Coca-Cola to treat stock options as expenses
New York: In the wake of a series of accounting scandals that have prompted wide-spread demands for greater financial transparency in corporate America, Coca-Cola announced on Sunday that it would begin expensing the cost of all stock option plans.
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Hong Kong bankruptcies reach record numbers
Hong Kong: The number of bankruptcies in Hong Kong hit a record high in the first half of 2002, totaling more than all of last year, as the territory struggled to emerge from recession and battled mounting unemployment.
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Pfizer buy may kick off consolidation drive
New York: Pfizer pulled further ahead of its rivals on Monday with a $60-bn deal to acquire Pharmacia, putting pressure on other drug firms to follow suit with their own acquisitions.
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Investors make beeline for Bank of Chinas IPO
Hong Kong: Thousands of small investors queued at bank branches all over Hong Kong on Monday to snap up applications to buy IPO shares in Bank of China Hong Kong, the territorys biggest new listing in almost two years.
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BHP unit lists at a premium, has global plans
Melbourne: BHP Billitons A$2.4 bn spin-off BHP Steel listed on the share market at a premium on Monday and underlined its ambitions to be a player in global industry rationalisation.
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Pfizer Q2 profit up at $2 bn
New York: Pfizer on Monday said its Q2 earnings rose on growth of key prescription drugs.
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Deutsche Bank faces up to $9-bn writedowns
London: Deutsche Bank on Monday declined to comment on a newspaper report that it faced writedowns of up to 9bn euros ($8.9bn) connected with acquisitions in the US.
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Pfizer's Pharmacia buyout forces Novartis lower threshold
New York: Novartis AG has lowered its threshold for possible strategic deals in the wake of Pfizer Inc's acquisition of Pharmacia Corp, Chairman and Chief Executive Daniel Vasella told Reuters on Monday.
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Roche keeps options open on strategic deals
Roche Holding is prepared to review major strategic deals as the pharmaceutical sector consolidates, but does not need to do a big transaction to prosper, a company spokesman said on Monday.
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