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2012 Honda CR-V Unveiled at L.A. Auto ShowThe 2012 Honda CR-V was launched at the Los Angeles Auto Show today. ECB Hikes Key Interest Rate To Check InflationIn an apparent effort to check the rising inflation, the European Central Bank (ECB) raised its interest rate to 1.25% from 1%, the first increase by the ECB since 2008. Addressing a press conference following the decision, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said the hike was necessary to "firmly anchor" rising prices. He added that despite the hike, interest rates are still low, "very accommodative" and will boost further economic growth. Dish Network Wins Auction to Acquire Blockbuster's Movie Rental BusinessDish Network Corp. offers from Carl Icahn and other investors to win an auction for bankrupt Blockbuster Inc.’s movie-rental business with a bid of $320 million. The deal will now require approval from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Burton Lifland. The deal will help Blockbuster, once the world’s largest movie-rental chain, to reorganize itself instead of being sold off by liquidators. Dish is likely to pay approximately $228 million in cash to acquire the company. Nasdaq Index Rebalancing Hits Apple SharesThe late-night rebalancing of Nasdaq of its benchmark Nasdaq-100 Index affected Apple’s shares as it led to a selloff in the shares of the Cupertino-based firm. Many fund managers have expressed surprise over the timing of the announcement. Though the rebalancing is a normal event, but the Nasdaq’s decision to announce it at around midnight made the early trading more volatile. Service Sector’s Expansion Slowed In MarchThe service sector expanded in March for the 16th consecutive month, but the pace of growth was slowed than February, which was the fastest in the last five years. A private trade group, the Institute for Supply Management, today said that its index of service-sector activity dropped to 57.3 percent last month. It was 59.7 percent in February. According to the group the decline in March was the first decline in seven month, but there is nothing to worry about as any reading above 50 percent indicates expansion. China Hikes Interest Rates to Deal With InflationChina hiked its interest rates for the fourth time since the end of the global financial crisis. U.S. Futures Go Down, Euro FallsIn a bad news for investors, Portuguese bonds fell and the cost of insuring the soaring debt of the European nation touched a new high. The euro also slumped after international ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service said a bailout of Portugal is on the cards. U.S. stock index futures and oil also declined. The yield on Portugal’s 10-year bond advanced 17 basis points to 8.76 percent in New York, while the credit- default swaps increased nine basis points to 589 basis points. The euro went down 0.4 percent against the dollar. Standard & Poor’s Index futures shed 0.4 percent as electronics giant Apple Inc. lost 3.1 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index however, did not show much change. Epsilon Data Breach Hits Several BanksIn a bad news for TiVo customers, they were warned that the recent data breach at Epsilon had allowed the hackers to access their e-mail addresses. The email addresses of customers of JPMorgan Chase, US Bank, Krogers and a number of other major companies were also hacked and their customers were also issued similar warnings. The Business Courier reported that Kroger Co. had notified its customers that information had been stolen. Texas-based Epsilon, an e-mail marketing giant, informed its customers that hackers had managed to access its e-mail records on Friday. McDonald's To Add 50,000 New JobsBurger giant McDonald's is also helping the recovery of the U.S. labor market by adding 50,000 new workers on April 19. The fast-food giant McDonald's today said that its new "Mcjobs" will staff restaurants across the U.S. It will include crew and management positions, part-time and full-time which will make the total workforce in the country to 700,000. KKR To Acquire Pfizer’s Capsule Arm For $2.4 billionWorld’s biggest drugmaker Pfizer Inc. (PFE) today announced that it will sell its Capsugel manufacturing business to KKR & Co. for $2.38 billion in cash. The company however, added that it will buy back additional shares with the proceeds. Capsugel recorded $750 million in revenue last year and manufactured more than 180 billion hard capsules. “We share Capsugel’s enthusiasm for its future potential to grow, develop and continue to deliver an unmatched quality of products,” said Henry Kravis, co-chief executive of private-equity powerhouse KKR, in a statement. Solvay Agrees To Acquire Rhodia For $4.8 BillionBelgian chemical company Solvay today announced that it will buy Rhodia of France for $4.8 Billion, getting a chance to establish its foothold in the high-growth emerging markets. The cash tender offer made by the Belgian company represents a 50 percent premium on closing price of the French company on Friday. The news of the deal was first reported in the Belgian business newspaper De Tijd. The report said that the deal was unanimously supported by Rhodia’s board. Calling Rhodia “the cheapest stock in the European chemicals space,” Jan Hein De Vroe, an analyst at ING told New York Times that “the acquisition makes strategic sense.” Transocean Awards Bonuses For 2010The executives of Transocean, the world’s largest offshore rig company, must be feeling happy these days as the company awarded them bonuses for 2010, citing “the best year in safety performance in our company’s history,” despite the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a regulatory filing. “Notwithstanding the tragic loss of life in the Gulf of Mexico, we achieved an exemplary statistical safety record as measured by our total recordable incident rate and total potential severity rate,” Transocean said in a filing.
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