Good, Bad, and Ugly

The wrong co-founder

In your video regarding Bill Gates leaving Microsoft and how Steve Ballmer will become the leader at Microsoft, you incorrectly stated that Steve Ballmer co-founded Microsoft.

He did not. Microsoft was started by Paul Allen and Bill Gates. Steve Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980, that being after it was founded.

L.M.

We pulled the piece and corrected it: GBU Editor

The round-up

Sprint prices iPhone rival Instinct at $130

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Instinct, Sprint Nextel Corp’s answer to the iPhone, will sell for $130 after rebate, Sprint said on Wednesday.

Analysts say it will be tough for Instinct to compete with a new, high-speed iPhone model due to go on sale for $199 on July 11.

Best choice for economy?

McCain seen as best choice for economy

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s tax policies have given him an edge as the better man for the economy, various Wall Street experts said at this week’s Reuters Investment Outlook Summit.

But, against a backdrop of job losses and deteriorating home values, Wall Street is backing McCain’s Democratic rival, Barack Obama with cold, hard cash.

The price of oil

Before the Bell: All About Lehman

Oil prices have rebounded somewhat, with U.S. crude above $135 a gallon, after a sharp fall in response to news that Saudi Arabia is pushing output to its highest level in decades.

I think you mean per barrel.

Mike O.

Yes. We corrected: GBU Editor

REUTERS photo by Rebecca Cook

Another bad currency conversion

Serb thief buries 83.5 mln pounds in park

BELGRADE (Reuters) – A Serbian bank clerk who stole nearly 1.5 million euros (83.5 million pounds) from his bank left a note reading “I’m sorry”, buried the loot in a park and waited at a cafe for police to arrest him.

1.5 million euros is not 83.5 millions pounds! I wish it was,  ’cause I have a few euros sitting around!

Gross Domestic Product

Exxon profit disappoints despite high oil prices  

Exxon posted record earnings of $40.6 billion in 2007, with revenue higher than the gross domestic profit of Turkey, the world’s 17th-largest economy.

What is “gross domestic profit”? Is that something that only a Turkey has?

The wrong time frame

Medtronic unit agrees to consent decree with FDA

In September, Medtronic announced plans to eliminate about 200 jobs in the Physio-Control unit.

This statement is not correct, and has our employees concerned. Is it possible to print a correction? It refers to actions taken in the past, not planned for the future.

Who acquired whom?

AT&T to axe about 4,600 jobs, take charge

AT&T, which posted a 2007 fourth-quarter profit of $3.1 billion, has made several acquisitions in recent years, including SBC Communications and BellSouth.

You’ve got it wrong. AT&T did not acquire SBC (Southwestern Bell Corp.). Quite the opposite. SBC acquired what remained of AT&T. A baby bell ate its parent.

Plowing ahead…

Schering, Merck Cholesterol Prescriptions Slide

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. prescriptions of Schering-Plow Corp’s cholesterol drugs fell 13 percent in February from a month earlier, following results of a controversial study, the drug maker said on Tuesday.

The drugs, Zetia and Vytorin, fell to 2.77 million total prescriptions in February from 3.19 million in January, Schering-Plow said in a filing. Schering-Plow sells the drugs with Merck & Co in a joint venture.