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Lear Shareholders Undone by Greed The Lear Corporation, the bankrupt maker of car parts, has given investors another reason for regret. Shareholders will probably get nothing, after turning down a […]

THE Web 2.0 bubble seems to be losing air. News Corporation's MySpace social network is cutting 30pc of its staff and looks set to lose money when search group Google [...]

Lesson for China In Smoot-Hawley A request from Beijing that local governments 'Buy China' is worrying -- and hypocritical. Even as President Hu Jintao joined leaders of Brazil, Russia and […]

California has to choose a way to erase its $24 billion budget deficit. But unlike recent examples in corporate America, default and bankruptcy cannot be on the table. Stiffing state […]

Voters in California will decide Tuesday on six proposals aimed at curbing its $42 billion deficit. Polls indicate that all will fail. The state, led by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, has […]

Selling nothing for something is the perfect business model, and some Web companies have actually found a way to do something just like that legitimately. The sale of virtual gifts, […]

LAST week's impressionist and modern art auctions at Sotheby's and Christie's didn't go well. But they were far from dreadful. The same is expected at this week's contemporary auctions. While [...]

Last week's impressionist and modern art auctions at Sotheby's and Christie's didn't go well. But they were far from dreadful. The same is expected at this week's contemporary auctions. While […]

MySpace is regarded as one of Rupert Murdoch's savviest buys. But the likelihood that the site, owned by the News Corporation, will renew its lucrative advertising contract with Google is […]

Gains for the Web In March Madness The annual N.C.A.A. men's college basketball tournament, which starts in earnest on Thursday, is a pressure cooker for the 64 teams involved. CBS, […]

General Electric finally lost its AAA rating. This shouldn't affect the company's financing costs, since the markets have ignored the rating for some time. But the conglomerate's top rating was […]

A new alliance between Sprint Nextel and Palm looks like two drunks propping each other up. Sprint's exclusive right to sell Palm's latest handset, the Pre, presents the danger that […]

YAHOO! has found its knight - but she's not quite clad in shining armour. The troubled internet company picked Carol Bartz to replace co-founder Jerry Yang as its new chief [...]

Amazon.com's hand-held electronic reading gadget, the Kindle, is selling like hot cakes. It sold out over Christmas. Those available secondhand are going for up to twice the $360 retail price. […]

The bailout for American automakers is skidding down a slippery slope. To rescue General Motors, the Treasury Department has set aside $6 billion to prop up G.M.'s finance affiliate, GMAC. […]

Yahoo should call Microsoft's bluff. That may sound like a churlish suggestion given the software behemoth's apparent disdain for its onetime Internet sweetheart. But everyone continues to lose ground to […]

ONLINE exhibitionists everywhere can stop drooling. Merger talks that would have seen social networking hotshot Facebook acquire Twitter for $500m ( pounds 330m) reportedly have ended. Their negotiations shed light [...]

Technology companies have issued gobs of convertible debt to raise financing in recent years. These securities, loans that convert to equity, are starting to come due, putting the companies in […]

Suddenly, Exxon Is Challenged Exxon Mobil's chief, Rex Tillerson, might want to encase the company's third-quarter earnings release in Lucite -- because it's unlikely to be repeated. While the oil […]

Yahoo! has been Wall Street's pinata for some time now but the internet group has been continually mauled by investors since it spurned Microsoft's $44.6bn ( pounds 28.6bn) bid in [...]

Lear Shareholders Undone by Greed [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Yahoo and MSN Makes Sense [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the predicament of Boeing Co. with regard to its pending agreement with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The aircraft company has to come up with a settlement with their workers or experience a walk out of about 27,000 employees in the production area resulting to a $100 million loss in revenues daily and delay in the introduction of its 787 Dreamliner. However, while the corporation might be enticed to give in to the proposed demands, it is recommended that Boeing also consider its future.

The article reports on the new set of board members for the UBS Bank with three of the four having broad banking experiences. One is Sally Bott who was with Citibank and Barclays, while another, Bruno Gehrig was with the Swiss National Bank and the Swiss Banking Supervision Authority. The fourth member is Rainer-Marc Frey who was with Merrill Lynch and Salomon Brothers. Frey may not have the banking experience but the author says his forte is in taking on risks.

The first article in this column comments on the impact of International Olympic Committee's Internet broadcasting deals on the commercialization of online videos; the second one anticipates for higher inflation rates in China after the 2008 Olympics. The first article states that the online broadcasting deals may make the Internet a more popular medium for broadcasting live events. The second article comments that China has long been subsidizing basic goods in preparation for the Olympics, and these subsidies will be discontinued after the tournament.

The article looks at the health condition and possible successor of Steve Jobs, chief executive (CEO) of Apple Inc. The article says that Apple's shareholders are concerned about Mr Job's health since he has been the main moving force for the company's "renaissance." It was also reported that he had been operated upon for treatment of pancreatic cancer. The author however says that Apple has employees at present qualified to succeed him.

The article looks at the decline in stock prices of Lehman Brothers Holdings and the shadow over venture-capital firms. It claims that Lehman does not seem to be facing a much worse selloff than most of its peers in a 10-year context. Meanwhile, it states that no venture-capital backed initial public offerings (IPO) were noted in the second quarter of 2008 and venture-capital backed mergers deals dropped by 42% from the same period last year.

The article covers issues related to corporations as of June 21, 2008. It discusses the implications of the second tenure of Jerry Yang as chief executive officer (CEO) of Yahoo. It commends the decision of Carlos Fernandez to resign as CEO of Grupo Modelo amid the possible key role of the Mexican brewer in the tender offer of InBev for Anheuser-Busch.

The article discusses the possible bankruptcy filing by U.S. automaker General Motors (GM) Corp. The author states that the car maker, considered as America's largest automobile manufacturer, seemed to have survived the fears of bankruptcy in the fall of 2008. He adds that as of June 2008, however, the worries about bankruptcy are returning. A thorough discussion on the financial state of the firm is provided. Also discussed is the rift between Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc.

The article presents an update on issues related to the financial services industry as of April 24, 2008. The strategy of classified listings Web site Craiglist.org of giving away most of its services for free would indicate that it is turning more capitalistic. One of the contributors to high oil prices has been in the commodity markets.

The article discusses the risks taken by Sotheby's that guaranteed top dollar prices for sellers at auction in the wake of tough competition in the art market. Sotheby's has ratcheted up guarantees as the market boomed but based on its outstanding guarantees of $149 million as of February 2008, the situation reflects a more cautious outlook and seasonality of the market. Among the losses is a guaranteed Van Gogh that went unsold in November 2007. Meanwhile, private equity firms are revaluing their private holdings to reflect public market moves.

The article focuses on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the high technology industry as of February 26, 2008. According to the author, the M&A activities have suddenly given the industry a hostile atmosphere. Cited are the buyout offer by Microsoft for Yahoo Inc. and Electronic Arts for Take Two Interactive. The author believes that when long-term revenue growth is threatened, transferring funds to buyout competitors is a reasonable response. Meanwhile, credit card issuers are enticing customers to use their cards by promising freebies and cashback.

The author talks about a 3% stake, valued at $800 million built by investor Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway in Swiss Re. According to the author, the move looks like a vote of confidence in the reinsurer's prospects. Buffett also struck a separate deal for Berkshire Hathaway to assume a 20% share of the risk of all of Swiss Re's new property-and-casualty business. Berkshire is expected to collect revenue of $3 billion or more in 2008.