NEW YORK: A handful of potential bidders, including private equity firms, are lining up to look at BlackBerry, but initial indications suggest that interest is tepid and buyers are eyeing parts of the Canadian smartphone maker rather than the whole company, several sources familiar with the situation said.
Private equity firms are mostly interested in businesses such as BlackBerry’s
operating system and the patents around its keyboard, two of the
sources said. However, one possibility is for a Canadian pension fund to
team up with an investor to buy the whole company, which is currently
worth a little more than $5 billion, one of the sources said.
The apparent lack of interest among private equity firms in the whole company underscores the challenges BlackBerry has been facing in competing with rivals such as Apple Inc’s iPhone and devices using Google Inc’s Android technology.
Its new BlackBerry devices hit store shelves this year just as the high-end smartphone segment was showing signs of saturation in markets such as the United States. Samsung Electronics recently reported results that fell shy of expectations, while Apple earlier this year reported its first quarterly profit decline in more than a decade.
The new BlackBerry device has so far failed to gain traction with consumers, and the company – which pioneered mobile email with its first smartphones and email pagers and was once a stock market darling – has seen its shares plummet.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/hardware/Few-takers-for-BlackBerry-Sources/articleshow/22572948.cms
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Thanks to crowded roads and tighter laws, smaller cars have
become the norm around the world. Thanks to the human thirst for
superlatives and recognition, the Guinness Book of World Records enjoys a
steady stream of hopefuls seeking their sliver of glory. But it was one
Austin Coulson of Texas who combined these two impulses into a goal of
building the world’s smallest street-legal car.
Coulson says he sat out to break the record by building a custom frame, then adding in various spare parts. The metal body designed to look like a 1957 Chevy comes from a child’s toy, and the tiny gas engine was borrowed from a mini all-terrain vehicle. The combination allows Coulson’s creation to measure just 25 inches high, 24.75 inches wide and and 49.75 inches long.
The tiny engine means the microcar can only hit 25 mph, but that’s enough to meet U.S. standards for a neighborhood vehicle. Those rules also require a few accoutrements like a seat belt and a windshield wiper which looks comical, but Coulson says they all function as required. Guinness agreed, certifying his creation as the smallest roadworthy vehicle in the world last week ahead of the publication of its 2014 edition of its world records book. Now all he needs is a tiny cupholder.
——————————————————
Sara Gilbert has been very open
about her sexuality in recent years, but there was a time early on in
her career when she wasn’t quite as comfortable letting people know who
she really was.
Johnny Galecki, her Roseanne costar and ex-boyfriend, helped change that.
Gilbert opened up about their relationship, and its role in her coming to terms with being gay, during an emotional episode of The Talk yesterday.
“So, some of you may know that when I was a teenager, I dated Johnny Galecki for a little while, who played my boyfriend and husband on Roseanne,” Gilbert began. “And I thought he was super cute and had a total crush on him, and we started dating, and he would come over, and we would make out, and then I would start to get depressed.”
She continued: “Johnny felt badly, I think, and started to
take it personally and didn’t know what was going on. So I eventually
told him that I thought it was about my sexuality and he was super sweet
about it.”
Read more: http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/sara-gilbert-i-realized-i-was-gay-while-dating-johnny-galecki-2013139#ixzz2esFtSPAW
That’s right, boys and girls, John, who now plays Leonard on the TV sitcom “Big Bang Theory” really did date Sara in real life, but not only that………………… he turned her GAY!
—————————————————
Speaking of celebrities, in spite of numerous requests by our readers, The Perspective Research Department has not been able to find out who Taylor Swift is dating now!
(Of course we didn’t care enough to really try very hard!)
———————————————————
As we all know by now, Senator Pamela Wallin has plunged into
a scandal that threatens both her reputation and the red chamber. An
external audit has found that $138,970 of $532,508 in expenses Wallin
billed to the Senate for travel were improper: it was deemed personal or
related to Conservative party business.
Wallin has apologized publicly, saying there was no attempt to mislead. Late this afternoon, Wallin released a statement saying that she has “personally reimbursed” the Government of Canada with personal cheques amounting $100,600.98. (Wallin had previously repaid $38,000.)
“I welcome an independent and objective review by the RCMP and I intend to co-operate fully with any such review,” Wallin said in a statement. ”I have not done anything wrong. I am not guilty of any misconduct. Accordingly I will not resign as a senator.”
Just one thing folks, Pamela did not FALL from grace ………………………, SHE JUMPED!
———————————————————-
Police in Mexico City have clashed with protesters during an operation to clear a square occupied by striking teachers.
Striking teachers had been camped out there for weeks. Some responded with rocks as police moved in after a government deadline passed.
(The teachers have been demanding changes to education reforms approved by President Enrique Pena Nieto.)
The authorities said they wanted to clear Zocalo square for the Independence Day celebrations this weekend.
Most of the protesters left peacefully by Friday’s deadline because the cops had guns………………. and they didn’t!
——————————————————
Suspected remains found in Presqu’ile Provincial Park, just south of Brighton in eastern Ontario, have been identified as a human foot.
Park staff found the foot, inside a women’s running shoe, on the north shore of Gull Island in Lake Ontario.
The shoe is a size 11 Mizuno brand for a left foot and is grey, black and pink.
Provincial police were called in to investigate on Wednesday.
Anyone who has lost a foot is asked to contact provincial police at the Brighton detachment.
————————————————————–
AND FINALLY:
The best political cartoon I’ve seen all week!
The apparent lack of interest among private equity firms in the whole company underscores the challenges BlackBerry has been facing in competing with rivals such as Apple Inc’s iPhone and devices using Google Inc’s Android technology.
Its new BlackBerry devices hit store shelves this year just as the high-end smartphone segment was showing signs of saturation in markets such as the United States. Samsung Electronics recently reported results that fell shy of expectations, while Apple earlier this year reported its first quarterly profit decline in more than a decade.
The new BlackBerry device has so far failed to gain traction with consumers, and the company – which pioneered mobile email with its first smartphones and email pagers and was once a stock market darling – has seen its shares plummet.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/hardware/Few-takers-for-BlackBerry-Sources/articleshow/22572948.cms
————————————————
Thanks to crowded roads and tighter laws, smaller cars have
become the norm around the world. Thanks to the human thirst for
superlatives and recognition, the Guinness Book of World Records enjoys a
steady stream of hopefuls seeking their sliver of glory. But it was one
Austin Coulson of Texas who combined these two impulses into a goal of
building the world’s smallest street-legal car.Coulson says he sat out to break the record by building a custom frame, then adding in various spare parts. The metal body designed to look like a 1957 Chevy comes from a child’s toy, and the tiny gas engine was borrowed from a mini all-terrain vehicle. The combination allows Coulson’s creation to measure just 25 inches high, 24.75 inches wide and and 49.75 inches long.
The tiny engine means the microcar can only hit 25 mph, but that’s enough to meet U.S. standards for a neighborhood vehicle. Those rules also require a few accoutrements like a seat belt and a windshield wiper which looks comical, but Coulson says they all function as required. Guinness agreed, certifying his creation as the smallest roadworthy vehicle in the world last week ahead of the publication of its 2014 edition of its world records book. Now all he needs is a tiny cupholder.
——————————————————
Sara Gilbert has been very open
about her sexuality in recent years, but there was a time early on in
her career when she wasn’t quite as comfortable letting people know who
she really was.Johnny Galecki, her Roseanne costar and ex-boyfriend, helped change that.
Gilbert opened up about their relationship, and its role in her coming to terms with being gay, during an emotional episode of The Talk yesterday.
“So, some of you may know that when I was a teenager, I dated Johnny Galecki for a little while, who played my boyfriend and husband on Roseanne,” Gilbert began. “And I thought he was super cute and had a total crush on him, and we started dating, and he would come over, and we would make out, and then I would start to get depressed.”
She continued: “Johnny felt badly, I think, and started to
take it personally and didn’t know what was going on. So I eventually
told him that I thought it was about my sexuality and he was super sweet
about it.”Read more: http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/sara-gilbert-i-realized-i-was-gay-while-dating-johnny-galecki-2013139#ixzz2esFtSPAW
That’s right, boys and girls, John, who now plays Leonard on the TV sitcom “Big Bang Theory” really did date Sara in real life, but not only that………………… he turned her GAY!
—————————————————
Speaking of celebrities, in spite of numerous requests by our readers, The Perspective Research Department has not been able to find out who Taylor Swift is dating now!
(Of course we didn’t care enough to really try very hard!)
———————————————————
As we all know by now, Senator Pamela Wallin has plunged into
a scandal that threatens both her reputation and the red chamber. An
external audit has found that $138,970 of $532,508 in expenses Wallin
billed to the Senate for travel were improper: it was deemed personal or
related to Conservative party business.Wallin has apologized publicly, saying there was no attempt to mislead. Late this afternoon, Wallin released a statement saying that she has “personally reimbursed” the Government of Canada with personal cheques amounting $100,600.98. (Wallin had previously repaid $38,000.)
“I welcome an independent and objective review by the RCMP and I intend to co-operate fully with any such review,” Wallin said in a statement. ”I have not done anything wrong. I am not guilty of any misconduct. Accordingly I will not resign as a senator.”
Just one thing folks, Pamela did not FALL from grace ………………………, SHE JUMPED!
———————————————————-
Police in Mexico City have clashed with protesters during an operation to clear a square occupied by striking teachers.
Striking teachers had been camped out there for weeks. Some responded with rocks as police moved in after a government deadline passed.
(The teachers have been demanding changes to education reforms approved by President Enrique Pena Nieto.)
The authorities said they wanted to clear Zocalo square for the Independence Day celebrations this weekend.
Most of the protesters left peacefully by Friday’s deadline because the cops had guns………………. and they didn’t!
——————————————————
Suspected remains found in Presqu’ile Provincial Park, just south of Brighton in eastern Ontario, have been identified as a human foot.
Park staff found the foot, inside a women’s running shoe, on the north shore of Gull Island in Lake Ontario.The shoe is a size 11 Mizuno brand for a left foot and is grey, black and pink.
Provincial police were called in to investigate on Wednesday.
Anyone who has lost a foot is asked to contact provincial police at the Brighton detachment.
————————————————————–
AND FINALLY:
The best political cartoon I’ve seen all week!
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