Archive for March, 2010

Ford teams with Microsoft to boost electric-car prospects

Posted by Amita Kalra on March 31st, 2010

Ford Motor Co and Microsoft Corp, announced on Tuesday that they will be teaming up in an electric-car charging optimization service to help drivers determine the ideal time to charge their vehicles and how to best minimize impact on the grid.

Microsoft Hohm will be offered to Ford car owners for free, the two companies said at the New York International Auto Show. Ford will introduce five electric vehicles by 2013, starting with a Transit Connect Electric later this year.

Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally said the goal is “to make the electric vehicle viable, charging affordable and interaction with the utility grid smarter.”

The system is needed, they say, because electric cars will be the biggest energy drain in a typical household, so recharging needs to be managed. Ford and Microsoft already collaborate on the Sync in-car connectivity system for remote devices like cell phones.

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Myriad Genetics denied patents, falls 7 percent

Posted by Amita Kalra on March 30th, 2010

The shares of Myriad Genetics Inc. fell by as much as 7 percent, after the federal court, overturned a group of patents on gene sequences linked to breast and ovarian cancer, which Myriad uses in tests for those diseases. Shares of the company were down 6 percent at $23.53 in morning trade on Nasdaq. They earlier touched a low of $23.07.

Judge Robert Sweet in the Southern District of New York has invalidated some of Myriad’s patents. He says the BRCA genes are “products of nature” so the company cannot have patents on them.

In a statement on Tuesday the company said, “Myriad will appeal the decision to the court of appeals for the Federal Circuit and will continue to vigorously defend this litigation.” The company believes that the final outcome of the litigation will not have a material impact on its operations due to the protection over its remaining patents.

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Ford Sells Volvo To Geely

Posted by Amita Kalra on March 28th, 2010

American multinational Ford Motor Co. has sold its Volvo brand to Chinese Automaker Geely Automobile, in a $1.8 billion virtual all-cash deal. This is China’s largest off shore auto deal.

Ford bought Volvo in 1999 for $6.45 billion, then struggled to make the brand profitable as the U.S. auto industry slumped. It began looking for potential buyers for Volvo in 2008. By October 2009, Geely was named the preferred bidder, and the two sides had been negotiating since. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter, Ford said in a press release. Ford will not retain any ownership in Volvo.

“We think it’s a fair price for a good business, and yes, we’re happy with the deal we’ve achieved with Geely,” Lewis Booth, Ford’s chief financial officer, told the Associated Press. “Volvo can continue to build its business and return to profitability.”

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AT&T Announces $1 Billion in Expenses Due to New Health Care Law

Posted by Amita Kalra on March 27th, 2010

The latest addition to the mounting list of U. S. companies that have been hit by the new health care law is AT&T Inc. The company stated on Friday that it would incur $1 billion in non-cash expenses in the first quarter of the year.

The charges relate to prescription-drug benefits for retirees. Companies that provide this benefit, as AT&T does, receive a federal subsidy, plus they can deduct the value of this subsidy from their taxes. The health overhaul cancels the deductibility of the subsidy.

It is for that reason that companies are taking a charge against earnings. They “have a stream of tax benefits that they are losing way out into the future,” said Roland McDevitt, director of health-care research at benefits consultant Towers Watson.

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Apple iPad To Come With 30,000 Free E-books

Posted by Amita Kalra on March 26th, 2010

The iPad, which is the second tablet computer developed by Apple is in fact a touch-screen computer that falls between a laptop and a smartphone. It’s almost here, and creating quite a bit of buzz ahead of its April 3 launch.

According to a report from AppAdvice, it will come with around 30,000 public domain books via Project Gutenberg. This is a sizable library that will now fit onto one’s nightstand, and with many great titles, it should thrill both avid and casual readers alike. Also these free titles will come along with a number of paid titles from most major publishers. The Project Gutenberg organization works to put public domain works into electronic format. Focusing on high quality nonfiction and literature, the collection includes the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes novels, Charles Dickens, author of A Tale of Two Cities and A Christmas Carol, and even Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. Access will be granted through the Stanza reader.

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Google Vs China – The Battle Is On

Posted by Amita Kalra on March 25th, 2010

In a business plan that continues to become more complicated by the minute, Google’s Chinese blunder is one that consistently continues to backfire. As Chinese partners close doors on the internet giant it is apparent that censorship in the Chinese domain is one that Google will not be able to avoid.

On Thursday, a public-relations director for Sina Corp., a popular Chinese Internet portal that carries a Google search bar, said it is considering finding a new search partner. This came just a day after Tianya.cn, which runs a leading online forum, said it plans to discontinue cooperation with Google on some projects. On Wednesday, TOM Group Ltd., a media company controlled by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-Shing, said it had removed Google’s search bar from its Chinese portal.

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February new-house sales at 308,000 annual rate

Posted by Amita Kalra on March 24th, 2010

Despite an extension of the federal credit meant to attract buyers the sale of new homes in the US fell slightly in February.
Sales slipped 2.2% to an annual pace of 308,000, seasonally adjusted, which is the lowest rate since the government began tracking the data in 1963, according to the Commerce Department. The rate of sales is down 13% compared February 2009.
Very high unemployment rates (9.7%), which is close to a 26-year high; and slightly tougher lending standards are believed to be the cause of low sales. Prospective buys may also be getting discouraged to buy just now since they may be expecting prices to fall further still. To some extent, poor weather in early 2010 may also hurt home sales, though a downward trend has been evident since last fall. “We can cite the weather but Mother Nature can’t be entirely blamed for this report,” economist Jennifer Lee of BMO Capital Markets said in an email.

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Volkswagen To Issue 65 Million Shares

Posted by Amita Kalra on March 23rd, 2010

Volkswagen AG, Europe’s biggest car maker, said today that it will issue up to 65 million new preference shares (worth about €4.5 billion ($6.1 billion) at current valuations) in a move to boost its balance sheet ahead of the proposed merger with Porsche Automobile Holding.

“The net proceeds from the offering of the new shares are intended to be used for the purpose of enhancing Volkswagen’s capitalization against the background of the planned creation of the integrated automotive group with Porsche,”

Europe’s largest auto maker by sales said in a statement, reiterating previous comments. In addition, the deal should “strengthen the financial stability and flexibility as well as to maintain the current credit ratings of Volkswagen.”

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Pepsi Co Develops Designer Salt

Posted by Amita Kalra on March 22nd, 2010

PepsiCo Inc, has reportedly developed a new ‘designer salt’ whose crystals are shaped and sized in a way that limits the amount of sodium intake, of the consumer. The production will begin at a pilot manufacturing plant in Texas, later this month.

This salt, it is expected, will cut sodium levels by 25% in its Lay’s Classic potato chips and even more than that in seasoned Lay’s chips like Sour Cream & Onion, PepsiCo said, and it could be used in other products like Cheetos and Quaker bars. It is still being studied and tested with consumers though.

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Bharti Gets $8.3 Billion in Funding for Zain Purchase

Posted by Amita Kalra on March 21st, 2010

Bharti Airtel, India’s largest mobile phone operator by subscribers, said on Sunday that it has tied up $8.3 billion in funding to buy most of the African assets of Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications Co. This takes it yet another step closer to concluding the deal, for which they had made an attempt in February. The deal is estimated to be about $9 billion in cash. It marks the Indian company’s latest attempt to enter a fast-growing overseas market as intense competition and price wars shrink its growth at home.

While Standard Chartered PLC is the lead arranger and adviser for $7.5 billion in financing, with Barclays Bank PLC as a joint lead adviser, other co-arrangers and advisers include State Bank of India Group, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd, BNP Paribas S.A., Bank of America Merrill Lynch , Credit Agricole CIB, DBS Bank, HSBC, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Bharti said.

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