Financial news on May 23, 2007

Business and Financial news
Alcan Rejects a Hostile Bid From Alcoa

The Canadian aluminum producer Alcan rejected a $27.4 billion hostile bid from a rival, Alcoa, calling the offer inadequate. Read more..

By IAN AUSTEN - The New York Times

Boards Feel the Heat as Investor Activists Speak Up

In Europe, shareholder activism now seems to be moving into the hands of ordinary investors. Read more..

By JULIA WERDIGIER - The New York Times

Canada: Nortel Settles Accounting Fraud Investigation

Nortel Networks said it would pay 1 million Canadian dollars ($921,000) as part of a settlement with the Ontario Securities Commission. The payment is not a fine. The company called it a contribution toward the cost of the commission’s inves... Read more..

By IAN AUSTEN - The New York Times

CBS Buying Wallstrip, a Web Finance Site

The acquisition will increase the original Internet video offerings produced by CBS’s interactive unit. Read more..

By BLOOMBERG NEWS - The New York Times

Europeans Approve Vivendi Deal for BMG

The $2.1 billion deal gives Vivendi unmatched market power in determining how much performers and songwriters earn from their creations. Read more..

By THE NEW YORK TIMES - The New York Times

Germany: Investor Confidence on the Rise

German investor confidence rose to an 11-month high in May as company profits surged and economists raised their forecasts for growth this year. The Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim said its index of investor and analyst expectati... Read more..

By BLOOMBERG NEWS - The New York Times

Google Investing in Company Started by Co-Founder’s Wife

Google said it invested $3.9 million this month in 23andMe, a biotech company co-founded last year by Sergey Brin’s wife. Read more..

By MIGUEL HELFT - The New York Times

Hedge Fund Figure Leaves Merrill Lynch

Ben Weston, the chief of its hedge fund development and management group, has left the firm after two years. Read more..

By BLOOMBERG NEWS - The New York Times

Parent of Outback Chain Accepts Higher Bid

OSI Restaurant Partners agreed to a higher $3.1 billion takeover offer from a group led by Bain Capital Partners and Catterton Partners. Read more..

By BLOOMBERG NEWS - The New York Times

Worth a Lot, but Are Hedge Funds Worth It?

The hedge fund stars may gleam, but the average fund did worse last year, after fees, than the S.& P. Read more..

By DAVID LEONHARDT - The New York Times

Stock Markets

Values are reported in US Dollars

Stock Ticker symbol Open High Low Close Volume
Intel INTC 22,99 23,14 22,65 22,67 63.6M
Cisco Systems CSCO 26,41 26,43 25,88 25,97 54.8M
Microsoft MSFT 30,84 30,84 30,57 30,58 46.3M
Amazon AMZN 69,21 73,31 68,79 69,00 42.6M
General Electric GE 37,45 37,80 37,34 37,60 34.3M
Pfizer PFE 27,37 27,54 27,26 27,34 33.8M
Apple AAPL 114,02 115,00 112,59 112,89 32.5M
Oracle Corp. ORCL 19,38 19,47 19,15 19,16 23.1M
ExxonMobil XOM 83,00 83,62 82,69 82,99 19.9M
HP Inc. HPQ 45,80 46,11 45,58 45,63 19.6M
ConocoPhillips COP 76,58 77,77 76,25 76,71 19M
Amgen AMGN 54,63 55,11 54,29 54,74 17.1M
Verizon Communications VZ 42,65 43,03 42,36 42,67 15.1M
AT&T Inc. T 40,45 40,70 40,28 40,41 15M
Wells Fargo & Co. WFC 36,06 36,19 35,90 36,09 14.5M
Wal-Mart Stores WMT 46,76 47,14 46,32 46,33 14.3M
Chevron CVX 82,18 82,91 81,17 81,40 14.2M
Comcast CMCSA 27,42 27,76 27,19 27,33 11.6M
JPMorgan Chase JPM 52,33 52,64 51,93 51,99 11.2M
Home Depot HD 38,72 39,13 38,61 38,78 10.9M
Abbott Laboratories ABT 57,70 58,06 57,13 57,21 10.6M
Alphabet GOOGL 480,82 483,41 473,75 473,97 10.1M
Merck MRK 54,38 54,70 54,10 54,35 10M
Johnson & Johnson JNJ 63,77 64,10 63,64 63,81 9.82M
Schlumberger SLB 79,18 81,83 79,11 80,60 9.08M
Walt Disney & Co. DIS 36,27 36,79 36,25 36,48 7.89M
Altria MO 71,99 72,00 71,25 71,39 7.79M
Procter & Gamble PG 63,03 63,43 63,02 63,10 7.69M
Coca-Cola KO 51,64 51,77 51,24 51,33 7.58M
McDonald's MCD 52,35 52,50 51,35 51,57 7.07M
UnitedHealth Group UNH 53,89 54,25 53,61 53,93 6.72M
Bristol-Myers Squibb BMY 30,06 30,23 29,84 30,00 6.58M
Boeing BA 95,95 96,45 95,36 95,57 4.56M
Pepsico PEP 68,75 68,92 68,54 68,69 4.41M
International Business Machines IBM 106,80 107,00 105,25 105,58 4.4M
Gilead Sciences GILD 83,61 84,47 82,51 82,57 4.25M
United Technologies UTX 69,25 69,30 68,69 68,85 3.8M
3M MMM 87,65 88,49 87,57 87,94 3.39M
Union Pacific UNP 119,12 119,50 118,33 118,90 1.72M
Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B 3640,00 3649,00 3628,50 3639,00 6.9K
Exchange Rates of May 23, 2007
CurrenciesExchange Rates
US Dollar Japanese Yen 1 USD = 121,650 JPY 1 JPY = 0,008 USD
US Dollar Canadian Dollar 1 USD = 1,082 CAD 1 CAD = 0,924 USD
US Dollar Swiss Franc 1 USD = 1,228 CHF 1 CHF = 0,815 USD
US Dollar Chinese Yuan 1 USD = 7,653 CNY 1 CNY = 0,131 USD
Euro Japanese Yen 1 EUR = 163,730 JPY 1 JPY = 0,006 EUR
Euro Pound Sterling 1 EUR = 0,677 GBP 1 GBP = 1,476 EUR
Euro Australian Dollar 1 EUR = 1,633 AUD 1 AUD = 0,612 EUR
Euro Canadian Dollar 1 EUR = 1,456 CAD 1 CAD = 0,687 EUR
Euro Swiss Franc 1 EUR = 1,652 CHF 1 CHF = 0,605 EUR
Japanese Yen Pound Sterling 1 JPY = 0,414 GBP 1 GBP = 2,418 JPY
Japanese Yen Australian Dollar 1 JPY = 0,997 AUD 1 AUD = 1,003 JPY
Japanese Yen Canadian Dollar 1 JPY = 0,889 CAD 1 CAD = 1,125 JPY
Japanese Yen Swiss Franc 1 JPY = 1,009 CHF 1 CHF = 0,991 JPY
Pound Sterling Australian Dollar 1 GBP = 2,411 AUD 1 AUD = 0,415 GBP
Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar 1 GBP = 2,150 CAD 1 CAD = 0,465 GBP
Pound Sterling Swiss Franc 1 GBP = 2,439 CHF 1 CHF = 0,410 GBP
Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar 1 AUD = 0,891 CAD 1 CAD = 1,122 AUD
Australian Dollar Swiss Franc 1 AUD = 1,011 CHF 1 CHF = 0,989 AUD
Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc 1 CAD = 1,134 CHF 1 CHF = 0,882 CAD

See what else happened on May 23, 2007