Thursday, January 19, 2012
TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES
TOP STORIES
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Eastman Kodak Files for Bankruptcy Eastman
Kodak said early Thursday that it had filed for bankruptcy protection,
as the 131-year-old film pioneer struggled to adapt to an increasingly
digital world.
As part of its filing, made in the federal bankruptcy court in the Southern District of New York, Kodak will seek to continue selling a portfolio of 1,100 digital imaging patents to raise cash for its loss-making operations.
The company plans to continue operating normally as it reorganizes under Chapter 11 protection.
DEALBOOK » As part of its filing, made in the federal bankruptcy court in the Southern District of New York, Kodak will seek to continue selling a portfolio of 1,100 digital imaging patents to raise cash for its loss-making operations.
The company plans to continue operating normally as it reorganizes under Chapter 11 protection.
Bank of America Swings to a Profit The
bank earned $2 billion, or 15 cents a share, in the fourth quarter,
compared with a loss of $1.2 billion in the same period a year ago.
The earnings met the consensus estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. The gain, however, included a $2.9 billion profit on the sale of a stake in China Construction Bank as well as a $1.2 billion gain from swapping preferred stock for common shares. Overall quarterly revenue rose 11 percent to 25.1 billion.
The earnings met the consensus estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. The gain, however, included a $2.9 billion profit on the sale of a stake in China Construction Bank as well as a $1.2 billion gain from swapping preferred stock for common shares. Overall quarterly revenue rose 11 percent to 25.1 billion.
- DEALBOOK »
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DEAL NOTES
Rubenstein Donates to Washington Monument David M. Rubenstein, the Carlyle Group co-founder, will donate $7.5 million to help repair the Washington Monument, which is shuttered after earthquake damage, The Washington Post reports. - WASHINGTON POST
For Callan, Life After Lehman Includes a New Husband Erin
Callan, the former chief financial officer of Lehman Brothers who all
but disappeared from Wall Street after the firm's collapse, was married
late last year.
- DEALBOOK »
- Stock Exchange Issues Prohibition on Gambling NYSE Regulation, which oversees trading on the New York Stock Exchange, warned members that "book making, numbers games, or other organized for-profit betting activity relating to sporting activities, other outside events or games of chance" is prohibited.
- The Mormon Church's Bain Winnings Mitt Romney donated stock holdings he obtained through Bain Capital to the Mormon church, making him eligible for large tax deductions, Reuters reports.
- REUTERS
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS »
Securities Lawsuits Hold Steady but Below Average The
number of investor lawsuits alleging fraud at corporations remained
mostly flat last year, a new study finds. But if it were not for suits
tied to mergers and I.P.O.'s of Chinese companies, litigation would be
below historical norms.
Icahn Raises Bet on WebMD The
activist investor disclosed on Wednesday that he has raised his stake
in WebMD to 11.64 percent from 9.99 percent and called on the online
health company to buy back up to $1 billion of its shares.
Yahoo Sales Executive Said to Depart Seth
Dallaire, who ran Yahoo's midmarket advertising accounts unit, is
headed to Amazon, to become vice president of North America sales,
AllThingsD reports, citing unnamed people.
Rio Tinto Free to Take Over Mongolia Project Rio
Tinto, the British-Australian mining giant, can now take over the Oyu
Tolgoi mining project in Mongolia, after Ivanhoe Mines, which owns the
project, said it would abandon a "poison pill" shareholder rights plan,
Reuters reports.
Chinese Car Maker Said to Eye New Bid for Saab Zhejiang
Youngman Lotus Automobile could make another offer for Saab, the failed
Swedish car maker, after General Motors earlier refused to allow
Youngman to make a similar move, Reuters reports, citing unnamed people
with knowledge of the situation.
- REUTERS
- Britain Urges Independence in Exchange Ruling A British regulator said European Union officials should not be swayed by "vested interests" when ruling on the proposed merger between NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Borse, Reuters reports.
- REUTERS
INVESTMENT BANKING »
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Morgan Stanley Reports a Loss as Settlement Weighs on Results The one main bright spot in the fourth quarter was the Wall Street firm's global wealth management division.
BankUnited Calls Off Short Sales Process BankUnited,
the private-equity-owned bank that went public last year, has ended an
effort to sell itself after failing to fetch attractive-enough offers
from potential suitors.
Swiss Re Appoints New Chief Executive The
world's second largest reinsurer said on Thursday that Michel M. Lies
will take over as the company's chief executive on Feb. 1.
Banks in Europe Seen as Stronger Than Governments It
costs more than a full percentage point less to insure the debt of
European banks using credit default swaps than it does to insure the
debt of governments, the biggest difference since July, Bloomberg News
reports.
Goldman Sachs Spent $6 Billion to Buy Back Stock The firm spent more to repurchase shares in 2011 than it earned in the year, Bloomberg News reports.
- BLOOMBERG NEWS
- Dimon and Blankfein Predict Rebound As trading and investment banking revenue likely fell in the fourth quarter, Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, and Lloyd C. Blankfein, head of Goldman Sachs, maintained that the slump was cyclical, Bloomberg News reports.
- BLOOMBERG NEWS
- Fink as Vocal Shareholder Laurence D. Fink, chief executive of BlackRock, which holds at least 5 percent of the shares of 2,400 companies, said in a letter to companies it holds that his firm would seek to "engage in dialogue" with management, Bloomberg News reports.
- BLOOMBERG NEWS
- Bank of New York Mellon Earnings Fall 26 Percent The bank's net income of $505 million, or 42 cents a share, missed expectations of 52 cents a share, Bloomberg News reports.
- BLOOMBERG NEWS
PRIVATE EQUITY »
The United States Economy Through a Private Equity Lens As Mitt Romney defends his tenure at Bain Capital on the presidential campaign trail, some on Wall Street wonder how running a private equity firm compares to running the country, writes Jesse Eisinger of ProPublica in his column, The Trade.Carlyle Readies an Unfriendly I.P.O. for Shareholders Not only would soon-to-be public shareholders have no power over the Carlyle Group, the firm is also seeking to force all shareholder legal claims into arbitration, Steven M. Davidoff writes in his Deal Professor column.Apollo Said to Be in $7 Billion Bid for Oil Assets Apollo Global Management and Riverstone Holdings, two private equity firms, are together bidding around $7 billion for the exploration and production assets of the El Paso Corporation, Reuters reports, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.German Central Bank to Sell Lehman Loans The Bundesbank, Germany's central bank, is near a sale of almost $2.6 billion of property loans once owned by Lehman Brothers, with Lone Star, the private equity firm, having agreed to buy much of the portfolio, The Financial Times reports.Blackstone Eyes More China Deals The Blackstone Group said it is pursuing more property investments in China, after one of its funds profited on a sale of a real estate stake, Reuters reports.HEDGE FUNDS »
Hedge Funds May Sue Over Greek Bonds As Greece considers passing legislation to force private bondholders to accept losses, hedge funds could mount a legal challenge by claiming a violation of their property rights, which in Europe are human rights, The New York Times reports.Einhorn Exits First Solar Bet David Einhorn, the president of Greenlight Capital, closed his bet against First Solar, which he said was "one of the most profitable shorts in the history" of the firm, Reuters reports.Danish Mortgages Validate Soros's View Denmark's Nykredit Mortgage Bond Index rose to a record this month, after George Soros asserted that the country's mortgage system is especially resilient in times of crisis, Bloomberg News reports.Tell Investments Shutters Funds The hedge fund firm is closing its two principal funds, the William and the Tell, after three years of disappointing performance, and is returning about $767 million to investors, Reuters reports.I.P.O./OFFERINGS »
Glencore Executive Said to Depart Steven Blumgart, the co-head of Glencore's aluminum division, is leaving the commodities trading firm this year, in the first significant departure since the company went public in May, The Financial Times reports, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.Russian Miner Said to Plan I.P.O. Yuzhuralzoloto, a Russian gold miner, plans to float 25 percent of its shares in London as early as the spring, after abandoning plans to raise about $150 million in 2008, a Russian newspaper reported, according to Reuters.Chinese Car Rental Company Files for I.P.O. China Auto Rental became the first Chinese company to file for a United States listing under new rules barring companies from keeping registration documents private, Reuters reports.Hong Kong Exchange Head Predicts Access for Chinese Charles Li, the chief executive of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, said mainland Chinese investors will one day be able to partake in yuan-denominated I.P.O.'s in Hong Kong, the Associated Press reports.VENTURE CAPITAL »
Mutual Funds Invest in Brazilian Online Deals Company Peixe Urbano, Brazil's first online daily deal company, has closed a round of financing with mutual funds and accounts managed by Morgan Stanley Investment Management and T. Rowe Price Associates. General Atlantic and Tiger Global Management also participated.Start-Ups Get Political As Web sites protested legislation to curb Internet piracy, many start-ups joined the effort, with HelloFax, for instance, offering a tool to let people send their representatives faxes over the Internet, The New York Times reports.Cloud Services Company Raises $20 Million Symplified, which offers businesses tools for managing cloud applications, raised the funds in a round led by Ignition Partners, TechCrunch reports.South African Firm Starts American Fund The Quantum Capital Fund, of South Africa, has started a $200 million fund in the United States, TechCrunch reports.LEGAL/REGULATORY »
U.S. Charges 7 for Insider Trading of Dell Stock Federal prosecutors depicted a "circle of friends," including Anthony Chiasson of Level Global, who together earned about $62 million in illegal gains in Dell stock.DEALBOOK »- Bair Urges Big Bank Breakup Sheila Bair, formerly the chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, writes in a column in Fortune that the biggest banks might be worth more if they were broken apart.
- FORTUNE
Florida Banker Charged With Misleading Investors The
Securities and Exchange Commission charged Alan B. Levan, chairman and
chief executive of BankAtlantic Bancorp, with making misleading
statements in order to hide losses, The New York Times reports.
Regulators Concerned About How to Apply Volcker Rule Federal
regulators responsible for writing the Volcker Rule limiting
proprietary trading told Congress that the proposal was difficult to
interpret and could crimp the bottom line at Wall Street banks.
New Laws Possible In Wake of MF Global's Demise The
Senate Agriculture Committee is exploring regulatory changes following
pleas from farmers, cattle ranchers and other futures industry customers
who seek stronger protections for their money.
JPMorgan Said to Be at Center of MF Global's Collapse JPMorgan
Chase, one of MF Global's primary bankers, was able to slow the
delivery of funds to the brokerage in its final days, worsening its
distress, Reuters reports, citing unnamed people familiar with the
situation.
Donovan Says Mortgage Settlement Is Near Shaun
Donovan, the secretary of housing and urban development, said officials
are "very close" to a settlement with banks that could allow about one
million homeowners to reduce their mortgage debt, Reuters reports.
China Said to Consider Relaxing Rules The
Chinese government plans to let the larger banks lend more in the first
quarter, and is considering a plan to relax capital requirements,
Bloomberg News reports, citing unidentified people with knowledge of the
matter.
Trial Set for Texas Financier A
federal judge ruled that R. Allen Stanford, accused of defrauding
thousands of investors in a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, will finally go on
trial next week nearly three years after his arrest, reported Clifford
Krauss of The New York Times.
TD Bank Ordered to Pay $67 Million in Fraud Case The
bank was ordered by a federal jury to pay investors the sum, for its
role in a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme, the Associated Press reports.