Macho M&A Should Go the Way of the Do-Do

On October 20, 2009

Macho M&A Should Go the Way of the Do-Do

What looked like a surge in takeovers has gone sharply into a reverse: suddenly more bids are being withdrawn than launched. It seems the boardroom appetite for expansion has turned out to be greater than the balance sheet can stomach. In quick succession the Spanish consortium bidding for National Express has walked away and mining group Xstrata has called off its bid for rival Anglo American, just as BHP Billiton abandoned its attempt to merge with Rio Tinto. Kraft's tentative approach for Cadbury could yet fall on the floor before it is even placed on the table. The surge in bids looked like a sign the recovery was over with opportunists pouncing on rivals ahead of the economic upswing. They...
On October 20, 2009

Dassault Hopes Brazilian Sales Lift Company

The worlds aerospace companies have been hurt badly by the global recession. This has not only caused sales of civil aircraft to fall but also reduced domestic defense budgets. Lower spending has made it harder to keep sales and revenues up for all defense contractors around the world. Many of the big U.S. and European companies are trying to make up these cuts by selling to Asia, the Middle East and South America. One country that is looking at significantly upgrading the technological capabilities of their military while also investing in their domestic defense industries is Brazil. They have already signed a major contract with Eurocopter to manufacture new military helicopters with parts and assembly to occur domestically. The next...
On October 20, 2009

Jenson Button: Persistence Pays Again

I was delighted to see that Jenson Button won the F1 Grand Prix world championship this weekend. Not only is it great to have another British winner, but it is also another brilliant example of the power of persistence. Button, 29, won his first race three years ago -- in his 113th grand prix! And, in contrast to Lewis Hamilton, who won the championship in his second season, it has taken him 10 hard seasons of grand prix racing to achieve his ultimate ambition. Button's career has, up until this season, been one of unfulfilled promise and, let's face it, failure. But this season he has demonstrated what the right mix of talent, persistence and a little bit of luck can...
On October 20, 2009

Virgin America’s Xmas Present: Free WiFi

Virgin America, partnering with Google, reported it will offer free wireless Internet access on all its flights from Nov. 10 to Jan. 15 as "a holiday gift." Porter Gale, vice president of marketing, said inflight WiFi was a key factor for business and leisure travelers choosing their airline. Currently Virgin America uses Gogo Inflight Internet service which ranges from $5.95 to $12.95 per flight. Google's role in this a little more difficult to pinpoint. Marissa Mayer, vice president of search projects and user experience at Google, said, "As millions of people pass through airports this holiday season . . . we wanted to give our users a gift -- one that makes their travel easier and more convenient." Google has...
On October 20, 2009

What Have Hotels Learned About Peeping Toms?

While the case of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews, who was spied on and photographed in her hotel room at the Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt University, seemed to spark the interest of the country, such crimes don't happen to just celebrities. A recent case in Nebraska shows that another peeping Tom installed a camera in the hotel wall and filmed a Nebraska family staying at a Marriott TownePlace Suites Denver Tech Center in Englewood, Colo. A man, his wife and his 11- and 15-year-old daughters were staying in the room. David Lee Fugate, 41, from Virginia pleaded guilty to wiretapping and was given two months of probation. One legal expert, according to the Denver Post, said that law hasn't caught up to the latest video technology. In the...
On October 20, 2009

Tech Insider Trading Bodes Ill

Insider trading is always painful to watch. People once trusted within organizations conspire to benefit themselves at the expense of their employers, co-workers, neighbors, and anyone else who happens by. And we're currently seeing that in spades in the high tech space, with such names being dragged into the spotlight as IBM, Intel, Google, AMD, Sun Microsystems, and Akamai Technologies. But the result for the industry is more than a morbid curiosity. It will, rather, drive investors farther into resentment and distrust, making stock prices for many companies harder to maintain -- to say nothing of fueling suspicion of regulators and possibly setting off a wave of investigations.
On October 19, 2009

Climate Hoax Burns U.S. Chamber, Lobby Group Turns to Law Enforcement

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sure sounded like a different organization this morning as a spokesman threw around phrases like "support a strong climate-change bill quickly" and "the Kerry-Boxer bill is a good start." Could it be that the U.S. Chamber had made a sudden and unexpected U-turn? Was the voice of business -- the same organization that spent a record $34.7 million lobbying Congress last quarter, in part to fight climate change legislation circulating in the Senate -- changing its tune in the wake of recent defections from its membership base and board of directors? If it sounds unlikely, that's because it is. Turns out the press conference held in Washington and headed by chamber "spokesman" Hingo Sembra was a hoax staged by activist...
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