|
|
ONLINE FEATURES
Book Reviews
BW Video
Columnists
Interactive Gallery
Newsletters
Past Covers
Philanthropy
Podcasts
Special Reports
BLOGS
Auto Beat
Bangalore Tigers
Blogspotting
Brand New Day
Byte of the Apple
Economics Unbound
Eye on Asia
Fine On Media
Green Biz
Hot Property
Investing Insights
Management IQ
NEXT: Innovation
NussbaumOnDesign
Tech Beat
Working Parents
TECHNOLOGY
J.D. Power Ratings
Product Reviews
Tech Stats
Wildstrom: Tech Maven
AUTOS
Home Page
Auto Reviews
Classic Cars
Car Care & Safety
Hybrids
INNOVATION
& DESIGN Home Page Architecture Brand Equity Auto Design Game Room SMALLBIZ Smart Answers Success Stories Today's Tip INVESTING Investing: Europe Annual Reports BW 50 S&P Picks & Pans Stock Screeners Free S&P Stock Report SCOREBOARDS Hot Growth 100 Mutual Funds Info Tech 100 S&P 500 B-SCHOOLS Undergrad Programs MBA Blogs MBA Profiles MBA Rankings Who's Hiring Grads | |
OCTOBER 18, 2004
Edited by Monica Gagnier HEADLINER George Soros: All In The Family  And the sons also rise. The scions of billionaire money manager and philanthropist George Soros have taken key senior roles at the $13 billion Soros Fund Management. Jonathan, 34, is now co-deputy chairman of the New York firm, while Robert, 41, is chief investment officer.The moves are part of a restructuring that began two years ago when the elder Soros, 74, brought in Goldman, Sachs (GS ) vet Mark Schwartz as CEO. The new structure will allow the Soros brothers to focus on the core hedge-fund business, including the flagship Quantum Endowment Fund, which beat its benchmark in the past three years: 6.9% annual average returns, vs. 6.3%. An Oct. 4 memo to Soros fund shareholders says two investment management teams will be spun off as independent firms -- real estate and credit. Efforts are also under way to spin off the private-equity unit. With his sons in leadership positions, George Soros can focus on his latest job: getting George Bush out of the White House. By Mara Der Hovanesian Shots In The Dark The flu season just got a lot more worrisome. On Oct. 5, British regulators shut down Chiron's (CHIR ) Liverpool flu vaccine plant for three months before it could deliver any vaccines because of concerns over microbial contamination. Chiron is one of two major suppliers for the U.S., so its woes mean a serious shortage of vaccine. Instead of having more than 100 million doses on hand, the U.S. will have just 54 million doses from the other maker, Aventis Pasteur, and another 1 million to 2 million doses of a newer vaccine from MedImmune (MEDI ). The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention immediately recommended that flu vaccines be rationed, with available supplies being reserved for people at higher risk, such as children, seniors, pregnant women, health-care workers, and those with existing medical conditions.   Fannie: A Peek At Pay Stubs  The battle over Fannie Mae (FNM
) got personal on Oct. 6, as a key Fannie critic released figures detailing the mortgage giant's pay packages. Fannie's top 22 execs collected $71 million in 2002, House Financial Services subcommittee Chairman Richard H. Baker (R-La.) disclosed. Fannie has fought for a year to keep those figures sealed. At a packed hearing, Fannie CEO Franklin Raines strongly disputed charges that Fannie manipulated expenses to ensure executive bonuses or violated other accounting standards. But Armando Falcon Jr., director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, charged: "Fannie Mae understood the rules and simply chose not to follow them." Democrats, wary of undermining Fannie's ability to promote low-income housing, cautioned against any rush to beef up regulation, while GOP critics of Fannie decried its alleged accounting mishaps.A Ruling On Subsidies? Boeing (BA ) and Airbus finally will get their day in court. After years of rhetoric, the U.S. Trade Representative took the first step Wednesday and filed a World Trade Organization case against the European Union for giving billions of dollars in "unfair" subsidies to Airbus. The EU responded quickly with its own counterclaim, alleging that Boeing has received about $23 billion in subsidies from the U.S. government. The good news is that both governments will have to disclose the subsidies received by Boeing and Airbus, and a WTO panel could finally settle this long-running dispute. The Bug Gets A Lube Job Former DaimlerChrysler (DCX ) Chief Operating Officer Wolfgang Bernhard is tackling a new turnaround job: fixing a sputtering Volkswagen. However, his assignment at VW may prove tougher than his three-year stint at Chrysler. VW suffers from product blunders, overcapacity, and high labor costs. Bernhard left DaimlerChrysler in April after a clash with boss Jürgen Schrempp over investment in Mitsubishi. Et Cetera... -- United Airlines (UALAQ ) will cut domestic flights as it tries to leave bankruptcy. -- Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD ) named two directors to lead a review of accounting issues. -- Deejay Howard Stern will join Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI ) in January, 2006. Closing Bell: Pulte Homes  Is the housing market cooling down? That's what investors feared when Pulte Homes (PHM
) cut its earnings forecast, citing lower-than-expected sales in Las Vegas. The homebuilder's stock fell 6.9% on Oct. 5, to $52.45, though it recovered $1.03 the next day.
| | |
 Copyright 2004, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.Terms of Use | Privacy Notice |
Printer-Friendly Version
