| Business News |
NBC Universal, partners to buy Weather Channel
(Reuters)
Reuters - NBC Universal and private equity
firms Bain Capital and Blackstone Group said on Sunday
they agreed to buy The Weather Channel from Landmark
Communications.
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Is capitulation on the cards?
(Reuters)
 Reuters - Profit warnings, breaches of key index
levels, record oil prices, stressed consumers and investors
seeking safety provide the background for markets this week,
and many people are wondering how long this will all last.
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Postbank sale may fail over target price: report
(Reuters)
 Reuters - The sale of Germany's biggest retail
bank Deutsche Postbank could fail because the price potential
bidders are willing to pay does not meet the expectations of
the lender's parent, Deutsche Post, a German magazine reported
on Saturday.
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Auto sector woes could spur deals: Renault CEO
(Reuters)
 Reuters - A current slump in the
global automotive sector could give fresh impetus to plans for
consolidation within the industry, the head of French carmaker
Renault said on Saturday.
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Hyundai cuts, Kia lifts domestic sales target
(Reuters)
 Reuters - Hyundai Motor Co (005480.KS), South
Korea's top auto maker, said on Sunday it had cut its local
sales target for this year by 6 percent as record-breaking oil
prices are hitting consumer sentiment in Asia's fourth-largest
economy.
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China premier: Continue inflation fight
(AP)
AP - China's premier called for continued vigilance against inflation that has reached 12-year highs, saying the government should ensure that price increases are "acceptable," a state-run news agency reported Sunday.
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| Bank and economic woes hit Wall St; Oracle dives late - 27, Mar 2008 |
By Ellis Mnyandu
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks dropped on Wednesday as financial shares slid when concerns resurfaced that bank profits will take much longer than expected to recover from the housing slump.
Surging oil prices and data showing a tumble in orders for U.S.-made manufactured goods revived concerns that the economy is already in recession.
Bank stocks tumbled across the board when a prominent analyst lowered her first-quarter profit forecasts for Citigroup, Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), and Wachovia Corp (WB.N). The S&P financial index fell 3.5 percent, marking its biggest setback after rising more than 10 percent in the last two weeks.
Oppenheimer & Co analyst Meredith Whitney said bank profits would not start growing any time soon because of fallout from what she called the worst credit cycle in generations.
Financials are down "on the combination of Citigroup, Meredith Whitney coming out with talk of more potential write-downs and a lot of profit-taking. Financials moved big the last two weeks," said Matt McCall, president of Penn Financial Group in Denver, Colorado.
The other backdrop for the drop in Citigroup's stock was news that the largest U.S. bank by assets has agreed to pay Enron creditors $1.66 billion to settle a lawsuit over its responsibility in the energy trading company's downfall.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI finished down 109.74 points, or 0.88 percent, at 12,422.86. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX dropped 11.86 points, or 0.88 percent, to end at 1,341.13 -- marking the broader market's first decline in four days. The Nasdaq Composite Index slumped 16.69 points, or 0.71 percent, to close at 2,324.36.
After the bell, there was unnerving news from the technology front as Oracle Corp (ORCL.O), a major software maker, posted quarterly revenue that missed Wall Street's forecasts. Oracle shares slid 8.3 percent to $19.20 after the bell from their Nasdaq close at $20.94.
(c) 2008 Reuters
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| Other news from Business category: |
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MILAN (Reuters) - Alitalia will receive a capital injection of 700 million to 800 million euros from Italian businessmen as part of a plan to save the ailing carrier, newspaper Corriere della Sera reported on Sunday.
More
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LONDON (Reuters) - Profit warnings, breaches of key index levels, record oil prices, stressed consumers and investors seeking safety provide the background for markets this week, and many people are wondering how long this will all last.
More
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PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - NBC Universal and private equity firms Bain Capital and Blackstone Group said on Sunday they agreed to buy The Weather Channel from Landmark Communications.
More
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SEOUL (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor Co , South Korea's top auto maker, said on Sunday it had cut its local sales target for this year by 6 percent as record-breaking oil prices are hitting consumer sentiment in Asia's fourth-largest economy.
More
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AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France (Reuters) - A current slump in the global automotive sector could give fresh impetus to plans for consolidation within the industry, the head of French carmaker Renault said on Saturday.
More
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LONDON (Reuters) - Oil dropped below $144 a barrel on Friday, but was still within sight of record highs reached in the previous session when traders bought into the market ahead of a holiday weekend in the United States.
More
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BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission opened an in-depth investigation on Friday into BHP Billiton's $170 billion unsolicited bid for rival miner Rio Tinto , with prices of iron ore already soaring.
More
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SAO PAULO (Reuters) - World stocks edged lower on Friday, getting no relief from a decline in crude prices as concerns of further banking write-downs weighed on financial shares.
More
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PARIS (Reuters) - France's Banking Commission on Friday fined Societe Generale 4 million euros ($6.3 million) for serious breaches in internal controls revealed by the French bank's 4.9 billion euro rogue trading loss.
More
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LONDON (Reuters) - Oil dropped below $145 a barrel on Friday, but was still within sight of record highs reached in the previous session when traders bought into the market ahead of a holiday weekend in the United States.
More
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| Software News |
'Containers' Out Perform Virtualization For KV Pharmaceuticals
(TechWeb)
TechWeb - InformationWeek - With a container approach from Parallels' Virtuozzo, memory consumption and processor overhead are reduced through the use of one operating system per host.
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Nokia 6220 Smartphone Released
(TechWeb)
TechWeb - InformationWeek - The Nokia 6220 classic design includes 3G connectivity, compatibility with Microsoft Office applications, Bluetooth capabilities, and a 5-megapixel camera.
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Microsoft Hopes Office Subscription Plan Will Counter Free Software
(TechWeb)
TechWeb - InformationWeek - Microsoft is counting on Equipt's convenience factor to help it fend off threats from Google, IBM, and others that are offering free desktop productivity suites.
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Three Startups To Solve SaaS Integration Problems
(TechWeb)
TechWeb - InformationWeek - Boomi, SnapLogic, and Cast Iron are rolling out new offerings designed to help companies integrate software running in the cloud with onsite software.
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Blogger Opinion: Why We Left NetSuite
(NewsFactor)
NewsFactor - I first met our solution provider, Ray Tetlow, the founder of Skyytek, on the Oracle Small Business (OSB from now on) user forum. At the time we were struggling with version 7 of OSB. It was really incomplete and badly tested software. Not only was it painfully slow, but also a lot of the features on which we based our purchasing decision just did not work.
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Krugle enhances code search appliance
(InfoWorld)
InfoWorld - Krugle plans to ship next week an upgrade to its search appliance for enterprise software development projects, which makes it easier for teams of developers to maintain code.
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