Apple Must Apologise To Samsung Again: And Do It Right This Time

According to Forbes the Court of Appeal in the UK this morning decided that Apple had been very naughty boys. Their apology, which the same court had previously ruled Apple must publish, to Samsung was not adequate. Indeed, it was inaccurate near to the point of being misleading. Apple must now publish a further apology, using the correct terms and language, and keep it up until 14 th December on their UK home page.

My advice to Apple at this point is to stop playing around and do as the nice judges say. For those judges at the Court of Appeal do not take kindly to being played around with. The Guardian has part of the story:

The UK court of appeal has reprimanded Apple over the wording of the statement on its website acknowledging that Samsung did not infringe the iPad tablet’s registered design, and ordered it to put an altered statement on its homepage – rather than tucked away in a linked page – until 14 December….

Read all about it at http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2012/11/01/apple-must-apologise-to-samsung-again-and-properly-this-time/

Greenwich Mansions Leveled as Sandy Swept Connecticut

Flames destroyed three waterfront homes in the hedge-fund mecca of Greenwich, Connecticut, as a firestorm driven by Sandy’s gale threatened to rip through one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the U.S.  Combined, the mansions were valued at almost $14 million, including one that was purchased in 2011 for $6.8 million, according to town records. According to Businessweek all three were on Binney Lane, a private road protected by a sea wall above Long Island Sound.

Governor Dannel Malloy visited the town Oct. 30, heaping praise on firefighters who prevented the Oct. 29 conflagration from spreading to nearby homes. Sandy’s winds, which fed the fire, also knocked down trees and power lines across the town.

“What’s remarkable here is what the fire department actually accomplished,” Malloy told reporters as he toured the devastation Oct. 30, a video posted on AOL  Greenwich Patch website shows…..

More?  Check out http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-10-31/old-greenwich-gripped-by-firestorm-as-sandy-pounded-connecticut#r=bloomberg

Sandy's Economic Cost: Up to $50 Billion and Counting

Early estimates of the economic impact of Hurricane Sandy put the total loss between $30 billion and $50 billion, making it one of the costliest storms in U.S. history cnbc reports.

But forecasters acknowledge that their estimates are highly preliminary and the financial toll could rise as the extent of damage from the historic storm becomes more apparent.

The unique nature of the hurricane — the destructive storm surge and the vast and densely populated region affected, accounting for about a quarter of the nation’s economic activity — raises questions about whether the normal models used to gauge losses will fully capture the costs of Sandy.  Two principal factors account for the losses: lost economic business activity and insured and uninsured property losses. These will be somewhat offset by economic activity from the cleanup and rebuilding, but...

Find out more at http://www.cnbc.com/id/49622885

Wells expands in investment banking as others retreat (Go figure…)

As banks across Wall Street retreat from the trading business, Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) is expanding. According to Reuters the growth worries some investors who want the notoriously conservative bank to stick to its knitting, but Wells Fargo believes that now is a good time to hire.

"Our eyes are wide open," said John Shrewsberry, head of the bank's investment banking and capital markets operations, known as Wells Fargo Securities.  "There are a lot of very talented people at different stages of availability," he added in an interview this week.

The fourth-largest U.S. bank says it can earn solid returns in investment banking while taking little risk for itself. It is focusing on services that its corporate lending customers need, such as stock and bond underwriting and merger advice. For investors, it is looking at areas like processing futures and swaps trades. The bank shies away from riskier undertakings like trading for its own account.

Read all about it at http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/31/us-wellsfargo-investmentbanking-idUSBRE89U1SG20121031

Wall Street Sputters Back to Life

WSJ reports: Powered by generators, surrounded by flooding and staffed at partial strength, the Big Board cranked back to life yesterday, opening for the first time since a monster storm swept across the East Coast.

Several hundred traders battled road closures and high waters to get to their posts on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in time for the markets to open at 9:30 a.m. Some arrived as early as 5:45 a.m. Some NYSE officials, including Chief Operating Officer Lawrence Leibowitz, spent the night at the office to ensure the exchange was ready...

More?  Check out http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204707104578091191101588594.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

Shocker: Barclays Faces Massive $435 Million Fine, Another Probe

U.S. regulators threatened to fine Barclays roughly $470 million (291.4 million pounds) to settle allegations that the bank and four traders manipulated California electricity markets, reviving the specter of a sector-wide crackdown on energy trading, CNBC tells us.

It could possibly be the biggest penalty ever levied by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and potentially exceeds the fine Barclays paid over the Libor bid-rigging scandal that cost Chief Executive Robert Diamond his job.

The bank has 30 days to show why it should not be penalized for an alleged scheme of manipulating physical electricity prices at a loss in order to make profits in related positions in the swaps market, a strategy known as a "loss-leader"....

Find out more at http://www.cnbc.com/id/49634936

Power outage hits Knight Capital, cuts off trading

According to Reuters a failed backup power generator has forced Knight Capital Group to tell clients to route all stock orders away from the brokerage on Wednesday, as the effects of Sandy, the massive storm that slammed into the U.S. East Coast, were still being felt.  It was the second time in three months the Jersey City, New Jersey-based broker has had to ask clients to route orders elsewhere.

Knight, a top U.S. market maker - a brokerage that buys and sells stocks for clients and ensures orderly trading - said the generator failed before midday, affecting its institutional equities sales and trading, and market-making businesses….

Knight's clients have been told to send their NYSE-listed and Nasdaq stocks, along with options trades, elsewhere

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/31/us-storm-sandy-knight-idUSBRE89U18420121031