Archive for March 30th, 2010
CHART OF THE DAY: Apple’s Stock Is Kicking Google’s Butt (GOOG, AAPL)
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Who’s winning the increasingly tense battle between Apple and Google?
From an investor’s perspective, so far this year, it’s Apple. By a long shot. Year to date, Apple’s stock is up 10%, while Google’s is down 10%.
Investors are excited by Apple’s iPad, as well as the possibility of an iPhone on Verizon in the near future.
Meanwhile, investors are cooler on Google after the company pulled out of China, and its Nexus One failed to deliver.
Here are some Apple and Google milestones so far this year.
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See Also:
- CHART OF THE DAY: Here’s Why The Next Year And A Half Is Critical In The Smartphone Wars
- CHART OF THE DAY: Bing’s Impossible Dream
- CHART OF THE DAY: The Top 10 Tech Companies Have Cash Gushing Out Of Their Ears
That Golf Ball You’re Using Was Part Of A $246 Million Lawsuit
Proof that there can anything can be patented and sports technology is worth a whole lot of money: a Delaware jury ruled Monday in favor of Titleist, rejecting a $246 million damages claim by Callaway that Titleist’s ProV1 ball violated its patents.
Zach Lowe of The AmLaw Daily has the full background and report.
Howrey represented Titleist’s parent company Acushnet and argued that the patents, which dealt with the interior and exterior of golf balls and their ability to fly long, were too vague. The defense team shined a spotlight, Lowe reported, on the Titleist’s history of innovations and the people behind those golf-related leaps forward.
This particular argument started between the companies long ago. Callaway won the early rounds, with a 2007 jury finding that hte ProV1 did violate certain Callaway patents and an injunction followed. Those victories, earned by Callaway counsel Fish & Richardson, were erased when an appeals court granted Titleist a new trial.
Its also likely a long way from over — another suit over patents is pending in Delaware court and Bloomberg said Callaway will ask for the verdict to be set aside.
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See Also:
- Genetics Lab Sues Ropes & Gray For Allegedly Plagiarizing Patent Application
- Judge Tosses $388 Million Patent Verdict Against Microsoft (Updated)
- Obama Plays Golf With Lady Lawyer
WaPo Poaches Time Magazine’s Political Correspondent Tumulty (WPO)
In a big get for the Washington Post, Time Magazine’s National Political Correspondent Karen Tumulty is headed to a similar position at the WaPo, according to Michael Calderone at Politico.
She was at Time for 16 years, becoming the national political correspondent in 2001. She’s a Gerald Loeb and National Press Foundation award winner.
She attracted attention during the last presidential election for accusing McCain of “playing the race card.”
Read the full memo at Politico>
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See Also:
- WaPo Shreds Fed’s Pre-Crisis Performance As Regulator
- Surprise! Time Magazine Editor Thinks There’s a Future In Long Form Journalism
El-Erian Speaks: Economy Will Slow Dramatically In The Second Half Of 2010
Heidi Moore caught up with Mohammed El-Erian over at CBS Moneywatch. The full interview is here.
Here are his key points:
- U.S. could go to levels that are no longer compatible with a triple A rating.
- The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond will bounce around between 2.75 percent to 5 percent until the end of 2011.
- What’s happening in Greece, as well as in Dubai last year, is part of a much bigger sovereign debt phenomenon that is going to impact virtually every market in the world.
- The percentage of countries with budget deficits that amount to more than 10 percent of their GDP has been in the 0 to 5 percent range for the past 30 years… Today the situation is very, very different. Countries with really high deficits amount to over 40 percent of global GDP, and this number is dominated by advanced economies, including the U.S. and U.K.
- Greece is the most vulnerable country in Europe. Portugal is next, followed by Spain. The least vulnerable country is Germany. The U.S. comes in the middle.
- Unfortunately, it is hard to see an adjustment process that does not provide yet another headwind to growth…This will dampen the prospects for high returns for riskier assets, including equities.
- Look for [US] growth rates to be an annualized 4 percent to 5 percent in the first half of the year. Growth will likely slow in the second half to an annualized 2 percent.
- In 2011, investors will need to start thinking about inflation protection.
- Be careful of overloading on U.S.-based investments. You want to be global when it comes to bonds as well as equities.
- The most interesting segments of the global bond markets include local currency bonds in Brazil, select high-quality U.S. corporates, emerging markets external bonds, several Build America Bonds.
Read the whole interview here >
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Why Everyone On Wall Street Is Best Friends With Kendrick Wilson
It’s hard to tell which came first for Ken Wilson: his awesome job or his being best friends with everyone on Wall Street. The two seem to feed into each other.
Take this story, from a Bloomberg profile of him, for example.
During a cab ride, a Goldman Sachs banker overhead Wilson arguing with a Lazard colleague over the phone, and suggested that Wilson end the power struggle and join Goldman Sachs, which he did.
Now his job is finding candidates for top jobs at BlackRock, mentoring executives, and advising President Laurence Fink.
The job Hank Paulson hired him for (as his adviser) a few years ago was to give “clear-sighted advice” and “mentor key executives.”
He must be very charismatic. Also a lot of his job is hiring people.
More testimonials:
- “Kenny, you’ve had a great career on Wall Street.”- President George Bush
- “He’s very calm.” – BlackRock president, Laurence Fink
- “He knows as many people in the whole financial-services industry in the U.S. and the world as anybody.” – Hank Paulson
- “Ken was the calm center in the storm of the crisis. I trust his judgment.” – Hank Paulson
He only started a couple months ago and already he is everyone’s go-to guy, says Fink.
“Ken’s office is two offices from mine, and every time I walk past he’s got people in there from the company talking to him,” Fink told Bloomberg. “He’s a magnet.”
Wilson is a well-paid friend! That’s the best job ever!
Read the full profile on Bloomberg.
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See Also:
- Michael Lewis’s Guide To The People Behind The Mortgage Crisis
- Busted Insider-Traders Talked In Code Like Bud Fox In Wall Street: "Blue Horseshoe!" "Frequent Flier Miles!"
- How Wall Street Journal’s Hand-Drawn Portraits Are Made