Financial news on August 21, 2007

Business and Financial news
Can Private Equity Firms Get Out of Buyouts?

Amid the ever-tightening market for corporate debt, investors are already betting that some of the biggest deals may collapse, or at least be renegotiated. Read more..

By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN - The New York Times

China Relaxes a Barrier, Letting Citizens Invest in the Hong Kong Stock Market

The Chinese government announced today that it would allow mainland Chinese citizens to invest in the Hong Kong stock market. Read more..

By KEITH BRADSHER - The New York Times

Ex-Northwest Chief to Lead Delta Air

Delta Air Lines today named Richard H. Anderson, the former head of Northwest Airlines, as its new chief executive, passing over two Delta executives once considered the top candidates. Read more..

By MICHELINE MAYNARD and NICK BUNKLEY - The New York Times

Golf a Hit on Cruise Ships

Hitting golf balls into the ocean may be prohibited. But computerized simulators have cemented a lasting partnership between cruising and golf. Read more..

By PAUL BURNHAM FINNEY - The New York Times

Investors, on Edge, Grab Up Treasury Bills

In a sign that investors are fleeing investments that carry even the slightest hint of risk, the price of short-term government debt soared Monday. Read more..

By JEREMY W. PETERS - The New York Times

Memo Pad

FIRST COMMERCIAL A380 FLIGHT Singapore Airlines will begin auctioning seats on eBay next Monday for the first commercial flight of the A380 superjumbo jet, scheduled for Oct. 25 from Singapore to Sydney. Proceeds will go to charity. Singapore will... Read more..

By JOE SHARKEY - The New York Times

Nasdaq to Sell Stake in London Exchange

Abandoning its effort to buy the London exchange would allow Nasdaq to focus on its bid for the Swedish exchange operator OMX, where it faces a challenge from Borse Dubai. Read more..

By JULIA WERDIGIER - The New York Times

Plaintiffs Find Payday Elusive in Vioxx Cases

No one who has sued Merck over heart attacks or strokes suffered after taking Vioxx has received payments. Read more..

By ALEX BERENSON - The New York Times

Quick Bits: Hasta La Vista, Vista?

This is going to have to be really quick today. If you are stuck in an elevator today with some techie, you can probably fake it with this: Is Microsoft’s Vista having problems gaining acceptance? The booming sales of PCs this year says it is certainly not dissuading anyone from buying, but a few prominent […] Read more..

By DAMON DARLIN - The New York Times

The Web Way to Magazine Ad Sales

Vogue hopes a new broadband channel, which aims to serve as both an entertainment destination and a shopping Web site, will help it sell advertising. Read more..

By MARIA ASPAN - The New York Times

Stock Markets

Values are reported in US Dollars

Stock Ticker symbol Open High Low Close Volume
Intel INTC 23.91 24.05 23.71 23.89 58.1M
Microsoft MSFT 28.10 28.32 27.87 28.07 50.8M
Apple AAPL 122.21 128.96 121.00 127.57 46.5M
Cisco Systems CSCO 29.75 30.30 29.69 30.10 39.9M
Pfizer PFE 24.14 24.50 24.02 24.24 37.6M
General Electric GE 38.03 38.77 37.98 38.35 35.2M
Wells Fargo & Co. WFC 36.93 37.77 36.66 37.37 27.2M
ExxonMobil XOM 84.50 84.67 82.51 83.15 24M
Oracle Corp. ORCL 18.96 19.34 18.96 19.27 23.8M
Comcast CMCSA 24.37 24.98 24.35 24.52 23.7M
JPMorgan Chase JPM 46.12 47.08 45.75 46.20 23.6M
Wal-Mart Stores WMT 43.58 43.75 43.19 43.70 19.6M
Home Depot HD 33.80 34.66 33.60 34.30 18.8M
AT&T Inc. T 38.35 39.30 38.17 38.75 18.4M
ConocoPhillips COP 79.05 79.68 77.79 78.24 15.3M
HP Inc. HPQ 46.61 46.85 45.83 46.01 15.1M
Verizon Communications VZ 40.91 41.91 40.90 41.71 14M
Altria MO 66.63 67.82 66.61 67.22 13.5M
Johnson & Johnson JNJ 61.57 61.91 61.50 61.67 12.5M
Chevron CVX 84.14 85.25 83.57 84.30 11.3M
Walt Disney & Co. DIS 32.71 33.45 32.64 33.29 9.96M
Procter & Gamble PG 64.65 64.98 64.21 64.46 9.75M
Bristol-Myers Squibb BMY 28.18 28.63 27.87 28.14 8.56M
International Business Machines IBM 108.90 110.11 108.08 109.04 8.46M
Amazon AMZN 74.21 77.83 74.09 77.49 8.43M
Coca-Cola KO 54.40 54.85 53.98 54.03 8.39M
Merck MRK 50.02 50.52 48.74 49.77 8.32M
Amgen AMGN 49.25 49.98 49.09 49.24 8.2M
Abbott Laboratories ABT 51.90 52.67 51.64 52.36 7.82M
Alphabet GOOGL 498.94 508.16 497.77 506.61 7.21M
Schlumberger SLB 89.30 90.99 88.77 89.25 6.61M
UnitedHealth Group UNH 49.55 49.92 49.27 49.56 5.81M
McDonald's MCD 48.52 48.84 48.06 48.47 5.58M
United Technologies UTX 74.59 74.70 72.58 72.94 5.52M
Pepsico PEP 68.31 68.82 68.10 68.45 4.85M
Gilead Sciences GILD 37.58 38.01 37.40 37.73 3.33M
Boeing BA 96.83 97.24 96.07 96.95 3.25M
3M MMM 88.10 88.74 87.65 88.46 3.08M
Union Pacific UNP 112.00 112.22 109.34 109.62 2.1M
Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B 3989.00 3999.00 3937.00 3982.50 22.1K
Exchange Rates of August 21, 2007
CurrenciesExchange Rates
US Dollar Japanese Yen 1 USD = 114.420 JPY 1 JPY = 0.009 USD
US Dollar Canadian Dollar 1 USD = 1.062 CAD 1 CAD = 0.942 USD
US Dollar Swiss Franc 1 USD = 1.206 CHF 1 CHF = 0.829 USD
US Dollar Chinese Yuan 1 USD = 7.590 CNY 1 CNY = 0.132 USD
Euro Japanese Yen 1 EUR = 154.080 JPY 1 JPY = 0.006 EUR
Euro Pound Sterling 1 EUR = 0.679 GBP 1 GBP = 1.472 EUR
Euro Australian Dollar 1 EUR = 1.679 AUD 1 AUD = 0.596 EUR
Euro Canadian Dollar 1 EUR = 1.430 CAD 1 CAD = 0.699 EUR
Euro Swiss Franc 1 EUR = 1.624 CHF 1 CHF = 0.616 EUR
Japanese Yen Pound Sterling 1 JPY = 0.441 GBP 1 GBP = 2.269 JPY
Japanese Yen Australian Dollar 1 JPY = 1.089 AUD 1 AUD = 0.918 JPY
Japanese Yen Canadian Dollar 1 JPY = 0.928 CAD 1 CAD = 1.078 JPY
Japanese Yen Swiss Franc 1 JPY = 1.054 CHF 1 CHF = 0.949 JPY
Pound Sterling Australian Dollar 1 GBP = 2.472 AUD 1 AUD = 0.405 GBP
Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar 1 GBP = 2.105 CAD 1 CAD = 0.475 GBP
Pound Sterling Swiss Franc 1 GBP = 2.390 CHF 1 CHF = 0.418 GBP
Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar 1 AUD = 0.851 CAD 1 CAD = 1.175 AUD
Australian Dollar Swiss Franc 1 AUD = 0.967 CHF 1 CHF = 1.035 AUD
Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc 1 CAD = 1.135 CHF 1 CHF = 0.881 CAD

See what else happened on August 21, 2007