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Buffett's Berkshire buying Burlington Northern RR |
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| author: gdz | 3 November 2009 | Views: 333 |
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NEW YORK (AP) -- Warren Buffett has made bets on railroads before, but now he's all in. The billionaire investor's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. on Tuesday agreed to buy Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., making a $34 billion bet on the future of the U.S. economy.
Burlington Northern, the nation's second-largest railroad, is the biggest hauler of food products like corn, and coal for electricity, making it an indicator of the country's economic health. The railroad also ships a large amount of consumer goods -- including items imported from Asia -- from big Western ports like Los Angeles and Seattle.
Analysts say Buffett is planting both feet in an industry that is poised to grow as the economy gets back on solid ground. It would be the biggest acquisition ever for Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Berkshire Hathaway already owns about 22 percent of Burlington Northern, and will pay $100 a share in cash and stock for the rest of the company. That was 31.5 percent premium on Burlington Northern's Monday closing price. The stock shot up over 28 percent Tuesday, to $97.66 in afternoon trading.
Shareholders have the option to convert their stock for a cash payment of $100 per share or receive Berkshire Class A or Class B common stock. Up to 60 percent of the deal is cash and 40 percent is in stock.
"Berkshire's $34 billion investment in BNSF is a huge bet on that company, CEO Matt Rose and his team, and the railroad industry," Buffett said in a statement.
"Most important of all, however, it's an all-in wager on the economic future of the United States. I love |
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Ford surprises with $1B profit; sees profit in '11 |
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| author: gdz | 2 November 2009 | Views: 306 |
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 DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) -- Ford, the only Detroit automaker to dodge direct government aid and bankruptcy court, surprised investors with net income of nearly $1 billion in the third quarter and forecast a "solidly profitable" 2011. The automaker said Monday earnings were fueled by U.S. market share gains, cost cuts and the Cash for Clunkers program, which drew flocks of buyers to showrooms this summer. Ford's shares rose 53 cents, or 7.6 percent, to $7.53 in afternoon trading. The latest results signal that Ford's turnaround is on more solid ground. The company lost more than $14.6 billion last year and hasn't posted a full-year profit since 2005. While it made a profit in the second quarter, that was mainly due to debt reductions that cut its interest payments. Ford, based in Dearborn, Mich., reported third-quarter net income of $997 million, or 29 cents per share. Its profit forecast for 2011 was a step above previous guidance of break-even or better for the year. Ford's key North American car and truck division posted a pretax profit of $357 million, the division's first quarter in the black since early 2005. Ford cited higher pricing, lower material costs and increased market share for the improvement. Excluding one-time items, Ford earned 26 cents per share, blowing away analysts' expectations of a loss |
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PepsiCo: Consumers will keep focus on low prices |
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| author: gdz | 8 October 2009 | Views: 371 |
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MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Bearing in mind that consumers will remain focused on low prices even when the recession ends, soft drink and snack maker PepsiCo Inc. said Thursday that it's creating new products at lower prices and plans to continue offering discounts in its Frito-Lay and beverage businesses.
The effort seems to be working for PepsiCo's Frito-Lay business, which posted revenue and volume gains in the third quarter. But the beverage business, with brands like Pepsi cola, continued to slump as consumers cut their spending and continued switching to healthier juices and teas.
Overall, the Purchase, N.Y.-based company said its fiscal third-quarter profit rose 9 percent, thanks in part to cost-cutting, even as revenue slipped 1 percent.
Chief Financial Officer Richard Goodman said PepsiCo has been offering more promotions at the end of each month, when consumers' budgets become more constrained. For instance, bags of chips may be promoted at two for $5 early in the month but fall to $2 each by the end of the month.
"We want to be able to make sure that at the beginning of the month or at the end of the month, they're buying our products," Goodman told reporters in a conference call after the company released its earnings report Thursday.
Consumers are so focused on cost they are willing to forgo getting more for a given price. PepsiCo's promotion to boost volume -- with no price increase -- on certain chips failed to gain traction and will be |
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Unilever buys some Sara Lee businesses for euro1.28B |
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| author: gdz | 26 September 2009 | Views: 353 |
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AMSTERDAM (AP) -- Consumer products giant Unilever NV said Friday it has agreed to buy soaps and personal care businesses including the Sanex and Duschdas brands from Sara Lee Corp. for euro1.28 billion ($1.88 billion).
The businesses to be acquired, subject to regulatory approval, include Sara Lee's worldwide body care products business and its European detergents arms. In addition to Sanex -- a cheaper parallel of Unilever's Dove brand -- and Duschdas, a German shower gel maker, Unilever is buying several strong regional brands such as Radox bubble bath and Switzal, a maker of baby shampoo.
Unilever said the businesses it will acquire had sales of euro750 million and operating earnings of euro128 million in the 12 months ending in June.
Unilever, the world's third-largest consumer products company after Procter & Gamble Co. and Nestle SA, says its Dove, Axe and Rexona lines will complement the Sara Lee brands.
"The acquisition will strengthen Unilever's leadership positions overall in Western Europe," the company said in a statement. "In addition, there is significant potential to build these brands in developing and emerging markets, which already generate approximately 15 percent of their annual sales."
Analysts said the deal made sense.
"The positioning of Sara Lee is more mid-market and below the other Unilever brands," said Fernand de Boer of Petercam Bank in a note on the deal. The deal fits into a strategy "to play the entire price |
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Fed slows $1.45T program to aid housing market |
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| author: gdz | 23 September 2009 | Views: 288 |
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- With the economy on the mend, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday said it is slowing the pace of a program to lower mortgage rates and prop up the housing market.
The Fed decided to stretch out its goal of buying $1.45 trillion in mortgage-backed securities and debt issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae until the end of the first quarter of 2010. Originally, the central bank intended to complete buying those securities by the end of this year.
It marked the second time since August that the Fed has opted to slow some of its extraordinary support to revive the economy and spur Americans to boost spending. It shows that the Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues are confident the recovery will take hold.
In a more upbeat assessment, the Fed said: "Economic activity has picked up following its severe downturn." When the Fed last met in August, policymakers declared that economic activity was "leveling out."
The central bank also "expects that inflation will remain subdued for some time."
Even though the Fed will stretch out its purchases of mortgage securities, rates for home loans should remain low "in the 5 percent range" as long as the purchases continue, said Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance.
On Wall Street, stocks rose on the Fed's more optimistic outlook. The Dow Jones industrial average, which |
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Airline industry lost over $6 billion in 1st half |
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| author: gdz | 1 September 2009 | Views: 143 |
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GENEVA (AP) -- Airline companies lost more than $6 billion during the first half of the year due to the economic crisis, even as fresh figures showed some signs of recovery in the passenger and freight business, an industry group said Tuesday.
A sample of more than 50 airlines found their losses declined to $2 billion in the second quarter from $4 billion in the first quarter, the International Air Transport Association said, noting that the April-June period is usually a strong one for the industry.
"Since the sample of airlines is incomplete, total industry losses in the first half of 2009 are likely to have been in excess of the reported $6 billion," IATA said.
The Geneva-based group, which represents 230 airlines worldwide, said seat occupancy in international markets stabilized in July -- the first time in over a year -- but added that airlines need to further cut capacity to meet demand.
Freight capacity also still exceeds demand despite an 8.1 percent capacity cut in July, IATA said.
"With excess capacity continuing through Q2 it was not surprising that freight rates were down more than 20 percent over the year," it said.
Overall, the industry outlook remains volatile, IATA said.
Airlines are still adding to their fleet because of long-term orders committed to before the downturn. |
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Disney to buy comic book powerhouse Marvel for $4B |
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| author: gdz | 31 August 2009 | Views: 285 |
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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Walt Disney Co. is buying Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion in cash and stock, bringing such characters as Iron Man and Spider-Man into the family of Mickey Mouse and WALL-E.
Under the deal, which was announced Monday and is expected to close by the end of the year, Disney will acquire the rights to 5,000 Marvel characters. Many of them, including the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, were co-created by the comic book legend Stan Lee.
Disney CEO Robert Iger said Marvel's comic books, TV shows, movies and video games amounted to "a treasure trove of content." Iger said the deal would bring benefits like the ones Disney got from buying "Toy Story" creator Pixar Animation Studios Inc. for $7.4 billion in stock in 2006.
"The acquisition of Marvel offers us a similar opportunity to advance our strategy," Iger said, and "to build a business that is stronger than the sum of its parts."
For Marvel, Iger said being in the Disney camp would mean better global distribution and better relationships with retailers to sell its products. Another storied comic book maker, DC Comics, has been under the wings of a major studio since 1969, when Warner Bros. bought the home of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.
Marvel Chairman Mort Handel called Disney "a perfect home for our great collection of characters."
One point of the deal is to help Disney appeal to young men who have flocked to theaters to see Marvel |
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Intel raises sales forecast; shares jump 4 percent |
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| author: gdz | 29 August 2009 | Views: 247 |
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NEW YORK (AP) -- Intel Corp. raised its third-quarter revenue forecast above Wall Street's expectations Friday, citing strong demand for its chips and giving another signal that business is improving for one of the world's biggest technology companies. Intel shares rose 4 percent.
The leading maker of computer microprocessors now expects sales of $8.8 billion to $9.2 billion. Its last guidance, which came July 14, was for revenue in the range of $8.1 billion to $8.9 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting $8.55 billion in revenue before Friday.
Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel also said it expects the quarter's gross profit margin to be in the upper half of the range it previously forecast.
Because it gets most of its revenue from selling chips that are the "brains" of personal computers, Intel is indicating that PC makers are loading up on new chips faster than even it expected. While that suggests PC makers believe demand for the computers they're building will be strong, it doesn't necessarily mean they're selling briskly yet.
Intel is benefiting from the fact that PC makers had burned through a lot of their inventory, instead of buying new chips, as the financial crisis worsened. Now they have to restock ahead of what they're hoping will be a healthy back-to-school and holiday season.
Consumer demand for PCs is stabilizing or improving slightly from deeply depressed levels, as shown in the latest quarterly results from the world's top two PC makers, Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc. But the PC |
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Trademark wars: US goods carry famous Cuba brands |
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| author: gdz | 29 August 2009 | Views: 186 |
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SAN JOSE DE LAS LAJAS, Cuba (AP) -- Cuban rum maestro Jose Navarro's taste buds sing when he sips Havana Club, the sweet spirit distilled in this farming town south of the capital.
"It has to be Cuban," said Navarro, the oldest of the island's nine certified rum experts. "Havana Club can't exist anywhere else."
But another Havana Club does exist, one made by Bermuda-based rum giant Bacardi Ltd. A variety of Cohiba cigars, once rolled exclusively for Fidel Castro, is produced by Swedish Match North America of Virginia, and a Miami firm offers its own version of Cubita, a top Cuban coffee.
Washington's 47-year-old trade embargo has kept Cuban products out of the U.S. -- but hasn't prevented companies from using the communist island's brand names.
As the U.S. and Cuba consider better ties, such trademark issues would have be settled before any easing of the embargo. The fight between Bacardi and the Cuban government for the Havana Club name already has played out in the U.S. courts and Congress for more than a decade -- and is now before Spain's high court.
But the battles are about so much more than brand names. They are charged with 50 years of emotion over Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution and expropriation of private companies as he implemented socialism. They are also rooted in the future as U.S. corporations face the specter of new competition from Cuban |
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Warner Chilcott buying P&G drug business |
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| author: gdz | 24 August 2009 | Views: 224 |
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TRENTON, New Jersey (AP) -- Shares of Irish drugmaker Warner Chilcott PLC jumped more than 26 percent Monday on news it will more than triple its revenue and dramatically expand its product lines by buying Procter & Gamble Co.'s prescription drug business for $3.1 billion.
Warner Chilcott, which specializes in women's health and dermatology products, will get a portfolio with $2.3 billion in annual sales, boost its offerings in women's health with a blockbuster osteoporosis treatment and get a toehold in the urology and gastroenterology markets.
The deal also brings the Ardee, Irish company an unspecified number of Procter and Gamble's prescription drugs in development and manufacturing facilities in Puerto Rico and Germany.
Just the top drug that Warner Chilcott gets in the deal, Actonel for osteoporosis, with more than $1 billion in annual sales, exceeds the company's 2008 revenue of $938 million. Warner Chilcott also gains colitis drug Asacol HD, bone drug Didronel and Enablex for overactive bladder.
"The acquisition of the P&G pharmaceutical brands and employee talent is a transformational, strategic move for us," said Roger Boissonneault, Warner Chilcott's president and chief executive.
Warner Chilcott's products include some well-known oral contraceptives -- Loestrin 24 FE, Femcon FE and Ovcon -- plus multiple treatments for menopause symptoms such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness, including Femhrt, Femring and Estrace. It also sells skin products such as acne treatment Doryx, Pyridium |
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Tribune Co. will sell Cubs, Wrigley Field to Ricketts family |
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| author: gdz | 23 August 2009 | Views: 239 |
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CHICAGO (AP) — Media conglomerate Tribune Co.. announced a definitive agreement Friday to sell all but a 5% stake in the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field to the billionaire Ricketts family, capping a tortuous process that began nearly 2,5 years ago.
Tribune valued the transaction at about $845 million.
"Our family is thrilled to have reached an agreement to acquire a controlling interest in the Chicago Cubs, one of the most storied franchises in sports," said Joe Ricketts, who founded the Omaha, Neb.-based online brokerage TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. "The Cubs have the greatest fans in the world, and we count our family among them."
Tribune had announced on Opening Day in 2007 that the marquee baseball franchise and historic ballpark would be sold at the end of that season. But the process was slowed by CEO Sam Zell's efforts to maximize sale profits, the collapse of the credit markets and Tribune's 2008 bankruptcy filing.
The Ricketts family, tentatively selected as the winning bidder last January, had agreed to pay about $900 million for the team, Wrigley and a 25% stake in Comcast SportsNet Chicago, which broadcasts many Cubs games.
But that total was renegotiated, with Tribune retaining a small stake for legal reasons.
The sale figure exceeds the record $660 million paid for the Boston Red Sox in 2002, although that deal did not include a ballpark.
The successful bid was led by Tom Ricketts, 43, a Chicago investment banker and Joe Ricketts' son. He is |
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