National Geographic to auction famous photos
National Geographic Society has chronicled scientific expeditions, explorations, archaeology, wildlife and world cultures for more than 100 years, amassing a collection of 11.5 million photos and original illustrations.
A small selection of that massive archive — 240 pieces spanning from the late 1900s to the present — will be sold at Christie’s in December at an auction expected to bring about $3 million, the first time any of the institution’s collection has been sold.
Among the items are some of National Geographic’s most indelible photographs, including that of an Afghan girl during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, a portrait of Admiral Robert Peary at his 1908 expedition to the North Pole, a roaring lion in South Africa and the face of a Papua New Guinea aborigine. Paintings and illustrations include N.C. Wyeth’s historical scene of sword-fighting pirates, and Charles Bittinger’s view of Earth as seen from the moon.
OSHKOSH REJECTS ICAHN TAKEOVER OFFER
Oshkosh has rejected Carl Icahn’s $3 billion unsolicited takeover bid, deeming it too low. The company, a truck maker based in Oshkosh, Wis., also adopted a poison pill to protect itself against further moves by the billionaire investor.
The company’s board additionally called on investors not to participate in Icahn’s tender offer of $32.50 a share. “Our board of directors unanimously concluded that Mr. Icahn’s unsolicited, inadequate, highly conditional and opportunistic offer significantly undervalues Oshkosh and is not in the best interests of all Oshkosh shareholders,” Richard M. Donnelly, Oshkosh’s chairman, said in a statement.
EXXON EXECUTIVE GUNNED DOWN IN BELGIUM
A British oil executive was gunned down in front of his wife in the Belgian capital of Brussels. Helmeted assailants escaping on a motorcycle. No arrests. A driver of a white van who has not been found. A court order for police not to reveal the details.
Was the killing of Nicholas Mockford, a 60-year-old executive for ExxonMobil, the world’s largest oil company, a car-jacking gone wrong? A muffed purse-snatching? Or was it a cold-blooded professional hit for reasons yet unknown? Mockford, a British national living in Belgium, was shot dead on Oct. 14 as he left an Italian restaurant in Neder-over-Heembeek — a village in medieval days that has since been swallowed up by the expanding capital. He died in the street as his wife cradled him in her arms and a neighbor tried to resuscitate him.
KKR SWINGS TO A PROFIT FOR 3RD QUARTER
As the markets have improved, so have the fortunes of private equity firms like Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.
The investment firm said that it earned $509.9 million in its third quarter, swinging to a profit from a loss the same time last year as the value of its holdings improved. That amounts to 69 cents a share. And the firm’s assets under management grew as well, rising 7.8 percent to $66.3 billion.
Coupled with the Blackstone Group’s third-quarter results, which also showed a profit after reporting a loss in the year-ago period, KKR’s quarter augurs well for the private equity industry.
MAN ARRESTED IN SCHEME TO DEFRAUD FACEBOOK
In 2010, a New York entrepreneur made an explosive legal claim: An agreement that he had with Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg entitled him to a major stake in the social-networking giant.
Zuckerberg denied the claim, and his lawyers insisted that the entrepreneur, Paul Ceglia, was a scam artist. On Friday, federal authorities arrested Ceglia and charged him with a multibillion-dollar scheme to defraud Facebook.
Prosecutors say that Ceglia, 39, of Wellsville, N.Y., filed a sham federal lawsuit claiming to have been promised a 50 percent share of Facebook in 2003, and doctored, fabricated and destroyed evidence to support his allegations.
COMCAST REPORTS STRONG 3Q GROWTH
Aided by the sale of assets and a lift from the Summer Olympics, Comcast has reported strong third-quarter growth, surpassing expectations on several crucial measures.
Comcast, the largest U.S. cable company, said its net income rose to $2.11 billion, or 78 cents a share, compared with $908 million, or 33 cents a share, in the same quarter last year. Most of the increase was attributed to the sale of wireless spectrum to Verizon Wireless and the sale of its 15.8 percent stake in A&E Television Networks. Excluding the sales, net income was $1.25 billion, or 46 cents a share, in line with analysts’ estimates.
TWO MORE DEATHS IN RIOTING AT PERU MARKET
Rioting against the capital Lima’s insistence on relocating Peru’s biggest wholesale market to a cleaner, less lawless neighborhood claimed two more lives, and authorities said 27 people were injured.
Police, who fought rioters with tear gas and batons, reported 103 arrests on Saturday. Two other civilians were killed Thursday when rioting first broke out over the cordoning off by police of the La Parada market to prevent trucks from entering.
Sixty-eight police officers were injured Thursday.