No we shouldn't

Reuters

Apple's promise justifies return to old big self

Big Apple

Spreadsheet bungles alive and well in high finance

Fast data, slow math

Facebook & Google catch glimpse of split futureThe likes of Facebook, Google and Alibaba keep dabbling in new, new things. The US-based social network's $2 billion acquisition of virtual reality headset maker Oculus VR earlier this year is a prime example. At the same time, old-school technology companies are headed for splitsville. They offer a glimpse into the future for their younger counterparts.The $16 billion Symantec, according to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday, is considering separating computer security from the storage business built around the deal it struck in 2004 to buy Veritas Software for $13.5 billion. EMC, with a market value of nearly $60 billion, is under fire from shareholder Elliott Management, which wants it to disband its so-called federation. HP, valued at approaching $70 billion, just announced plans to divide, following close on the heels of similarly sized eBay's desire to spin off PayPal. That keeps with a broader market emphasis on focus. Investors in s

Cycle of life

Marissa Mayer stuck with worthless Yahoo rump

Boo-hoo

Hedge fund-free  -  the latest Californian fad?Call it the Sacramento Model. In contrast to the famed Yale Model for endowments, Calpers, the $300 billion Californian pension manager, is exiting its $4 billion of hedge fund investments. For retirement funds, Calpers' hedge-fund free regime could be more than the latest fad from the Golden State.Part of the problem is performance. Though the sector now manages an all-time high $2.8 trillion worth of assets, according to Hedge Fund Research, returns are uninspiring. The typical manager is up only four per cent this year, less than the 10 per cent total return on stocks in the S&P 500 Index. Even a Barclays index of boring government bonds has returned five per cent.Last year, the nine per cent result for the typical hedge fund holding beat a small loss for bonds, but paled next to the 32 per cent total return on the S&P 500.That wouldn't seem quite so lame were it not for the high fees that hedge funds charge, typically two per c

Extreme topiary

Superpowers reclassify trade from end to means

Trading places

Under the weather

Steady US jobs one facet of new rockier normalSteady US jobs growth is just one facet of a new, rockier normal. July's employment report on Friday showed 209,000 nonfarm jobs added and the slightest of upticks to 6.2 per cent in the unemployment rate. That's decent if unspectacular job creation, and other data are solidifying as well. Yet Argentina's default, conflicts in trouble spots and a trade setback are among the darker clouds. Thursday's selloff in US stocks and its echo around the world hints at what could happen if investors refocus on the bad stuff.A second-quarter US GDP rebound at an annual growth rate of 4 per cent was reported on Tuesday, and on Wednesday the Federal Reserve's statement sounded more bullish on the economy than before. The second-quarter earnings season is looking better than analysts have been expecting, with year-on-year growth in profit at S&P 500 Index companies running above 9 per cent so far.The geopolitical picture is, however, less encouraging.

Good, bad and ugly

Business Standard

Yahoo's Mayer nears post-Alibaba reckoning

Mayer payer

Alibaba is a case study in US-China legal gulf

Eek-commerce

Piketty spreadsheets set bad Excel example

Excel in the 21st century

Hacked eBay exposes itself to another attack

Hacktivist investing

Yahoo!'s Alibaba windfall tough to spend wisely

Searching for meaning

Goldman's NYSE exit further stokes HFT debateGoldman Sachs may yank its last humans from the New York Stock Exchange floor. It is planning to sell what's left of Spear, Leeds & Kellogg, according to the Financial Times. Over the years, the blue-chip Wall Street bank has moved on and invested, among other things, in electronic venues. If nothing else, the timing of the news underscores the shift to computerised trading and a reignited controversy about the flaws it may have brought to US equity markets.Once, the likes of Spear, Leeds & Kellogg were all-powerful brokers pulling market strings and perhaps sometimes taking advantage. Nowadays, regulators, media and best-selling author Michael Lewis are suddenly focused on the potentially unfair edge enjoyed for fractions of a second by the geeks behind super-fast trading.It's no wonder the watchdogs have been left behind. Goldman's departure from the Big Board floor - still a decent slug of the business it bought in 2000 for $6.5 b

Not so flash boys

Zuckerberg grabs at alternative financial reality

Virtual capital

Target $1 bn breach rings bell for Luddite bosses

Moving Target

Googleization of Yahoo hits pricey speed bump

Degoogled

Time for Larry and Sergey to invest in journalism?

Page views

Wall Street's pitchfork mob needs new villain

Casting Blofeld

Target's 40 mln hackees only tip of iceberg

Richard Beales