What’s Important in the Financial World (3/28/2013)

Cyprus will open its banks, which have been shuttered for days as the nation set a deal with the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund for a bailout. Depositors with the largest balances will carry the heaviest load for a “tax” meant to move their savings to the government’s treasury. Other conditions of the bank reopenings are just as draconian. Depositors will only be allowed to withdraw 300 euros, barely enough for many people to cover a week’s expenses. This money could be held hostage for an indefinite period while Cyprus tries to salvage itself financially. And the restrictions will bring consumer and business to a screaming halt, which is guaranteed to do damage to gross domestic product. According to Reuters:

Authorities say the emergency rules imposed to limit withdrawals and prevent a bank run will be temporary, but economists say they will be difficult to lift as long as the economy is in crisis.

Internet Battles Rage

Anyone worried about the stability of the World Wide Web will take no solace in the battle between an organization that has attempted to keep the Internet largely free of spam and another that is among the world’s largest spammers. Spamhaus, a group that detects spammers and gives their names to companies that provide email services, was viciously attacked by a group thought to be associated with one of the spam kings. The secret group attacked Spamhaus servers with enough inbound traffic to cripple most organizations by taking their websites down and stopping access to them from elsewhere on the Web. Due to heroic efforts by Spamhaus engineers, it kept its service online. However, the burden of the attack was great enough to slow traffic on the World Wide Web itself. According to The New York Times, Internet users have reason to believe that this is not the first or last incident of its kind:

The digital “fire hose” being wielded by the attackers to jam traffic on the Internet in recent weeks was made possible by both the best and worst aspects of the sprawling global computer network. The Internet is, by default, an open, loosely regulated platform for communication, but many of the servers that make its communication possible have been configured in such a way that they can be easily fooled.

Can a shutdown of the entire Internet, at least for a brief time, be more than months away?

Michael Dell Has Options

Michael Dell may not lose his job, even if his partnership with private equity firm Silver Lake does not result in a takeover of Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL). Apparently another suitor — Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE: BX) — may team with Dell and the founder of the company, if he abandons his former partners. Dell means to keep his position, it seems, at the price of loyalty to any party. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Blackstone also values Mr. Dell’s strategic importance in the company’s management, seeing him as an important potential ally if the Blackstone-led bid prevails, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Terms of the takeover offer by Mr. Dell and Silver Lake include $13.65 a share for Dell. Blackstone offered at least $14.25 a share, while allowing shareholders to retain some of their stock.

Once again in the business world, greed trumps allegiances almost every time.