foreign auto makers in China and despite recent indications that economic activity in the country may be slowing. But a drop in sales at the U.S. auto maker’s premium Cadillac division indicates GM continues to face an uphill battle as it expands the brand’s …”

Full article

“(Reuters) – MF Global Holdings Ltd could have more than $3 billion in claims against its former affiliates, Louis Freeh, the trustee overseeing the wind-down of the parent company of the collapsed broker-dealer, said in his first status report.

The potential recoveries for the parent company’s creditors will come primarily from such claims, Freeh said in his 119-page report that was submitted to the bankruptcy court.”

Full article

Google has scooped up a startup that helps online publishers make the website more social. The deal was small; under a $100 million.

Full article 

“Groupon’s stock just crashed through $9, hitting a post-IPO low.

That’s down more than 55% from the IPO price of fewer than 6 months ago.

That also translates to a market cap of less than $6 billion.

For what it’s worth, that’s the amount that Google offered to buy Groupon for, in cash, in the fall of 2010.

Full article

“(Reuters) – Top shareholders of Chesapeake Energy Corp will take control of the board of directors after the natural gas producer came under intense pressure to reform following a governance crisis and poor financial performance.

Chesapeake said on Monday it would replace four directors on the nine-member board, giving Mason Hawkins’s Southeastern Asset Management three seats and billionaire Carl Icahn one.

In addition, the selection of a new independent chairman must be approved by the new board members.”

Full article

No surprise this occurred; what is surprising is that lawyers advised that there was no need for disclosure.

Full article 

It is time to end ENRON style accounting for the too big to fail as 100+ regulators missed any signs of trouble over at $JPM.

Full article

“(Reuters) – Lawyers for Hewlett-Packard Co and Oracle Corp will face off in court on Monday for opening statements in a bitter lawsuit over Oracle’s decision to end support for HP’s Itanium-based servers.

The trial, in which HP seeks up to $4 billion in damages, comes just days after Oracle lost a separate high stakes case against Google over smartphone technology.

Top personalities from both Oracle and HP – such as Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison, President Mark Hurd and HP board member Ann Livermore – could take the stand.

Intel Corp is not a party in the lawsuit, though its CEO Paul Otellini might also testify.”

Full article

“MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian court has ordered a new hearing into a $13 billion lawsuit brought against BP by minority shareholders in its Russia’s venture, TNK-BP , over a failed deal between BP and Rosneft , a BP lawyer said on Monday.

The Federal Arbitration Court in the Siberian city of Tyumen has ordered a new hearing in a lower court, lawyer Konstantin Lukoyanov told Reuters. The original suit was thrown out last year.”

Full article

Auto sales are suggesting a slowdown. GM sales just came in line with expectations of 10.4%…

Full article

I’m sure your aware by now that Groupons float is doubling today. At -65% IPO evaluation this may be a spot for a trade, but i’ll wait till $FB can settle down first.

Full article

They need a microscope up their arse…

Full article

“It’s crisis communications 101 for Corporate America: when a company bungles an event as big as the Facebook IPO, alienates customers, and spawns lawsuits and regulatory inquiries, the CEO apologizes and agrees to provide compensation to make things right. Everyone can then move on. ”

Full article

This story spells a larger story brewing, but i’ll spare you the tin foil hat this am.

Full article

A couple of must-see charts from Weisenthal…You won’t believe them.

Read the article here.

When former Apple (AAPL -0.25%) executive Ron Johnson was hired as CEO of struggling retailer J.C. Penney (JCP -2.92%), he outlined a strategy that spurned the company’s previous highly promotional approach in favor of more straightforward pricing.

To that end, the company implemented a three-level selling plan and scrapped its numerous sales and promotional events. The new approach was announced in January.

In the first leg of the strategy, J. C. Penney cut prices on all of its merchandise compared to last year’s regular pricing and called this “Every Day” low prices. Additionally, the company implemented sales that last a month, called “Monthly Value” discounts. J.C. Penney also holds sales on certain merchandise marked for clearance on the first and third Friday of each month. These sales, known as “Best Price” deals, coincide with many consumers’ paydays.

At the time of the announcement, Johnson was firm in his conviction about the change in strategy at the retailer. “We have made the decision to change our pricing strategy, and we’re going to stick to it,” Johnson said in January. After a disastrous first-quarter, however, it now appears that J.C. Penney is looking to revert back to a more promotional stance. The company held a Memorial Day weekend sale and is reported to be planning a Black Friday event. In all, the retailer has planned an additional five Friday sales this year, expanding its “Best Price Friday” program.

The catalyst for the move appears to be the company’s dismal first-quarter where total sales plunged 20% and same-store sales fell 19%, helping drive a steep operating loss in the period. The results sent JCP shares down nearly 20% on May 16 and have raised questions about whether the brand is fundamentally broken. In light of the new information from the company about additional sales, it is clear that Johnson and his management team are feeling the pressure.

The company told Charles Grom, retail analyst at Deutsche Bank (DB +0.93%), that it would be holding five extra strategically timed “Best Price Friday” events this year, including one on Black Friday, according to the Wall Street Journal. The other special Friday sales may be held during the Christmas and back-to-school seasons, the Journal speculated. According to Grom, the change — occurring so soon after the implementation of the straightforward pricing approach — could backfire.

Read here:

Remember the new saying is ‘do the crime and pay the fine’ as there is no real consequence to malicious and callous behavior…even if you break the law your safe.

Full article

“Aluminum manufacturer Alcoa is going through a rough patch as its profitability has taken a beating lately due to falling alumina prices arising from oversupply of the commodity.

Alcoa is a major global producer of aluminum and related products and could play a vital role in bringing prices back to previous levels if it continues to cut capacity. In April, it cut nearly 390K tons in smelting capacity and might have to cut more assessing the market, going forward.”

Full article

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Internet addresses are about to expand way past .com and .org, and Google wants in. It applied to grab not only .google, but also fun suffixes like .lol.

The company said it would like to operate “domains we think have interesting and creative potential,” citing .lol as an example.

Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) is just one of the hundreds of companies that have applied for new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) — the “.com” part of website addresses — in an upcoming massive expansion of the Internet’s infrastructure. The full list of applicants, and their proposed new domains, will be announced on June 13.

Read more here: