Apple Said to Plan Thinner Mac Laptops With Intel Chips
Bloomberg - Apple Inc. (AAPL) is preparing a new lineup of thinner MacBook laptops running on more powerful chips made by Intel Corp. (INTC), people with knowledge of the plans said. The MacBook Pro machines, to be unveiled at Apple’s annual developers conference starting June 11, also will feature high- definition screens like those on the iPhone and iPad, as well as flash memory to cut startup times and extend battery life, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans haven’t been made public.
Apple’s Mac sales are growing faster than the personal- computer market, benefiting from the popularity of its mobile devices. Since 2007, when the iPhone was introduced, Apple’s Mac sales have more than doubled, reaching $21.8 billion last year. As Apple’s share has grown, competitors such as Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), Dell Inc. (DELL) and Samsung Electronics Co. have followed suit in making thinner, aluminum laptops that start up more quickly.
Home Depot sales miss estimates; shares fall
Reuters - Home Depot Inc (HD) reported weaker-than-expected quarterly sales on Tuesday after demand slowed in April following a jump in home improvement projects spurred by warm weather earlier in the year. The news sent shares of the world’s largest home improvement chain down more than 3 percent and caused an analyst to lower his sales estimates for smaller rival Lowe‘s (LOW), which plans to report its results next week.
Spring is traditionally the biggest selling season of the year for home improvement chains. But this year, homeowners stepped out earlier to take advantage of unseasonably warm winter weather across the United States.
Facebook IPO: Instagram Closing No Longer Expected in 2Q
WSJ - Facebook delivered a new filing bright and early Tuesday morning, including a new boosted valuation for the company, but also changing the disclosure around when it expects its $1 billion purchase of Instagram to close. No longer does the filing say it is expected in the second quarter, which ends in June. Now the filing just says the deal is expected to close in 2012. The company has said the deal has to go through antitrust review, though the new filing isn’t specific on the reason for the change.
The splashy purchase for the photo-sharing app led some anti-trust experts to expect a review by regulators to determine what Facebook’s motives are and what the combination of the two wildly popular social-networking platforms could do to other competitors.
Saks Slides 3.5% After Ugly Miss In Quarterly Sales
Forbes - Weak demand for everything from women’s blouses to men’s suits hurt Saks’ first-quarter sales. Saks sales rose 3.8% to $753.6 million. Analysts expected revenue to be considerably higher, closer to $764.4 million.
Sales from stores open at least year grew by4.8%. “We continued to make solid progress during the first quarter,” says CEO Stephen Sadove. “While we continue to see overall growth in the business, certain areas experienced a deceleration in sales.” Areas like women’s fashion and men’s shoes were weak, Sadove said. Saks expects markdown pressure during the second quarter, as it works to clear inventory.
Infosys Seen Needing French Deal to Lift Value: Real M&A
Bloomberg – Infosys Ltd. (INFO), India’s second-largest software-services exporter, is seeking European acquisitions as it trades at its lowest valuation since the financial crisis. That’s turning French companies from Sword Group (SWP) to GFI Informatique into potential targets. Infosys, whose $4 billion cash pile is the biggest among India’s computer-services providers, said last month it’s looking for a European deal after its annual sales forecast trailed analysts’ estimates. With growth curbed by competition, the Bangalore-based company is trading at 15.9 times earnings, the lowest since the aftermath of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s collapse, according to weekly data compiled by Bloomberg.
A European takeover would help Infosys add a local sales force and new lines of business as it loses the ability to command high prices for basic software development, Ambit Capital Pvt. said. With French information technology companies trading at a median price-to-sales multiple that’s 72 percent cheaper than their western European rivals, Sopra Group (SOP), GFI Informatique and Sword all offer Infosys the footprint it seeks in the region, according to Talence Gestion.
Groupon’s surge leads after-hours action
MarketWatch – Groupon Inc. shares surged in late trading Monday after the online daily deals company reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, including a reduction in its quarterly loss.
Groupon GRPN +19.64% reported a loss of $11.7 million, or 2 cents a share, on revenue of $559.3 million, compared with a loss of $146.5 million, or 48 cents a share, on $295.4 million in sales in the same period a year ago. Excluding one-time items, Groupon would have earned $16.3 million, or 2 cents a share, while analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had forecast Groupon to earn a penny a share on $530.6 million in revenue. The results sent Groupon’s shares up more than 12% in after-hours trading after the stock climbed more than 18% in the regular market session.
↧