The Obama Administration is going to extend the TARP program into 2010, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner told Congress Wednesday. But the focus is going to be on aiding consumers vs. financial institutions, amid a sense the banking system is back on its fe
Global markets tumbled overnight amid fresh concerns about the global economy, and more specifically, the prospect of sovereign debt defaults. Standard & Poor’s lowered its outlook for Spain’s debt grade as the country’s finances worsened.
From The Business Insider, Dec. 9, 2009:1. Wind N’ Go Freedom ShaverThe
Hoping to garner support for his latest jobs plan, the President is set to meet with a group of lawmakers at the White House later today to discuss job creation.It’s the follow-up to
Stocks slumped Tuesday as the dollar renewed its recent rally amid evidence of weakness in the global economy.Disappointing guidance from 3M and sales results from McDonald’s weighed on blue-chip averages, with the Dow and S&P each losing 1%. Th
There’s a new deadline in Kraft’s hostile bid for European chocolate maker Cadbury: January 6. That’s the date European regulators have extended their review of the bid until, meaning the hostile battle that started in September is all but sure to spill into the new year.
Kraft has offered concessions to ease concerns that the deal might be anticompetitive, but doesn’t plan to make major divestitures.
Still, there is some question whether approval by the authorities will make much of a difference, unless Kraft raises its bid.
Cadbury shares are still trading above Kraft’s offer and a source close to Cadbury has called the bid “derisory.” The U.S. company has also received warnings from Britain’s government about trying to pull off the deal on the cheap.
Cadbury has said it will respond to Kraft’s offer on Monday, Dec. 14. Until then, investors will have to take their cue from Kraft and wait.
Wednesday’s top stories:
Japan’s Suzuki Motor will sell a 19.9 percent stake to Volkswagen for $2.5 billion and use half the proceeds to buy shares in the German automaker, as the two firms form a formidable force in the auto industry.
Dutch mail group TNT (TNT.AS) needs to be a part of consolidation in the fragmented European courier market, a new shareholder says, fuelling investor pressure for TNT to sell its express business.
Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) agrees to buy BHP Billiton’s (BHP.AX) (BLT.L) closed Ravensthorpe nickel mine for $340 million, paving the way to revive 5 percent of world nickel capacity.
U.S. dealmakers expect merger and acquisition activity to pick up in the first six months of 2010, with manufacturing, health care and financial services positioned to benefit most in the near term, a survey says.
In the Reuters Breakingviews corner, Jeffrey Goldfarb says Morgan Stanley’s James Gorman is off to a good start. “In his first big decision as Morgan Stanley’s CEO-to-be, Gorman has surrounded himself with veterans of the firm rather than bring in an outsider. This should help preserve the culture and ease internal fears about Gorman’s pedigree,” Goldfarb says.
For the rest of latest deal-related news from Reuters, click here.
And in the papers:
Consumer-products giant Procter & Gamble Co. is close to a deal to buy Sara Lee Corp.’s European air-freshener business, after fending off a challenge from S.C. Johnson & Son Inc., the WSJ says. In a bigger linked piece, it also says a “new wave of deal making is occurring in the consumer aisle. In recent weeks, a closely-held chip-maker, a juice-maker and hair- and skin-care company have been offered for sale, as a persistent decline in consumer-spending shakes up the companies whose products line supermarket and drugstore shelves.”
HSBC (0005.HK) (HSBA.L) is set to buy the retail and small and medium enterprises businesses of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) in India, China and Malaysia, the Mint newspaper reports, citing an unnamed RBS official in India. Reuters story here.
Even after Friday’s better-than-expected jobs data, President Obama unveiled a new effort on Tuesday to help the millions of Americans that can’t finds jobs. …
President Obama laid out a framework for more government action to boost hiring Tuesday, featuring tax credits for small businesses, more infrastructure spending and incentives for clean energy initiatives. But Harvard Professor Ken Rogoff says Obama shou
President Obama today unveiled several initiatives aimed at rebuilding the nation’s job market. Unemployment hovers at 10% as of November. But our guest, top economist and noted bear Kenneth Rogoff of Harvard University, forecasts more headwinds. ..
From The Business Insider, Dec. 8, 2009:Perception is reality.
So it doesn’t matter what really happened when pay czar Kenneth Feinberg agreed to exempt a bunch of AIG executives from pay caps because they whined and threatened to quit over them. …
What’s a retail investor to do? This year’s whip saw action has many confused. Still feeling lousy about the economy and our future prospects, the retail investor, judging by fund flows, remains skeptical about putting money to work in t