Private Equity
Implosion: RIM shares dive after slashing profit forecasts. And, everything that went wrong with RIM, according to an ex-employee. Going Public: Oaktree beats Carlyle and files for an IPO that could raise $100 mln. Carlyle, meanwhile, has picked JP Morgan, Citi and Credit Suisse for its IPO. Internet Security Is a Joke: LulzSec gives the world their manifesto. Deathly Hollows: Harry Potter will be ending soon. Here's the top 10 HR spoofs. Not Apple or Google: You'll be surprised what companies made the list of the top 20 toughest firms to interview at. Blowing Up: Here's a quick guide to the Greek credit crisis. And, why a Greek default won't ever be priced in, from Felix Salmon. Sale: Frank McCourt and his wife settle a divorce dispute but the fate of the Dodgers is unclear. Layoffs: Barclays, Morgan, Credit Suisse and UBS plan cuts. And bonuses may be compromised. Bubble Bust: Pandora shares come back down to earth. True or Not: That couple kissing while Vancouver riots? It's apparently true and their names are revealed.
1 min read · 17 June 2011
Cautiously Optimistic: Sixteen meaningless market phrases that will make you sound smart on CNBC. Project Spartan: Is Facebook secretly working on a project that lets users launch apps on iPhones or iPads without going through Apple's App Store? We want to know! James Ledbetter: Is Groupon a savior or a destroyer? Next Up: Angie's List has reportedly hired BofA as its banker and is preparing to file for an IPO in August. Implosion: RIM COO is leaving and company announces reductions. Check that Steering: Chrysler has recalled 11,000 vehicles for missing and improperly installed parts. Making Money: Pershing Square's Bill Ackman is raising a new fund via an IPO to get permanent capital. Finally, a Deal: ING agrees to sell its U.S. online bank to Capital One for $9 bln. Good or Not: Did Pandora's underwriter's do right by pricing Pandora at $16 a share? Sorta. And Pandora's shares break below their $16 IPO price. Finally: The wife is back and Rep. Anthony Weiner resigns. And 10 more people who lost jobs due to social media mistakes.
1 min read · 16 June 2011
Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool. It's been more than 10 years since a slew of Internet companies went public at ridiculous valuations. Many companies -- most without any profit -- doubled or tripled their value on their first day of trading (remember Webvan? Or Pets.com? And what ever happened to the Pets.com sock puppet?).
1 min read · 16 June 2011
Make Your Luck: Lessons from Pandora's tough road to IPO. Young CEOs: 15 year old kid sells his startup cloud company to ActiveState. Tumbling: Greece fears hammer stocks, euro while bonds rally. M&A decline: Market and economy issues cause deals to take a breather. Playing Coy: Carlyle's long awaited IPO may come this year or maybe not. And, IBs are putting on a beauty pageant to woo Carlyle. Playing Stupid: College students actually like accumulating debt. What happened to Dick Grasso? Former NYSE chairman may run for mayor of New York City. Surviving: How big of a problem is a failed startup on your resume? Here's John Edwards' mug shot. And he's still smiling.
1 min read · 15 June 2011
No Show: Wall Street CEOs likely won't be out in force for Obama's fundraiser next week. What is CSOI? The world would be a far richer place if Groupon's wacky accounting caught on. Doing A Spitzer: UK banks will be forced to separate their retail divisions from their IBs. Total Surprise: Ron Johnson, who spearheaded the creation of Apple Inc.’s retail empire, is joining JC Penney as their CEO. And, Ackman scores big with latest Penney hire. Blending In: What should first year analysts wear? FINS weighs in. Get Active: Couch potatoes face risk of early death. Learn From Success: A graduation speech for engineers and entrepreneurs from Brad Feld. Confirmed: Apple starts selling unlocked iPhone 4 in the U.S. No Imagination: The most common iPhone passcodes. The Weiner Principle: Why women are better investors, from David Weidner.
1 min read · 14 June 2011
No Go: Supreme Court blocks investor lawsuit against Janus. Not So Fast: NYAG Eric Schneiderman has expanded the mortgage probe to trustees including Deutsche Bank and Bank of New York Mellon. Be Concise: How to get a job at Google. Finally: Facebook expected to file for a $100 billion IPO within a year. And, why is FB losing Americans? Rumors: HP is in talks with major labels to build a cloud service that would offer music, movies and TV shows. More Money: Canv.as raises $3 mln from Union Square Ventures. Go Forth and Prosper: Conan O'Brien gives the year's best commencement speech at Dartmouth. Chrystia Freeland: Is U.S. business abandoning the middle class?
1 min read · 13 June 2011
Beer Deal: Grupo Modelo is looking for board support for a possible joint bid with Molson Coors Brewing for Foster's Group. Stocks: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes below 12,000 for first time since March. Worth More Dead: Morgan Stanley could shut down its trading businesses and be worth 40% more than its share price yesterday. Using Your Goldman Connections: How to get your Shake Shack order in under three hours. Tired of Internet IPOs? Mattress Firm Holdings, which is backed by JW Childs Associates, has filed for an IPO that could raise $115 million. Spreading the Love: Groupon has asked six more banks to underwrite its IPO. It's True: Those warnings to not use cell phones on a plane? Using them can really cause problems. Happy Sarah Palin E-Mail Day! Missives of the former Alaska governor were released today. She actually requested a tanning bed for the governor's house.
1 min read · 10 June 2011
See Ya: Senior strategists and key aides for Newt Gingrich quit. For Real? MySpace supposedly is in advanced deal talks with an investor group that includes Activision Chairman and CEO Bobby Kotick. Felix Salmon: When will income return to 2006 levels? Going Public: Avaya, which is backed by TPG and Silver Lake, has filed for a $1 bln IPO. Deal: Google buys AdMeld for $400 million. Leaving Chicago: CME Group may move some operations out of Illinois. Leak: Citi suffers a data breach affecting 210,000 credit card accounts in North America. Just Talk: There are lots of rumors but no real suitors for Nokia. Buying More: Morgan Stanley has bought 22.7% of LinkedIn's Class A shares. Backtracking: Apple confirms that it has reversed course on In-App subscriptions. Saying Yes: Cupertino wants Steve Job's spaceship to land in their neighborhood.
1 min read · 09 June 2011
Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool. This week FINS reported that buyout shops are raiding investment banks for relatively inexperienced analysts. Buyout shops typically pick up execs from two-year analyst programs at IBs. But this year, PE firms are scooping up candidates less than a year after they graduate from college, according to FINS. These fresh grads are getting good money. Recent offers for analysts guarantee $220,000 to $250,000 a year, though highly coveted workers are getting more than $300,000, FINS says. This made me wonder: With lower-tier employees taking home such big paychecks, how much are PE executives making? Stephen Schwarzman, the Blackstone Group's chairman and CEO, earned
2 min read · 09 June 2011
Angels: Women need to invest in each other. Tablet Wars: Microsoft is considering launching its own brand tablet PC by the end of 2012. Apple: Steve Jobs wants to build a new corporate campus in Cupertino, Calif. dominated by a spaceship-like building. Bad Timing: Rep. Anthony Weiner's wife is expecting. Departure: Steve Eisman is leaving his firm, FrontPoint Partners. Scary Turn: Fitch says it will put U.S. debt on watch for downgrade in early August if Congress fails to lift the federal debt limit. And, the S&P has turned in its worst losing streak since February 2009. B-Schools: University of Fla.'s Warrington College of Business allegedly supplied bad data to U.S. News & World Report that inflated its ranking. Only a Small Slice: Zynga is looking to sell only 10% of its shares in an IPO. Buzz Kill: SEC stops crowdsourcing effort to buy Pabst beer. Building out The Franchise: Angry Birds is going to publish a cookbook full of egg recipes.
1 min read · 08 June 2011
