Americas

Apple puts its finger on a security gap

27 Jul 2012

The iPhone maker is buying AuthenTec, a fingerprint technology maker. The $356 mln price is only a long weekend’s cash flow for the gadget giant, but the deal is still among its biggest. It suggests Apple sees the need to fortify device defenses for growth areas like payments.

Chevron’s sputter shouldn’t dissuade investors

27 Jul 2012

The U.S. oil major’s overseas refineries helped stop the Q2 profit slide at 7 pct. Yet the growth in these less-prized assets isn’t the real story at Chevron. A heavier weighting toward oil and expected punchy output growth should narrow the value gap with bigger rival Exxon.

Enel squeezes its Latam minority shareholders

27 Jul 2012

The troubled Italian utility is using an $8 bln capital hike at its Chilean unit Enersis to grow in the region. While Enel’s Spanish arm Endesa kicks in assets to cover its 60 pct portion, minority holders must stump up cash. They may be powerless but the reaction speaks volumes.

Winner’s curse haunts banks in Asian block trades

27 Jul 2012

The banks that arranged a $720 mln quick sale for Carlyle in China Pacific Insurance look to have taken a licking on the trade. Block deals may help league table credit, especially when business is moribund. But aggressive bidding can leave a bitter aftertaste.

Miners’ journey back to normal will be a hard slog

27 Jul 2012

The sector’s software-like margins were due a reality check. Results from Vale and Anglo American confirm it has entered a period of more challenged returns. Stubborn costs will take time to ease. After a decade-long boom, reversion to the mean will be painful.

Facebook loses more friends with fizzle

26 Jul 2012

The social network’s revenue grew 32 pct in its initial quarterly report. That’s not bad. But profit and margins took a hit, even when stock compensation is ignored. Facebook is investing heavily, but investors counted on having cake and eating it. Instead, they’re going hungry.

Securitizing rent has more problems than promise

26 Jul 2012

Crafting bonds backed by rent is being touted as a way to fund mass purchases of foreclosed U.S. homes. But big obstacles - sparse data, management challenges and new risks for investors - complicate matters. It could be years before such bonds are sold. And they won’t be cheap.

M&A Davids wallop Wall Street Goliaths

26 Jul 2012

Bulge bracket banks had a decent second quarter on deals. But combined advisory revenue this year for Evercore, Greenhill and Lazard is stable, while for their bigger rivals it’s down by 24 pct. In a slow market, every victory matters, and the battles won’t get any easier.

Exxon’s record profit belies missed opportunity

26 Jul 2012

The $15.9 bln bottom line may have been the best single quarter in corporate history, but it was greatly flattered by the sale of a Japanese refinery. Worse, Exxon’s U.S. crude output slipped and U.S. capex fell by a third. The domestic surge in oil production is passing it by.

New York Times looks blind in land of one-eyed

26 Jul 2012

Fellow embattled companies like Yahoo and Avon found respectable CEOs in relatively short order. After eight months, however, the newspaper publisher is still searching. Circulation growth helped lift an otherwise dim Q2. But the long quest for a boss is a bad sign of the Times.

Zynga disaster casts cloud over Facebook

26 Jul 2012

The Bubble Safari creator’s Q2 results were a mess. Most popular games lost users, its recent purchase of the maker of Draw Something looks a bust and Zynga pointed the finger at Facebook for some of its woes. Their symbiotic relationship will hurt as much as it has helped.

Macau’s high rollers cut bets as China’s odds dim

26 Jul 2012

Weaker profits at Las Vegas Sands suggest mainland gambling fanatics are taking a breather, including VIPs. There might be more at stake than just gaming profits: in better times, Sands owner Sheldon Adelson offered to wager $100 million on Mitt Romney’s U.S. presidential bid.

Ford’s dings shouldn’t distract investors

25 Jul 2012

The Detroit automaker made clear in its latest results that it has some kinks to hammer out in Europe and South America. But its U.S. business is cruising along nicely and the balance sheet is well-tuned. Ford isn’t the lemon the market valuation implies.

Ills of offshore stashes matched by state hoarding

25 Jul 2012

Over $12 trln was held in the top tax haven private banks in 2010, a 63 pct increase from 2005, says a new study by an advocacy group. Meanwhile, central bank foreign exchange reserves grew twice as fast. Bad policy fueled both and helps explain sagging economies.

Insider traders pay too dearly for defiance

25 Jul 2012

Miscreants like ex-McKinsey partner Anil Kumar get off lightly by snitching next to those who don’t cooperate. John Kinnucan’s guilty plea after he famously refused to help a U.S. probe provides a fresh chance to distinguish between breaking the law and being stubborn.

Sandy Weill U-turn fuels big bank breakup fire

25 Jul 2012

The former Citi boss wants banks to ditch their Wall Street ops. That’s rich coming from the man whose banking behemoth helped overturn Glass-Steagall. But it reflects growing frustration with financial reform across the political spectrum. A convert like Weill is hard to ignore.

Conoco underlines rich nations’ oil resurgence

25 Jul 2012

The company’s first earnings report as a refinery-free driller made much of surging production in the U.S. and other developed economies. The trend reflects a renewed focus on resources in the rich world as opposed to emerging markets. While it lasts, it’s less risky for Big Oil.

Anticipation makes Apple miss

24 Jul 2012

An unexpectedly sub-stellar quarter knocked nearly $30 bln off the company’s market value. Apple’s success has become a kind of burden. With most fresh products a hit - the next a new iPhone - it’s ever harder to get customers to buy current devices as launches approach.

IMF gets quasi-Goldman resignation moment

24 Jul 2012

Greg Smith’s public rant triggered fresh scrutiny of the Wall Street firm even though he said nothing new. So it could be with Peter Doyle, a 20-year IMF economist. His exit blast is causing internal soul-searching. Yet no-one should be surprised to hear that the fund is flawed.

Obama’s not the trustbuster he thought he would be

24 Jul 2012

The president promised an antitrust crackdown. A new study finds, however, that despite high-profile cases like AT&T, he’s no bolder than his predecessor, who Obama called wimpy on the subject. While tough talk can be a deterrent, the law trumps politics in deal enforcement.