Thfire.com – iNews

Oracle today,rejected $272 million award from SAP,  says it would rather have another trial over SAP’s theft of software and customer-support documents then accepting the offer.

A jury awarded Oracle $1.3 billion in the case in November 2010, but a federal judge cut that amount last September.

In a Monday filing in a federal court in Oakland, California, Oracle confirmed its earlier decision and rejected the award.

SAP admitted that a now-closed subsidiary, TomorrowNow, pilfered Oracle’s intellectual property.

Oracle argued that this helped SAP undercut Oracle by selling similar services for lower prices. SAP said it didn’t make much use of the documents and should have to pay only $40 million.

Che, its all over. First we have Apple Vs Samsung, Google Vs Facebook, now its Oracle Vs  SAP.

I reckon, we haven’t seen the last of  SAP Vs Oracle fights. A big bash is brewing between the two giants.

Micron Technology Inc has lost it’s CEO and Chariman Steve Appleton in a small plane crash on Friday. As Micron Technology is already struggling to make ends meet this loss will further drag it behind.

The 51-year-old Appleton, a three-decade industry veteran who performed stunts at airshows, died after the small plane he was piloting crashed at an airport in Boise, Idaho, where the chipmaker is headquartered.

His death stunned the tight-knit semiconductor industry. Appleton was a prominent figure in Boise, a city of 200,000 in the western United States, and a member of the Idaho Business Council.

Shares in Micron, halted prior to the announcement, resumed trade after the regular market close and promptly slid 6 percent.

“Steve was a high-energy, never-give-up type of inspirational leader of the company. The entire industry will miss Steve’s energy,” said Stifel Nicolaus analyst Kevin Cassidy. “That said, Micron has a deep bench of managers that shared Steve’s vision.”

The accident happened while Appleton flew an experimental Lancair single-engine airplane, Boise Airport spokeswoman Patti Miller told Reuters. Lancair sells kits to build high-end planes.

After taking off and reaching an altitude of about 200 feet, Appleton radioed that he had a problem and needed to turn around, Boise police spokeswoman Lynn Hightower told reporters.

The aircraft rolled left, then plummeted to the ground, where it crashed, causing a large fire and leaving a twisted, black wreckage.

Appleton, a California native, joined Micron to work a night shift right after graduating from Boise State University in 1983. His subsequent meteoric ascent led to his becoming the youngest CEO on the Fortune 500 at the age of 34, in 1994.

Boise Mayor Dave Bieter said Appleton was sensitive to how job cuts by Micron in recent years affected the community.

“He called me and told me about the layoffs coming up and explained how the business-end of chip technology would develop and that Micron would come out strong on the other end. And it happened exactly the way he said it would,” Bieter told reporters.

The loss of Micron’s dealmaker could waylay a possible acquisition of troubled Japanese rival Elpida Memory. Saddled with millions of dollars in operating losses and major upcoming debt payments, Elpida may be in talks to be bought by Micron or reach some kind of partnership, media recently speculated.

Electronics manufacturer Sony has suffered a $2.9 Billion loss annual lose and it’s new CEO Kazuo Hirai who said he will straighten things out but it will all come with pain.

Overtaken by more innovative rivals such as Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics over the past decade, Sony posted a $2.1 billion net loss for October-December, normally a strong quarter boosted by year-end holiday sales, as it battled a strong yen, flooding in Thailand that ruptured supply chains, and a weak economy.

It also took a one-off charge for exiting a flat panel joint venture with Samsung, and said sales dropped 17 percent to 1.82 trillion yen.

Hirai, a 51-year old Sony veteran known for reviving the PlayStation gaming operations through aggressive cost-cutting, said he would not hesitate to scale back or withdraw from businesses if they were not competitive.

“I have a very strong sense of crisis about the environment surrounding us,” Hirai told a news conference. “We cannot be afraid to make painful choices for the future of Sony. Our rivals and the operating environment won’t wait for us.”

Others are less optimistic about his chances.

“It won’t be easy for Sony to regain its lost ground under new leadership, as its overall competitiveness has sharply weakened,” said Kim Young-Chan, analyst at Shinhan Investment Corp in Seoul.

“It’s got structural problems that will take years to fix.

“It’s not just Sony, but Japanese IT firms have similar problems. They are failing to innovate and produce industry-leading products in almost every major area – from TVs to displays, tablets and smartphones.”

Looks like everyone favorite Twinkies is in trouble. The makers of Twinkies, Hostess is seeking bankruptcy protection as the company is struggling to make ends meet.

Hostess Brands Inc., the maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread, is seeking bankruptcy protection, blaming its pension and medical benefits obligations, increased competition and tough economic conditions.

In its filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, Hostess disclosed that its biggest unsecured creditor is the Bakery & Confectionary Union & Industry International Pension Fund, which it owes approximately $944.2 million.

Its second-largest unsecured creditor, Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Plan is owed far less, about $11.8 million.

Hostess President and CEO Brian Driscoll said in a statement that the company is working to reach a consensual agreement with its unions to modify its collective bargaining agreements. The company said that its current cost structure is not competitive mostly because of legacy pension and medical benefit obligations and restrictive work rules.

In its bankruptcy filing, Hostess also listed its estimated assets between $500 million and $1 billion and its estimated liabilities at more than $1 billion.

Hostess said that it will look to restructure into a “strong, competitive” company. It will continue to run bakeries, outlet stores and distribution centers and deliver its goods during the process.

Hostess has about 19,000 employees and operates in 49 states. Annual sales are about $2 billion, according to the company’s website.

India wants foreigners to directly invest in it’s stock market. Till now foreigners could not make any direct investment in the stock market but they will be able to invest through Mutual Funds.

So, why this sudden move especially after the uproar in the country over Foreign Direct Investment in the retail sector. They got their reasons, they want to give some stability to their messed up market.

The announcement late Sunday follows a year of large losses on the Sensex, India’s benchmark index. The new regulations will come into effect Jan. 15.

A government statement said the change is intended to help combat market volatility and increase the flow of foreign funds into the country.

India’s benchmark Sensex index fell more than 22 percent in 2011, making it one of the worst performing in the region. The rupee also lost about 14 percent this year and recently hit a lifetime low, breaching 54 rupees to the dollar.

This is the weakest the rupee has been since it was allowed to float against the dollar in the early 1990s.

After several years of 8 percent growth, the Indian economy has slowed down. The Ministry of Finance last month trimmed its growth projection for the fiscal year through March to around 7.5 percent, down from an earlier forecast of 9 percent.

Growth in the September quarter slipped to a two-year low of 6.9 percent and industrial production fell 5.1 percent in October, its first contraction since June 2009.

World has started to enter the year 2012 with much hope and expectations as it bids goodbye to a tough year. So what is to be expected in the year ahead ? Will it provide some treatment to the global issues ?

Fireworks, kisses and parties are welcoming the year 2012 across the world. But the wreaked economy is offering little hope to them.

Sydney New Year 2012 Fireworks

The world sure can look forward for increasing taxes, decreasing wages and less jobs.  It is not right that I try to put these fears in your heart when everyone out there is happy and enjoying. But the facts I listed above seems to be happening year after year, so expect it.

Hope you all have a good new year and be prepared….

Now, this threat is surly something the entire world will want to watch out for. Because stopping the Gulf oil supply could really create havoc over the already deadbeat world economy.

This isn’t really an ordinary threat and will surely provoke oil dependent nations to trigger a military action against Iran. So, what is in this for Iran ?

Iran surely will be aware of the consequences if it’s threat is brought into action. Are the Iranians really ready for a war ? Or are they just hoping this will make the western nations(who approved the sanctions) know who the boss really is Or are they just bargaining ?

Iran threatened on Tuesday to stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz if foreign sanctions were imposed on its crude exports over its nuclear ambitions, a move that could trigger military conflict with economies dependent on Gulf oil.

Many diplomats and analysts believe only sanctions targeting Iran’s lifeblood oil sector might be painful enough to make it change course, but Russia and China – big trade partners of Tehran – have blocked such a move at the United Nations.

Iran’s warning on Tuesday came three weeks after EU foreign ministers decided to tighten sanctions over the U.N. watchdog report and laid out plans for a possible embargo of oil from the world’s No. 5 crude exporter.

“If they (the West) impose sanctions on Iran’s oil exports, then even one drop of oil cannot flow from the Strait of Hormuz,” the official Iranian news agency IRNA quoted Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi as saying.

The U.S. State Department said it saw “an element of bluster” in the threat but underscored that the United States would support the free flow of oil.

“It’s another attempt to distract attention away from the real issue, which is their continued non-compliance with their international nuclear obligations,” spokesman Mark Toner said.

Rahimi’s remarks coincided with a 10-day Iranian naval exercise in the Strait and nearby waters, a show of military force that began on Saturday.

“Our enemies will give up on their plots against Iran only if we give them a firm and strong lesson,” Rahimi said.