Month: September 2012

From Fnno.com, This is the financial news network. Here’s what’s in the news for Friday August 24, 2012. The Wall Street journal reports a South Korea court delivered a split decision in its piece of the global legal battle between Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung Eelectronics (PINK:SSNLF) over mobile computing patents. The court said Apple infringed on two Samsung technology patents, while Samsung violated one of Apple’s patents. The court awarded small damages to both and said they must halt sales of the infringing products in South Korea. The Wall Street Journal also reports U.S. mutual funds run by Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), the lead underwriter in Facebook’s (NASDAQ:FB) $16B IPO, have disproportionately high investments in the social-media company, leaving fund shareholders exposed to the stock’s decline. Reuters reports Qatar, the second-largest shareholder in takeover target Xstrata (PINK:XSRAY), bought nearly $38M of additional shares in the miner, increasing its holding to over 12% and raising the stakes in a standoff with rival investor Glencore. Reuters also reports Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) is looking to list its Mexican unit in Mexico and New York on September 25, sources say, as the bank will look to raise between $3B and $4B in the offering. Finally, Bloomberg reports Vodafone Group (NASDAQ:VOD) is nearing an agreement with Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications Co., known as Zain, to expand access to networks across the Middle East. For more financial news and analysis follow us on Twitter @FNNOnline or check out our website at fnno.com.

Lance Armstrong may lose his titles, but his sponsors are sticking by his side. Nike has issued a statement in the wake of Armstrong’s Doping scandal saying they intend to continue their ties with the cyclist and his foundation.The statement notes that because Armstrong has continued to maintain his innocence, that is enough for Nike to support him and the Lance Armstrong Foundation. According to CNN, Anheuser-Busch has also said they will continue to stand by the embattled athlete. Just Thursday, Armstrong said that he will no longer battle the United States Anti-Doping Agency and enter arbitration with them, due to the toll it would take on his personal life. Because of this refusal, the USADA will strip him of his Tour de France titles and ban him from competition.

It seems that Kodak moments have become a thing of the past as the photo company is getting out of the film game. According to Bloomberg, Eastman Kodak Co. is putting its consumer film, scanner, and photo kiosk businesses up for sale. Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January of this year, and the sales of these business units is the company’s attempt to reorganize and emerge from the bankruptcy. After the sale of these assets, Kodak will focus more on printing devices and film only to select commercial customers. Kodak’s difficulties partially stem from its slow adoption of new technology like digital photography, a rather ironic twist as they were the company to invent the first digital camera in the 1970’s.

With its mobile abilities being the focus of scrutiny recently, Facebook has launched a brand new app for the Apple iOS platform. The new app allows users to access their facebook profiles from their Apple mobile devices at twice the speed of previous iterations. Users of the previous application had complained of its sluggish pace in retrieving their information, so the social network company built this new version from the ground up. In addition this new app was built specifically for the iOS platform, rather than being a clone of the applications on other mobile operating systems.This move is seen as a step to address the social networking company’s lacking mobile approach, which has added to its difficulties in the stock market.

While we reported that the Apple iOS just got a brand new Facebook application, it seems that a rebuilt android version will not be far behind. Facebook is currently planning to improve its android app, which has been regarded as unwieldy by some. Of particular note in this story is the method by which they intend to improve the program. According to Business Insider, Facebook is asking its employees to almost always use android phones throughout the day so they may become acquainted with the mediocre app. A strategy like this will insure that most problems are addressed.This move is seen as a step to address the social networking company’s lacking mobile approach, which has added to its difficulties in the stock market.

Navistar International has announced today that its CEO Daniel Ustian, who’s been with the company for 37 years, is retiring immediately. According to the press release, upon Ustian notifying the board of his retirement, they promoted Lewis Campbell as interim Chief Executive Officer, until a replacement can be found.According to the Chicago Tribune, Navistar has been under some scrutiny lately, saying it had to buy engines from a competitor because its own product could not reach emissions standards. In addition, the company has said that it is currently under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for possible accounting problems. Campbell, Ustian’s successor, is the President, Chairman, and CEO of Textron Inc, an industrial conglomerate.

Iconic jewelry maker Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF) didn’t meet profit expectations in the most recent quarter. The company posted an EPS of 72 cents a share, lower than the 74 cents analysts were expecting. Revenue did rise 2% to $886.6 million, but was also below the street’s estimate of $891.1 million. Chairman and CEO of the company Michael Kowalski said Tiffany’s sales growth was hurt by tough economic conditions and higher product costs. The company also lowered its full-year earnings forecast to a range of $3.55 to $3.70. Analysts are predicting 2012 earnings to be $3.65 per share. Tiffany says it still expects sales to decline in the third quarter but rise in the fourth quarter.Currently, the jeweler’s stock is up over 6% to $62.10

M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB) has announced today that it will acquire Hudson City Bancorp (NYSE: HCBK) for $3.7 billion, a 16% premium on Hudson City’s stock as of Friday’s close. M&T expects the deal to yield approximately $25 billion in deposits and $28 billion in loans. The payment will come from 40% cash, and 60% stock.As a part of the agreement, Hudson City Bancorp will become a subsidiary of M&T, and its current CEO Ronald Hermance will be inducted as a member of M&T’s board. The deal will see M&T expand its reach into to the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut Tri-sate area, adding a total of 135 branches. M&T is no stranger to bank acquisitions. Since 2009, it has acquired Bradford Bank, Provident Bankshares, and Wilmington Trust.

Navistar International has announced today that its CEO Daniel Ustian, who’s been with the company for 37 years, is retiring immediately. According to the press release, upon Ustian notifying the board of his retirement, they promoted Lewis Campbell as interim Chief Executive Officer, until a replacement can be found.According to the Chicago Tribune, Navistar has been under some scrutiny lately, saying it had to buy engines from a competitor because its own product could not reach emissions standards. In addition, the company has said that it is currently under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for possible accounting problems. Campbell, Ustian’s successor, is the President, Chairman, and CEO of Textron Inc, an industrial conglomerate.

M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB) has announced today that it will acquire Hudson City Bancorp (NYSE: HCBK) for $3.7 billion, a 16% premium on Hudson City’s stock as of Friday’s close. M&T expects the deal to yield approximately $25 billion in deposits and $28 billion in loans. The payment will come from 40% cash, and 60% stock.As a part of the agreement, Hudson City Bancorp will become a subsidiary of M&T, and its current CEO Ronald Hermance will be inducted as a member of M&T’s board. The deal will see M&T expand its reach into to the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut Tri-sate area, adding a total of 135 branches. M&T is no stranger to bank acquisitions. Since 2009, it has acquired Bradford Bank, Provident Bankshares, and Wilmington Trust.