Regal movie chain could follow competitor’s script 30 Oct 2014 The largest U.S. theater group is considering a sale. Rival AMC is flush after being acquired by China’s Wanda in September 2012 and relisting in late 2013. For Regal, keeping up may cost more than 47 pct owner Philip Anschutz is willing to spend. It needs its own AMC sequel.
Friends of finance put to U.S. election test 30 Oct 2014 Two Republicans face unexpected threats this midterm season. As a Democrat narrows the gap against New Jersey’s Scott Garrett, a moderate is challenging Jeb Hensarling’s spot atop the financial services committee. Six years post-crisis, Wall Street’s taint may not have worn off.
Tim Cook’s pride may expand corporate talent pool 30 Oct 2014 The Apple CEO’s decision to speak publicly about being gay should help advance the march toward acceptance. As boss of the world’s biggest company by market value, Cook could inspire others, giving C-suites and boardrooms more choice. They could use it.
Sub-$100 oil will inflame geopolitical tempers 30 Oct 2014 Even with sharply lower crude prices, OPEC may not cut supply. Saudi Arabia, the lynchpin, can afford to run deficits. Not so Venezuela. Less pricey crude is painful for Russia, too. Oil at $80-plus per barrel will boost world growth, but it could make global tensions worse.
Shell pipeline IPO blowout heralds more shrinkage 30 Oct 2014 The $230 bln oil giant’s tax-advantaged U.S. pipeline spinoff popped 46 pct on its debut on Wednesday. With an enterprise value of $4.6 bln, it trades on eight times the valuation ratio its parent gets. That kind of uplift makes it a no-brainer for Shell to offload more assets.
QE gave emerging markets brief gains, lasting pain 30 Oct 2014 Six years of money-printing in the United States have ended. The $4 trillion splurge may have averted a deeper slump. But for developing countries it fueled a credit binge while bringing only a fleeting boost to growth. Many will now struggle to boost output and repay the debt.
Fed has little to show for QE experiment 29 Oct 2014 Three rounds of bond purchases worth nearly $4 trln over six years just ended. Critics’ feared inflation hasn’t arrived. Yet despite the stimulus, U.S. GDP growth has been stuck at just over 2 pct. The only clear effect may have been to boost asset prices, particularly stocks.
Exploding rocket lights up obscure M&A curse 29 Oct 2014 Orbital, the company behind the doomed Antares launch, is trying to seal a merger using the rare Morris Trust structure. P&G, NetScout, and Nabors also have run into trouble while trying versions of the arrangement. Maybe it’s bedeviled by more than just tax-saving complexity.
REIT scandal could be good test for Sarbanes-Oxley 29 Oct 2014 American Realty Capital Properties says its false financials were intentionally left uncorrected. Details are scant, but that sounds tailor-made for the Enron-inspired law. After more than a decade as an afterthought for U.S. prosecutors, the reform may have a chance to shine.
Online dating beginning to show signs of age 29 Oct 2014 Internet matchmaking has lost its stigma, almost doubling the number of users over five years. But if Zoosk plans to float and IAC spin off The Match Group, they had better hurry. Free services like Tinder and OkCupid are fast attracting singles, putting industry revenue at risk.
Facebook’s ambition only real threat to success 28 Oct 2014 The social network continues to crank out higher profit, as more users check accounts daily and advertisers get comfortable with the mobile platform. One possible danger, though, is that the company wastes capital on risky bets like artificial intelligence and virtual reality.
AT&T double-talks way into U.S. regulatory trouble 28 Oct 2014 One watchdog says the telecom giant sold “unlimited” data plans that were anything but. That may not please agencies reviewing the firm’s $67 bln DirecTV bid and rules on net neutrality and wireless spectrum. Of all companies, AT&T knows the downside of taking on Washington.
Madison Square Garden features new fight card 28 Oct 2014 Uppity investors have rattled once unthinkable cages, including $100 bln companies. Now, the family-controlled owner of the New York Knicks and Rangers may carve itself up following shareholder pressure. If such fiefdoms are vulnerable, boards will have fewer places to hide.
DuPont chief bobbles rebuttal to Peltz attack 28 Oct 2014 CEO Ellen Kullman touted the $62 bln chemical giant’s scale and research capabilities in opposing the activist’s call for a breakup. But she offered no hard numbers to counter Peltz’s claim that the company could lop off $4 bln in excess costs. That was a missed opportunity.
Sky-high valuations no match for earnings reality 28 Oct 2014 Investors knocked more than 10 pct, or well over $3 bln, off Twitter’s worth despite sales doubling. Blame the company’s overdone value multiples. Similar knocks to Amazon, Netflix, Pandora, Chipotle and Yelp show the danger when quarterly numbers can’t match a bullish story.
Rob Cox: Zuckerberg’s Chinese lessons are scalable 28 Oct 2014 Bilingual CEOs should be the norm, not fuel for the kind of media frenzy that greeted the Facebook founder’s Q&A in Mandarin last week. Learning a foreign language doesn’t just help conquer new markets. It fosters risk-taking and new thinking, and helps eliminate biases.
Shale gas could blow up U.S. politics 27 Oct 2014 It’s playing a big part in upcoming midterm elections. Coal’s downfall is an important issue in one race that could swing the Senate Republican. Obama’s “war” on the dirty carbon is real, but so are market forces. Fracking-related jobs and manufacturing could rock future votes.
Google makes U.S. trade arbiter look patently daft 27 Oct 2014 The search giant says an International Trade Commission ban on imports of infringing items in digital form may disrupt the internet. Moreover, websites and cloud computing firms could become easier prey for patent trolls. It’s up to an appeals court to squelch ITC excesses.
Chiquita inversion slips on cash appeal 27 Oct 2014 The banana company’s shareholders voted down a stock deal to acquire Irish produce distributor Fyffes, a decision that now points to a sale to Brazilian buyers. Ailing arbs, a crackdown on tax-driven M&A and economic ructions didn’t help. The path of least uncertainty wins again.
Anglo-American alliance bears down on bankers 27 Oct 2014 UK and U.S. supervisors agree bonuses should be deferred, serial-offending firms broken up and individual misconduct industrially logged. European regulators may have other ideas. But transatlantic harmony is a step towards these ideas being solidified as post-crisis policy.