Yahoo! (YHOO) owns 39% of large Chinese online e-commerce operation Alibaba. Alibaba executives would like to exchange that stake for cash. Yahoo! could give that money to shareholders as a special dividend. It may be a bit late for that. Alibaba’s stock is down 62% this year. The situation is another example of bumbling by Yahoo! management.
Analysts who think that money center banks are out of the woods, may want to look at the RBS results for the first half of 2008. According to The Times, "The Royal Bank of Scotland is poised to unveil the biggest loss in UK banking history after taking a hit of almost £6 billion from the credit crisis."
In what was supposed to be a display of confidence, newly anointed Xerox director Chuck Prince, the man who came about as close to Citigroup as any mortal could have, has acquired 10,000 shares of his new company’s stock at a purchase price of a little more than $130,000.
That must be reassuring to shareholders! Chuck Prince walked away from Citigroup with a heinously undeserved $95 million and has now condescended to invest less than 1/730th at the company where he has been inexplicably given a role on the board of directors. Back when his appointment was first announced, I wrote that "If I were a Xerox shareholder, I’d be insulted."