Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

Must-Know News For Tuesday

• Asian markets took a second straight thrashing Tuesday.

  European markets plunged in early trading, but bounced off lows and made new intraday highs as talks of international interest rate cuts swirled.

  U.S. futures are down massively from Friday's close. See: Overseas Markets, U.S. Futures Take Massive Hit

• Microsoft allies with Citrix. The software giant (MSFT) is expected to announce an alliance with virtualization software company Citrix Systems (CTXS) intended to improve its competitive position against market leader VMware (VMW). Microsoft also purchased similar company Calista Technologies for an undisclosed sum.
• Wipro JV lands $100 million contract. The Indian software services exporter's (WIT) JV with the Saudi Dar Al Riyadh Group has won a five-year outsourcing contract from Saudi Arabian Airlines.
• Roche wins Ventana's support for bid. Diagnostics manufacturer Ventana Medical Systems (VMSI) has approved Roche Holdings' (RHHBY.PK) new $3.4 billion bid, which sweetened an earlier $75 per share offer to $89.50 per share.
• Yahoo planning job cuts. Yahoo (YHOO), faced with seven straight quarters of declining profits, is expected to announce layoffs. Though some estimate the company will cut up to 20% of its 14,000-person staff, a figure in the hundreds is considered more likely.
• Kyocera to buy Sanyo's mobile phone operations. Sanyo Electric (SANYY.PK) will sell its mobile business to Kyocera (KYO) for about 40 billion yen ($375 million).
• Google locks horns with EU over privacy. Google (GOOG) has objected to the attempts of EU regulators to classify IP addresses as private information, a contention that could complicate its pending acquisition of online ad broker Doubleclick.
• Ambac hit with two investor lawsuits. The bond insurer (ABK) has been accused of misleading investors and inflating its stock price.
• IBM targets small businesses with new product. IBM said Monday it is developing Lotus Foundations, a server product geared toward companies with five to 500 employees.
• EBay CEO Whitman to step down. Meg Whitman, eBay's high-profile CEO, is expected shortly to announce her retirement. John Donahoe, the head of eBay's auction business unit, is the top contender to replace her.
• Genentech discovers two lupus genes. Genentech (DNA) announced Sunday that it has identified two lupus-linked genes, BLK and ITGAM. The discovery could enable earlier diagnosis and better treatment of the autoimmune disease.
• Teva to buy CoGenesys. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA) has agreed to purchase private biopharmaceutical company CoGenesys for $400 million cash.
• Rolls Royce inks engine deal with China Airlines. Rolls-Royce Group (RYCEY.PK) said Tuesday that Taiwan's China Airlines will purchase Trent XWB engines for use in 14 Airbus A350 XWB aircraft, with an option on six more. The deal is worth $1.3 billion at list prices.
• Wachovia net down sharply on $1.7B valuation loss
• Target sees January sales at low end of guidance
• Crude Oil Drops to Lowest in Six Weeks; Corn, Sugar, Nickel, Platinum Fall
• DuPont Fourth-Quarter Profit Rises on Increased Sales of Seeds, Chemicals
• UnitedHealth quarterly profit rises 3%