Top 10 News Items 08/27 - 08/31: Apple Prevails in Patent Proceedings; Helicopter Ben Takes Flight; IBM's Big SaaS Acquisition; Draghi Skips Jackson


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August 31, 2012 4:17 PM EDT Send to a Friend
Top 10 News Items 08/27 - 08/31:
  1. Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) beat smartphone rival Samsung in a landmark patent case late last Friday. The win set a precedent for the industry, with the key theme from the ruling to other OEMs as "be more creative."

    Following the news, Apple shares found themselves lifted by positive sentiment once agin on Monday and much of the rest of the week.

    Getting a side boost were Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM), which were expected to see gains as one key distributor of Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) Android OS now had the boot put on it.

  2. Fed chair Ben Bernanke delivered his highly-anticipated Jackson Hole speech Friday. Let's just say, if his readiness to do anything more was much higher, we might start calling him Batman Bernanke.

    Aside for standing at the ready, Bernanke also noted how economic recovery has been "far from statisfactory," noting weak growth in the job market amid tough cyclical problems. That means its not a mismatch of jobs so much as overall lack of demand.

  3. On Monday, IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Kenexa Corporation (NYSE: KNXA) entered into a definitive agreement for IBM to acquire Kenexa in a cash transaction at a price of $46 per share, or at a net price of approximately $1.3 billion. For more on the deal, click here.

  4. ECB president Mario Draghi
  5. AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) said it approved a special $5.15 per share dividend and $600 million common stock buyback plan. Inital reaction sent shares higher Monday, though the stock ebbed further along in the week.

    Lower was rival Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO), which dipped following AOL's announcement as the search giant looked to cancel possible shareholder distribution of its Alibaba cash as it looks to turnaround operations.

  6. Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at an annual rate of 1.7 percent for the three-months ended June 30, 2012, according to data out Wednesday from the U.S. Commerce Department. The number was up 0.2 points from the initial readinge, although it was in-line with economists revised expectations.

    Consumer spending rose to a 1.7 percent annual rate, from 1.5 percent prior reading and 2.4 percent in the first quarter. Purchasing power slipped 0.6 points to 3.1 percent, while the savings rate rose 0.4 points to 4 percent.

    For more color, click here.

  7. Following a long run of discussions and positioning, Hertz Global (NYSE: HTZ) and Dollar Thrifty (NYSE: DTG) entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Hertz would acquire Dollar Thrifty for $87.50 per share in cash.

    The deal ends the multi-year takeover saga between Hertz, Dollar Thrifty and Avis (NYSE: CAR). The buyout battle started in April of 2010, when Hertz reached a deal to acquire Dollar Thrifty for $41 per share. By the summer of that year, Avis stepped-up with a higher $46.50 per share offer. Bidding continued to rise until Hertz upped the stakes to $72 per share in May 2011. Avis backed away in the Fall of 2011, leaving Hertz and Dollar Thrifty sharholders to hammer out a deal.

  8. Pandora (NYSE: P) issued a classic beat-and-raise report with its second-quarter 2013 release on Wednesday night. Though its loss was break even, the number topped expectations for a loss of 3 cents per share.

    Looking to 2013, the company sees revenues of $425 to $432 million and a non-GAAP net loss of ($0.04) and ($0.08). This compares to the consensus of $424.2 million and ($0.12), respectively. Previously the company saw a loss of ($0.07) to ($0.11) on the year.

    For more, click here.

  9. Sears (Nasdaq: SHLD) lost its spot in the S&P 500. In a statement after the close, S&P said Sears' public float has been well below the 50% threshold for inclusion for an extended period of time and is no longer considered representative of the index.

  10. WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE: WLP) ticked higher on Wednesday following news that CEO Angela Braly stepped down. Shares rose 7.7 percent, but ended up falling slightly by the close Friday. For more color from the announcement, click here.


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Comments

Bernake
Michael Caliazzo on Sep 2, 2012 02:19 PM
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he is a LOSER!

dividend
Michael Caliazzo on Sep 2, 2012 02:18 PM
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apple will be 1200 before year end.


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