Alibaba now world's biggest IPO; Rockefeller family pulls money from oil; Tesco admits earnings blunder
Stocks kicking off the week with slight losses after China's finance minister dashed hopes that Beijing would provide fresh stimulus measures, and as investors weighed data on existing home sales.
Related: RadioShack looks for ways to ease restructuring; Alibaba nabs new title; Tesco accounting blunder
Alibaba nabbed the title as the world’s biggest initial public offering. The Chinese e-commerce giant sold additional shares of the company, increasing its offering size by 15% to $25 billion, making it the world’s biggest IPO. Bankers for Alibaba exercised the so-called “greenshoe” option to sell more shares on strong demand. Alibaba shares were lower in early trading after a 38% pop on Friday, on its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Yahoo (YHOO), our parent company has a roughly 16% stake in Alibaba post IPO. Bank of America and Sanford Bernstein both downgraded Yahoo's stock this morning.
RadioShack (RSH) grabbing headlines once again. The troubled consumer electronics retailer said it’s in talks with major vendor over potential changes that could lead to a restructuring. Earlier this month, RadioShack said it was exploring options for new capital to avoid a bankruptcy.
On the earnings front, AutoZone (AZO) reported earnings per share that beat by $0.02, but revenue was slightly shy of estimates.
Tesco (TESO) also on investors’ radar after the British supermarket chain said it overstated its latest profits due to an accounting error. The company has appointed independent auditors from Deloitte to review the discrepancy. The announcement follows the recent departure of Tesco's Chief Executive and CFO after a string of disappointing results.
Dresser-Rand (DRC) shares were higher in early trading after German engineering group Siemens said it would buy the U.S. oil-equipment maker for $7.6 billion , or $83 a share. The deal will help Siemens expand its oil and gas business in North America.
Data storage giant EMC (EMC) and computer-maker Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) reportedly spent a year in talks considering a merger, although the plans fell through recently. EMC may be looking at other options as it faces pressure form activist investor Paul Singer.
“It (EMC) needs to find its way forward in a new environment. They were built for the data base environment not for the cloud, and so this is going to be difficult for them (EMC) to go forward, as is," said Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Aaron Task.
Related: Rockefeller heirs divest from fossil fuels
Meanwhile, the Rockefeller family is divesting their family's charity fund (Rockefeller Brothers Fund) from fossil fuels. According to the New York Times the official announcement will come today. It's a big statement from the family who earned their fame and fortune from Standard Oil. The announcement came on the heels of major climate change marches across the world.
