The Traderszone Network

NEW YORK/BOSTON (Reuters) – Some top shareholders of IBM, disappointed by 11 straight quarters of falling revenues, are seeking help from activist investors to shake up the company, but have been turned down by both Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square and Jeffrey Ubben’s ValueAct, according to people with knowledge of the matter. International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N) is concerned about a possible attack by prominent activist hedge funds, and is working with two investment banks to formulate a defense plan, according to the people, who declined to be identified.

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Some of the world’s most prominent hedge fund managers suffered losses last month as the U.S. stock market’s rally stalled, but most are still boasting gains for the quarter. William Ackman’s $20 billion Pershing Square Capital Management, which ranked among last year’s best performers with a 40 percent gain, dipped 3.1 percent in March as shares in Herbalife Ltd, a stock he bet would fall, climbed anew. For the year, however, the fund has gained 3.5 percent, an investor said on Thursday.

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Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp will spend about 150 billion yen ($1.3 billion) to build two new car plants in Mexico and China, two people familiar with plans said, ending a three-year freeze imposed after unchecked growth lumbered the world’s biggest auto maker with too many idle production lines. President Akio Toyoda had been cautious about expanding after Toyota was hit by a capacity glut following the global financial crisis. The new plants will raise Toyota’s annual production capacity by nearly 300,000 cars, the two people said – 200,000 in Mexico and up to 100,000 in China.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) plans to work with China’s lenders to co-finance Asian projects outside China, ADB vice-president Stephen Groff was quoted on Friday as saying. ADB has signed a memorandum of understanding with the China Development Bank (CDB) and Export-Import Bank of China to “look for opportunities outside China,” the China Daily newspaper reported from its interview with Groff.

Market focus will shift from macro to micro next week as economic data winds down and quarterly earnings reports from S&P 500 components including Alcoa take center-stage. Earnings expectations have been …

A jury finds Chrysler responsible in the death of a 4-year-old Georgia boy in a fiery Jeep crash and orders the auto maker to pay $150 million in damages.
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Pfizer is ceasing vaccine sales operations in China after the Chinese government fails to renew an import license for one of its products, a move that the company says will cause a shortage of the treatment in China.
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