mergers

It is the first of January - hangover day, football day (for those of us who follow the PL) and a general day of relaxation, although this time around the first workday of the year is already desperately close. For some, it is also a day…

This video is based on the cover story from this week's Economist.  See the written version here.

Spanish savings banks, called cajas, are finally moving.  It took the central bank to take over CajaSur, which is controlled by the Catholic church in Cardoba, ten days ago to light a fire under the others.  There were about 45 of…

Last spring and summer I wrote a series of articles on the bleak situation in Spain, centred on the Spanish Cajas (savings banks), the imploded housing market and the high level of unemployment. The gist of these posts was that Spain faced…

We are now hearing former Merrill Lynch CEO Stan O'Neal's side of the story for the first time since he resigned in October 2007. In a story by William Cohan in Fortune Magazine, O'Neal paints a picture of Merrill's fall from grace that at…

The video is pretty all-encompassing and runs just under 30 minutes. Buffett is down on Kraft-Cadbury, raising rates and the bank tax. He is up on Wells Fargo. That sums it up pretty well.     Quotes On Wells:…

From Reuters: A deal by General Motors Co GM.UL to sell its Saab brand collapsed on Tuesday when the buyer pulled out in a move that threatens the Swedish luxury brand with closure. GM had been aiming to close a deal by the end of…

This is a crucial question because Devon Energy, the Oklahoma-based independent oil and natural gas producer has just decided to put billion of dollars in Deep sea Gulf of Mexico assets on the market. Canada’s National Post reported:…

The sale to Canadian auto parts maker Magna International and its partner, Russian lender Sberbank is off. With bankruptcy now behind it, General Motors now feels confident it can proceed with Opel under the GM umbrella. From the GM press…

I had a feeling there was an energy component to the Berkshire Hathaway decision to buy Burlington Northern Santa Fe. And now comes the evidence via coal, a major freight on BNSF’s tracks. But, there is a lot more to this acquisition than…