BusinessWeek Headlines

BusinessWeek Headlines
Nortel's Road to Bankruptcy 01/16/09
As a long-distance runner, Mike Zafirovski is used to daunting challenges. An Ironman triathlete unafraid of long, hard slogs, the CEO of Nortel Networks (NT) knew when he took the job back in 2005 that turning around the struggling Canadian telecommunications equipment maker would be no easy task. But you can bet Zafirovski never expected the road, however bumpy, would lead to bankruptcy.
Europe's Investing Climate: A Deepening Chill 01/16/09
A deteriorating environment for investors in Europe is yet more evidence that the global economic crisis will not go gently into the New Year.
Merrill Lynch Turns Into a Black Hole for Bank of America 01/16/09
One deal too many. That could be the epitaph of many CEOs -- Jerry Levin of Time Warner (TWX) and Ken Thompson of Wachovia (WFC) come to mind -- who built their companies through ever-bigger mergers and then watched those crowning acquisitions become their downfall. Now the question is: Will Merrill Lynch come to represent Bank of America (BAC) CEO Ken Lewis' Waterloo as well?
What Yahoo Needs from Bartz Right Now 01/15/09
With a new chief executive chosen from well outside its decaying orbit, Yahoo (YHOO) now has one last chance to salvage itself from a slow spiral into irrelevance. On Jan. 13, the struggling Internet icon appointed Carol Bartz, the executive chairman and former CEO of computer design software firm Autodesk (ADSK), to succeed co-founder Jerry Yang at Yahoo's helm.
Stocks Sink on Gloomy Data, Fed Outlook 01/15/09
U.S. stocks closed sharply lower Wednesday, as investors digested a weak Beige Book report on economic conditions from the Federal Reserve, which followed news of a 2.7% plunge in U.S. December retail sales, marking a record sixth straight month of declines. Major indexes were each lower by 3% or more.
Get Cell Phones into Schools 01/15/09
Evidence abounds that many schools don't consider technology central to their core mission.
Investing: Good News for Newsletters? 01/14/09
If investing newsletters were stocks, what would the financial gurus who produce them think of their prospects? The number of subscribers of financial newsletters has been declining steadily for the past 10 years, which "is more a phenomenon of the Internet than of bull and bear markets," according to Mark Hulbert, publisher of Hulbert's Financial Digest, which rates the performance of paid investing newsletters. "Even at the top of the bull market in 2007, there were a lot fewer subscriptions, half of what there were in 1999."...
Movers: Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Alcoa, GE, Yahoo, WellPoint 01/14/09
Citigroup (C) and Morgan Stanley (MS) announced they have reached a definitive agreement to combine Morgan Stanley's Global Wealth Management Group and Citi's Smith Barney, Quilter in the UK, and Smith Barney Australia into a new joint venture to be called Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. Under the terms of the agreement, Citi will exchange 100% of its Smith Barney, Smith Barney Australia and Quilter units for a 49% stake in the joint venture and an upfront cash payment of $2.7 billion. Morgan Stanley will exchange 100% of its Global Wealth Management business for a 51% stake in the joint venture.
An Agenda for Obama's CTO 01/13/09
President-elect Barack Obama has promised to appoint the world's first governmental Chief Technology Officer [CTO]. On its transition Web site, www.change.gov, the incoming Administration has published a list of goals for the soon-to-be anointed CTO: broadband expansion, boosting science/tech education, health-care computerization, patent reform, and e-government.
Facebook, Meet the Locals 01/13/09
Victor Donselaar, a Dutchman living in Helsinki, Finland, finds the social network Facebook useful for staying in touch with new friends and business contacts from across Europe. But when he wants to connect with old buddies from the Netherlands, his social network of choice is strictly homegrown. "In Holland, none of my friends are on Facebook," Donselaar says. Instead, he notes, they're on a popular Dutch site called Hyves.
Stocks Fall as Jobs News Points Up Weak Economy 01/12/09
U.S. stocks finished broadly lower Friday on light trading volume following a report December nonfarm payrolls fell 524,000 after plunging a revised 584,000 in October, and the unemployment rate jumped to 7.2% from 6.8%.
TD Ameritrade Dives into Thinkorswim 01/12/09
You would think that the widespread market carnage over the past year or more would be enough to scare most retail investors away from risky investments like options, but that's not the signal being sent by TD Ameritrade's (AMTD) proposed cash-and-stock deal, valued at $606 million, to acquire online options broker Thinkorswim Group (SWIM), announced on Jan. 8. Ameritrade is the No. 2 online broker in terms of market capitalization, behind Charles Schwab (SCHW).
Stocks End Mixed Ahead of Jobs Report 01/11/09
U.S. stocks closed mixed Thursday, with the Dow industrials lagging broader-market indexes ahead of Friday's December U.S. nonfarm payrolls data. Trading was light but volatile ahead of the data, with the consensus forecast calling for a 490,000 decline in December after a 533,000 drop in November and a rise in the jobless rate to 6.9%.
Obama Begins Selling Americans the Stimulus Plan 01/11/09
President-elect Barack Obama rocketed to national prominence and won the battle for the nation's highest office in large part thanks to his extraordinary communication skills. Now, just 12 days before he takes office, he's turning to those skills to convince Americans that his ambitious $775 billion stimulus plan will go a long way to helping pull the U.S. economy out of its deep funk.
Marcial: Hot Stock Bets for 2009 01/08/09
What now, Dow Jones? Without a doubt, the big question confronting investors is whether the stock market has bottomed, with the Dow Jones industrial average recently up some 7% in just