“Goodwill only appears with the acquisition of a company. Not if you just grow organically, which makes comparisons difficult. Skype paid 2.6 billion dollars for eBay and goodwill was 2.3 billion. We need to be capable of making a valuation of the intangibles in this type of company,” explains Anne Jeny, member of the Management Committee of the European Accounting Association.
The spectacular results of the four major US technology firms drove the Nasdaq index to a new record high as it closed the week at 6.701, a rise of 35% since the highs of the technology bubble at the start of the century which was a psychological level many thought would never be recovered.
It doesn’t matter what Trump says: the manufacturing companies are facing hard times. The best example of this is the Dow Jones. If the index was composed today of the same stocks as in 2004, it would not reach 13,000 points.
Han Wei via Caixin | Apple Inc. is shifting gears and promoting new apps and services to rev up growth in China amid a slump in sales for its expensive devices as local brands nibble at its market share.
UBS | A recent appearance on CNBC put us in the position of defending Apple’s uniqueness. Anchor Joe Kernen argued that the history of computing is one of disruption, so how could Apple’s stock ever be worth $1 trillion? Our price target has never reached $1 trillion, but the point remains that to be a successful investment Apple needs to grow to an unprecedented size based on sustained differentiation.
WASHINGTON | By Pablo Pardo | In the 1Q14, companies at Standard and Poor’s 500 spent more money to repurchase shares in comparison to the profits they had made during that period. And third quarter data point in the same direction. Large American firms do this for several reasons, such as inflating their share price –because, the fewer number of shares, the more profits per share they’ll have, which in turn benefits managers, who receive financial compensation in the form of company shares.
MADRID | The Corner | “Apple became a stalled growth stock that has started to show momentum again,” analysts at UBS believe. The tech giant is announcing its fiscal 3Q results on Tuesday after the markets close. Although 3Q reports have historically been sluggish for the firm because clients don’t want to purchase gadgets until the new ones come out in September, expectations are high. UBS rises their price target from $100 to $115 per share, among others because some new product categories could “put the mojo back in the story.”
MADRID | The Corner | The European Union may get tough on its country members having sweetheart tax deals with global corporations. So far Ireland (and possibly Luxembourg and the Netherlands soon) will have to submit information about its fiscal arrangements granted to multinationals like Apple, Amazon or Starbucks. The move came after last year the US Senate accused Ireland of giving a special fiscal treatment to Apple. Where are the loopholes?
What does Apple’s acquisition of Beats Electronics mean for the music streaming market? Apple’s $3 billion purchase of Beats Electronics was an uncharacteristic move for a company that has typically limited its acquisitions to small start-ups.
MADRID | By Jaime Santisteban | M&A is getting really hot: Pfizer and AstraZeneca are forging the largest all-time merger in the pharmaceutical sector for $101bn, an operation that is stirring up investors. Apple turned to the bond market to fund its capital repurchase program again (it did the same one year ago). A 17bn blockbuster corporate bond debt sale that could the 2nd largest in History.