Financial news on August 17, 2010

Business and Financial news
Aisle by Aisle, an App That Pushes Bargains

Major retailers are working with a new smartphone app called Shopkick that tracks and offers promotions to users as they shop. Read more..

By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD - The New York Times

Aspen to Acquire Sigma Unit

Aspen Pharmacare Holdings, Africa’s largest drugmaker, agreed to buy a unit of Sigma Pharmaceuticals for $806 million in cash to gain assets from a company that’s lost about half its value in the past year, Bloomberg News reported. Read more..

By DEALBOOK - The New York Times

Barclays Agrees to Pay $298 Million for Violating U.S. Trade Law

The Justice Department said Barclays had illegally engaged in financial transactions with banks in Cuba, Iran, Libya, Sudan and Myanmar. Read more..

By JOHN ELIGON - The New York Times

Canadian Takeover Rules Weigh on Potash

The Deal Professor examines how Potash may find itself with dwindling options in fending off a hostile takeover bid from BHP Billiton because of Canadian restrictions on defensive maneuvers. Read more..

By STEVEN DAVIDOFF SOLOMON - The New York Times

Ellison Jr. in Paramount Deal

David Ellison, son of Oracle founder and chief executive Larry Ellison, has raised $350 million to co-finance movies with Paramount Pictures, The Los Angeles Times reported. Read more..

By DEALBOOK - The New York Times

Morning Take-Out

More purported fraud at for-profit colleges; speculation that the Lehman Brothers case is heating up; what real inflation looks like. Read more..

By DEALBOOK - The New York Times

New Zealand Billionaire to Buy Maker of Hefty Bags

The Reynolds Group, part of the global packaging business owned by New Zealand’s richest man, will pay about $4.4 billion for Pactiv, the maker of the Hefty brand trash bags. Read more..

By DEALBOOK - The New York Times

Potash Rejects $38.6 Billion Offer From BHP

Potash, the Canadian fertilizer giant, said on Tuesday that it has rejected a $38.6 billion unsolicited merger offer from BHP Billiton, setting the stage for a potentially massive takeover fight. Read more..

By DEALBOOK - The New York Times

Rank Expected to Acquire Pactiv

Pactiv is poised to announce a deal to be acquired by New Zealand’s Rank Group, a person familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal. Read more..

By DEALBOOK - The New York Times

WarmlyYours

Julia Billen explains how she have saved her floor heating systems company from the claws of the recession. Read more..

None None - The New York Times

Stock Markets

Values are reported in US Dollars

StockTicker symbolOpenHighLowCloseVolume
Cisco SystemsCSCO22.0722.2921.9522.0582.9M
General ElectricGE15.6615.7415.5015.5860.9M
IntelINTC19.7219.8719.5019.5360.8M
MicrosoftMSFT24.7124.9624.6024.7152.9M
PfizerPFE16.2316.4016.1316.2750.5M
Wells Fargo & Co.WFC25.9626.0125.2125.3449.5M
JPMorgan ChaseJPM37.9738.0737.4037.4833.9M
AT&T Inc.T26.7027.1026.7026.9727.5M
HP Inc.HPQ40.9941.3540.7240.8223.6M
ComcastCMCSA17.8818.0117.7217.7623M
Home DepotHD28.0328.8027.7128.3122.5M
Oracle Corp.ORCL22.8623.2422.7223.0522.5M
ExxonMobilXOM60.4961.1660.1460.8220.1M
Verizon CommunicationsVZ30.1030.3829.9930.1717.7M
Wal-Mart StoresWMT50.7951.6250.6651.0216.3M
AltriaMO22.7222.9922.5322.9215.2M
AppleAAPL250.08254.63249.20251.9715.1M
Johnson & JohnsonJNJ58.9359.4858.5059.2213.5M
Abbott LaboratoriesABT50.5050.8950.2550.6912.6M
Bristol-Myers SquibbBMY26.4026.7926.2626.5912.3M
ConocoPhillipsCOP55.3856.2554.9355.8711.6M
Procter & GamblePG60.3160.9259.9360.2910.9M
MerckMRK35.1935.6234.9435.5410.7M
Gilead SciencesGILD34.0334.6033.7734.1610.2M
Walt Disney & Co.DIS33.9233.9933.5133.769.88M
Coca-ColaKO56.0256.4255.5056.129.03M
McDonald'sMCD72.0873.6571.7473.227.39M
ChevronCVX77.5778.0877.0877.777.36M
United TechnologiesUTX70.8571.3369.9170.516.49M
SchlumbergerSLB60.0060.9959.6460.315.84M
UnitedHealth GroupUNH32.2332.5831.9832.355.54M
AmazonAMZN127.34129.98126.79128.865.04M
AmgenAMGN53.8954.3853.6953.965M
3MMMM82.9484.8982.6784.094.37M
PepsicoPEP65.6866.0065.2265.554.36M
BoeingBA65.1666.9164.6565.994.3M
International Business MachinesIBM128.83129.85127.91128.454.3M
Berkshire HathawayBRK.B77.4778.1977.0077.534.12M
AlphabetGOOGL488.53494.70486.03490.523.78M
VisaV73.4573.7772.4473.363.33M
Union PacificUNP73.9875.6873.9874.852.57M
Exchange Rates of August 17, 2010
CurrenciesExchange Rates
US DollarJapanese Yen1 USD = 85.560 JPY1 JPY = 0.012 USD
US DollarCanadian Dollar1 USD = 1.033 CAD1 CAD = 0.968 USD
US DollarSwiss Franc1 USD = 1.043 CHF1 CHF = 0.958 USD
US DollarChinese Yuan1 USD = 6.793 CNY1 CNY = 0.147 USD
EuroJapanese Yen1 EUR = 110.210 JPY1 JPY = 0.009 EUR
EuroPound Sterling1 EUR = 0.827 GBP1 GBP = 1.209 EUR
EuroAustralian Dollar1 EUR = 1.422 AUD1 AUD = 0.703 EUR
EuroCanadian Dollar1 EUR = 1.330 CAD1 CAD = 0.752 EUR
EuroSwiss Franc1 EUR = 1.344 CHF1 CHF = 0.744 EUR
EuroChinese Yuan1 EUR = 8.749 CNY1 CNY = 0.114 EUR
Japanese YenPound Sterling1 JPY = 0.750 GBP1 GBP = 1.333 JPY
Japanese YenAustralian Dollar1 JPY = 1.290 AUD1 AUD = 0.775 JPY
Japanese YenCanadian Dollar1 JPY = 1.207 CAD1 CAD = 0.829 JPY
Japanese YenSwiss Franc1 JPY = 1.219 CHF1 CHF = 0.820 JPY
Pound SterlingAustralian Dollar1 GBP = 1.720 AUD1 AUD = 0.581 GBP
Pound SterlingCanadian Dollar1 GBP = 1.608 CAD1 CAD = 0.622 GBP
Pound SterlingSwiss Franc1 GBP = 1.625 CHF1 CHF = 0.615 GBP
Pound SterlingChinese Yuan1 GBP = 10.570 CNY1 CNY = 0.095 GBP
Australian DollarCanadian Dollar1 AUD = 0.935 CAD1 CAD = 1.070 AUD
Australian DollarSwiss Franc1 AUD = 0.945 CHF1 CHF = 1.059 AUD
Australian DollarChinese Yuan1 AUD = 6.150 CNY1 CNY = 0.163 AUD
Canadian DollarSwiss Franc1 CAD = 1.010 CHF1 CHF = 0.990 CAD
Canadian DollarChinese Yuan1 CAD = 6.576 CNY1 CNY = 0.152 CAD
Swiss FrancChinese Yuan1 CHF = 6.508 CNY1 CNY = 0.154 CHF

See what else happened on August 17, 2010