Oil prices drop for the whole week
Published 7:57 pm Friday, July 18, 2008
A stunning sell-off dragged oil prices to their biggest weekly drop ever and gas at the pump slipped by the more than it has in months, giving consumers a rare breather in a year of record fuel prices. Light, sweet crude for August delivery fell 41 cents Friday to settle at $128.88 on the New York Mercantile Exchange — well below its trading record of more than $147 a week earlier.
Biggest shareholder backs Yahoo
One of Yahoo Inc.’s largest shareholders is supporting the re-election of the Internet company’s incumbent board, delivering a significant blow to an attempted coup being led by activist investor Carl Icahn. With Friday’s announcement, Legg Mason Capital Management Inc. became the biggest major Yahoo shareholder to publicly declare it will vote for the nine current directors — a group that has been under fire since Microsoft withdrew a $47.5 billion takeover bid 2½ months ago in a disagreement over price. Legg Mason, a mutual fund manager, owns 4.4 percent of Yahoo’s stock.
IBM profits beat estimates
IBM Corp.’s second-quarter profit leaped 22 percent, blowing past Wall Street estimates as the technology company’s bread-and-butter services division continued to thrive despite economic malaise in the U.S. The Armonk, N.Y.-based company also raised its profit outlook for 2008, saying it expects to earn at least $8.75 per share on the year, an improvement of 25 cents per share over IBM’s previous guidance. The large jump reflects IBM’s optimism that it will continue to benefit from its broad international penetration.
Chip maker AMD drops CEO Ruiz
Hector Ruiz has been pushed aside after six tumultuous years as chief executive of Advanced Micro Devices Inc., as the chip maker tries to pull itself out of a deep financial hole caused by a questionable acquisition and a major product gaffe. Ruiz, 62, is stepping down as chief executive but will remain on the board of directors. He had been the only person to head AMD other than founder and longtime chief executive Jerry Sanders. Ruiz is being replaced by AMD’s president and chief operating officer, Dirk Meyer, 46, an engineer and chip designer who has helped run the company since 2006.
New finance officer for Neah Power
Neah Power Systems Inc. of Bothell, which is developing fuel cells for military, industrial and consumer devices, appointed Stephen Wilson as its chief financial officer Friday. He succeeds David Barnes, who resigned, the company said in a news release. Earlier this year, Wilson was named by Neah Power as controller and corporate secretary.
From Herald staff and news services
