Nokia's
share price fell to its lowest level in 13 years after the company
issued a profit warning and forecast that sales in the second quarter
would be "substantially below" expectations. The Finnish
mobile-phone-maker is struggling with the transition to smartphones and
other clever devices. In February it announced that it would switch the
operating system that runs its handsets to Microsoft Windows, though its
first such products are not due until at least the end of this year.
Hold the phone
» The World Health Organisation's agency for cancer research classified radio waves from mobile phones
as "possibly carcinogenic". The agency looked at current research and
based its assessment partly on the association between phone use and
glioma, a type of brain cancer, but did not specify the level of risk.
The GSMA, which represents the mobile-phone industry, said the
classification "suggests that a hazard is possible but not likely".
Other items the agency classifies as "possibly carcinogenic"
include coffee and some pickled vegetables.
» Sprint Nextel formally asked regulators to block AT&T's proposed $39 billion takeover of T-Mobile USA, arguing it would lead to less competition. The regulators are expected to complete their reviews within a year.
» South Africa's Competition Tribunal gave the go-ahead for
Walmart's takeover of
Massmart,
a South African retailer with operations in 14 African countries.
Approval for the deal was in some doubt because of union opposition, but
the retailers have agreed to keep current staffing levels for two years
and to retain working arrangements for three years. The unions have
warned, however, that they also want to renegotiate the terms for local
suppliers.
See article
» Weaker-than-expected data in America on the economy and housing caused stockmarkets to shudder, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average recording its biggest single-day drop in almost a year.
» India's
economic growth rate slowed again in the first three months of the
year, to 7.8% year on year. The news is not expected to deter the
central bank from its policy of raising interest rates to tackle
inflation.
» The World Trade Organisation's members agreed to try to salvage some of the Doha round's
least contentious proposals that affect the poorest countries, for
approval at a ministerial conference in December. Still, some members
warned that even this could be difficult, with troublesome issues such
as cotton subsidies retained in the watered-down negotiations.
Slow justice
» A court in Milan sentenced Antonio Fazio,
a former governor of Italy's central bank, to four years in prison for
trying to block a Dutch bank's takeover of an Italian lender in order to
smooth the path for a rival bid from another Italian bank. Mr Fazio
resigned in 2005 when the scandal surfaced. He remains a free man while
he appeals against the conviction.
» Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Hillcorp Energy agreed to sell their oil and natural-gas assets in a south Texan shale
formation to Marathon Oil for $3.5 billion. KKR made its initial
investment in the project only a year ago and stands to make a handsome
profit from the deal.
» The EU's European Investment Bank suspended all lending to Glencore,
citing "serious concerns" with governance at the world's biggest
commodities-trading company, which recently made its stockmarket debut.
The EIB is investigating a $50m loan it made to Glencore's Mopani copper
mine in Zambia, but says its concerns "go far beyond" that investment.
Glencore said it welcomed the inquiry and expects to be "completely
exonerated".
» Renault
named a new chief operating officer to replace Patrick Pélata, who
resigned in April along with a handful of other executives for a botched
internal investigation into corporate espionage. Renault's new number
two is Carlos Tavares, the head of the Americas division of Nissan,
Renault's partner.
Moniker business
» Twitter
unmasked an anonymous British user who posted disparaging comments
about local councillors in north-east England, after the council asked a
court in California for his identity. "Mr Monkey" is rumoured to be a
disgruntled councillor. The case could have an impact on other anonymous
tweeters in Britain and comes amid a political debate over privacy,
after the name of a footballer who had allegedly had an affair but whose
identity was legally protected was circulated on Twitter.
» A New York
congressman had his own Twitter problems when a picture of a man
waist-down in his underwear appeared on his Twitter page. Anthony Weiner
insisted that the incident was a hoax.
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IPO plan puts $20bn tag on Groupon
