TwistedSifter

Every Wednesday you will find links and top-line summaries to current events around the globe.

Apple profits increase 50%, boosted by iPhone sales [BBC]

- Apple has announced a 50% increase in profits after seeing a bumper Christmas period, in which sales of iPhones doubled from a year ago. Net income rose to $3.38bn in the three months to 26 December, from the $2.26bn it made the previous year
- Apple said it sold 8.7 million iPhones in the quarter. Sales of Macs also rose 33%, although iPod sales fell by 8%. But the results were boosted by a new accounting standard that records revenue at the point of sale. Previously, revenue was deferred over the life of products
- Sales of the iPhone were boosted by its roll-out in China, the world’s biggest mobile phone market. Mac sales rose to 3.36 million during the quarter while sales of iPods fell to 21 million. Macs continue to gain share and what’s interesting is that it only has 3.6% share globally so there’s a lot of headroom

Tiny Spyker snaps up GM’s Saab for $400 million [Reuters]

- Spyker, a company that was liquidated in the 1920s only to be reborn as a high-end sports car maker in 2000, said it would pay General Motors $74 million in cash and $326 million in deferred shares for Saab. The new group will become Saab Spyker Automobiles N.V.
- While Spyker employs about 100 people who built 43 cars last year, Saab has 3,400 workers. Even at this week’s inflated prices, Spyker’s market value is less than $85 million. One thing the two companies have in common is an inability to make money, which has made analysts skeptical of the plan. Since the Dutch company was resurrected as a brand in 2000, it has not made a profit
- GM had already sold old Saab technology and machinery to Chinese group BAIC, but Spyker was eager to get its hands on the know-how behind Saab’s recently debuted 9-5 car series. Spyker made its play after Koenigsegg, another tiny luxury sports car maker, dropped its own bid for Saab last November. Several companies competed with Spyker, including an investment company backed by Formula One mogul Bernie Ecclestone

Out of war’s shadow, Sri Lankans vote for president [Reuters]

- Two former allies who led Sri Lanka to victory in a 25-year civil war dueled at the ballot box on Tuesday after a bitter campaign for the country’s first peacetime presidential vote in nearly three decades. In a voting day surprise, challenger General Sarath Fonseka acknowledged that he was not registered to vote but the Elections Commission said that by itself did not affect his eligibility to stand for the election
- More than 14 million people registered to vote and election monitors said turnout was between 70 and 80 percent. Heavy security included more than 68,000 police officers and fears voting day would be bloody did not materialize. The Colombo Stock Exchange, open for a half-day trading session, rose 1.1%. It was one of the world’s best performing markets last year, gaining 125% on post-war optimism, and is at record levels this year
- Whoever wins will take the reins of a $40 billion economy awaiting the full peace dividend. Both Rajapaksa and Fonseka have pledged to dole out costly subsidies and public sector pay rises, which economists say will make it hard for Sri Lanka to meet its cost-cutting obligations under a $2.6 billion International Monetary Fund loan

Ticketmaster and Live Nation Win Approval To Merge [New York Times]

- The Justice Department announced on Monday that it had approved a merger of Ticketmaster Entertainment and Live Nation, creating a giant new company that could reshape almost every aspect of the live entertainment business. The new company, to be called Live Nation Entertainment, would dominate touring, management and ticketing
- In a deal widely seen as the Obama administration’s first major antitrust ruling, the two companies will be allowed to merge, with certain concessions. Ticketmaster must sell one of its ticketing divisions, Paciolan, to Comcast-Spectacor, and must also license its ticketing software to a competing concert promoter, AEG. In addition, the combined company will be subject to anticompetitive provisions for 10 years
- In 2008 Ticketmaster sold about 141 million tickets worth $8.9 billion, and Live Nation is by far the world’s largest concert promoter, producing some 22,000 events. In addition, both companies have significant assets: Ticketmaster owns a controlling interest in Front Line Management, which manages more than 200 major touring artists, including the Eagles, Neil Diamond, Van Halen and Miley Cyrus, and Live Nation owns or operates about 120 theaters around the world

Bin Laden taunts Obama in show of defiance [Reuters]

- Osama bin Laden took the rare step on Sunday of claiming credit for a failed al Qaeda attack, but the apparent admission of weakness contained an implicit message of defiance: We can and will carry out more strikes. That boast — in a bin Laden audio statement featuring a poetic taunting of U.S. President Barack Obama — might have been dismissed as bluster by many analysts a year or so ago
- Globally al Qaeda is a diminished force as an inspirational ideology, partly because suicide attacks on civilians in Iraq and elsewhere have alienated many once sympathetic to its cause. But the December 25 attack on a U.S. airliner claimed by bin Laden, and a string of arrests of suspected pro-al Qaeda militants in the United States in 2009, shows al Qaeda’s brand of extremism retains global currency for a dangerous and committed few
- This may be the first time al Qaeda’s core leadership has has taken responsibility for a failed attack. The statement, confirmed to Reuters as bin Laden’s voice by Arabs who know him, shows bin Laden was alive at the time of the December 25 attack. It suggests Bin Laden perceives Obama as wounded by lack of progress in the Arab-Israeli peace process, and that his personal popularity among Arabs may crumble

The billionth African [Reuters]

- Some time last year, in all probability, the “billionth African” was born, a milestone that will only benefit the poorest continent if it can get its act together and unify its piecemeal markets. Nobody knows, of course, when or where in its 53 countries the child arrived to push Africa’s population into 10 figures. The U.N. merely estimates that in mid-2008 there were 987 million people, and in mid-2009, 1,010 million
- There is less doubt, however, about the underlying trend — that Africa’s population is set to grow faster than in any other part of the world in the coming decades, and to double by 2050. By contrast, China’s projected population of 1.4 billion in 40 years will be shrinking, while India will only be adding an annual 3 million to its 1.6 billion people
- Pan-Africanism, including even a ‘United States of Africa’, has been a rallying cry since the continent started to shake off its colonial shackles in the 1950s and 1960s. The reality, however, has seldom matched the rhetoric. Today, intra-regional trade accounts for just 9% of Africa’s total commerce, compared to nearly 50% for emerging Asia

IATA says airlines suffered ‘worst year’ in 2009 [BBC]

- The year 2009 saw the biggest decline in air passenger traffic in the post-war era, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). “In terms of demand, 2009 goes into the history books as the worst year the industry has ever seen,” said the group’s boss Giovanni Bisignani
- Passenger traffic dropped by 3.5% from a year earlier, while freight traffic fell 10.1% as the downturn hit demand. However, figures for December showed a rise in traffic of 1.6% on a year ago. Despite the improvement at the end of 2009, Iata said 2010 would be a tough year for airlines the world over
- African airlines suffered the most in 2009, with passenger demand down 6.8%. Asia-Pacific and North American carriers saw demand fall by 5.8%, while European airlines suffered a 5% fall in demand. But Middle Eastern carriers saw passenger demand climb 11.3%, while Latin American airlines experienced a 0.3% rise. Iata has estimated that airlines collectively lost $11bn last year, and stand to lose a further $5.6bn this year

“Avatar” becomes highest-grossing movie [Reuters]

- Gregg Brilliant, a spokesman for the News Corp (NWSA.O)-owned studio 20th Century Fox, said on Tuesday the worldwide box office total for “Avatar” stands at $1.859 billion, beating the $1.843 billion racked up by Cameron’s romantic drama “Titanic” in 1997-1998
- “Avatar” broke the record in a little over six weeks. The film has enjoyed an unbroken reign in most countries, including the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Russia, Britain and Australia. The data are not adjusted for inflation
- Ticket sales got an additional boost from premium prices for 3-D screenings. Fox said 72% of worldwide sales come from 3-D engagements. More than five years in the making, it was reportedly one of the most expensive films with a budget of at least $300 million

- Haiti capital earthquake death toll ‘tops 150,000′ [BBC]
- Toyota Halts Sales of Eight U.S. Models After Recall [New York Times]
- Haiti’s Children Adrift in World of Chaos [New York Times]
- China steps up defense of Internet controls [Reuters]
- At least 36 dead as car bombs rock Baghdad hotels [Reuters]
- Goldman Sachs UK partners cap their pay at £1m each [BBC]
- Wal-Mart to cut 11,200 jobs at Sam’s Club stores [BBC]
- Zelaya to exit Honduras in win for coup leaders [Reuters]

An Ethiopian Airlines passenger plane with 90 people on board has crashed into the Mediterranean Sea close to the Lebanese capital, Beirut, prompting a search and rescue operation b y Lebanese and UN ships and aircraft.

via BBC: In Pictures - Ethiopian Airlines Crashes off Beirut

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