Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) today announced the initial public offering of 35,000,000 shares of its Class A common stock at a price of $20 per share.

In addition, Groupon has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 5,250,000 shares of Class A common stock to cover over-allotments, if any. All of the shares of Class A common stock are being offered by Groupon.

The company’s shares are expected to begin trading on The NASDAQ Global Select Market on November 4, 2011 under the ticker symbol “GRPN.” Available content includes corporate b-roll.

Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) today reported September U.S. sales of 92,964 units versus 74,205 units a year earlier, an increase of 25.3 percent. Nissan Division sales increased 28.2 percent for the month with 84,485 units. Sales of Infiniti vehicles increased 2.1 percent from the prior year, to 8,479 units.

Nissan vehicles posted September sales of 84,485 units, an increase of 28.2 percent over the 65,900 units sold in September 2010.
Strong combined sales of Nissan cars – including the Altima, Sentra, Maxima, and Versa – were up 32.3 percent versus the prior year at 55,751 units, setting a September record for total car sales.
Versa saw a record September, with sales of 11,800 units increasing 68.1 percent over the prior year – helped by a strong start for the all-new Versa sedan, which had its first full month of sales in September.
Strong sales of the Nissan Altima continue, with 24,356 units marking a September increase of 21.7 percent over the prior year, while Maxima sales jumped 26.3 percent to 6,133 units.
The Rogue crossover vehicle continues to gain momentum, with sales of 10,740 units marking a 29.1 percent increase over last year – also a record September.
Sales of the 100-percent electric Nissan LEAF totaled 1,031 units in September, with total sales of 7,217 units of the innovative, zero-emissions vehicle since its December 2010 U.S. debut.

Infiniti today reported U.S. sales of 8,479 units for September, an increase of 2.1 percent versus 8,305 units a year earlier. Calendar year-to-date Infiniti sales of 72,181 are down 3.5 percent compared to the 74,797 units sold during the same period last year.

Infiniti sales highlights for the month include:

Infiniti G Sedan sales of 3,940 marked an increase of 28.9 percent for the month, and the model’s best September
With sales of 1,206 units, an increase of 46.7 percent, the Infiniti QX full-size luxury SUV had its September since 2005, supporting a year-over-year increase of 15.1 percent

“September marks a return to the year-over-year sales growth Infiniti experienced during the first quarter of this year,” said Ben Poore, vice president, Infiniti Americas. “With our retailers having full inventory, and the 2012 Infiniti FX arriving in showrooms this month, we expect our sales to continue on an upward trend through the end of the year.”

The updated Infiniti FX luxury performance crossover has a new front fascia, wheels and instrument cluster, and is also available in a Limited Edition model with an exclusive Iridium Blue exterior and special charcoal-colored 21-in. wheels.

Mercedes-Benz Reports Highest September on Record With Sales of 23,897

Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) today reported September sales of 23,897 vehicles, a 15.6% improvement over September 2010 (20,666) and the company’s highest September volume on record. On a year-to-date basis, the 182,314 vehicles sold represent a 10.3% increase over the 165,355 vehicles sold during the same period last year.

The highest volume performers for the month were the C-Class and E-Class model lines. The all-new 2012 sporty C-Class – and gateway to the Mercedes-Benz brand for younger and first-time Mercedes-Benz buyers – led the pack with sales of 6,865, up 32.1% from September 2010. The 9th generation E-Class followed with sales of 5,122 and the full-sized SUV, the GL-Class, finished third in volume with monthly sales of 2,541. Additionally, sales of the newly launched 2012 CLS-Class posted a 399.3% increase for the month and sales of the new SLK roadster were up 50.8% over September 2010.

At the high end, the company sold 25 of its supercar — the SLS AMG — bringing its year-to-date sales to 454.

Sales of Sprinter Vans also increased by 121.3% for September with sales of 1,779 – bringing a year-to-date total of 12,452 (up 121.3 %).

Sales of the smart fortwo totaled 469 vehicles for the month (compared to the 422 vehicles sold in September 2010).

Separately, through the Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned (MBCPO) program, MBUSA sold 5,707 vehicles in September 2011, a decrease of -8.6%. On a year-to-date basis, MBCPO sold 57,359 vehicles, a decrease of -5.9% over the comparable period last year.

Hyundai Motor America today announced sales of 52,051 vehicles in September, a 12 percent total sales increase compared with the same period a year ago, and a 16 percent retail sales increase over last September.

Year to date, Hyundai sales are up 20 percent versus 2010 in total, and up 31 percent at retail. Sales to fleet accounts represent 11 percent of the total sales year-to-date and just 10 percent for the month of September. Thirty-seven percent of Hyundai vehicles sold in September achieved 40 MPG fuel economy ratings.

Santa Fe and Tucson, the heart of Hyundai’s crossover line-up, registered sales increases of 67 and 36 percent, respectively. Equus, the highest-ranking premium luxury car in the 2011 J.D. Power and Associates APEAL study, delivered another strong month and has already exceeded its first full-year sales target.

Hyundai achieved a record corporate average fuel economy level of 36.5 MPG in September, and 35.9 MPG for the year-to-date, while selling an industry-leading 19,373 vehicles (Elantra sedan, Sonata Hybrid, 2012 Accent and Veloster) with 40 MPG window label highway fuel economy ratings.

Standard & Poor’s announced today that it has commenced Factual Stock Report coverage on Imperial Petroleum, Inc.

Imperial Petroleum, Inc. (OTC: IPMN) is a diversified energy company headquartered in Evansville, Indiana. The company engages in three principal areas of energy production: biodiesel and biofuels production, traditional oil and gas exploration and production, and non-traditional oil production of heavy oil from mineable tar sands.

On May 24, 2010, the company acquired e-Biofuels, LLC, an Indiana-based biodiesel producer. The company has expanded production capacity to approximately 30 million gallons per year. e-Biofuels uses waste greases and oils including premium white grease (chicken fat) as its primary feedstock for the production of its product. Biodiesel sales for the quarter ended April 30, 2011, were approximately $36.5 million on volumes of about 8.7 million gallons.

The primary feedstock used to make biodiesel at the e-Biofuels plant facility is premium white grease (chicken fat) which is purchased as needed from various suppliers in open-market transactions. Additional feedstocks that could be used, depending upon cost, include vegetable oils, mineral oils and animal oils and fats. Biodiesel is a petroleum diesel fuel substitute that has gained acceptance as a renewable alternative to regular petroleum diesel. In general, biodiesel is added to diesel in amounts ranging from 5% to 20% by volume, according to the company.

S&P Factual Stock Report coverage on Imperial Petroleum, Inc. will also be accessible on an ongoing basis to the investment community by scores of buy-side institutions and sell-side firms that utilize S&P research and information platforms daily. Millions of self-directed investors also have access to the report via their e-brokerage accounts

Download Standard & Poor’s Stock Report Coverage

Intel Capital, Intel Corporation’s global investment organization, today announced four U.S. investments to drive continued innovation across the entire continuum of computing.

The new deals total approximately $24.5 million and include CrowdStar, a developer of social games on Facebook and mobile platforms; iStreamPlanet, a provider of live Web broadcast management and automated video workflow; Music Mastermind, an independent entertainment and technology company; and PerspecSys, a cloud data security provider. The new investments were announced at an Intel Capital event in New York.

The computing continuum is Intel’s vision of delivering a smarter, more secure, and always-connected computing experience that spans a range of device segments – including laptops, cars, smartphones and smart TVs – and the Internet data centers to which they connect.

“Intel Capital supports entrepreneurship all over the globe, helping to turn breakthrough ideas into successful companies,” said Arvind Sodhani, president, Intel Capital and executive vice president, Intel. “The explosion of computing has created endless opportunities for the development of interesting applications that deliver unique user experiences. Intel Capital’s investments in these companies will help advance applications ranging from cloud computing security to an enhanced entertainment experience.”

With the four new investments announced today, along with recently announced deals in China and India, Intel Capital has surpassed $10 billion in total investments since its inception.

“This milestone is a significant achievement for Intel Capital and represents our dedication to continuously support companies pushing the edge of technology innovation,” Sodhani said.

Details on the new investments follow:

CrowdStar is a global developer of social games with a growing community of 31 million monthly active users. CrowdStar is home to some of Facebook’s most popular, fun and entertaining games, including “Happy Aquarium,” “Happy Island,” “Happy Pets,” “CrowdStar’s It Girl” and “Zoo Paradise.” A YouWeb-incubated company, along with recently acquired former Intel Capital portfolio company OpenFeint, CrowdStar has quickly become one of the most successful developers in social gaming. CrowdStar will use the funding for hiring and acquiring talent.

iStreamPlanet develops and operates live and on-demand content creation, management, security, monetization and delivery products and services that bring media experiences to life by creating content once and delivering across multiple screens and devices. This includes Over-The-Top (OTT) and TV Everywhere (TVE) live and on-demand HD video delivery, content protection, management, monetization, rich media experiences, collaboration and analytics. iStreamPlanet has streamed high-profile events to millions of viewers, including “NBC Sunday Night Football,” The Championships at Wimbledon, U.S. Open Golf, Notre Dame college football, the Ryder Cup and the 2011 Kentucky Derby. iStreamPlanet and Intel also worked closely together to build out the Olympic Cloud Origin Services for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games. The investment will be used to expand U.S. operations and continue to build out in European markets.

Music Mastermind is the developer of SoundBetter, the audio processing suite behind its consumer-focused platform. This groundbreaking technology eliminates the traditional effort required to make music, breaking down barriers hindering creativity and allowing anyone to instantly become a recording artist. Music Mastermind is currently preparing for the launch of its create-and-share music platform in the second half of this year, which will showcase the rich media capabilities of Intel-based PC, mobile and set-top platforms. The investment will be used to accelerate deployment of its product roadmap.

PerspecSys enables enterprise adoption of cloud computing by addressing sensitive data Privacy, Residency, and Security (PRS) concerns. The PerspecSys PRS Solution™ preserves enterprise management and protection of sensitive data used in public and private cloud applications. This helps to remove the traditional barriers to enterprise cloud adoption such as regulatory compliance requirements, industry standards or internal data management policies that would not normally allow sensitive data to go into the cloud. PerspecSys’ global customers include financial services firms, banks, management consulting firms and public sector services. The investment from Intel Capital aligns well with Intel’s Cloud 2015 vision and will be used to drive growth and vertical market segment expansion.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that Gartner, Inc. has once again named IBM the worldwide market share leader in the application infrastructure and middleware software segment based on total worldwide revenue for 2010.

Report: IBM Named Marketshare Leader in Middleware Software for Tenth Consecutive Year more info…

IBM Corporation logo. (PRNewsFoto/IBM Corporation)

31 Mar 2011 21:00 Europe/Athens
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Report: IBM Named Marketshare Leader in Middleware Software for Tenth Consecutive Year

PR Newswire

ARMONK, N.Y., March 31, 2011

ARMONK, N.Y., March 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that Gartner, Inc. has once again named IBM the worldwide market share leader in the application infrastructure and middleware software segment based on total worldwide revenue for 2010.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO )

According to the report (1), IBM was the leading software vendor with 32.6 percent market share, extending its lead to nearly double that of its closest competitor. According to Gartner, IBM grew 14.4 percent in 2010, twice the overall market. The worldwide application infrastructure and middleware software market grew 7.3 percent to $17.6 billion, according to Gartner.

For over a decade, IBM has been named the number one share holder in the worldwide application infrastructure and middleware software market according to industry analysts.

Besides its overall lead, according to the Gartner report, IBM holds the number one market share position in key sub-markets growing faster then the overall IT market.

For example, the Business Process Management Suite (BPMS) segment grew at 9.2 percent in 2010, Gartner said. IBM was named the number one vendor in BPM software with a 24.7 percent share, more than double that of its closest competitor. BPM software enables companies to develop and implement processes that help their businesses be more agile and grow.

Gartner reported that IBM continues to be number one in other growing and key areas including the Message Oriented Middleware Market, the Transaction Processing Monitor market and the combined markets of Enterprise Service Bus Suites and Integration Appliances. IBM’s continued market share leadership in middleware has been a key reason for the company’s strong growth.

“The newest Gartner report reflects IBM’s growing lead in business integration middleware,” said Robert LeBlanc, Senior Vice President, Middleware Software, IBM Software Group. “Accelerating key business processes and flexing their underlying infrastructures are major priorities in the enterprise today and IBM has core strengths that help clients meet those needs.”

Intel Corporation reported full-year revenue of $43.6 billion, operating income of $15.9 billion, net income of $11.7 billion, and EPS of $2.05 – all records. The company generated approximately $16.7 billion in cash from operations, paid cash dividends of $3.5 billion, and used $1.5 billion to repurchase 70 million shares of common stock.

Nanometrics Incorporated (Nasdaq:NANO), a leading provider of advanced process control metrology systems used primarily in the fabrication of semiconductors, high-brightness LEDs, data storage devices and solar photovoltaics, announced financial results for its fiscal third quarter ended October 2, 2010.
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