Private equity and hedge fund firms had set their sights on placing bets in infrastructure projects, stalled government transportation projects like railways and ports in particular.
North America
Apple purchases Tel Aviv-based PrimeSense for USD345 million - report
According to a report written in Hebrew at Calcalist, Apple acquired the company that helped develop the original Kinect of Microsoft for USD345 million.
First Defiance Financial may attract acquisition offers - analyst
An analyst on the US stock analysis market website SeekingAlpha.com said smaller, regional banks like First Defiance Financial for example, could be attractive takeovers targets.
Prime retail space demand seen after closing of Blockbuster
Small business franchises had been scurrying up to acquire Blockbuster's last 300 stores for its prime retail location, high visibility and access to great parking.
A strategic alliance was born in currency trading fraud - federal investigators
Federal regulators had a suspicion that currency traders have bonded together to increase costs of foreign currencies in order to gain on their investments.
Latest News
Singaporean investment firm Temasek divested its holdings in US-listed companies Facebook, Monsanto and Air Products & Chemicals. The private equity firm, however, remains focused on energy, healthcare and technology stocks in the US.
Dell president and chief commercial officer Steve Felice will be leaving the company barely a month after it was acquired by Dell CEO Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake.
Private equity firm Vista Equity Partners has acquired event software company Active Network. The deal amounted to around USD1 billion with Active Network selling 57 million shares priced at USD14.50 apiece.
New Silicon Valley venture capital firm Luminari Capital obtained a USD8 million funding from pay-TV giant British Sky Broadcasting Group. Sky said that it wants to increase is exposure to US tech startups.
Former US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will be joining global private equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC in March. Geithner became notable for his role during the US financial crisis.
Bermuda-based life insurer Wilton Re Holdings is scouting for investment banks to advise it on its possible sale or initial public offering next year. Wilton Re has received a total fund of USD1.5 billion from private equity firms.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has approved a proposal that would enable upstarts and small firms to offer ownership stakes to retail investors using crowdfuding platforms online.
Chinese institutional investors' outbound investment in real estate will continue to increase next year as buying opportunities emerge in the United States and Europe and international financial institutions dispose of their property assets.
Investors remain inclined to take markets higher in the absence of anything that would suggest equities should fall. The market seems to have hit a stage where strong data helps and weak data affirms the Fed's intentions to keep policy accommodative, which also helps stocks.
