Private Equity
Misconduct: A Calpers probe finds that some former officials acted badly. Quake Aftermath: Two more explosions rock nuclear plant. And, Japan braces for potential radiation catastrophe. Stocks: Nikkei 225 posts biggest two day drop since 1987 while U.S. stocks and future fall. Finally: Apollo expected to set terms for an IPO that could fetch $500 mln. You're Hired: Facebook snags Amin Zoufonoun, Google's director of corporate development. We Hardly Knew Ye: Microsoft stops releasing new models of its Zune media player. Not Chick Lit: Five books to read if you want to be a master of the universe.
1 min read · 15 March 2011
After the Quake: Tokyo opens for business. Death toll expected to top 10,000. GE vows to help on nuclear crisis. Stocks: Massive selloff wipes out $23.5 trillion Yen ($287 bln) from the Tokyo Stock Exchange. What's the most profitable and cheapest LBO target? Dollar Tree beats out Family Dollar, 99 Cents and Big Lots. An Identity: Employees of NYSE and Deutsche Boerse will pick new name of merged exchanges. Deals: Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway to buy Lubrizol for $9.7 bln.
1 min read · 14 March 2011
Earthquake, Tsunami Aftermath: Japanese nuclear reactor near losing power and is in peril. Plus, Twitter and Facebook are vital as Japan cell networks jam Apple: Online orders from iPad 2 expected to arrive in 2 to 3 weeks. Rescue Mission: Why AOL had to buy the Huffington Post. Sale: Did Yahoo just sell Delicious for the decidedly undelicious price of $5 mln?
1 min read · 11 March 2011
After HuffPo: AOL slashes 20% of its workforce, or 950 jobs. HuffPo and Tech Crunch left unscathed. But how are AOL's media brands doing? Apple: iPad 2 goes on sale tomorrow (online) at 1 am PT/ 4 am ET. Too Much Twitter: There's no rush for an IPO, says Bijan Sabet, general partner at Spark Capital and Twitter board member.
1 min read · 10 March 2011
No Deal Now: CME, which seems pretty fickle, is losing interest in teaming up with Nasdaq to break up the NYSE-Deutsche Borse merger. Be Positive: 25 common characteristics of successful entrepreneurs. Biggest PE-Backed IPO: HCA has priced at $30 a share. Unbelievable: Apple will begin producing the white iPhone 4 and ship in April. Take the Quiz: Can you pass a high school financial literacy test? Winning: All of Charlie Sheen's tweets are causing Twitter's valuation to grow.
1 min read · 09 March 2011
Dark Knight: Warner Bros. will be the first to offer movies on Facebook. No Texting? 30 things we need and 30 things we don't. Investing in Energy: MSD Capital, the money-management firm that oversees Michael Dell’s fortune, has raised almost $780 million for a hedge fund. Just a Coffee: The 10 worst legacies of Starbucks. Only In Our Dreams: Character witnesses we'd like to see at the Raj Rajaratnam trial (especially the dwarf he hired as a joke to cover "small cap" stocks), from Dealbreaker. The Devil Wears Pinstripes: A Q&A with Nina Godiwalla, author of "Suits: A Woman on Wall Street."
1 min read · 08 March 2011
Founder Diaries: When investors treat startups like toys. FB Gets Another Investor: General Atlantic is buying 1/10 of 1% of Facebook, valuing the company at $65 bln. #Winning: Blue chip shares score biggest gain since December. Gartner Report: iPads are crimping PC growth. Of Course: Charlie Sheen decided to join Twitter so he could makes bucks off of the advertising. And Lenny Dykstra told him to. You Don't Look Mahvelous, dahling! At SuperReturn, private equity looks in the mirror.
1 min read · 03 March 2011
Apple has unveiled its new iPad, which it claims is thinner, lighter and faster. Steve Jobs, despite all the rumors about his health, showed up at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco on Wednesday. He was also thinner and lighter, but still energetic, according to reports.
1 min read · 03 March 2011
Michael Orbach is managing director at Cascadia Capital, a Seattle investment bank that advises on M&A and growth equity financing. Orbach runs the information technology practice at Cascadia. He took some time to speak with me by phone yesterday on the growth of cloud technology.
3 min read · 03 March 2011
Apple: Steve Jobs (he was there!) unveils a thinner, lighter and faster iPad 2. The Big Picture: Is McKinsey & Co. the root of all evil? Boiling Over: Fighting in Lybia causes oil to hit $102 a barrel. After HuffPo Sale: Lerer Ventures, which backed Huffington Post, is raising its second fund with a $25 million target. Out for Now: As lattes grow popular, McDonalds sidelines Ronald McDonald.
1 min read · 02 March 2011
