Published: May 26, 2010
By MIGUEL HELFT and ASHLEE VANCE
SAN FRANCISCO — Apple, the maker of iPods, iPhones and iPads, overtook Microsoft, the computer software giant, on Wednesday to become the world’s most valuable technology company.
In intraday trading in the afternoon session, Apple shares rose 1.8 percent, which gave the company a value of $227.1 billion. Shares of Microsoft declined about 1 percent, giving the company a market capitalization of $226.3 billion.
The only American company valued higher is Exxon Mobil, with a market capitalization of $282 billion.
This changing of the guard caps one of the most stunning turnarounds in business history, as Apple had been given up for dead only a decade earlier. But the rapidly rising value attached to Apple by investors also heralds a cultural shift: Consumer tastes have overtaken the needs of business as the leading force shaping technology.
Microsoft, with its Windows and Office software franchises, has dominated the relationship most people had with their computers for almost two decades and that was reflected in its stock market capitalization. But the click-clack of the keyboard has ceded ground to the swoosh of a finger across a smartphone’s touch-screen.
“It is the single most important turnaround that I have seen in Silicon Valley,” said Jim Breyer, a venture capitalist who has invested in some of the most successful technology companies.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Supreme Court rules for black Chicago firefighters
10:50 a.m. CDT, May 24, 2010
Washington...Justice Antonin Scalia, speaking at the court Monday, said he and his colleagues were applying the civil rights laws as written by Congress, not necessarily as he and others think it should be written. Since 1991, federal law has made it illegal for employers to use an "employment practice" that had a "disparate impact on the basis of race."The Chicago case began in 1995 when 26,000 applicants took a written test to become a city firefighter. Faced with the large number applicants for only several hundred jobs, the city decided it would only consider those who scored 89 or above.This cut-off score excluded a high percentage of the minority applicants. And after a trial in 2005, U.S. District Judge Joan Gottschall ruled the test had an illegal "disparate impact" because the city had not justified the use of the cut-off score. Experts had testified that applicants who scored in the 70s or 80s were shown to be capable of succeeding as firefighters.The city did not contest that conclusion, but it won a reversal from the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on a procedural technicality. The appellate judges said the applicants had waited too long to sue. They had not sued during the year when the test results were released, but sued only after the scores were used to decide who would be hired.Civil-rights lawyers appealed on behalf of Arthur Lewis and the other black applicants. They were joined by the Obama administration, which said the federal civil rights law forbids the "use" of discriminatory tests. And by that standard, the suit was filed on time.The high court agreed Monday in Lewis v. Chicago. "Our charge is to give effect to the law Congress enacted," Scalia said. The class of black applicants had sued at the time the test was used, and it resulted in their not being hired, he concluded.The unanimous ruling stands in sharp contrast to the deep split within the Supreme Court last year over a case involving white firefighters from New Haven, Connecticut. They sued after they were denied promotions when the city scrapped a test because its impact on black applicants. They won a 5-4 ruling from the Supreme Court saying they were victims of illegal discrimination.Chicago's case involved the opposite situation. Where New Haven had backed away from using its test results, Chicago pressed ahead and was later sued for using a test that had a discriminatory impact on blacks.In Monday's opinion, Scalia acknowledged this law creates "practical problems for employers" and can "produce puzzling results." He concluded, however, "it is a problem for Congress, not one that federal courts can fix."David.savage@latimes.com
Washington...Justice Antonin Scalia, speaking at the court Monday, said he and his colleagues were applying the civil rights laws as written by Congress, not necessarily as he and others think it should be written. Since 1991, federal law has made it illegal for employers to use an "employment practice" that had a "disparate impact on the basis of race."The Chicago case began in 1995 when 26,000 applicants took a written test to become a city firefighter. Faced with the large number applicants for only several hundred jobs, the city decided it would only consider those who scored 89 or above.This cut-off score excluded a high percentage of the minority applicants. And after a trial in 2005, U.S. District Judge Joan Gottschall ruled the test had an illegal "disparate impact" because the city had not justified the use of the cut-off score. Experts had testified that applicants who scored in the 70s or 80s were shown to be capable of succeeding as firefighters.The city did not contest that conclusion, but it won a reversal from the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on a procedural technicality. The appellate judges said the applicants had waited too long to sue. They had not sued during the year when the test results were released, but sued only after the scores were used to decide who would be hired.Civil-rights lawyers appealed on behalf of Arthur Lewis and the other black applicants. They were joined by the Obama administration, which said the federal civil rights law forbids the "use" of discriminatory tests. And by that standard, the suit was filed on time.The high court agreed Monday in Lewis v. Chicago. "Our charge is to give effect to the law Congress enacted," Scalia said. The class of black applicants had sued at the time the test was used, and it resulted in their not being hired, he concluded.The unanimous ruling stands in sharp contrast to the deep split within the Supreme Court last year over a case involving white firefighters from New Haven, Connecticut. They sued after they were denied promotions when the city scrapped a test because its impact on black applicants. They won a 5-4 ruling from the Supreme Court saying they were victims of illegal discrimination.Chicago's case involved the opposite situation. Where New Haven had backed away from using its test results, Chicago pressed ahead and was later sued for using a test that had a discriminatory impact on blacks.In Monday's opinion, Scalia acknowledged this law creates "practical problems for employers" and can "produce puzzling results." He concluded, however, "it is a problem for Congress, not one that federal courts can fix."David.savage@latimes.com
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Greek PM Says US Banks Victimized Greece, Calls For Regulation
5-16-2010
ATHENS (Dow Jones)--The Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said Sunday that he agrees that U.S. investments banks victimized Greece and wants more regulation of financial markets, but that deficit reduction plans are progressing well.
Asked whether Greece was a victim of American investment banks in an interview on CNN on the Fareed Zakaria GPS show, Papandreou said there were "negative practices that are currently being investigated...so there is responsibility there."
The prime minister didn't rule out taking legal recourse against the banks, but he wants to review the results of investigations before making a firm decision.
Papandreou said: "In 2008 we had governments bailing out the financial markets and the banks, and now the banks are funding hedge funds that are betting against the same governments that actually helped them.
"This is a paradox and I think this is where we need to also regulate markets.
"We are fully aware of our responsibilities and what we must do. And there is determination, and not just from me and the government, but also from the Greek people to turn things around and make structural changes."
Greece has promised to cut its budget deficit from 13.6% of gross domestic product in 2009 to below 3% of GDP in three to four years.
Papandreou said: "We are determined to do it and we already have results in the first quarter where we have cut the budget by 40% compared to last year."
The prime mister said a majority of Greek understand that the measures are for "the salvation of the country and the economy. It is easy scapegoat Greece and engage in Greek bashing but we are proud nation, give us a chance and we will show you."
By Nick Skrekas, +30 210 2830685; nskrekas@trk.forthnet.gr
ATHENS (Dow Jones)--The Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said Sunday that he agrees that U.S. investments banks victimized Greece and wants more regulation of financial markets, but that deficit reduction plans are progressing well.
Asked whether Greece was a victim of American investment banks in an interview on CNN on the Fareed Zakaria GPS show, Papandreou said there were "negative practices that are currently being investigated...so there is responsibility there."
The prime minister didn't rule out taking legal recourse against the banks, but he wants to review the results of investigations before making a firm decision.
Papandreou said: "In 2008 we had governments bailing out the financial markets and the banks, and now the banks are funding hedge funds that are betting against the same governments that actually helped them.
"This is a paradox and I think this is where we need to also regulate markets.
"We are fully aware of our responsibilities and what we must do. And there is determination, and not just from me and the government, but also from the Greek people to turn things around and make structural changes."
Greece has promised to cut its budget deficit from 13.6% of gross domestic product in 2009 to below 3% of GDP in three to four years.
Papandreou said: "We are determined to do it and we already have results in the first quarter where we have cut the budget by 40% compared to last year."
The prime mister said a majority of Greek understand that the measures are for "the salvation of the country and the economy. It is easy scapegoat Greece and engage in Greek bashing but we are proud nation, give us a chance and we will show you."
By Nick Skrekas, +30 210 2830685; nskrekas@trk.forthnet.gr
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Gun Found in Bomb Suspect's Car, Sources Say
NEW YORK, May 4, 2010
CBS News Also Learns Components From Times Square Device Were Found in Conn. Apartment of Suspect
CBS) A Federal law enforcement source told CBS News that components from the incendiary device left in a smoking SUV in Times Square Saturday evening were found in the suspect's Connecticut apartment. A 9 mm handgun with extra clips was also discovered in Faisal Shahzad's car at New York's JFK International Airport, CBS News' Len Tepper reports. Shahzad, a naturalized American citizen of Pakistani descent, was taken into custody last night. Components from the device that were found in Shahzad's Bridgeport, Conn., apartment last night include the boxes for the clocks that were wired to the Nissan Pathfinder's explosive contents. His Connecticut apartment was still being searched by law enforcement agents early Tuesday morning. Photos: Times Square Car Bomb Suspect Officials also told CBS News that the plane Shahzad boarded for the United Arab Emirates was never going to leave JFK; law enforcement had already notified authorities that the plane was not to take off. Emirates Flight 201 had taxied from the gate but was returned, when Shahzad was arrested arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement officers. Sources also told CBS News that Shahzad had made a call to Emirates to either make the reservation or confirm his reservation while on route to the airport.
CBS News Also Learns Components From Times Square Device Were Found in Conn. Apartment of Suspect
CBS) A Federal law enforcement source told CBS News that components from the incendiary device left in a smoking SUV in Times Square Saturday evening were found in the suspect's Connecticut apartment. A 9 mm handgun with extra clips was also discovered in Faisal Shahzad's car at New York's JFK International Airport, CBS News' Len Tepper reports. Shahzad, a naturalized American citizen of Pakistani descent, was taken into custody last night. Components from the device that were found in Shahzad's Bridgeport, Conn., apartment last night include the boxes for the clocks that were wired to the Nissan Pathfinder's explosive contents. His Connecticut apartment was still being searched by law enforcement agents early Tuesday morning. Photos: Times Square Car Bomb Suspect Officials also told CBS News that the plane Shahzad boarded for the United Arab Emirates was never going to leave JFK; law enforcement had already notified authorities that the plane was not to take off. Emirates Flight 201 had taxied from the gate but was returned, when Shahzad was arrested arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement officers. Sources also told CBS News that Shahzad had made a call to Emirates to either make the reservation or confirm his reservation while on route to the airport.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)