Barclays, one of the most profitable financial services providers in world, recently confirmed that talks are being held with CVC Capital regarding the possible sale of iShares. CVC Capital, which is also one of the largest private equity firms globally, is very interested to purchase the highly profitable Barclays Global Investors-operated exchange-traded funds or ETFs.
Barclays did not give too much information regarding the sale but only confirmed that there is a big possibility a deal will push through. There have been rumours going around that the price tag of the business could be as high as £3 billion or around $4.28 billion. This is a hefty sum that Barclays can use to raise funds so as to prevent the British government from taking a part of the company’s stake.
April 9, 2009
CVC Capital on the Verge of Acquiring iShares from Barclays
AOL Appoints New CEO
After letting go of former President Ron Grant and CEO Randy Falco, AOL seems to be restructuring its company in order to move forward. The man they have selected to lead the charge towards the next generation is no other than ex-Google advertising head Tim Armstrong. In a rather unexpected turn of events Armstrong was appointed CEO of the Time Warner subsidiary two weeks ago.
Although the new CEO does not officially take his post until April 7, 2009 Armstrong is wasting no time and is already busy making himself abreast of the corporation’s current situation. AOL has not been doing well over the past few years and perhaps it is Armstrong’s creative genius that they need to be able to bring back their glory days.
April 8, 2009
St. Joe Co.’s Increased Losses
St. Joe Co. is yet another land development company that continues to take financial blows because of the declining real estate market. The organization recently announced losses of up $27.9 million in the fourth quarter which translates to 31 cents per diluted share. Compare this loss to the $1 million net income gained or 1 cent per diluted share for the same period back in 2007. In that same year the company experienced an annual net income of 53 cents per diluted share or a total of $39.2 million in profits. In 2008 the organization declared a loss of 40 cents per diluted share or a net loss of $35.9 million.
St. Joe’s stock went down by 83 cents from $21.74 to $20.91 when the NYSE closed last Feb. 23. This just goes to show us that the market is looking bleak and it seems that the light at the end of the tunnel is very far from sight.
ACC Co-eds to Headline Playboy’s October Issue
Playboy has begun its search for the hottest girls of the Atlantic Coast Conference basketball championship. Playboy photographers have started looking for the sexiest and most beautiful girls in campus and their first stop was in North Carolina State University last March 23 and 24. Succeeding auditions will also be held in the other 12 ACC schools including Florida State University, University of North Carolina and Virginia Tech University, to name a few.
Thousands of college girls have auditioned in the past and some have used Playboy as a stepping stone for a career in show business. Sara Jean Underwood was selected as Playmate of the Year for 2007 and she was first featured in the “Girls of PAC 10” of the October 2005 issue. Selected beauties will be part of the magazine’s “Girls of the ACC” feature included in the October 2009 issue which will hit newsstands on Friday, September 11, 2009.
April 7, 2009
Shareholder Meeting Set by American Community Properties Trust
An announcement made by American Community Properties Trust or ACPT stated that they intend to hold a shareholder meeting on June 3, 2009. The annual event includes the vote for the organization’s trustees and recorded shareholders as of April 9, 2009 will be eligible to participate in the election. A notice, together with other relevant documents, will be mailed to all the shareholders and will include further information regarding the meeting such as the venue and time of the gathering.
ACPT is the successor of Puerto Rico-based construction and building firm Interstate General Co. and operates mainly in the Maryland area. It is currently listed in the New York Stock Exchange Alternext Exchange as AmCmntyProp (APO).
Tyra Banks Says the Show Must Go On
After a chaotic riot that ensued in the streets of New York City during the auditions of the popular television show “America’s Next Top Model,” super model Tyra Banks, executive producer and host of the show, recently announced that auditions will push through. Organizers of the event did not expect that much people and measures were not taken to ensure the safety of all.
The police say that the skirmish was caused by shoving and pushing among the hopefuls as everyone wanted to audition for the show. The situation became worse when a vehicle broke down close by and began emitting smoke. Factions of the oversized crowd suspected that this was a bomb and people began panicking. Banks mentioned in an interview that they are taking measures to make sure that everyone who was not seen still gets a chance to audition. A clip of the melee is posted in YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fjpwTWbAyQ
April 6, 2009
ARMEP Corp. Continues to Fall
ARMEP Corp., main developer of New Mexico economic hub Rio Rancho, has recently reported yet more financial losses. For the company’s third fiscal quarter it reported a loss of 2 cents per share or a total of $100,000. Last year, the company earned 57 cents per share or a total of $3.5million. The developer’s total revenues also slumped by a whopping 18 percent from one year ago to $36 million.
Homebuilders in Rio Rancho have stopped construction on lots previously acquired from ARMEP ever since the decline of the housing market. Some purchases of developed lots were also either cancelled or delayed. This behaviour among investors is not only happening in the Rio Rancho region and has become a national situation as the market continues to struggle.
The Don Faces His Greatest Test
Legendary television executive and news producer Don S. Hewitt, creator of the very popular CBS news program “60 Minutes,” was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The sad news was confirmed by Kevin Tedesco, the show’s spokesman. Hewitt was a pioneer in the magazine format of delivering news in television programs and in 1968, he was the mastermind behind the release of “60 Minutes.” Today the show is the longest-running program in American television that airs in prime time.
Hewitt started his career with CBS in 1948 where he directed and produced a number of news programs for the network. He stepped down as executive producer of “60 Minutes” in 2004. Hewitt was born in December 14, 1922 and is currently 86 years old.
April 5, 2009
The Best Real Estate Websites
Marketingcharts.com recently released a list of the most visited real estate websites as of February 2009.
Realtor.com (www.realtor.com) is the most popular site with 6.97 percent of total visits to real estate websites in the United States. Yahoo! Real Estate (realestate.yahoo.com) came in second with 4.38 percent while third place Zillow (www.zillow.com) has 3.10 percent of the total visits. ZipRealty (www.ziprealty.com) came in fourth with 2.53 percent, RE/MAX Real Estate (www.remax.com) at fifth with 2.05, and Rent.com (www.rent.com) at sixth with 1.89.
The last four spots in the top 10 were tightly contested by US Department of Housing and Urban Development (www.hud.gov), Homegain (www.homegain.com), ServiceMagic (www.servicemagic.com), and Trulia.com (www.trulia.com) which had 1.70, 1.66, 1.63, and 1.50, respectively.
Hef is No Exception to the Recession
Hugh Hefner-owned Playboy Enterprises Inc. has also emerged as one of the thousands of corporations affected by the global recession.
Martha Lindeman, company spokeswoman, recently announced that the organization intends to close down its Manhattan office. The Fifth Avenue branch currently employs around one hundred employees and Lindeman says that most of these jobs will be lost. The branch is mainly involved in licensing work and publishing. Playboy Inc. expects to close the office on May 1 and have announced that the decision, although unwanted, was necessary as doing so would translate to $5 million saved annually. This news bit is just further proof that times are definitely hard and that everyone is trying to save up in any way possible.