The Facebook hit to UBS: $350 million

ZURICH—UBS said it took a loss of more than $350 million on the ill-fated Facebook Inc. initial public offering, wiping out nearly half of its second-quarter profit, and it accused Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. of a "gross mishandling" of the stock-market listing.

Wall Street Journal article

Eike Batista drops $6 Billion in 48 Hours

Brazilian mining magnate Eike Batista loves to talk in superlatives. He's the richest man in Brazil and talks frequently about becoming the richest man in the world. His autobiography is sub-titled "The Path of Brazil's Greatest Entrepreneur." And whether it's racing speedboats or marrying Playboy models, he lives life to the maximum. But now, Brazil's Donald Trump may have set a new record - for the largest amount of wealth lost in 48 hours.


article

Facebook: A Dog with Fleas

Gordon Gekko to Bud Fox - Wall Street (1987)

"Not bad, but that's a dog with different fleas."

The stock is in a nose-dive. The CEO is offering Wall Street no guidance on future operating expectations. People are now calling the company FaceBerg. Investors feel "Zucker-punched." Mark Cuban exited the stock weeks ago with a $200k hit to his personal balance sheet. The last minute over-pricing of the Facebook IPO (as recommended by the Facebook CFO) now looks like an exercise in pure greed.

But, nevertheless, and in the interest of fair reporting and commentary, the stock and the company still has fans. This is what passes for sophisticated financial analysis on Wall Street these days:

"The company's user base currently comprises the third-largest country in the world, and its emphasis on mobile platforms suggests to us that it can become the largest country in the world in a matter of years. Facebook has immense value, which may not be readily apparent from its near term earnings, but which is substantial nonetheless." - Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter

Billionaires continue to buy Netflix

Betting on a continued turnaround at Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), billionaire investors such as Julian Robertson and Steven Cohen continue to build positions in the stock according to SEC reported data.

7/24 update ---

Businessweek article-Netflix's 2Q numbers disappoints, stock tumbles

Microsoft Reports Loss Due to Write-down

Microsoft Corp. Reports First Huge Loss As Public Company

A substantial accounting write-down of $6.2 billion related to the company's 2007 acquisition of aQuantive, an online advertising company, has wiped the software maker's entire Q4 profit.

previous on ThinkBillions-

Microsoft stock continues to go nowhere, but Steve Ballmer has a plan!

Thank you Marissa Mayer!

Thank you for what??? .... you dare blog!


Well where do we begin?


Thank you for NOT being Scott Thompson!


Thank you for NOT being Jerry Yang!


Thank you for NOT being several other complete bozo's that have been run in and out of the Yahoo! sand box executive suite over the past! ten! years!


Basically, we are saying: Thank you Yahoo! for NOT making a Yahoo!-like decision!

Dell is still 'not just a PC company anymore'

MICHAEL DELL:  Well, in the last five years or so, we've really made a concerted shift in our business towards end-to-end IT solutions.  And if you think about the businesses that Dell is in today, there are really four of them.  Certainly, we start with the client business, which is kind of transforming with all the things that are going on in mobility and client virtualization and that brings new needs in terms of security and those kinds of challenges that exist.

Fortune interview 

Richard Branson gets close to take off

Mark Zuckerberg's credit score gets him a low mortgage rate

Bloomberg News:

Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg is giving new meaning to the term "the one percent." The Facebook Inc. (FB) founder refinanced a $5.95 million mortgage on his Palo Alto, California, home with a 30-year adjustable-rate loan starting at 1.05 percent, according to public records for the property.

Ralph Lauren Outsources Olympic Uniforms to China

Outrage this week developed over the Team USA Olympic uniforms for the Opening Ceremonies in London in not just the style, but the Ralph Lauren decision to outsource. 


A huge public relations firestorm was discovered when Ralph Lauren's made-in-China label was noticed by all.


Ralph Lauren, at a time when American's are not interested in China or the outsourcing message, promises not to do the same for 2014; but that satisfied nobody.


Shame, Ralph Lauren, shame.

A British billionaire murder-mystery for Scotland Yard?

Just in time for the Olympic Games in London this summer, does Scotland Yard have an Olympic-size murder mystery to solve??? Stay tuned mystery thrill seekers.

Yes, Eva Rausing is dead in west London. She was found dead at her home located in the Belgravia district in Chelsea this week. Police have sealed the home. Police are unsure how long  Eva has been dead.

Eva Rausing, 48, was the daughter of a US Coca-Cola executive. She led a life marred by severe drug addiction over decades. Eva made international headlines in 2008 when she got caught smuggling heroin and crack cocaine into the US embassy in London for a reception.

Few people who knew Eva closely, it seems, are surprised at her death. Least of which is her husband, Hans Kristian Rausing, who reportedly expressed no emotion over the event. The couple met at a rehab compound in the United States.

British police, from the beginning, called it an "unexplained death."

Hans. K, as he is known to his friends and associates, is an heir to a pretty sizeable fortune. His dad is Hans Rausing, 86,one of the world's wealthiest men, ranked 88th in the Forbes rich list (net worth: at $10 billion). The business was milk cartons. Tetra Pak milk cartons.

Eva's parents released a statement from South Carolina, saying: they were "deeply saddened by the death of their beloved daughter. Eva was a devoted wife for 20 years and mother of four much loved and wonderful children."

Scotland Yard continues to investigate.

Stay tuned mystery thrill seekers.

Sun Valley hosts billionaires

Marriage to a Billionaire

The Marriage Bargain (Marriage to a Billionaire)

A marriage in name only...

To save her family home, impulsive bookstore owner, Alexa Maria McKenzie, casts a love spell. But she never planned on conjuring up her best friend's older brother—the powerful man who once shattered her heart.

Billionaire Nicholas Ryan doesn’t believe in marriage, but in order to inherit his father’s corporation, he needs a wife and needs one fast. When he discovers his sister’s childhood friend is in dire financial straits, he offers Alexa a bold proposition.

A marriage in name only with certain rules: Avoid entanglement. Keep things all business. Do not fall in love. The arrangement is only for a year so the rules shouldn’t be that hard to follow, right?

Except fate has a way of upsetting the best-laid plans…

The Marriage Bargain (Marriage to a Billionaire)

Richard Branson set record for kite-surfing across the Channel

It took two attempts in 24 hours, but Sir Richard Branson has entered the record books as the oldest person to kite-surf the English Channel.

The 61-year-old Virgin boss crossed from Dymchurch, Kent, to Wimereux in northern France in three hours and 45 minutes yesterday to establish the first Guinness World Record for the oldest person to make the crossing by kite-surfing.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2167462/Billionaire-Richard-Branson-son-Sam-set-records-kite-surfing-Channel.html#ixzz1zThFIwRF