| Sector Snap: E-Brokers
A BMO Capital Markets analyst late Tuesday initiated coverage of Internet stock brokerages, saying they are benefiting from retail clients who want more tools for investing on their own. These "e-brokers" target mass affluent clients, or clients who are too rich to leave their money in a commercial bank but not quite rich enough to invest in a hedge fund or investment bank. BMO Capital Markets analyst Michael Vinciquerra initiated coverage of Omaha, Neb.-based TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. with an "Outperform" rating. He said TD Ameritrade is well positioned to benefit from investors' desire for help managing their own assets. Vinciquerra's price target of $23.50 is more than 50 percent higher than the stock's close at $15.31 Monday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Apollo Management, LP Completes Acquisition of Realogy Corporation
PARSIPPANY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Realogy Corporation today announced the completion of its merger with an affiliate of Apollo Management, L.P. The transaction was consummated at an aggregate enterprise value of approximately $8.5 billion. Realogy stock will cease to trade on the New York Stock Exchange before the opening of the market today. Under private ownership, Realogy will no longer be listed on the NYSE. Pursuant to the terms of the merger agreement entered into on December 15, 2006 and adopted by Realogy's stockholders at a special meeting on March 30, 2007, Realogy stockholders are entitled to receive $30.00 in cash for each share of Realogy common stock that they hold. The conversion of shares of stockholders who hold Realogy shares through a bank or broker will be handled by the bank or broker.
Zach Johnson's stock worth millions
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- They sat down in a conference room and bought Zach Johnson for 500 bucks a share. A doctor, a lawyer, a banker, an engineer, a real estate broker, a few insurance guys and the owner of a janitorial business. They drew up a contract, one that wasn't designed to make anyone rich. They already were rich enough, every one of these 12 investors who were friends and acquaintances of Johnson's father, Dave, and distinguished members of the Elmcrest Country Club in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Zach Johnson wasn't in the room. They cut a deal with the Drake University golfer, anyway, out of the goodness of their heartland hearts. Lon Feddersen, insurance man, went for four shares at two grand. The most ambitious investor purchased 10 shares at five grand. Up front, everyone was told the agreement would die when Johnson made it to the PGA Tour.
US MEDICAL DEVICE FIRMS MAY BE ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY JAPANESE ...
Average regulatory approval times for new medical devices in Japan were longer than those in other principal global markets, and that may adversely affect U.S. medical device and equipment firms, reports the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) in its publication Medical Devices and Equipment: Competitive Conditions Affecting U.S. Trade in Japan and Other Principal Foreign Markets. .
Forbes '100 Best' have local connections
Now a part-time shift supervisor at the Starbucks at the Shoppes at College Hills in Normal, Kelly has found a supportive group of co-workers working together for an organized company — so much so she's never worked for one that's better.She's not alone in her thinking.Fortune magazine recently named Starbucks as one of its 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2007. Google topped the list at No. 1. Other companies with a Twin City connection that made the cut include Cisco Systems, Edward Jones, Pella, Aflac, Marriott International and A.G. Edwards.Local workers point to a company's focus on employees, benefit packages and professional training as reasons why.“Starbucks gets a lot of bad publicity because they're a corporation and they're on every corner in some big cities, but what it comes down to is they take care of their employees better than anyone I've ever worked for," Kelly said.Perks of the jobFor starters, at Starbucks, employees — or partners as they call themselves — can participate in a 401k plan and buy company stock at a discounted rate.
What Journalism Should Know About Sam Zell
In CJR's January/February issue, The Audit's bosses on the other side of the cubicle encouraged Tribune Co. to exit the newspaper business with a tartly worded editorial headlined, “Time to Go." Now, Tribune appears to be on the brink of doing so. I had no idea we were so influential. As it happens, the leading bidder for the media giant, according to reports in two Tribune properties, the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, is Chicago real-estate titan Sam Zell, though rival bidders are still in it. [UPDATE 4.02: The Tribune has just been sold to Sam Zell] Still, a question arises: What kind of steward would Zell make for those civic assets, as well as the Baltimore Sun, Hartford Courant and Tribune's other storied media outlets? Put it this way: The Audit only wishes Royko and Mencken, former employees of papers now in Trib Co.'s hands, could be around to write about it.
If Blackstone Is Selling, Why Are You Buying?: Matthew Lynn
March 21 (Bloomberg) -- One by one, the big companies of the alternative investment industry are selling. Blackstone Group LP, the leveraged buyout firm that has spent $160 billion taking companies private in the past two decades, has just announced its initial public offering. Fortress Investment Group LLC, which manages hedge and private- equity funds, listed its shares in February and the stock almost doubled on the first day it was traded. In Europe, booming hedge funds are queuing up to go public. Polar Capital Holdings Plc did so last month, and Marshall Wace LLP raised 1.5 billion euros ($2 billion) through an IPO for one of its hedge funds late last year. Yet if Blackstone, Fortress and other alternative- investment managers are selling their shares, should you be buying? Probably not.
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