Microsoft Corp. has joined a host of companies – including Providence Equity Partners, Hellman & Friedman, Silver Lake Partners, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and Russian technology investment firm DST Global – that is looking to buyout internet search portal Yahoo Inc. in a deal that could be worth up to US$20 billion, said sources close to the situation, reported Reuters on Wednesday.
Eligible victims of Bernard ‘Bernie’ Madoff’s epic Ponzi scheme will soon be receiving the first checks in their mailboxes, according to the trustee liquidating the Madoff estate in federal bankruptcy court.
BP Plc has announced plans to build a US$800 million wind farm in Kansas by the end of next year as the US wind power industry continues to struggle in the face of expiring federal tax credits.
The 66,000-acre project, named the Flat Ridge Wind Farm 2, will span across 4 counties – Barber, Harper, Kingman and Sumner – and will become the largest installation of its type for both the state of Kansas as well for BP Wind Energy.
Nestle, the world’s largest food company and one of the biggest makers of pet food, will launch a world’s first this week – a television commercial aimed directly at dogs, using high-frequency squeaks and signals to grab their attention.
The ad is set to be screened on Austrian television this week and will feature tones similar to a dog whistle, an audible “squeak” like the sound dogs’ toys make and a high-pitched “ping.”
Recently ousted Hewlett-Packard CEO Leo Apotheker will be walking away with more than $13 million, while incoming CEO Meg Whitman will be getting an annual salary of just $1.
Apotheker was ousted last week after the company’s stock lost more than half its value during his 11-month stint with the technology giant. He however will be walking away with $13.2 million in stock and cash.
Prices of US-listed Chinese stocks fell on Thursday after reports emerged that the US Justice Department was investigating into accounting irregularities at several Chinese companies listed on US stock exchanges.
With credit tightening in China, many businesses are turning to “private” lenders to overcome the credit crunch.
With the Chinese authorities clamping down on lending in a bid to cool down its overheated economy, many small and medium sized businesses are turning to private loans for their financing needs.
China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile phone operator, is sitting on more cash than Apple. However, with that excess amount of cash, China Mobile seems to be missing out on cashing in on the phone industry’s cheapest stock valuations in two years.
Oracle Corp has estimated that it suffered US$1.2 billion in damages from Google Inc.’s alleged patent and copyright infringement through Android software, according to a federal court filing in San Francisco on Thursday.
The creators of Java technology broke down the damages into individual components, claiming that its patent damages could be as much as $202 million, its copyright damages could be as much as $136 million, and that Google’s profit from copyright infringement reached $823.9 million.
The Venezuelan government is only proposing a US$1 billion settlement to Exxon Mobil Corp for the nationalization of its assets in 2007, said Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday.
