“Global demand for raw materials will shoot higher in the next 20 years thanks to rising consumption from emerging nations like China and India, according to a report from Swiss banking company UBS. The bank emphasized the ‘enormous’ appetites of China and India, the two most densely populated countries on the planet, where ‘economic growth … has far outpaced growth in developed countries during the past 15 years.’”

The question remains how closely commodities prices corolate with real demand verse investment speculation. However, an inflationary monetary environment will surely push prices higher for decades to come.

From IndustryWeek

This is nothing new. Each time eBay raises its fees, established users threaten to leave and a few do pack up their bags and close shop. Will this have a negative long term impact on eBay?

eBay has already had to concede by waiving fees with eBay China in order to compete with established online Chinese aution sites. Its possible that Google’s Google Base program will actually compete with eBay after it emerges from beta along with Google’s shopping cart program in competition with Paypal. This could spell disaster and possibly even the end of eBay’s online auction reign.

“Hundreds of eBay Inc. merchandisers say they have closed their online storefronts, and some took their listings elsewhere, in the wake of a controversial fee increase eBay began charging earlier in the week. The exodus was expected after eBay raised the amount it charges to run an online store. By raising store fees an average of 6%, eBay was hoping many stores would close up shop, thus engineering a return to a mix of lots of auction listings — its most profitable product — and a tiny sliver of items listed for sale in stores, which generate much less revenue for the firm.”

From MarketWatch

Increasingly restrictive laws such as SOX have spurred growth in private equity funds. Business week reports that banks have been turning to private equity funds for diversification, but this is not true for all:

“..some banks are distancing themselves from the business, in part to avoid conflicts of interest with hedge-fund clients, Hebeka explains. J.P. Morgan Partners, a private-equity unit of JP Morgan Chase (JPM; ranked 4 STARS), will become independent when it completes the investment in its current $6.5 billion Global Fund, which is expected to happen this year. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley (MS; ranked 3 STARS, hold) established an independent private-equity firm, called Metalmark Capital, which will manage the more than $3 billion-strong Morgan Stanley Capital Partners funds through a long-term sub-advisory role.”

From BusinessWeek

“According to a report from researcher IDC, Sun Microsystems (SUNW) was the only one (of the top four global server vendors) to experience year-over-year revenue growth during the second quarter ended in June. Frankly, the numbers for the entire server market are startling: I mean, wow. What happened? Opteron, that’s what. Sun adopted Advanced Micro Devices’ (AMD) speedy server chip more than two years ago, and it appears to be paying dividends at Dell’s expense in the high-growth x86 — or Intel-compatible — segment of the market.”

From Motley Fool

“Shares of Jean Coutu Group Inc. PJCa.TO leaped 15 percent on Thursday morning after the Canadian drugstore operator said it will sell its U.S. Brooks and Eckerd chains to Rite Aid Corp. (RAD.N: Quote, Profile, Research) for about $2.6 billion in cash and shares. Jean Coutu’s stock was up C$1.64 at C$12.59 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.”

From Reuters

Today Apple issued a recall of 1.8 million laptop batteries. The recall effects the iBook G4 and the PowerBook G4. Dell issued a similar recall a few days ago.

When talking with engineers we are told that the lithium ion battery itself is not the problem nor defective. Rather, the laptop is engineered in such a way to draw that goes beyond the batteries intended capabilities resulting in a firey explosion.

The Internal Revenue Service recently announced it was going to turn over some of their uncollected tax debts to private debt collectors. News of this instantly resulted in, you guessed it, phony tax collectors.

“The IRS warned taxpayers Wednesday not to be duped by scammers posing as private debt collectors the agency has hired to chase unpaid tax debts. The Internal Revenue Service designed the debt collection program to minimize that risk “because we know what it’s like out there with regard to identity theft nowadays,” said Brady Bennett, IRS director of collection.”

From the AP

“Part of the reason pay fell is that these men, mostly from predominantly Islamic countries such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Algeria, found fewer opportunities and had to find work in different industries that paid less than the jobs they used to be employed in after 9/11, said the study’s co-author, Robert Kaestner, a University of Illinois at Chicago economics professor.”

However, there has been an income recovery reported beginning in 2005.

From The Chicago Sun Times

“Aug. 23 (Bloomberg) — Frank Quattrone, the former Credit Suisse Group investment banker who yesterday avoided prosecution on obstruction-of-justice charges, is owed more than $100 million from his former employer, said a person familiar with the situation. Quattrone, 50, will receive $100 million to $120 million in overdue compensation as long as he abides by an agreement and doesn’t break the law for a year, said the person, who declined to be identified because the deal was a private contract. Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second-biggest bank, already paid for Quattrone’s legal costs in a three-year battle with prosecutors.”

From Bloomberg 

“MUMBAI: In what is the largest Indian acquisition abroad so far, Tata Sons and Tata Tea have signed a definitive agreement to acquire a 30% stake in US-based enhanced water maker Glaceau, with an investment of $677 million. The stake is being bought in Energy Brands Inc, which owns Glaceau, from US-based leading private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners.”

From DNAIndia