SPAIN
SEPI to sell shares
The government’s state investment holding company SEPI said on Friday it aims to sell stakes in the new parent of airline Iberia, in power grid operator REE and food company Ebro, which together could be worth more than 850 million euros (US$1.2 billion) according to current share prices. The stakes were earmarked for sale in this year’s budget and are among a string of assets that the government could sell to reduce its funding requirements, including real estate and Spain’s airports authority. SEPI said on Friday it was seeking authorization to sell 2.71 percent of IAG — the new airline holding company resulting from the merger of British Airways and Iberia, with the stake worth about 150 million euros at prevailing market prices. It was also seeking permission to sell a 10 percent stake in REE, worth about 500 million euros, as well as 8.65 percent of Ebro Foods, worth about 206 million euros currently.
AUTOMOBILES
Ford profit doubles
Ford said on Friday annual profit doubled last year to its highest earnings in more than a decade, but its share price plunged after results came in sharply lower than expected. Increased costs as Ford ramps up auto production amid rising commodity prices, a surprise fourth-quarter loss in Europe and a US$960 million charge associated with paying down debt were primarily to blame for the weaker-than-expected results. Fourth-quarter profit fell to US$190 million, from US$886 million in the same period in 2009, with earnings per share of US$0.05 that were well below the US$0.48 expected. For all of last year, Ford reported net income of US$6.6 billion, or US$1.66 per share, up 135 percent from 2009.
INTERNET
State to negotiate, not sue
The US state of Connecticut said on Friday it would hold negotiations with Google over the collection of private wireless data by its Street View mapping cars and not take the Internet giant to court. Under the agreement, Google will not be required to produce the data it collected from unsecured wireless networks in Connecticut. Google had objected to turning over the data, raising the prospect of a lengthy court battle. As part of the agreement, Google acknowledged that it collected and stored data from private unsecured wireless networks. The data collected included Web site addresses, e-mail and other “confidential and private information.”
HEDGE FUNDS
Paulson earns US$5bn
John Paulson, whose Paulson & Co hedge fund made US$15 billion betting against subprime mortgages in 2007, earned about US$5 billion last year, according to a person with knowledge of the firm. Executives and employees hold US$14.9 billion, or 42 percent, of the funds’ US$35.9 billion in assets, according to a performance report sent to clients this month. Most of that belongs to Paulson, who has reinvested his gains, after taxes and personal expenses, back into the funds since opening the firm in 1994, the report said. The manager earned US$3.7 billion in 2007, according to Alpha magazine. Paulson’s gain includes his portion of the 20 percent performance fee the firm collected on its gross profit last year of US$8.4 billion, the person said. Thirty of the 115 employees are partners who share in New York-based Paulson & Co’s revenue, according to the report.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
RSS