More than 110 venture-backed companies nationwide were able to cash out through mergers, acquisitions, buyouts or initial public offerings in the third quarter, though only one of the businesses is based in Illinois.
Filed under: Investing
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May 6 ‘flash crash’ triggered by e-mini trades
Bloomberg News | A mutual fund’s routine effort to hedge against losses helped set off a chain of events that turned an orderly selloff on May 6 into a crash that erased $862 billion in U.S. equity value in less than 20 minutes, according to two people with direct knowledge of regulators’ findings. Get the full story »
Goldman’s Tourre: SEC suit should be dismissed
Fabrice Tourre, a central figure in a controversial Goldman Sachs transaction, asked a judge to throw out a U.S. regulator’s fraud lawsuit against him, 2-1/2 months after the bank settled its part of the case for $550 million. Get the full story »
AIG could announce exit plan in days
American International Group is close to finalizing a plan for the U.S. government to sell its stake in the insurer and is hoping it will yield a profit for taxpayers who bailed out the company, Chairman Steve Miller said on Wednesday. Get the full story »
Madison Dearborn to buy software firm Fieldglass
Private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners LLC has struck its third deal in the past year to buy a Chicago-area company.
The Chicago-based buyout firm plans to acquire a majority stake in Fieldglass Inc., a software provider that helps such companies as Johnson & Johnson, American Airlines and GlaxoSmithKline manage their contract and temporary workforces. The deal values Fieldglass at more than $220 million.
It’s the fifth purchase that Madison Dearborn has made with its sixth fund, which raised $4 billion from universities, pension funds and other institutional investors. Get the full story »
Sep. 27, 2010 at 1:07 p.m.
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Filed under: Investing, Pharmaceuticals, Retail, Stock activity Analysts predict Walgreen dividend boost
Several analysts say another Walgreen Co. dividend boost may be in the offing. Walgreens, which raised its quarterly dividend 27 percent to 17.5 cents a share in July, may be looking to move closer its long-term dividend payout target of 30 percent to 35 percent net of earnings. Get the full story »
Societe Generale takes 5% stake in Fortune Brands
Societe Generale, the London-based banking giant, disclosed a 5 percent stake in Deerfield-based Fortune Brands in a filing this morning.
Fortune owns brands in a variety of categories including, premium spirits like Hornitos and Maker’s Mark, home and security hardware like Moen and Master Lock, and Golf stalwarts like Titleist and FootJoy.
Microsoft sells debt at record low rate
Microsoft sold $4.75 billion in new debt on Wednesday, some of it at the lowest U.S. corporate borrowing rate on record, as the world’s largest software company takes advantage of low interest rates to raise cash. Get the full story »
Sep. 22, 2010 at 11:50 a.m.
Filed under: Banking, Investigations, Investing, Policy, Politics, Regulations SEC watchdog: Timing of Goldman case ’suspicious’
Goldman Sachs chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein at the Senate hearing on the role of investment banks during the financial crisis, Apr. 27, 2010. (Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/MCT)
The timing of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s case against Goldman Sachs Group Inc. was “suspicious,” the federal regulator’s watchdog said Wednesday.
The SEC filed civil fraud charges against Goldman in mid-April, the same day the watchdog group released a damning report that accused the SEC of mishandling its probe of Allen Stanford’s alleged Ponzi scheme.
The report, authored by SEC Inspector General David Kotz, said the SEC had suspected as early as 1997 that Stanford was running a Ponzi scheme, but did nothing to stop it until late 2005. Get the full story »
William Blair sued over parking meter privatization
From Bloomberg | A Chicago resident claims investment firm William Blair & Co. failed to properly assess the value of a $1.15 billion, 75-year parking meter privatization contract for the city. She is suing the firm, seeking group status on behalf of the city’s 2.8 million residents.
Gold’s price could rise to new record in 2010
Gold could rally above $1,300 an ounce this year, setting successive all-time highs, as uncertainty about economic recovery and a sovereign debt crisis stoke investment interest, according to a closely watched industry report released Tuesday. Get the full story »
