Excedrin Doesn’t Relieve Headaches in 15 Minutes, Despite What Ads Said

On November 25, 2009

5 Cool Ways Brands Are Using Facebook for Black Friday and Beyond

‘Tis the season to use social media for holiday shopping. In fact, data from eMarketer shows that 17% of all consumers are using social media for their holiday shopping needs, and brands are proving to be savvier than ever with their online holiday shopping bag of tricks. Yesterday we highlighted Toys”R”Us’ quickly growing fan following on [...]


On November 25, 2009

Bayer in “Jaw Dropping” Fight Over Its Coal Bill

Bayer (BAY.DE)'s Virginia unit -- which mostly makes pesticides -- is at the center of multimillion dollar battle over coal. Massey Energy (MEE), the coal giant that treats Appalachia like a used napkin, claims Bayer owes it $39 million for shipments of coal it hasn't paid for; Bayer claims that Massey owes it $10 million.


On November 25, 2009

Marsh & McLennan May Buy HSBC’s Insurance Brokerage Unit

Less than a month ago insurance broker Marsh & McLennan CEO Brian Duperreault announced that he was going on a buying spree for acquisitions that would be "relatively small" individually, but "mighty" collectively. Duperreault, the former boss of Ace Ltd., moves fast. The latest rumor in the London Daily Telegraph is that Marsh is in "advanced talks" with HSBC, the world's third largest bank by market capitalization, to buy its HSBC Insurance Brokers Ltd. unit. The unit itself is the ninth largest broker in the United Kingdom with a value of as much as $330 million. Both Marsh and HSBC Insurance declined comment, according to Business Insurance. Under Duperreault, who took over in January 2008, Marsh has regained some of its former bravado. What...


On November 25, 2009

Climategate Refuses to Stay Under the Carpet

Climategate falls far short of being as important as Watergate, its namesake scandal. But contrary to the wishes of climate scientists, it's also not likely to go away any time soon.


On November 25, 2009

Publishing Heavies Join Forces on Digital Newsstand

Major magazine publishers are about to launch a new attempt to digitize their content, according to a recent article in the New York Observer. The publishers reportedly include Conde Nast, Hearst and Time. It's said they're getting ready to form a new company that will prepare digital versions of their products that can work across multiple platforms.


On November 25, 2009

US Senators Go to Bat for Oracle, Sun Merger

Fifty-nine U.S. senators are asking European antitrust regulators to conclude their review of the Oracle acquisition of Sun Microsystems. The move, led by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, is an unusual one for the U.S. legislative body. It follows a similar action by the Department of Justice, which also urged the Commission to wrap up the investigation.


On November 25, 2009

Inconvenient Truth: Recovery But No Recovery at Driller Patterson-UTI

Patterson-UTI Energy had an average of 88 drilling rigs operating in October, up from an average count of 73 in the third-quarter ended September. Talk of a significant recovery in demand might be premature, however, given the current supply overhang in the natural gas market. With about 350 marketable rigs, Patterson-UTI is the second largest onshore driller in North America, behind Nabors Industries. Size has not immunized the company to the downturn, as average revenue per operating day declined 5.5 percent year-on-year to $16,800. In addition to pricing power residing with producers, the drilling slowdown has eroded the company's U.S. land rig market share, which is down some 50 percent in the last 24 months to about 7.5 percent. Competitor...


On November 25, 2009

Three Programs I’m Thankful For

I know, most of us are thankful just for staying employed this year. But beyond that, let's shout out the apps that made our work lives a little easier.


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