TECHNOLOGY
Apollo buying Shutterfly
Private equity firm Apollo Global Management is buying online photo publishing company Shutterfly for US$51 per share. Apollo is to pay US$1.74 billion for the 20-year-old company, which became popular offering its users prints and photobooks of their favorite shots. However, demand for that type of service has declined as people opt to share photographs online through Facebook and other social networks. Redwood City, California-based Shutterfly’s stock closed at US$50.25 on Monday — and was trading as high as US$94.28 per share a year ago. Ryan O’Hara, the former chief executive officer at real-estate company Move Inc, is to become Shutterfly’s new chief executive.
TECHNOLOGY
Salesforce to buy Tableau
Salesforce.com Inc, which makes the US’ dominant sales-tracking software, agreed to buy Tableau Software Inc in an all-stock deal valued at US$15.3 billion that it said would help give customers more ways to analyze data. The takeover would mark Salesforce’s largest deal to date, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Tableau would remain headquartered in Seattle and would continue to be led by chief executive officer Adam Selipsky. With Tableau, Salesforce would be able to help companies tap into data they have, make smarter decisions and boost innovation, the company said.
RETAIL
Ted Baker shares plunge
Ted Baker PLC shares plunged after warning that markdowns and “extremely difficult trading conditions” would hurt its results, another setback for the UK retailer reeling from a scandal over its founder’s behavior. The apparel chain’s third move to ratchet down expectations this year followed the resignation of founder Ray Kelvin, after allegations that he gave employees unwanted hugs. While the company has moved to improve office conduct, it is succumbing to a broader UK retail crisis that has prompted stores to slash prices in an effort to move unsold goods. The shares fell as much as 30 percent early yesterday in London — the most since they began trading in 1997.
INTERNET
Alibaba picks IPO leaders
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) has picked China International Capital Corp (中國國際金融) and Credit Suisse Group AG to lead a planned Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO), people familiar with the matter said. The online retailer is in discussions with other investment banks seeking a role on the offering, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Alibaba plans to file a formal listing application with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as soon as the next few weeks, the people said. The offering could raise as much as US$20 billion, although Alibaba has not finalized a precise fundraising target, they said.
UNITED KINGDOM
S Korea trade deal signed
The government on Monday said that it had concluded a trade deal with South Korea to maintain links after Brexit. Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox has agreed a preliminary deal with South Korean Minister of Trade Yoo Myung-Hee in Seoul, the government said in a statement. It is the country’s first post-Brexit trade deal in Asia and follows similar agreements with nations including Chile, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. Trade with South Korea was US$18.6 billion last year. The country is scheduled to leave the EU on Oct. 31.
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
Meta Platforms Inc offered US$100 million bonuses to OpenAI employees in an unsuccessful bid to poach the ChatGPT maker’s talent and strengthen its own generative artificial intelligence (AI) teams, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said. Facebook’s parent company — a competitor of OpenAI — also offered “giant” annual salaries exceeding US$100 million to OpenAI staffers, Altman said in an interview on the Uncapped with Jack Altman podcast released on Tuesday. “It is crazy,” Sam Altman told his brother Jack in the interview. “I’m really happy that at least so far none of our best people have decided to take them
PLANS: MSI is also planning to upgrade its service center in the Netherlands Micro-Star International Co (MSI, 微星) yesterday said it plans to set up a server assembly line at its Poland service center this year at the earliest. The computer and peripherals manufacturer expects that the new server assembly line would shorten transportation times in shipments to European countries, a company spokesperson told the Taipei Times by telephone. MSI manufactures motherboards, graphics cards, notebook computers, servers, optical storage devices and communication devices. The company operates plants in Taiwan and China, and runs a global network of service centers. The company is also considering upgrading its service center in the Netherlands into a
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
RSS