Monday
Kraft (KFT) officially went hostile. The food conglomerate put out a hostile bid of $16.3 billion for Cadbury (CBY) on Monday. Cadbury rejected the offer as “derisory,” however. The company said the new proposal is “of less value and lower than the current Cadbury share price.”
Plummeting Dollar Dept.: The value of the U.S. dollar fell to a 15-month low, propelling the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a new 2009 high of 10227. The average rose 204 points. And following in its footsteps, crude oil hit $80 a barrel and gold rose to an all-time high, above $1100 an ounce.
Tuesday
AIG (AIG), making progress in its plan to restructure, will likely be able to repay its government aid, according to Moody’s. AIG recently posted a quarterly profit for the second time in a row; however, its business is still weak. The results do show stabilization, though, according to Moody’s, making it likely that taxpayers will see their investment in the company returned.
Meanwhile, two Bear Stearns hedge fund managers were acquitted by a jury Tuesday. The two senior executives, Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin, were charged with lying to investors during the subprime mortgage crisis. The alleged fraud, according to prosecutors, cost investors roughly $1.6 billion and almost destroyed the investment bank itself, before JPMorgan Chase (JPM) bought it.
Wednesday
The Wall Street Journal reported that AIG CEO Robert Benmosche was considering leaving the company, just three months after taking the position, frustrated by the pay regulations being imposed on the insurer (as well as several other government aid-receiving institutions). Benmosche later in the day wrote a memo to his employees, reassuring them he is “committed” to the company.
Meanwhile, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) said it plans to buy 3Com, a computer networking company, Wednesday. In a $2.7 billion deal that’s been approved by both companies’ boards, HP will pay $7.90 a share.
And the Dow hit another recent high Wednesday afternoon, rising 44 points to close at 10291, the highest level it’s been at in 13 months.
Thursday
Intel (INTC) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) hugged it out Thursday, ending their antitrust and patent disputes in a settlement from Intel. Intel will pay $1.25 billion to AMD, and AMD agreed to drop all outstanding litigation against Intel. However, this didn’t prevent New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo from dropping his antitrust suit against Intel. He said his suit is on behalf of New Yorkers who he said have been hurt because of Intel’s alleged monopolistic abuses.
Credit Troubles Dept.: The Federal Housing Administration said its capital reserves have tanked, falling below the 2% requirement mandated by Congress to just 0.53%. Heavy loan losses have hurt the agency, but it said “under most economic scenarios” it would be able to maintain reserves “above zero.” Many worry that the administration could be next in line to receive a government bailout.
Friday
Friday began with a disappointing report on consumer sentiment from teh University of Michigan. The index fell to 66.0, its weakest level in over three months, amid pessimism for job opportunities. The reading was well below the 71.0 economists were expecting.
Two former employees of Bernie Madoff were arrested Friday on charges of falsifying records. Computer programmers Jerome O’Hara and George Perez allegedly created programs and altered account records in order to hide Madoff’s scheme. They both face a maximum of 30 years in prison and fines of over $5 million, if found guilty.
Two former employees of Bernie Madoff were arrested Friday on charges of falsifying records. Computer programmers Jerome O’Hara and George Perez allegedly created programs and altered account records in order to hide Madoff’s scheme. They both face a maximum of 30 years in prison and fines of over $5 million, if found guilty.
Copyright 2009 by FoxBusiness.com
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