Bizness Lounge

Tuesday, 21 April 2015

Boutique banks to suffer most if Comcast-Time Warner Cable deal vetoed

(Reuters) - Hints that U.S. regulators could veto Comcast Corp's proposed $45 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable Inc have INVESTMENT

bankers worried about whether they will GET PAID

, with smaller advisory firms particularly on edge.

Boutique INVESTMENT

banks such as Allen & Company, Centerview Partners and Paul Taubman's PJT Partners have limited resources compared to their larger brethren, and they use them to win mandates on a few big deals. Yet it is megadeals such as the Comcast-Time Warner Cable buyout, that carry the most regulatory risk.

"Big banks have many deals going on, and they can afford to lose one more, even though it is painful. Smaller firms are less diversified, so for

Iran wants OPEC to pave way for its extra oil production when sanctions lifted ANKARA

(Reuters) - Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) should prepare for extra Iranian crude production when Western sanctions on Tehran are lifted, Iran's oil minister was quoted on Tuesday by state news agency IRNA as saying.

"We expect the members of OPEC to pave the ground for (an) increase of Iran's oil production that will reach global markets when sanctions are lifted," Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said during a meeting with his Venezuelan counterpart Asdrubal Chavez in Tehran, the agency reported.

Iran, once OPEC's second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia, hopes to boost crude exports by as much as 1 million barrels per day (bpd) if Tehran and six major powers finalize a nuclear agreement by a June 30 deadline.

Sanctions imposed by the

Lockheed Martin profit falls 6 percent on fewer jet deliveries

(Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N), the Pentagon's No. 1 weapons supplier, reported a 6 percent fall in quarterly profit, partly due to fewer aircraft deliveries.

Weapons makers, including Lockheed and Raytheon Co (RTN.N), have increased focus on international markets and the cybersecurity business as weak U.S. defense spending hits revenue.

Sales in Lockheed's aeronautics business, its largest, fell 7.4 percent to $3.13 billion in the first quarter ended March 29. The business makes

Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images

President Barack Obama speaks during a meeting with leaders from the Trans-Pacific Partnership at the US Embassy in Beijing on November 10, 2014.

The 12-nation Pacific trade pact would create nearly a quarter of a million U.S. jobs due to increased foreign INVESTMENT

in the United States, a business group estimated on Monday, in the first look at the deal's employment impact.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a potential legacy-defining achievement for President Barack Obama, is near completion but has run into opposition from Democrats and

Comcast Deal Collapse Would Kill Other Mergers in Domino Effect

by Gerry Smith Alex Sherman

Brian Roberts, chairman and chief executive officer of Comcast Corp. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

The potential collapse of Comcast Corp.’s merger with Time Warner Cable Inc. wouldn’t just be a setback for those two companies. It would also unwind other pending deals and have a wide-reaching impact on the cable industry.
Staff attorneys at the Justice Department’s antitrust division are nearing a recommendation to block Comcast.’s plan to buy Time Warner Cable and combine the two largest U.S. cable providers, according to people familiar with the matter.
A rejection would be a blow to Comcast, which would have to give up on valuable cable and broadband assets in major U.S. cities including New York and Los Angeles. The $45.2 billion merger proposal is also a way for Philadelphia-based Comcast to fend off competition from phone companies, satellite providers and Web services like Netflix Inc. that have

Sony Lawyer Warns Media on Use of Documents Posted by WikiLeaks

by Lucas Shaw

WikiLeaks’ publication this week of more than 200,000 internal Sony Pictures documents reopened a painful wound for the studio, part of Tokyo-based Sony Corp. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg

A lawyer for Sony Pictures Entertainment, responding to the publication of hacked company documents on WikiLeaks, sent letters to media outlets urging them not to make use of the data.
“SPE does not consent to your possession, review, copying, dissemination, publication, uploading, downloading, or making any use of the Stolen Information,” David Boies, with the law firm of Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, said in the April 17 letter, which was reviewed by Bloomberg News.
WikiLeaks’ publication this week of more than 200,000 internal Sony Pictures documents reopened a painful wound for the studio, part of Tokyo-based Sony Corp. Its computers were hacked last year by cyberterrorists linked to North Korea by the U.S. government. The attackers were

U.S. consumer prices edge up, supporting Fed rate rise

WASHINGTON | By Lucia Mutikani

(Reuters) - U.S. consumer prices increased for a second straight month in March on rising gasoline and housing costs, a sign of an uptick in inflation that should keep the Federal Reserve on course to start raising interest rates this year.
March's broad-based price gains bolster the U.S. central bank's long-held view that inflation will gradually move toward its 2 percent target as the dampening effect of lower energy prices fades.
"The data should allay the disinflation concerns that predominated earlier this year and, on the margin, increase the Fed's confidence that inflation will eventually move toward its target," said Michelle Girard, chief economist at RBS in Stamford, Connecticut.
The Labor Department said on Friday its

G20 more upbeat on growth, but officials fret over Greece

WASHINGTON | By Anna Yukhananov and Jason Lange

(Reuters) - The Group of 20 leading economies struck a hopeful tone on the outlook for global growth on Friday, even as officials fretted that Athens' inability to strike a deal with its lenders could upset Europe's tentative recovery.
In a communique after a two-day meeting, G20 finance ministers and central bankers welcomed brighter economic signs in rich nations, but lamented weakness in emerging markets.
"Risks to the global economy are more balanced since we last met," the finance officials said. "Near-term prospects in advanced economies, notably the euro area and Japan, have improved recently, while the U.S. and UK continue to record solid growth, which could support a stronger global recovery."
Still, the group of developed and emerging market nations, which represent around 80 percent of global economic output, cited challenges from an array of sources, including exchange rate volatility and geopolitical tensions.
Greece was not mentioned by name in the communique and Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, speaking on behalf of the G20, said the issue of

Oil falls from 2015 peaks, Brent jumps 9.6 percent on the week

NEW YORK | By Robert Gibbons

(Reuters) - Crude futures fell from 2015 peaks in choppy trading on Friday, but Brent's 9.6 percent weekly gain was its biggest in more than five years as Middle East turmoil and signs of lower U.S. production lifted prices.
U.S. crude also retreated from its 2015 high, but registered a fifth straight weekly gain, which at 7.9 percent was the biggest since it jumped 13.5 percent in the week to Feb. 25 2011.
Brent June crude fell 53 cents to settle at $63.45 a barrel, having swung from $62.95 to $64.50 after hitting $64.95, its 2015 high, on Thursday.
Brent's second straight weekly gain, the fourth in five weeks, was its biggest since a 9.9 percent rally in the week to Oct. 16, 2009.
U.S. May crude, expiring on Tuesday, fell 97 cents to settle at

After 53-year run, Univision to end 'Sabado Gigante'

(Reuters) - Univision Network will have a giant hole in its Saturday night line-up - "Sabado Gigante," its top-rated variety show, will be going off the air after a record-breaking 53 years, the broadcaster said on Friday.
Created and hosted by Chile-born Don Francisco since 1962, "Sabado Gigante," or "Giant Saturday," is the No. 1 rated show on Saturday night among U.S. Hispanics and is the longest running TV variety show in the world, according to Guinness World Records.
With its mix of humor, talent contests, family reunions, celebrities and musical acts packed into a frenetically paced three-hour program, "Sabado Gigante" has been a staple of television throughout Latin America, as well as an object of scorn for intellectuals and comedians.
The last show will run on Sept. 19 this year and Don Francisco, whose real name is Mario Kreutzberger, will host entertainment specials and help develop