Its market capitalisation again almost matches that of Microsoft, its archrival for many years (see chart 1).The firm's centenary is an occasion to reflect on many things digital, but one question stands out: why is IBM still alive and thriving after so long, in an industry characterised perhaps more than any other by innovation and change?
It last tried to strike a deal with Mr Mallya in 2009, and since then its archrival Pernod Ricard of France has stolen a march on it, expanding its whisky business in India quickly.
Worse, BMI fell into the clutches of Virgin's archrival, British Airways.
Ciao!, a European online-shopping site, has complained that Google dictates minimum bid levels in the auctions for advertising slots which appear next to its search results.But the main force agitating against Google is Microsoft, its archrival.
On Thursday November 12th the world's largest chipmaker and its archrival, AMD, announced that they had signed an agreement to end all outstanding legal disagreements between them, including antitrust litigation and patent disputes.
"Many of the economies in which we operate are still recovering from recession," Mr McDonald admits.P&G and its archrival Unilever, another global consumer-goods firm, had a grim time last year: profits plummeted.
Marius Kloppers, a young star who became chief executive of the world's biggest mining company, BHP Billiton, in 2007, lost his way after trying to buy its archrival, Rio Tinto, for $115 billion in 2008 and then in 2010 the obscure Potash Corp of Saskatchewan for a very unobscure $43 billion.
Operating profit for the quarter jumped by 40%.Siemens's growth spurt has even placed it ahead of its archrival, General Electric GEE), long the world's dominant industrial company, on some measures.
But Casino, an archrival of Carrefour, owns 37% of CBD and is poised to take control next year.Its opposition, together with an outcry against further concentration of the Brazilian retail market, scuppered the deal.
A fluent English speaker, Mr Poroshenko has held several senior government posts over the years, including secretary of the security council and foreign minister.Mr Poroshenko's victory left Yulia Tymoshenko, a former prime minister and his archrival, trailing far behind with about 13% of the votes.
Last week, the Asahi's conservative archrival, Yomiuri Shimbun, said sorry to its 10m readers for using the term "sex slaves" in many articles about so-called comfort women since 1992.
