By Tamara WalidDUBAI (Reuters) - New York's famed Bloomingdale's finally opened its doors in the Middle East's biggest mall on Sunday in its first foray outside its home market.The Macy's Inc M unit has teamed up with the United Arab Emirates' Al Tayer Group which is investing 270 million dirhams...

Network gear maker ExteNet Systems announced $128 million in funding Monday. The company's second round of funding was lead by Soros Fund Management and SBA Communications. Two Soros executives have joined ExteNet's board of directors. ExteNet makes fiber optics infrastructure used by wireless carriers to build out their backbone...

Network gear maker ExteNet Systems announced $128 million in funding Monday. The company's second round of funding was lead by Soros Fund Management and SBA Communications. Two Soros executives have joined ExteNet's board of directors. ExteNet makes fiber optics infrastructure used by wireless carriers to build out their backbone...

Sony has added 19 more content partners to its scheme to offer electronic versions of newspapers, magazines and journals on its e-book reader. The move could intensify Sony’s rivalry with Amazon, which is thought to have the lead in the e-book market despite Sony entering the sector earlier.  ...

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that computer equipment containing audio files of wiretapped conversations has been stolen from the office Rod Blagojevich 's defense attorney. From the Trib : Chicago police are investigating a burglary at the law...

The publishing industry has long been grappling with sinking advertising revenue, and the global economic meltdown has worsened the situation. This comes in the wake of a longer-term secular decline as more readers choose to get news free online, thereby making the print-advertising model increasingly irrelevant.[More...]

In January of last year I predicted (see Notable Bankruptcies of 2009: Q1) that “major” corporate bankruptcies in 2009 would challenge the 383 mark set in 2001 (the high-water mark after the dotcom bubble). I even suggested that it was possible that we could exceed 400 “major” corporate bankruptcies in 2009.[More...]

In January I predicted (see Notable Bankruptcies of 2009: Q1) that “major” bankruptcies in 2009 would challenge the 383 mark set in 2001 (the high-water mark after the dotcom bubble). I even suggested that it was possible that we could exceed 400 “major” bankruptcies in 2009.[More...]

In January I predicted (see Notable Bankruptcies of 2009: Q1) that “major” bankruptcies in 2009 would challenge the 383 mark set in 2001 (the high-water mark after the dotcom bubble). I even suggested that it was possible that we could exceed 400 “major” bankruptcies in 2009. According to Bankruptcydata.com, there have been 156 “major” filings thus far in 2009. Assuming that bankruptcies are equally distributed throughout the year, this puts us on pace for 312 bankruptcies. That is tracking well shy of my prediction. In fact, bankruptcies were down significantly from Q1 to Q2, as there were 90 bankruptcies in the first quarter but only 66 in the second. That stylized fact begs the question: Is that a “green shoot”[More...]

This is another post I originally ran on Naked Capitalism last month. As you know, I have turned more positive about the potential for a cyclical economic recovery. However, I am unchanged regarding much of the sentiment expressed in this post - that any upturn must be considered with suspicion because the underlying fundamentals of the U.S. and global economies remain poor (See my post on macro disequilibria to see why). My personal view at this time is that we will get a rebound of uneven quality, the prospect of which will be supportive of financial markets.[More...]

Beth Gaston Moon takes a look at activity in the options pits today.

YouTube Ads, Fans, and More from Google, New Focus at EMI, and Tribune (GOOG) (TRB)

The Hollywood Reporter Reports: - April Earnings Hit Silicon Valley, Round Two BBI KOs NFLX, and Wall Street Indifferent on Radio LBO (BBI) (NFLX) (CCU) (TRB) (YHOO) (GOOG)

Georg provides insight on what may be next for LCAPA now that the DTV deal is done and where does this leave NWS? Comcast shows no signs of resting; adding a few smaller deals as they continue to amass audience. The Zelling of the Chicago Cubs franchise will be this season’s hot topic for baseball fans. Stephen calls out Cuban, Allen and Huizenga for a bidding war. In the last segment Georg looks into the latest developments in DRM. After the press and industry luminaries poo pooed Steve Jobs, the music industry is jumping on the No DRM bandwagon. Even Zune may join with EMI. (NWS) (LCAPA) (TRB) (AAPL) (WMG) (CMSCA) (DTV)

Ian Stansel takes a look at market news before the open.