Company News

Jan

IPO Lottery 2013: 10 Companies to Watch

The Chinese calendar might have it pegged as the year of the black snake, but investors are already calling 2013 the year of the enterprise IPO. Not nearly as catchy as something reptilian, but hopefully a lot more profitable than the newly public consumer companies, Facebook chief among them, that took a beating in the public markets in 2012. Consistent with the enterprise theme, we already know...

Sony, BMG in joint bid for Parlophone, EMI labels – FT

Label: Lifestyle

TOKYO (Reuters) – Sony Corp is joining with BMG to bid for Parlophone and other EMI labels on sale by Universal Music, reuniting Sony and Bertelsmann four years after they ended their music joint venture, the Financial Times said on Monday.Vivendi-owned Universal is being forced to sell Parlophone – EMI’s oldest active label with artists including Coldplay and Pet Shop Boys – to satisfy regulators’...

Tehran Is Choked by Annual Buildup of Air Pollution

Label: Health

TEHRAN — Already battered by international threats against their nation’s nuclear program, sanctions and a broken economy, Iranians living here in the capital are now trying to cope with what has become an annual pollution peril: a yellowish haze that engulfs Tehran this time of year. For nearly a week, officials here and in other large cities have been calling on residents to remain indoors...

DealBook: After Madoff, Financial Fraud Defies Policing

Label: Business

LOS ANGELES — To Philip Horn, the Braemar Country Club was not just a golf course, it was an extension of his office. Most weeks, Mr. Horn, a financial adviser at Wells Fargo, chatted up potential clients between holes at the upscale club set against the backdrop of the Santa Monica Mountains.“I always thought, ‘This is a great guy and a straight shooter,’ ” said Barry Zelner, one of several country...

Jan

Reality shows may put crews too close to cutting edge

Label: World

Monica Martino had filmed tornadoes in the Midwest, ship collisions in the Antarctic and crab fishermen in Alaska's Bering Sea....

Looney Gas and Lead Poisoning: A Short, Sad History

Label: Technology

Author’s note: Most people don’t realize that we knew in the 1920s that leaded gasoline was extremely dangerous. And in light of a Mother Jones story this week that looks at the connection between leaded gasoline and crime rates in the United States, I thought it might be worth reviewing that history. The following is an updated version of an earlier post based on information from my book...

French actor Depardieu gets Russian passport

Label: Lifestyle

MOSCOW (AP) — The day after receiving his new Russian passport from President Vladimir Putin, French actor Gerard Depardieu flew Sunday to the provincial town of Saransk, where he was greeted as a local hero and offered an apartment for free.Depardieu had sought Russian citizenship as part of his battle against a proposed super tax on millionaires in France.Putin granted his request last week and...

Despite New Health Law, Some See Sharp Rise in Premiums

Label: Health

Health insurance companies across the country are seeking and winning double-digit increases in premiums for some customers, even though one of the biggest objectives of the Obama administration’s health care law was to stem the rapid rise in insurance costs for consumers. Bob Chamberlin/Los Angeles TimesDave Jones, the California insurance commissioner, said some insurance companies...