Early Edition July 24 2008 at 05:28 AM Edited by Chi-Chu Tschang and Harry Maurer
Nokia Settles Legal Issues With Qualcomm
Telecoms giant Nokia has signed a patent agreement with U.S. firm Qualcomm, ending three years of legal battles. Under the 15-year agreement, the Finnish firm will make an upfront payment and pay royalties to Qualcomm, but said payments per phone would fall. The deal, which ends all legal cases between the two firms, covers the world's most widely used mobile phone technologies.
The financial terms of the agreement weren't disclosed, but the announcement soothed investor fears about Qualcomm's ability to reach an agreement with Nokia after an earlier contract expired last year.
Source: Reuters
Goldman raises $10 billion for LBOs
Goldman Sachs has raised $10 billion to invest in loans backing leveraged buy-outs to take advantage of a gap in the financing markets. The fund will buy senior loans -- so-called because they are paid off before other debts -- and comes alongside an existing $20 billion fund that invests in 'mezzanine' debts, which are paid after the senior debt.
Source: Financial Times
Western banks struggle in the Gulf
Western investment banks are rushing to the oil-rich Persian Gulf, but most are finding business in the region disappointing. According to research firm Dealogic, international investment banks pulled in just $366 million in revenue from the region during the first half of 2008. That's sharply down from the $631 million they raked in during the same period last year.
Source: Wall Street Journal
The benefits of high oil prices
The soaring cost of energy is causing plenty of pain for Americans, especially at a time when they're being hammered by declining house values and rising food prices. Yet expensive energy, in many ways, is good. Why? When the price of oil goes up, people will use less, find substitutes, and develop new supplies.
Source: BusinessWeek
Hedge fund heavy-weight eyes cash-strapped banks
John Paulson, who recorded what is believed to be the single biggest profit in the history of the hedge fund industry last year by betting on a financial collapse, is planning a new fund to provide capital to cash-strapped banks. New York-based Paulson & Co plans to open a new hedge fund by the end of the year to buy into financial institutions raising cash, although the plans have not yet been finalized.
Source: Financial Times
Credit Suisse earnings fall 62%
Credit Suisse -- Switzerland's second-biggest bank -- said earnings dropped 62% as its securities unit returned to profit and the company attracted new investments from wealthy clients. In a July 24 statement, the banks said second-quarter net income fell to $1.18 billion.
Source: Bloomberg
Northwest Airlines records $377 million loss
Northwest Airlines posted a $377 million loss in the second quarter as the carrier's chief executive said the airline could shrink more and keep raising fares if fuel prices didn't come down. Northwest is planning to cut flights by 4% in the last three months of this year.
Source: New York Times
Fannie-Freddie rescue package reaches Senate
The U.S. Senate will consider housing legislation designed to shore up confidence in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and stem record mortgage foreclosures after the House of Representatives approved the bill on July 23. House members voted 272-152 in favor of the measure, which would give U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson power to inject capital into the mortgages lenders and provides for a federal agency to insure refinanced home loans.
Source: Bloomberg
China clamps down on business visas
China has clamped down further on issuing business visas during the Olympic Games in the latest expansion of already-tight entry restrictions ahead of the sporting event. An official from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce said the city has stopped issuing invitation letters needed for visas for businesspeople until late September, unless it involves employment or to execute business contracts.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Amazon's quarterly profit doubles
Amazon.com said on July 23 quarterly profit doubled and sales grew 41%, indicating that many cost-conscious shoppers are heading online to save money in a tough economy. The company said it had benefited from shoppers going online to save on gas.
Source: Reuters
Facebook looks to extend Internet presence
Social-networking Web site Facebook unveiled new features on July 23 that will allow other Web sites to use parts of Facebook's service. In a speech at his company's annual conference for developers, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's 24-year-old chief executive said there soon would be a wave of social Web sites built on top of the information users give to social networks.
Source: New York Times
Top Microsoft exec departs
Microsoft announced on July 23 that one of the top executives who pushed for the takeover of Yahoo will leave the company. Kevin Johnson, president of Microsoft's Platforms & Services division -- responsible for its Windows franchise and its online operations -- is rumored to be leaving to run Juniper Networks.
Source: BusinessWeek
Conversation of the Day: The Frozen Economy
Reader Dave in VA Writes: "Whether you lived beyond your means or you were a hard-working, penny-pinching retiree, it looks like we're all headed to broke-land. Does it matter what train we took to get there?"
Tell Us: Is The American Dream Now a Fantasy?
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