Euro Economy » 2011 » December

Yahoo to acquire Tumblr for $1.1 billion cash

(Reuters) - Yahoo Inc will buy online blogging service Tumblr for $1.1 billion in cash, the company said on Monday. The deal, which will use about one-fifth of Yahoo's $5.4 billion in cash and marketable securities, is the largest by far since Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer took the reins in July in order to reverse a multi-year decline in Yahoo's business and its Web traffic. (Reporting By Alexei Oreskovic; Writing by Ben Berkowitz; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

Stock futures little changed after records, acquisitions eyed

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures were little changed in light volume on Monday as investors search for catalysts after major equity indexes closed Friday for a fourth consecutive week of gains. * Acquisitions including Yahoo's $1.1 billion bid for Tumblr indicate that companies continue to search for growth through acquisitions despite record highs, a bullish sign for the market. * The S&P 500 and Dow industrials finished Friday at fresh record highs and the Nasdaq Composite is at its highest since late 2000. ...

Dell says cannot disclose more information to Icahn yet

(Reuters) - Dell Inc said in a letter to suitors Carl Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management that the company would not provide more information about itself unless the board determined that their proposal was "superior" to founder Michael Dell's. Earlier this month, Icahn and Southeastern offered $12 in cash per share or additional shares to existing investors as an alternative to Michael Dell's $24.4 billion bid to take the company private. ...

Actavis to buy Warner Chilcott in $5 billion stock deal

(Reuters) - Generic drugmaker Actavis Inc, which has been the subject of takeover speculation, plans to buy specialty pharmaceutical company Warner Chilcott Plc for $5 billion in stock. The companies said the deal had an enterprise value, including debt, of $8.5 billion. The move comes as Actavis has spurned approaches from Canadian pharmaceutical company Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc and Mylan Inc. Analysts have said that if Actavis were to buy Warner Chilcott, it would kill the chances of its being taken over. Warner Chilcott shareholders will receive 0. ...

Unclear whether Fed's bond buying has helped economy: Fisher

(Reuters) - While the Federal Reserve's accommodative policies have boosted stocks and helped the rich, it is unclear whether they are doing enough for the broader U.S. economy, a top central bank official said on Monday. "We've made rich people richer...," Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher said on CNBC television. "Question is what have we done for working men and women in America?" Fisher, who has long opposed the Fed's bond-buying program and wants to reduce it, added he expects real gross domestic product growth of more than 2.5 percent by year end. ...

Chesapeake Energy hires Anadarko executive as CEO

(Reuters) - Chesapeake Energy Corp said it hired Robert Douglas Lawler of rival Anadarko Petroleum Corp as chief executive, filling the post vacated by co-founder Aubrey McClendon. Lawler, who is senior vice president of international and deep-water operations at Anadarko Petroleum, will join Chesapeake on June 17, the company said. McClendon's departure on April 1 came after a tumultuous year in which a series of Reuters investigations led to civil and criminal probes of the second-largest U.S. natural gas producer. Chief Operating Officer Steven Dixon had been appointed as interim CEO. ...

Monster machines fan out on U.S. farms facing slow sow

By Tom Polansek and Mark Weinraub SHERIDAN, Illinois (Reuters) - With the U.S. spring planting season off to a historically slow start, an increasing number of farmers are counting on powerful tools to catch up: Monster machines that sow 36 rows of corn at once and feature high-tech innovations like computer-guided directional equipment. The technological wizardry from companies like Deere & Co and AGCO Corp is pitted in a frantic race against time, with farmers scrambling to get seeds in the ground because a slow start depresses yields and reduces the size of their harvest. ...

GE Capital plans to pay $6.5 billion in dividends to GE

(Reuters) - GE Capital Corp's board has approved a plan to pay $6.5 billion in dividends, including a special dividend of $4.5 billion, to parent General Electric Co in 2013. "This announcement is consistent with our goal to reduce the overall size of GE Capital and for it to return significant cash to GE," GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said in a statement. (Corrects headline and first paragraph to say GE Capital plans to pay $6.5 billion to GE, not $11 billion) (Reporting by Mridhula Raghavan in Bangalore)

EU law key to ending 'too big to fail' banks: BoE's Tucker

By Huw Jones and Claire Davenport LONDON/STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - A European Union law up for a vote on Monday will only fully shield taxpayers from bailing out troubled banks if there is a global framework as well, a top UK regulator said on Monday. Bank of England Deputy Governor Paul Tucker said the EU law on bank recovery and resolution would be a milestone towards a global system and help convince markets that governments were no longer willing to rescue "too big to fail" lenders. ...

Vodafone withdraws from BT mobile partner talks: sources

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Vodafone has withdrawn from the running to provide a mobile service to fixed-line operator BT , two industry sources told Reuters, bringing to an end a nine-year partnership. Vodafone had been the so-called mobile virtual network operator for BT, providing mobile services to staff, small companies and multi-national corporations which are clients to the BT Global Services division. ...