Business Briefing
Qualcomm quarterly profit soars
Qualcomm Inc. says its first-quarter profit more than doubled as demand for chips for cellphones rebounded. But the company remains cautious about the economic recovery this year and its shares tumbled.
Qualcomm, based in San Diego, posted net income of $841 million, or 50 cents per share, up from $341 million, or 20 cents, a year earlier.
Revenue rose 6% to $2.67 billion.
The company’s stock fell 8% in extended trading following after the earnings release.
COURTS
Madoff’s brother is focus of probe
Peter Madoff, brother of imprisoned swindler Bernard Madoff, is the subject of a U.S. criminal investigation, his lawyer said in a civil lawsuit over losses by the charitable foundation of U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.).
Bernard Madoff is serving 150 years in prison for running the largest Ponzi scheme in history.
His brother, who was chief compliance officer at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, has not been criminally charged by the U.S. attorney’s office in New York. That could change, his lawyer said in court papers filed in the Lautenberg case.
ONLINE SALES
‘Discount clubs’ are investigated
New York’s attorney general is investigating more than 20 online retailers over ties to three businesses accused of tricking consumers into paying hidden fees.
Affinion, Vertrue and Web- loyalty have been the subject of thousands of complaints, lawsuits in several states and a U.S. Senate investigation.
Many consumers say they were unwittingly enrolled in “discount clubs” while buying such things as flowers and movie tickets.
Many learned they were club members only when monthly fees turned up on their credit card bills.
Affinion, Vertrue and Web- loyalty say their practices are legal but have promised changes.
LAS VEGAS
Icahn gets OK to buy casino-resort
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has received approval to buy the unfinished Fontainebleau Las Vegas casino-resort on the Strip, according to a hearing by a Florida bankruptcy court.
The approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Miami had been widely expected, as two other bidders previously failed to satisfy bankruptcy auction rules -- leaving Icahn as the sole bidder.
INTERNET
Rating site Yelp raises $25 million
The online business-rating site Yelp has raised $25 million from the private equity firm Elevation Partners.
The funding comes a month after negotiations to sell Yelp to Google unraveled. Google at one point had offered about $500 million for Yelp, according to published reports.
Elevation Partners bought stock at a price that values Yelp at about $475 million, according to a person familiar with the deal’s terms. Yelp has raised a total of $56 million since its 2004 inception.
ACQUISITIONS
Oracle completes purchase of Sun
Oracle says its $7.4-billion purchase of Sun Microsystems has been completed.
The closing of the all-cash deal comes one week after the European Union gave its long-awaited approval, saying the combined company will not significantly affect competition in its markets.
-- times wire reports
