AbbVie to Buy Shire for $54 Billion [WSJ]
Let's make a tax deal: "U.S. drug maker AbbVie Inc. said Friday it reached a deal to buy Shire PLC for about $54 billion, one of the largest deals to date where a U.S. company seeks to lower its tax rate by buying a foreign rival."
Ignoring the Facts on Corporate Inversions [WSJ]
Abbott Labs Chairman and CEO Miles White asks that you trust him on the inversions issue: "Inversions are legal. Not abuse. Not cheating. To those spouting the histrionic rhetoric in opposition to inversion, I would suggest that some consideration of the facts would better inform your judgment, which might be more productively directed at how to make the U.S. and U.S. companies more globally competitive, including thoughtful and balanced reform of the tax code."
The Great Tax Inversion Death Spiral [TaxVox]
Howard Gleckman has an anecdote about the inversion craze: "Of course, there are winners and losers in this gold rush. Who wins? The lawyers, of course. I suspect every transactional firm from LA to New York is working overtime on deals. A lawyer friend canceled our lunch for today. Why? You guessed it. He had an inversion to close."
Tremont, Ernst & Young Must Face Madoff Investment Suit [Bloomberg]
Washington state's supreme court asked a trial court to find out if EY deserves any blame in FutureSelect Portfolio Management losing $195 million.
Perth business leader Duncan Calder facing child sex charges [The Australian]
Yikes: "Duncan Calder, 50, who is also a senior partner with KPMG in Perth and a key deal-maker, is accused of attempting to procure sex from a 14-year-old girl in 2008 and attempting to solicit a prostitute last month. He was charged by child abuse squad officers on June 26 and appeared in Perth Magistrates Court yesterday. Mr Calder is considered one of the nation’s top experts on the Australia-China business relationship and accompanied Tony Abbott on the prime minister’s trade mission to China last month."
How to Stand Up to a Bad Boss [FC]
Be sure to pick the right battles: "[I]f you’ve been showing up late recently and your boss has an attitude about it, you may want to start arriving on time."
Pizza prank lands Corbin theft suspect in more trouble [WKYT via Gawker]
I guess the officers didn't appreciate the gesture: "Corbin police arrested Michael Harp, 29, Tuesday afternoon for shoplifting and alcohol intoxication in public. While being booked at the police station, officers say Harp asked to make a phone call on his cell phone. A little later, police say five pizzas from Domino's were delivered to the station under the name of Officer Wilson, who is the same officer that arrested Harp. Police say they linked the call to Harp by tracking his cell phone number. Harp tells us it's all a misunderstanding."
