Financial News

Swisscom, Switzerland's leading telecoms firm, has abandoned takeover talks with Ireland's Eircom after the Swiss government objected to the deal. The government - which owns 66% of the company - said it would not support the move, arguing that foreign deals could limit domestic investment. It retains control of Swisscom despite its partial privatisation in 1998. Swisscom said it would avoid foreign deals until a new strategy is agreed, which may see the state sell its stake. Domestic limits ...

NEW YORK (Dow Jones) -- U.S. stocks traded around the flatline Friday as investors locked in prior-session gains, in a market that welcomed a November employment report that showed solid job growth, but left no reason to fear the economy was overheating. The Dow industrials (DJI) bounced off an early low of 10,885.59. The benchmark index was last down 11 points at 10,900. The Nasdaq Composit ...

NEW YORK (Dow Jones) - UBS equity analysts threw cold water on speculation of a takeover of U.S. Steel Corp., downgrading the shares to reduce from neutral Friday after a month-long run-up in price. U.S. Steel (X), with subsidies in Slovakia and Serbia, was the world's seventh-largest steel producer in 2004 with an enterprise value of $8.3 billion, making any merger unlikely, according to UBS ana ...

NEW YORK (Dow Jones) -- U.S. stocks traded broadly lower in afternoon trading Friday, after a November employment report that was in line with expectations gave investors little incentive to extend the prior session's sharp gains. The Dow industrials (DJI) was last down 36 points at 10,876, with 22 of 30 components contributing to losses. The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) dipped 2 points to  ...

LOS ANGELES (Dow Jones) -- Technology stocks edged higher overall on Friday following the prior session's sharp rally, with shares of Novell Inc. jumping 10% in the wake of its quarterly results. The technology-laden Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) gained 6 points, or 0.3%, to finish at 2,273. For the week, the sector's key index nudged higher by 0.5%. Novell's shares jumped after the networki ...

NEW YORK (Dow Jones) -- U.S. stocks ended mixed Friday, closing the week with a modest decline, as investors locked in recent gains following a string of reports underlining the robust health of the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), which jumped more than 100 points in the previous session, ended down 35.06 points at 10,877.51. For the week, the benchmark index fell 0.5%. "You ...

LONDON (Reuters) - UK cable company NTL Inc. is in talks to buy Virgin Mobile in a deal that would create a powerhouse TV, telecommunications and mobile phone company under the Virgin brand, according to sources close to the talks. Virgin Mobile is about 72 percent owned by billionaire British tycoon Richard Branson. Under the terms of the deal, Branson would trade his Virgin Mobile shares for  ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Cable firm NTL (NTLI.O: Quote, Profile, Research) has made an 817 million pound takeover approach to Virgin Mobile (VMOB.L: Quote, Profile, Research) to create a TV, Internet and phone service provider under the Virgin brand. A deal to buy Virgin Mobile would allow NTL to add mobile services to its existing "triple-play" line-up of TV, Internet and telephony services, giving it a potential advantage over rivals like BT Group (BT.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and satellite b ...