Though the market had experienced a fall in copper prices during mid of September 2011, the demand for the metal is now on a northward trend. The recent fall off in copper prices may be attributed to the slow pace of the metal in the Chinese market.

A new price hike is expected as the metal continues to be used in all sectors with added vigor – from construction of buildings, power generation and transmission to the manufacture of consumer electronics. Demand for copper has increased four fold than the rate at it is being produced.

It is being reported that the world’s top four listed global copper miners such as Freeport McMoRan, BHP Billiton, Xstrata and Rio Tinto have seen nearly 10% to 18% drop in their copper outputs. Codelco, the world’s leading copper miner, was forced to buy copper from an outside source earlier this year.

Based on predictions by market experts, copper prices are expected to scramble at least until 2015. That makes copper a safe and worthy investment option. More than all these facts, according to the International Copper Study Group’s latest estimation of copper market dynamics, the results should be encouraging copper prices in a big way.

The new range would give the world’s largest social network worth between 92.000 million and 103.000 million, CNBC said. The previous range of the stock offering was 28 to 35 dollars each.

The company’s shares were offered in a range of 28 to 35 dollars.

Facebook on Tuesday closed its IPO books, according to a source familiar with the deal. The social network is scheduled to put its shares on Thursday to begin trading on Friday. The company stopped taking orders for the IPO two days ahead of schedule.

The biggest social network is scheduled to put its shares on Thursday to begin trading on Friday. Facebook stopped accepting orders for the IPO two days ahead of schedule.

The company has not yet taken any decision on the proposed price increase of the shares of Facebook, which are being offered $28 to $35 each, said a source who requested anonymity.

Increasing the price range will probably be done after the arrival of the latest orders on Tuesday. Given the size of the IPO, the underwriters of the transaction will likely be cautious about increasing the price range, the source said.

A number of Wall Street banks are the underwriters of the offering of Facebook, led by Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs.

Dimon acknowledged that the losses were “self-inflicted” and said it was appropriate to make changes in management.

The last week, the bank said it lost 2.000 million for a serious error in swap operations.

On Monday May 14, they announced the first change: the removal of Ina Drew, the managing director of investments and one of the highest ranking women on Wall Street.

From its headquarters in Palo Alto, California, Apostolopoulos leads a team of over 80 engineers and scientists scattered in different locations in the world, working on the next big trend in technology.

“We are working on creating the future of computing; trends but are not yet ready for public use,” said Apostolopoulos, during the HP Global Influencer Summit, held in Shanghai, China.

The manager, with over 100 U.S. patents granted for their creations, said the company is working on a technology of flexible displays that could be installed on your forearm, and where you could receive weather reports, e-mails or details of your personal agenda.

Another technological advance is investigating the creation of an object called ‘Memristor’, which comes from the union of the words ‘Memory’ and ‘electrical resistance’.

“With this device, we could have much greater ability to store data inside a computer and forget all about the hard drive,” suggested the director of HP Labs, which has offices in India, China, UK, Singapore, Russia and Israel.

About 100 devices showed up at the event, where he introduced new ultrabooks, printers and workstations for small and medium enterprises.

HP ranks number 10 in the list of 500 companies, according to the report of the Fortune 2012, with sales of 127.000 billion and earnings of 7.000 billion.

“Certainly when I came to HP, I was experiencing a moment of instability and that was one of the first things I wanted to change. I needed to simplify our business, both for the market to ourselves”, said Whitman during the Global Influencer Summit in Shanghai, China.

The CEO of the largest personal computer maker in the world decided last March to join in the division of desktops and printers as part of this simplification. These two businesses represent just over 51% of total profits for the firm.

Whitman, who took the position in September 2011 said that at first, this decision was a response divided by its executives. But over time, they have accepted.

“We have more people who say they support this decision. There is much work to do and we are on an adventure, not just a career,” said the executive.

China, the next step in HP

Whitman spoke at this global forum on the importance of the Chinese market for the company, which in 2015, will consume twice as PCs in contrast to the United States.

“We believe China is no longer part of the BRIC market. This country is mature in the consumption of technology and the adoption of new services,” she said.

Whitman said the company will invest twice as much capital in research on development, in contrast to the past year, without specifying the total amount for this item.

The premium model in this range is the Spectre XT, weighing just 1.4 kg, 14.5 millimeters thick and a 13.3 inch HD screen.

“With our portfolio of computers designed for consumption and for business, we can offer the best performance, quality and a different experience in distinctive patterns,” said James Mourton, vice president and director of the personal computer division of the firm, during the HP Global Influencer Forum in Shanghai, China.

The technology introduced about 90 products in the event, including the unit that will be available in the United States from the second week of June for $999.

The characteristics of the Spectre XT:

• Windows 7 Premium
• 13.3 inch HD screen
• RAM: 4GB
• Hard Drive: From 128 to 256GB
• Dimensions: 327x221x14.5 mm
• Weight: 1.4 kg
• Battery: Up to 8 hours

HP, led by Meg Whitman, sold 15.8 million PCs, just above Apple, which sold just over 15.76 million of equipment during the first quarter, according to research firm Canalys.

The company ranks number 10 in the list of the 500 largest companies according to Fortune, with sales of 127.000 billion and earnings per 7.000 billion.

The personal computer market represents just over 3.500 billion, according to figures reported by HP. The company sold four of these devices every second in this sector and compete against Apple, Dell, Sony, Toshiba, Lenovo, Samsung, among others.

“I’m very happy where we are going internally on this segment. I’m sure in the future we will have competitive products that are directed towards the company and small businesses, rather than to final consumer level,” said Bradley, during the Global Influencer Summit made by the company in Shanghai, China.

It is recalled that the first attempt to HP in this segment was the TouchPad, a device that went on sale on July 1, 2011 in the U.S., and was discontinued 90 days after its little commercial success.

The firm, headed by Meg Whitman, came back to a market that generated sales of nearly 30.000 billion in global sales in 2011, according to figures from Gartner.

The manager said that they will continue to work with Microsoft as an ally to use its new operating system, Windows 8 in this product.

“This does not mean that we will be allies with them forever. The market is constantly evolving,” he said.

The iPad is the leading product among the different tabs, with a share of over 68% market share, followed by teams based on Google’s Android, which is in equipment from manufacturers like Samsung, Motorola, Sony and Amazon Kindle, according to figures from Gartner.

HP ranks number 10 in the list of the 500 largest companies according to Fortune, with sales of 127.000 billion and earnings of 7.000 billion.

About 100 devices were presented at the Global Influencer Summit, where he introduced new ultrabooks, printers and workstations for small and medium enterprises.

As part of the changes, the company also gave indications that begin to show users even in places other than the social network ads, based on interests and hobbies that these people have expressed in the social networking site.

The announcement came one week before the expected initial public offering of shares of Facebook.

The company held meetings with potential investors this week, including one in Silicon Valley on Friday and posted online a version of the trip that usually take executives face a market launch.

The offer could increase the value of Facebook at almost 100,000 million (more than Kraft, Ford and other major brands).

Policy changes are a response to an audit conducted last year by the Irish authorities for the protection of information, said Facebook.

The commission asked the firm more transparent about how it collects information from its users and uses it for advertising. Also asked to indicate how long retain such information.

Facebook plans to notify more than 900 million users on the changes through notices posted on their site and in applications for portable devices.

Users who want more information can read a version of the policy that outlines the changes word for word.

Erin Egan, chief privacy officer of Facebook, will hold a “chat” on Monday to answer questions from users.

Egan said the company does not undergo substantial changes in its business practices, but want to “not fall into the mistake of offering too much information.”

The Facebook headquarters are abroad in Dublin, Ireland, a member of the European Union. This means the company must comply with European privacy laws information.

Facebook reported that the changes also respond to feedback from its users.

As part of the policy changes, the social network created a section to explain how they use technology, such as “cookies” to broadcast commercials, provide protection to the site and provide various items.

“Cookies”, small files containing information or alphanumeric identification of users, are commonly used to track the activities of people all over the internet, for example.

In the transaction, HSBC said in a statement that it has a value of $400 million in cash and is subject to adjustment to reflect the net asset value in each of the business at closing.

They also clarified that these transactions must have the necessary regulatory approvals in each jurisdiction and meet other conditions.

They said they expect sales of business in Colombia and Peru to be completed during the last quarter of 2012; and Uruguay and Paraguay in the first quarter of 2013.

They also revealed that these operations represent progress in implementing the strategy of HSBC Group.

Antonio Losada, President and CEO of HSBC Latin America and the Caribbean said, “We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Banco GNB Sudameris, as we focus our operations where we see the greatest potential for sustainable growth for HSBC.”

On December 31, 2011, businesses had to sell 62 branches in four countries with assets of 4.4 billion dollars.