Americas

RIM doesn’t need to remain Canadian

31 May 2012

The struggling BlackBerry maker is weighing its options, from joint ventures to a sale. Despite past form, some officials’ preference to keep the company Canadian shouldn’t worry would-be foreign buyers too much. RIM’s declining sales and significance present a bigger challenge.

Less to Wells Fargo lending deal than meets eye

31 May 2012

The U.S. bank aims to lend $425 mln to end a Memphis discriminatory lending lawsuit and is adding other sweeteners like down-payment grants. It’s good PR, but Wells already offers similar aid in areas where it’s not being sued. And it still faces a bigger test from the feds.

John Malone again proves fickle media friend

31 May 2012

The U.S. cable magnate has escalated his fight for control of Sirius XM, the satellite radio company he bailed out in 2009. Malone is known for clever, aggressive tactics, even against Rupert Murdoch. Sirius is another cautionary tale for rival moguls and investors alike.

While painful, Morgan Stanley can handle downgrade

31 May 2012

A Moody’s cut to the bank’s credit ratings could clip $200 mln or more off the bottom line and boost funding costs. But much of this risk is already priced in. With the two other rating agencies holding steady, CEO James Gorman should be able to navigate the triple-B shoals.

Exxon’s fracking gag makes Chesapeake look good

30 May 2012

That’s a rare feat. The troubled gas firm is infamously opaque. But Chesapeake’s openness on the risks of fracking puts larger rivals like Exxon to shame. After another large minority vote from investors for more information, Big Oil should follow its troubled cousin’s lead.

Old rich send message to Zuckerberg’s ilk

30 May 2012

Acquainted for five decades, the Rothschild and Rockefeller patriarchs are finally launching a transatlantic investment alliance. It’s slower, quieter, more dispersed money than the Facebook founder’s. But it has staying power even hoodied tech billionaires may one day crave.

Agnellis give thumbs down to Italy

30 May 2012

Fiat Industrial is merging with CNH, its U.S. subsidiary, and is set to become a Dutch-domiciled group listed in New York. This may herald a full takeover of Chrysler by Fiat Auto, with its listing moving across the Atlantic too. Italy may complain but it is largely to blame.

Private equity may owe Obama a debt of gratitude

30 May 2012

Mitt Romney has weakly rebutted the president’s attacks on his Bain Capital tenure. But others who see the good side of buyouts are gradually speaking up. Election-year mud-slinging could end up boosting the industry, especially if LBO firms themselves seize the moment.

Dewey lawyers pay for being partners in name only

29 May 2012

Far from sharing the bankrupt U.S. firm’s ups and downs, they were often at each other’s throats. That’s bad form in business, even in the best of times. More collaboration may not have saved the once-venerable law shop. But it could have defused the harsh court battles to come.

Chesapeake may need to sacrifice more than assets

29 May 2012

The embattled U.S. gas producer is already dispensing with energy fields to raise cash. Now investors, including uppity Carl Icahn, want directors ousted. Replacing two up for election without Chesapeake’s OK is near impossible. But resistance is counterproductive at this stage.

Tech firm’s perpetual-motion stock gizmo sputters

29 May 2012

Selling unlimited VoIP phone service for $20 a year has proved mixed for MagicJack. A side business writing put options on its own stock did better in 2011 - especially when teamed with large buybacks. But the CEO’s forced share sale to cover loans has broken the connection.

Buffett steals insider-trading show in absentia

29 May 2012

The Berkshire Hathaway chairman didn’t appear in a New York courtroom last week. But his presence loomed over Raj Gupta’s insider-trading trial in more ways than one and dredged up the still-unsettled role his former lieutenant David Sokol played in last year’s Lubrizol deal.

Gavilon sale brings Ospraie happier crisis memory

29 May 2012

The commodities hedge fund has doubled its money with the $3.6 bln sale of the grain trader it bought from ConAgra in 2008. Co-investors including George Soros should also be pleased. And for Ospraie, which was nearly crushed as the crisis unfolded, it’s a cheerier bookend.

Vertex’s $2.5 bln error more comedy than tragedy

29 May 2012

The biotech firm’s value plunged 18 pct after it admitted a basic statistics mistake, confusing relative with absolute improvement for a new drug combination for cystic fibrosis. Such a bone-headed error is careless, but comical rather than fatal. The share slump looks overdone.

Japan’s $3.6 bln Gavilon buy goes with the grain

29 May 2012

Marubeni’s swoop on U.S. agricultural specialist Gavilon can be put down to a strong yen and commodity traders’ quest for scale. As long as China’s appetite for commodities keeps growing, so will M&A among its suppliers.

Is the Fed too complex to manage, too?

25 May 2012

That’s usually a question for big banks like recently humbled JPMorgan. But it’s also not a bad one for the U.S. central bank.  From the role of JPMorgan’s Dimon on the New York Fed board to the institution’s forays into housing policy, Bernanke’s Fed seems to be pleasing no one.

Wal-Mart shareholders can make their protest count

25 May 2012

With half the votes sewn-up by the Walton family, directors tainted by the retailer’s Mexican bribery scandal look safe in their seats. But investors disturbed by Wal-Mart’s cover-up should make their displeasure known just the same by targeting Chairman Robson Walton himself.

General Mills doubles down on Brazilian consumer

25 May 2012

The U.S. producer of Lucky Charms cereal and Yoplait yogurt has snatched privately-owned Brazilian-Japanese food group Yoki for some $1 bln, a move well timed with a weak real. The current economic slowdown aside, Brazil’s growing middle class is still attractive.

Blankfein enjoys rare moment of public approval

24 May 2012

The Goldman Sachs boss emerged from the firm’s annual meeting not just unscathed but praised. The Wall Street bank had already headed off a vote to split the chairman and CEO roles. With protestors scarce and a regular past critic absent, Blankfein had an easier AGM than rivals.

Goldman renewable energy dash more than greenwash

24 May 2012

The Wall Street firm says it will deploy $40 bln over a decade. It isn’t above self-serving spin, but it’s also never far from the money. With solar and wind power nearing competitive cost levels, clean energy could burnish Goldman’s bottom line as well as its green credentials.