BRIEFCASE.Byline: -- Staff and Wire Services Fortress shares take off in debut NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- Shares of Fortress Investment Group Fortress Investment Group (NYSE: FIG) is a New York, NY-based asset management firm which manages private equity, hedge funds and real estate and railroad-related investments, with announced plans to move into casinos and horse racing. , the first publicly traded U.S. hedge fund hedge fund, in finance, a highly speculative, largely unregulated investment device. Originating in the 1950s, the funds "hedge" by offsetting "short" positions (borrowing a security and then selling it at a higher price before repaying the lender) against "long" , soared Friday in a trading debut sure to catch the attention of many players in the $1.3 trillion hedge-fund industry. The stock's initial public offering was priced late Thursday at $18.50 per share and rose as high as $37 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. . Fortress Investment Group's stock, which trades under the symbol "FIG," closed up $12.50, or 67.6 percent, at $31.00. While a number of hedge funds have gone public in Europe, Fortress Investment Group is the first to hit the stock market in the U.S. Investors viewed the IPO (Initial Public Offering) The first time a company offers shares of stock to the public. While not a computer term per se, many founders, employees and insiders of computer companies have found this acronym more exciting than any tech term they ever heard. as a crucial litmus test to determine whether other hedge funds will follow Fortress onto the stock market. Chevron seeking assets of Yukos MOSCOW -- Chevron Corp. wants to purchase disputed assets of OAO OAO Orbiting Astronomical Observatory OAO Over and Out OAO One And Only OAO Ontario Association of Orthodontists OAO Owned and Operated OAO Ontario Association of Optometrists OAO Opticians Association of Ohio OAO Orthogonalized Atomic Orbital Yukos, a bankruptcy official said Friday, raising the prospect of a U.S. company participating in the liquidation of a business that drew protest from the White House and rattled investor confidence in Russia. While it's unlikely a foreign corporation will be allowed to buy strategic production and refining assets already earmarked for Kremlin-backed monopolies, the expression of interest underscores the powerful pull of the world's biggest oil and gas industry amid mounting global competition for energy reserves. Yukos' biggest production unit was bought three years ago by state oil group OAO Rosneft after an opaque auction. MasterCard Q4 earnings rise NEW YORK -- MasterCard Inc. said Friday that its fourth-quarter profit topped Wall Street expectations as consumer spending spiked, but the credit-card company warned that margin growth could slow this year. The stock tumbled nearly 10 percent after hitting a record high in early trading. The Purchase, N.Y.-based company, which went public in May 2006, posted quarterly profit of $41 million, or 30 cents per share Cents per share The amount of a mutual fund's dividend or capital gains distributions that a shareholder will receive for each share owned. , compared with a loss of $53 million, or 39 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding the impact of litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. settlements, MasterCard reported a profit of $41 million, or 31 cents per share, in the latest period. Revenue rose 17.2 percent, to $839 million from $716 million a year ago. Results surpassed projections for profit of 17 cents per share on revenue of $826.9 million, according to analysts polled by Thomson Financial. Net income rose to $108.3 million, or 62 cents per share, for the three months that ended Dec. 31 versus $94.3 million, or 48 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding a 12-cent-per-share adjustment related to a licensing deal with movie director George Lucas, earnings for the current quarter totaled 74 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were looking for net income of 67 cents per share. |
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