Mission Control: Aerospace and defense M&A analysis - Second quarter 2009
PricewaterhouseCoopers - 08/19/2009
PwC's quarterly global aerospace and defense mergers and acquisitions publication provides a review of overall deal activity for the second quarter 2009 and year-to-date, and a summary of large deals. The report indicates that in the second quarter 2009, the appetite for both US and non-US aerospace and defense assets has been significantly constrained by the ongoing global recession and the resulting squeeze on corporate profits, high unemployment, and continuing uncertainty about when the recovery is likely to begin.

Alliant Techsystems 2Q profit rises with sales
Associated Press - 11/12/2009
Shares of Alliant Techsystems Inc. rose modestly Thursday, a day after it said its fiscal second-quarter profit climbed 18 percent, helped by stronger sales of ammunition for security forces in Afghanistan.

BA, Iberia say deal reached on basis for merger
Associated Press - 11/12/2009
British Airways PLC and Spanish airline Iberia SA announced late Thursday they have reached an agreement for a planned merger between the two companies.

Global Automotive Perspectives: Capitalizing on change
PricewaterhouseCoopers - 07/30/2009
As 2009 began to unfold, it became increasingly clear that the significant changes we saw emerging in the latter half of 2008 continue to dominate the automotive landscape today. Changes in financing sources, in ownership, in consumer demands, and more dominate the industry news. This PwC publication looks at three top-of-mind issues facing automotive executives in today's dynamic environment: automotive supply chain financial recovery, access to capital, and the impact of electric vehicles.

Ford Fusion is top car; billionaire buys stock
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services -- Unrestricted - 11/18/2009
Ford Motor Co. scored a hat trick on Tuesday. Motor Trend magazine selected the Ford Fusion midsize sedan as its car of the year. Billionaire financier George Soros revealed his investment arm has purchased $52.9 million in Ford stock. And, the company's stock price hit a 2-year high.

TRW Automotive prices $250M worth of debt
Associated Press - 11/18/2009
Car parts maker TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. said Wednesday that subsidiary TRW Automotive Inc. priced a previously announced offering of $250 million of senior unsecured notes.

DataLine 2009-47: EMMA: "Electronic Municipal Market Access" System
PricewaterhouseCoopers - 11/17/2009
The Electronic Municipal Market Access System (EMMA), a new Internet-based system, allows "one-stop shopping" for municipal bond offering documents, periodic disclosure documents, and real-time pricing information. Through EMMA, investors in municipal securities can obtain information virtually real-time, free of charge (similar to the level of information available through EDGAR for SEC-registered securities). EMMA is part of the overall regulatory push to improve transparency and disclosure in the $2.7 trillion dollar bond market. This DataLine discusses EMMA in further detail

American Express to enter market for online payments
washingtonpost.com - 11/19/2009
American Express on Wednesday said it had agreed to buy the online person-to-person payment provider Revolution Money for $300 million, the latest move by one of the credit card giants to add a service that has been increasingly in demand by consumers, especially younger ones.

Dutch bank ABN gets new euro4.4 billion bailout
Associated Press - 11/19/2009
The Dutch government Thursday announced a new euro4.4 billion ($6.5 billion) bailout package for nationalized bank ABN Amro, intended to help the bank restructure and return to a strong financial position ahead of an eventual sale or return to the stock market.

Communications Review: Weathering the storm
PricewaterhouseCoopers - 08/25/2009
The current global economic crisis is so pervasive that it is now a given in every business conversation. While its precise effects vary among sectors and geographies, we are all undeniably facing one of the most challenging business environments the world has seen in decades, if not centuries. For the leaders in every organization and every industry, the challenge is to identify and execute the best way to manage through the downturn while simultaneously positioning the business to capitalize fully on the recovery when it comes. The theme of this quarter's PwC publication for communications executives is "Weathering the Storm." This issue includes articles on embracing disruption, collaboration, contract management, spectrum, and consumer behavior.

Wireless America
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services -- Unrestricted - 11/20/2009
New census figures confirm the widespread perception that telephone landlines are becoming a thing of the past in many American households. That's because the number of homes using cell phones nearly doubled in the first half of the decade -- from 36 percent to 71 percent between 1998 and 2005.

AT&T Announced Working With Rave Mobile Safety To Provide Safety Services At Higher Education Institutions (T)
Comtex SmarTrend(R) - 11/11/2009
AT&T (NYSE:T) announced that it is working with Rave Mobile Safety to provide location-based safety services to mobile subscribers at higher education institutions throughout the U.S.

Capitalizing on a Climate of Change
PricewaterhouseCoopers - 07/16/2009
The issue of climate change is evolving from primarily a scientific and public policy concern to one of business risks and opportunities. Until recently, the impact of climate change on the deal market was barely on the radar of most businesses. However, national policy action on greenhouse gas emissions is requiring companies in virtually every industry to think about the impacts of energy and climate policies on their businesses. This PwC publication looks at how the issue of climate change can be relevant for companies looking to pursue acquisitions or raise capital.

Crude prices follow world markets downward
Associated Press - 11/19/2009
A global sell off on equity markets dragged down crude prices by 3 percent Thursday, the first decline this week. Also pushing oil prices lower was a strengthening dollar.

US sees Turkmen gas deal despite Caspian impasse
Associated Press - 11/17/2009
A senior U.S. envoy said Tuesday that territorial disagreements over the Caspian Sea will not stand in the way of an agreement to bring natural gas supplies across the sea from energy-rich Turkmenistan toward Europe. The remarks will come as a boost to Western hopes of diversifying gas deliveries away from Russia, which currently provides Europe with about one-fourth of its gas needs.

Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2009-2013
PricewaterhouseCoopers - 07/09/2009
Against a backdrop of tough economic conditions, PwC believes there will be nowhere to hide from the implications of digital migration. As economic pressure increases, so does the pace of change: aside from short-term challenges posed by the economic downturn, the real challenge lies in how to take advantage of the digital reality. Now in its tenth annual edition, PwC's Global Entertainment & Media Outlook is a consistent, comprehensive source of global analysis for consumer/end-user and advertising spending.

Comcast-NBC would unite rivals on Oly network
Associated Press - 11/19/2009
Cable giant Comcast Corp., is expected to purchase NBC Universal, a transaction that would merge the two TV companies that were at odds over the U.S. Olympic Committee's plans to start its own network.

Shareholders OK DirecTV spinoff but sale uncertain
Associated Press - 11/19/2009
Shareholders have approved a spinoff of DirecTV and other entertainment businesses from Liberty Media.

Global Annual Forest, Paper & Packaging Industry Survey - 2009 Edition
PricewaterhouseCoopers - 07/23/2009
This PwC survey provides insight into the major companies and an overview of the issues and events shaping the industry. This year's survey summarizes the 2008 publicly available year-over-year financial information of the PwC Top 100, the 100 largest forest, paper and packaging companies in the world, ranked by sales revenue.

Forest, Paper and Packaging Deals: 2008 Annual Review
PricewaterhouseCoopers - 05/13/2009
This PwC publication reviews 2008 deal activity in the forestry, paper and fiber packaging (FPP) sectors, and examines several related themes. The publication also focuses on deal activity by key regions, looks at the success of deals and considers the likely outlook for industry consolidation.

CEO Perspectives in Forest, Paper & Packaging - 2008 Edition
PricewaterhouseCoopers - 03/05/2008
This PwC publication summarizes the thoughts of 26 CEOs from the forest, paper and non-paper packaging sectors around the world on key issues facing the industry. Most of the executives surveyed believe that the industry has become more efficient, although they are more mixed in their views as to whether it has reached a turning point in its profitability.

Jammed Access: Widening the front door to healthcare
PricewaterhouseCoopers - 07/23/2009
By several measures, access to care is jammed for many Americans. Universal coverage, if passed, won't necessarily translate into better access. This report from PwC's Health Research Institute identifies three key obstacles to access: crowded points of entry such as the emergency department, a system that is confusing to navigate, and individuals who inevitably fail to act on their health early. The report finds that consumers are open to trying new means of access and the industry is already responding. Solutions discussed in the report include: new means of access like online consultations, coordination of care among practitioners by using nonphysician providers, and supportive models such as shared medical appointments that enable patients to learn from each other as well as from their providers.

Democrats' Health Care Agenda May Threaten Truce with Drugmakers
Mclatchy-Tribune News Service. - 11/16/2009
Congressional Democrats' intensifying efforts to pay for the health care overhaul and provide more relief for consumers are threatening to unravel a White House deal with the pharmaceutical industry and turn one of Washington's most powerful lobbies against the legislation.

Dodd embarks on an age-old quest
washingtonpost.com - 11/12/2009
Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) this week joined the generations of dreamers who have advocated for eliminating the nation's muddle of bank regulators, arguing that a single agency would be more efficient and would end the ability of banks to choose the most lenient supervisor. But Dodd confronts a broad range of critics including bankers, regulators and fellow legislators who warn that his plan overlooks the strengths of the current patchwork and ignores the potential downsides of consolidation.

Transforming Healthcare through Secondary Use of Health Data
PricewaterhouseCoopers - 10/22/2009
This PwC paper addresses a key challenge the healthcare industry faces - leveraging the vast amount of electronic data which will result from current investments in IT to implement electronic health records. Despite these challenges, the opportunity for the industry to cut cost and improve care will drive innovation and collaboration in secondary use of data.

Family Physician Cuts Out the Middlemen Insurance Companies And Large Clinics
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - 11/17/2009
Dr. Sam Willis has launched an experiment in practicing primary-care medicine - minimizing health care costs for his patients, and simplifying their dealings with the byzantine medical system. His practice is one of a relatively small but growing number nationwide that are trying not only to lower costs, but to get back to practicing medicine that feels personal.

Democrats' Health Care Agenda May Threaten Truce with Drugmakers
Mclatchy-Tribune News Service. - 11/16/2009
Congressional Democrats' intensifying efforts to pay for the health care overhaul and provide more relief for consumers are threatening to unravel a White House deal with the pharmaceutical industry and turn one of Washington's most powerful lobbies against the legislation.

Simplifying Your Industrial Business
PricewaterhouseCoopers - 11/19/2009
Many industrial products companies are diverse businesses, with multiple divisions operating in a number of different countries and regions. These businesses often have a wide-ranging, complicated structure of legal entities supporting them. Board members and stakeholders are often surprised by the extent and complexity of such structures, which may in some cases be counter to the strategic intent of the organization. In this paper PwC shares its views on reducing the legal entity footprint and achieving sustainable cost reductions and efficiency gains through a closer alignment between a simplified management model and simplified legal structures.

TRW Automotive prices $250M worth of debt
Associated Press - 11/18/2009
Car parts maker TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. said Wednesday that subsidiary TRW Automotive Inc. priced a previously announced offering of $250 million of senior unsecured notes.

United Technologies sees 2010 profit rise
Associated Press - 11/18/2009
The chief financial officer of United Technologies Corp. said Wednesday the industrial conglomerate will likely have a higher profit next year due to cost-cutting even as revenue remains flat. United Technologies' commercial construction and aerospace businesses will continue to have a "tough go of it," though he said the conglomerate, based in Hartford, expects growth in the fourth quarter in the Carrier heating, ventilating and air conditioning and other residential businesses.

Breaking News: EITF Proposes Changes to the Types of Costs that Insurance Companies May Capitalize
PricewaterhouseCoopers - 11/19/2009
The FASB's Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF) today reached a consensus-for-exposure related to the definition and types of costs that should be considered acquisition costs by insurance entities. Currently acquisition costs include those costs that vary with and are primarily related to the acquisition of insurance contracts. This definition has been interpreted in different ways, resulting in diversity in practice in terms of the types of costs that are being capitalized. The EITF proposal would redefine acquisition costs as those costs that are "directly related" to the acquisition of new and renewal insurance contracts. The change could be significant for insurance companies.

House Democrats clear the way for health care vote
Associated Press - 11/04/2009
House Democrats cleared the way Wednesday for a pivotal floor vote on health care overhaul as early as the weekend, after tweaking their 1,900-page bill to crack down harder on insurance companies.

Marsh & McLennan 3Q profit beats expectations
Associated Press - 11/04/2009
Marsh & McLennan Cos. said Wednesday it returned to profitability in the third quarter amid improving earnings in its risk and insurance services division and a decline in expenses.

DataLine 2009-47: EMMA: "Electronic Municipal Market Access" System
PricewaterhouseCoopers - 11/17/2009
The Electronic Municipal Market Access System (EMMA), a new Internet-based system, allows "one-stop shopping" for municipal bond offering documents, periodic disclosure documents, and real-time pricing information. Through EMMA, investors in municipal securities can obtain information virtually real-time, free of charge (similar to the level of information available through EDGAR for SEC-registered securities). EMMA is part of the overall regulatory push to improve transparency and disclosure in the $2.7 trillion dollar bond market. This DataLine discusses EMMA in further detail

Dutch bank ABN gets new euro4.4 billion bailout
Associated Press - 11/19/2009
The Dutch government Thursday announced a new euro4.4 billion ($6.5 billion) bailout package for nationalized bank ABN Amro, intended to help the bank restructure and return to a strong financial position ahead of an eventual sale or return to the stock market.

Bernanke offers grim job outlook, help for dollar
washingtonpost.com - 11/17/2009
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke waded Monday into the debate among policymakers over the vigor of the economic recovery, offering a sobering view of what lies ahead in his most detailed comments on the economy in months. Bernanke's focus on the weak job market and his opinion that inflation will remain subdued show that he is looking to keep the Fed focused on supporting growth for quite a while longer by leaving interest rates at rock-bottom levels.

Global Mine Bulletin
PricewaterhouseCoopers - 11/05/2009
The September 2009 edition of PwC's quarterly mining-focused newsletter covers the following topics: a summary of PwC's annual review of global trends: Mine - When the Going Gets Tough; Potential changes to financial reporting for mining and oil & gas entities; A day in the life of Meera Pau, PwC Sustainability and Climate Change team member; ThirstyWork: An Article on the Effect of the Scarcity of Water in the Mining Industry; and Winds of change for Indonesian mining sector.

Australia approves Chinese investment in molybdenum mining company
Xinhua News Agency - 11/18/2009
Australian regulators have given the green light to a Chinese entity to take control of an Australian molybdenum mining company, Moly Mines Ltd, for 200 million U.S. dollars.

Booming precious metal prices drive gold rush
Associated Press - 11/12/2009
Gold futures climbed to a new high Thursday, giving another nudge to the gold rush on Main Street as some people scramble to turn in their old jewelry for cash. The price of the gold futures hit a record $1,123.40 early Thursday - confounding market analysts who thought there was no way gold would remain so expensive when it first cracked the unheard-of $1,000 mark last year.

Reversing Course?
PricewaterhouseCoopers - 11/18/2009
With venture capital investments in the tech sector down for the first six months of 2009, the life sciences industry offered one of the few bright spots during tough economic times. This PwC report looks at how the life sciences sector is performing and the factors influencing its success.

Vaccines on horizon for AIDS, Alzheimer's, herpes
Associated Press - 11/18/2009
Vaccines are no longer a sleepy, low-profit niche in a booming drug industry. Today, they're starting to give ailing pharmaceutical makers a shot in the arm. The lure of big profits, advances in technology and growing government support has been drawing in new companies, from nascent biotechs to Johnson & Johnson. That means recent remarkable strides in overcoming dreaded diseases and annoying afflictions likely will continue.

Bristol-Myers splits off Mead Johnson Nutrition
Associated Press - 11/16/2009
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. is splitting off its holdings in infant formula maker Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. in order to focus on its biopharmaceutical business. The New York-based drug maker, which owns about 83 percent of Mead stock, expects the deal to add to earnings starting in 2010.

The New Financial Investigative Unit (FIU): The benefits of integrating mortgage fraud into a larger enterprise and anti-money laundering control and prevention framework
PricewaterhouseCoopers - 11/05/2009
Despite fewer mortgage originations, mortgage loan fraud appears to be on the rise in the United States and the number of reported fraud cases is expected to rise, as experts warn that losses won't peak until the latter half of 2010. Lenders must take action in anticipation of the escalating loan fraud problem. They should look for ways to reduce costs and mortgage losses while creating long-term sustainable solutions agile enough to evolve even as fraudsters tailor their criminal activity to undermine new and improved controls. This PwC publication discusses a solution which lies in a centralized Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) that consolidates the capabilities from mortgage fraud, anti-money laundering (AML), and other anti-fraud units while leaving necessary differences, such as transaction surveillance, decentralized.

St. Joe Co. weathers recession by thinking big
Associated Press - 11/02/2009
Building along the Florida Panhandle's picturesque seaside slowed when financing dried up and the economy soured. But the St. Joe Co.'s construction cranes and earth movers never stopped and its high-end vacation retreats and shopping centers are being built along with taxpayer-funded roads and an international airport, the nation's first since the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Brookfield results slip on residential decline
Associated Press - 10/29/2009
Real estate developer Brookfield Properties Corp., owner of high-profile properties like the World Financial Center in New York and Bank of America Plaza in Los Angeles, posted a third-quarter profit dip Thursday, reflecting a decline in its residential operations.

Glimmers amid the Gloom - The outlook for the retail and consumer products sector in emerging markets
PricewaterhouseCoopers - 10/01/2009
This PwC report was produced in co-operation with the Economist Intelligence Unit and provides an overview of how the downturn has affected six retail and consumer-products sub-sectors in emerging markets and their outlook for the medium term. The sectors covered include food and general retail, fashion and apparel, fast-food restaurants, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), luxury goods and consumer durables and electronics.

Fossil promises retailers flexibility with deliveries
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services -- Unrestricted - 11/11/2009
Major U.S. retailers supplied by Richardson- based watch and accessories maker Fossil Inc. say they're prepared to be nimble this holiday season.

Social media now part of retail marketing
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services -- Unrestricted - 11/10/2009
Stores large and small are adding Facebook and Twitter to their arsenal of marketing techniques to compete and stay in sync with the times.

Security Among the Clouds
PricewaterhouseCoopers - 10/29/2009
Cloud computing offers clear benefits, yet its security risks are very real. Businesses must understand both the inherent shortcomings and strengths of cloud computing to unlock its full potential and value. PwC's new paper explores the risks and benefits of cloud computing.

Oh the Games You'll Play - iPhone: The Wii of Handheld Gaming Devices?
The Mac Observer - 11/10/2009
Did Apple know what the future held when CEO Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone during his Macworld Expo keynote in January 2007? They probably had some sense of it, but they likely had no idea that games would become such a big part of the platform, especially considering the outsider status of gaming on the Mac. The company is clearly ready to take full advantage of the current situation, however, as evidenced by the recent iPod touch ad that focuses solely on games.

Oracle Digs in Heels As European Panel Objects to Sun Merger
San Jose Mercury News, Calif. - 11/10/2009
Despite a formal objection from European antitrust officials, Oracle vowed Monday to wage a vigorous battle for its planned acquisition of Sun Microsystems, as analysts warned that continuing delays in the $7.4 billion deal are proving costly for both companies.