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US
economy regaining vigour
New York: Reports released on Thursday showed the
U.S. economy was regaining its vigor at the beginning
of 2007 with no signs of inflation.
Not
only was there an unexpected pickup in new-home building
in December but the pace of January business activity
in the Philadelphia area also picked up and new claims
for unemployment pay dropped to an 11-month low last week.
The
labor department said core consumer prices, which exclude
food and energy costs, rose by a minor 0.2 percent in
December after remaining flat in November. The overall
Consumer Price Index was up 0.5 percent after also being
unchanged in the prior month.
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London
Stock Exchange in share buyback to keep Nasdaq at bay
London: The London Stock Exchange plans to keep
Nasdaq at bay and on Thursday pledged to buy back as much
as £250 million, or $493 million, in shares this
year, an offer that would increase the exchange's debt
load enough for Moody's to put the stock on review for
a possible downgrade. The London exchange also repeated
that Nasdaq's offer of £12.43 a share was not enough
and is in talks with other exchanges.
In
response to the London exchange's announcement, Nasdaq
criticized the exchange's lack of strategy. It said that
the London Stock Exchange only returned shareholder capital
"when it needs their support." Nasdaq also urged
shareholders to tender their shares by Jan. 26, because
it could not make any more changes to its bid after Jan.
27.
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IBM
net up 11 pc
San Francisco: IBM's quarterly profit rose 11 percent,
but its shares fell 5 percent as the earnings were lower
than investors' forecasts. The IBM stock had risen 37
percent from a year low last July, raising expectations
for the world's largest technology services company.
Fourth-quarter
net income advanced to $3.54 billion, or $2.31 per share,
from $3.19 billion, or $1.99 per share, a year earlier.
Revenue climbed to $26.3 billion from $24.4 billion. Earnings
before special items were $2.26 per share.
IBM
shares fell 5.6 percent to $93.79, from their earlier
New York Stock Exchange close of $99.45.
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