Small business employment grows rapidly

The job market is looking up and small businesses are reaping the benefits.

The CBIZ Small Business Employment Index, which tracks hiring at companies with 300 or fewer employees, reported a 1.66 percent increase in March, the highest month-over-month increase since June 2010.

http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/05/11037871-small-business-employment-grows-rapidly?lite

Morgan Stanley to Raise Stake in Brokerage Venture to 65%

Morgan Stanley announced plans on Thursday to buy an additional 14 percent stake in Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, the brokerage business it owns with Citigroup.

After the purchase, Morgan Stanley will own 65 percent of the brokerage, a joint venture that was forged during the financial crisis. As part of the deal, Morgan Stanley had the right to buy an additional stake on June 1.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/05/31/morgan-stanley-to-increase-stake-in-brokerage-venture-to-65/

Facebook IPO Facts, Fiction and Flops

Facebook Inc.'s fiasco is still the talk of Wall Street. The newly public shares are losing an average of about $1 per trading day since their offering. If that lasts, the social-networking company would be worth nothing before the end of June, and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg's trips to McDonald's will seem less chic and more necessary.

http://professional.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304821304577436873952633672.html?mod=WSJ_hps_sections_markets

SkyWest sells stake in Brazilian airline

SkyWest Inc., which operates regional jet service for United Continental Holdings Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc., said Wednesday that it has agreed to sell its 26 percent stake in the holding company for Brazil's Trip Airlines for $42 million.

http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20120530&id=15165470

Consumers' mood rises as pump prices fall

At least we’re saving money at the gas pump.
That seems to be the takeaway from the latest monthly read on the sentiment of American consumers by the widely watched Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey.

http://economywatch.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/25/11881753-consumers-mood-rises-as-pump-prices-fall?lite

Apple Gears Up for New Products

Apple Inc. chief executive Tim Cook teed up big expectations for the world's largest technology company, saying in an interview that the company is preparing to release some "incredible" new products.

http://professional.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303674004577435231354569596.html

News Summary: Economists see jobs, housing growth

LOOKING UP: The National Association for Business Economists said Monday that its forecasters expect more growth in jobs and housing this year than they did in February. But they still see consumer spending, business investment and gross domestic product rising more slowly than historic norms.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/news-summary-economists-see-jobs-233226510.html

With New Firepower, S.E.C. Tracks Bigger Game

A corporate lawyer, a professional trader and an anonymous middleman carried out a lucrative insider trading scheme for nearly two decades, baffling federal authorities who were trying to unravel the mystery. Like characters in a crime novel, the three men evaded arrest by dumping cellphones, using code names and rendezvousing in Atlantic City to divide their bounty.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/05/21/with-new-firepower-s-e-c-tracks-bigger-game/?ref=business

Google closes on Motorola Mobility acquisition

Google says it has completed its acquisition of phone maker Motorola Mobility and it has appointed a Google executive as the new CEO of the business.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/google-closes-motorola-mobility-acquisition-133843789.html

Is this the next Facebook? Microsoft unveils so.cl social network

Microsoft has quietly launched its own social network -- but the company swears it isn’t a Facebook competitor.
You can even use your Facebook account to log in to it.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/05/21/microsoft-unveils-socl-new-social-network/#ixzz1vXABm3EY

Economists more upbeat about job growth, housing

A new survey shows economists are growing slightly more optimistic about recovery in the job and housing markets but expect other pillars of the economy to remain weak.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/economists-more-upbeat-job-growth-040246186.html

Smith & Wesson boosts 4Q sales outlook

Smith & Wesson, citing strong demand for its firearms, boosted its sales outlook for the fourth-Monday.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/smith-wesson-boosts-4q-sales-151040873.html 

Deutsche Bank Significantly Strengthens Equities in North America

Deutsche Bank today announced five senior additions to its Equities business in North America.

Joseph Spinelli will join the Bank in August as a Managing Director and Head of North America Cash Equity Trading. He will be based in New York and report to Thomas Patrick, Head of Equities for North America. Spinelli joins from Goldman Sachs & Co, where he was a managing director and financial services sector head for equity trading. Prior to Goldman, he was the head equity trader at Ziff Brother Investments.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/deutsche-bank-significantly-strengthens-equities-in-north-america-2012-05-14

Buy Asian Equities If Signs of Progress in Europe, Says Resona

Koji Toda, chief fund manager at Resona Bank Ltd. in Tokyo, which oversees about $68 billion, comments on Asian stocks.


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-17/buy-asian-equities-if-signs-of-progress-in-europe-says-resona.html

Stock market decline is muted, despite bank slump

JPMorgan's surprise $2 billion trading loss prompted a sell-off in financial stocks Friday, but just small declines in the broader market as investors decided this was a problem for investment banks and not other industries.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-05/D9UMM6HG0.htm

America's fastest-growing housing markets

Nationally, home prices are projected to decline 4 percent by the end of this year, according to Fiserv Case-Shiller’s latest projections. The country’s largest population centers will not escape this fate. In fact, in all but 50 of the 384 largest metropolitan areas examined, home prices are projected to decline at least through the end of the year before they start improving.

http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/15/11639189-americas-fastest-growing-housing-markets?lite

ND becomes nation's second-leading oil producer

North Dakota has passed Alaska to become the second-leading oil-producing state in the nation, trailing only Texas, state officials said Tuesday.
http://news.yahoo.com/nd-becomes-nations-second-leading-oil-producer-201729370--finance.html

Facebook Said to Raise Size of IPO to 421 Million Shares

Facebook Inc. (FB) is boosting the number of shares for sale in its initial public offering to 421 million, letting it raise as much as $16 billion, two people with knowledge of the deal said.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/facebook-said-raise-size-ipo-040630620.html

Groupon surges as 1st-quarter revenue strengthens

Groupon Inc.'s stock jumped more than 16 percent Tuesday as its first-quarter revenue and its customer base grew.
 http://finance.yahoo.com/news/groupon-surges-1st-quarter-revenue-150846347.html

Hedge fund names BMC Software board candidates

Hedge fund Elliott Management nominated five candidates for the board of BMC Software Inc. and told the business software developer that its future will be "increasingly difficult" if it chooses to remain a stand-alone company.
http://news.yahoo.com/hedge-fund-names-bmc-software-board-candidates-190502205--finance.html

Two Equity-Focused Inflation Fighters

With oil and gold prices falling recently, it might seem that inflation risk has receded. But if you're one of those hawks who believe inflation is dormant rather than defeated, you may still be looking for additional protection. As I noted a few months back, equity natural-resources funds are capable, although sometimes overlooked, inflation fighters. Perhaps more so than direct commodity exposure (via exchange-traded funds or mutual funds that invest in commodity-linked derivatives), natural-resources funds offer both commodity-related exposure as well as a shot at earning real returns above inflation.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/two-equity-focused-inflation-fighters-110000620.html;_ylt=An2RowSro7Ehp_zCoJxOt1iiuYdG;_ylu=X3oDMTQ3ZDM1Zm1pBG1pdANGUCBJbnZlc3RpbmcgSWRlYXMEcGtnA2NlY2ZjOWNjLTg0MTAtMzRiMS04ODIyLTIzOWE1NDY5MjYwMARwb3MDMQRzZWMDTWVkaWFTZWN0aW9uTGlzdFRlbXAEdmVyA2IyNmZkNjgwLTllN2QtMTFlMS05OTczLWEwOGZmNjJkNTVjYw--;_ylg=X3oDMTFpNzk0NjhtBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25z;_ylv=3

Two Financiers Take Control of Barneys, Ending Its Debt Struggles

Barneys New York, one of New York’s bastions of high fashion, ended years of struggles with its hefty debt load by selling itself to the financiers Richard C. Perry and Ronald W. Burkle.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/05/07/hedge-fund-takes-control-of-barneys/

Hedge funds are flying high

Five months in and it’s been a pretty good year for hedge funds with the HFRI fund weighted composite index up 4.4 per cent year to date, following its strongest first quarter performance since 2006. The index fell 5.25 per cent last year.

http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2012/05/08/990811/hedge-funds-are-flying-high/

Group Calls on Companies to Focus on Long-Term Goals

Companies should help reduce income inequality and focus more on long-term goals, a new group of supporters of capitalism said on Monday.


http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/05/14/group-calls-on-companies-to-focus-on-long-term-goals/

Barnes & Noble Shares Surge 18% After Jana Takes a Stake

Shares in the bookseller Barnes & Noble soared more than 18 percent on Monday after the hedge fund Jana Partners bought a 12 percent stake in the company. http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/04/23/barnes-noble-shares-surge-18-after-jana-takes-a-stake/

Wells Fargo to Buy Prime Brokerage Firm

Wells Fargo took its first step into prime brokerage on Friday, agreeing to buy the midsize Merlin Securities.

The deal makes Wells Fargo the last of the nation’s biggest banks to enter the lucrative prime brokerage field, which caters to hedge funds and other alternative asset management firms. Hedge funds often rely on prime brokers to manage their cash, execute their leveraged trades and lend securities so they can short sell.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/04/27/wells-fargo-to-buy-prime-brokerage/

Einhorn Questions Prompt Selloff at Herbalife

When David Einhorn speaks, investors around the markets listen. So when he asks critical questions on a company’s earnings calls, shareholders apparently panic. http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/05/01/einhorn-questions-prompt-selloff-at-herbalife/

Mudrick Performance On the Rise

Mudrick Capital is back to putting up strong returns.

The distressed-debt investor’s Mudrick Distressed Opportunity Fund gained 10.1% during the Jan.1-April 27 stretch, including profits of 4.3% in January and 2.5% in February.

http://www.hfalert.com/index.php

Investor Group Carves Up Collective Brands

Collective Brands, the footwear company behind Keds and Payless ShoeSource, has found a new home — or rather two.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/05/01/investor-group-carves-up-collective-brands/

Bankers Find It Tough to Tap Gulf Region’s Wealth

On a recent sunny day, Eric Swats, a fund manager at Rasmala Investments, sat under a parasol at a restaurant on the terrace of the Dubai International Finance Center, talking up his new $25 million Rasmala Global Sukuk Fund.


http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/05/01/bankers-find-it-tough-to-tap-gulf-regions-wealth/

Facebook on Track for I.P.O. Roadshow

Facebook is still on track for a mid-May I.P.O. http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/05/01/facebook-on-track-for-i-p-o-roadshow/