Royal Bank of Scotland buys Churchill Insurance
London: The Royal Bank of Scotland, one of Britain's four leading banks, on Wednesday said that it was buying Churchill Insurance in a deal worth 1.1 billion pounds ($1.76 billion). Royal Bank, which already owns insurance firm Direct Line, said that it would become the third largest general insurer in Britain after purchasing Churchill from current owner Credit Suisse. Churchill, which employs 8,500 people across Britain, made pretax profits of 86 million pounds ($137.6 million) last year. "Churchill is an excellent acquisition for us, it will fit well alongside Direct Line, and will bring several advantages to the group," Royal Bank CEO Fred Goodwin said. "In direct channels, Churchill's strength in home insurance will balance Direct Line's strong position in motor insurance," he said.
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Glowing glass that provides stock info
Hordes of entrepreneurs and giant companies compete to make consumer electronic devices faster, multifeatured and able to process mind-boggling amounts of data. But David Rose is betting there is money to be made heading against the crowd. His company, Ambient Devices, a start-up in Cambridge, is producing devices that display limited information in ways that can be understood with just a glance. Researchers have speculated since the 1980’s that data-deluged consumers might welcome a new class of unobtrusive display devices that can instantly convey general information like the direction of the stock market or traffic conditions to viewers who know what is being monitored. The information age twist is that, thanks to computers and wirelesscommunications, even the simplest display can now draw on data from anywhere in the world. Moreover, computers make it possible to switch such a device from being a stock monitor to a traffic reporter without replacing the display.
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PeopleSoft drops merger suit threat: Oracle
Los Angeles: Oracle, the world's second largest software maker, on Tuesday said that rival PeopleSoft Inc had dropped plans to file a lawsuit to block Oracle's $5.1 billion hostile takeover bid. "We are hopeful that this apparent change in course indicates that the PeopleSoft Board will be willing to meet with us to discuss our offer," Oracle executive vice-president Safra Catz said in a statement. PeopleSoft could not be reached immediately for comment but the company has dismissed Oracle's bid as an attempt to disrupt its own friendly acquisition of Denver-based JD Edwards & Co. Redwood Shores, California-based Oracle on Friday announced its plan to bypass Pleasanton, California-based PeopleSoft's management and acquire the company by offering stockholders $16 per share in cash. Shares in PeopleSoft have since traded above that offer, indicating that investors see a chance for Oracle to raise its bid or for another suitor to emerge.
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