After Yahoo deal, challenges abound for Alibaba
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's Alibaba Group could command a Facebook-rivalling valuation of $100 billion when it comes to list its shares, possibly by 2015 - but its more immediate challenge is to hang on to top spot in the country's $36 billion e-commerce market. Founded and led by Internet entrepreneur Jack Ma, Alibaba faces increasingly tough competition in its e-commerce stronghold from well-funded rivals 360buy, which is backed by Digital Sky Technologies, Dangdang Inc and Amazon.com Inc. ...
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Twitter index: fans urge Lady Gaga to cancel Jakarta show
Indonesian fans are urging Lady Gaga to cancel her upcoming show in Jakarta over to fears it?s not safe for her to perform in the country.
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Nasdaq seen struggling with aftermath of Facebook IPO
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nasdaq OMX faces short-term costs from its botched handling of Facebook shares on their first day of trading but the longer term repercussions could be more expensive as it struggles to restore its image. Initially, the exchange said it plans to set aside $13 million to resolve bad trades, and even if all of that was used, the cost would be minimal compared with the $387 million in net income it reported last year. The bigger hit to Nasdaq's business is likely to come from the damage done to its reputation by the stumble. ...more
Facebook shares sink 11 percent as reality overtakes hype
(Reuters) - Facebook shares sank 11 percent in the first day of trading without the full support of the company's underwriters, leaving some investors down almost 25 percent from where they were Friday and driving others to switch back to more established stocks. Facebook's debut was beset by problems, so much so that Nasdaq said on Monday it was changing its IPO procedures. That may comfort companies considering a listing, but does it little for Facebook, whose lead underwriter, Morgan Stanley, had to step in and defend the $38 offering price on the open market. ...
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Insight: Morgan Stanley cut Facebook estimates just before IPO
(Reuters) - In the run-up to Facebook's $16 billion IPO, Morgan Stanley, the lead underwriter on the deal, unexpectedly delivered some negative news to major clients: The bank's consumer Internet analyst, Scott Devitt, was reducing his revenue forecasts for the company. The sudden caution very close to the huge initial public offering, and while an investor roadshow was underway, was a big shock to some, said two investors who were advised of the revised forecast. ...
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Nasdaq seen struggling with aftermath of Facebook IPO
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nasdaq OMX faces short-term costs from its botched handling of Facebook shares on their first day of trading but the longer term repercussions could be more expensive as it struggles to restore its image. Initially, the exchange said it plans to set aside $13 million to resolve bad trades, and even if all of that was used, the cost would be minimal compared with the $387 million in net income it reported last year. The bigger hit to Nasdaq's business is likely to come from the damage done to its reputation by the stumble. ...
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At seventh birthday, YouTube marks new milestones
YouTube celebrated its seventh birthday by saying it has hit fresh milestones in terms of its offerings and the amount of time spent on the video-sharing website.
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Facebook stock slide puts new pressures on company
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc's underwhelming debut on Wall Street increases the pressure on the social networking giant to deliver stellar growth - a novel situation for Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, who has been clear he is more interested in building products than making money. Facebook shares fell 11 percent on Monday, the company's second day as a publicly traded company, due to what many analysts and investors blamed on overly aggressive pricing by Facebook's underwriters, as well as a decision to expand the size of the offering by 25 percent. ...more
Ex-Yahoo director, fund manager made illegal trades: U.S.
(Reuters) - Federal prosecutors on Monday announced insider trading charges against a former Yahoo employee and a fund manager for illegally sharing and trading on secret company information. The pair pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court on Monday, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office said in a press release. They were also charged by U.S. securities regulators in a parallel civil proceeding. The SEC said it is pursuing a civil settlement with the two. ...
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Computer hackers access U.S. Justice Department website: spokeswoman
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One or more unauthorized users gained access to the inner workings of a website run by the U.S. Justice Department, a department spokeswoman said on Monday after the hacker group Anonymous said they were behind the incident. The hackers accessed a server that operates the Bureau of Justice Statistics' website, the spokeswoman said. The bureau is responsible for collecting and analyzing data about crime ? including computer security incidents ? from throughout the United States. ...more
After Yahoo deal, challenges abound for Alibaba
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's Alibaba Group could command a Facebook-rivalling valuation of $100 billion when it comes to list its shares, possibly by 2015 - but its more immediate challenge is to hang on to top spot in the country's $36 billion e-commerce market. Founded and led by Internet entrepreneur Jack Ma, Alibaba faces increasingly tough competition in its e-commerce stronghold from well-funded rivals 360buy, which is backed by Digital Sky Technologies, Dangdang Inc and Amazon.com Inc. ...
more
Insight: Morgan Stanley cut Facebook estimates just before IPO
(Reuters) - In the run-up to Facebook's $16 billion IPO, Morgan Stanley, the lead underwriter on the deal, unexpectedly delivered some negative news to major clients: The bank's consumer Internet analyst, Scott Devitt, was reducing his revenue forecasts for the company. The sudden caution very close to the huge initial public offering, and while an investor roadshow was underway, was a big shock to some, said two investors who were advised of the revised forecast. ...
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Alibaba repurchases half of Yahoo?s stake for $7.1 billion
As Yahoo?s struggles continue, the company is looking to cut costs and dig up cash wherever it can. Yahoo announced plans last month to lay off 2,000 workers, or nearly 15% of its staff, and before that it filed a ?puzzling? patent lawsuit against long-time partner Facebook. Now, Yahoo will sell half of its 40% stake in China-based retail giant Alibaba. Led by Chinese Internet entrepreneur Jack Ma, Alibaba will repurchase part of Yahoo?s holdings in the e-commerce firm for $7.1 billion as it prepares to take the company public. The deal, which was announced in a joint statement on Monday, will see Yahoo sell half its stake in Alibaba for $6.3 billion in cash and as much as $800 million in new preferred
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Chrome passes Internet Explorer to become world?s most popular browser
Google?s Chrome Web browser has continued to gain market share since its introduction in 2008. Despite surpassing Internet Explorer in select regions and on weekends, Google?s browser has never been able to dethrone Microsoft in global usage share. According to new numbers from StatCounter, however, Google?s browser has finally averaged higher traffic than Internet Explorer for the first time over a full seven-day stretch. From May 14th through May 20th, the Internet giant?s Web browser garnered a 32.76% share, ahead of Microsoft?s 31.94% and Mozilla Firefox?s 25.47% share. At the start of this week, however, Chrome?s share began to slide, falling to 31.88%, just ahead of Internet Explorer?s 31.47% share. Read
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Lawrence Lessig: Internet Privacy Is an Oxymoron [VIDEO]
Lawrence Lessig called Internet privacy an "oxymoron" in a backstage interview during this year's Mashable Connect, held in Orlando, Florida. Lessig added that the solution lies in building what he called an "identity layer" into the Internet.more
A look at tech companies with recent IPOs
Here's a look at how some companies that had initial public offerings of stock since January 2011 are faring. The companies are all loosely Internet-related, though their businesses vary widely.more
Subscriber data from Internet service providers
Subscriber figures and other data from selected Internet service providers:more
What earnings reports have revealed about ads
Here are highlights of recent quarterly earnings reports from selected Internet and media companies and what they say about the state of spending on advertising:more
Court won't reduce student's music download fine
A former Boston University student who was ordered to pay $675,000 for illegally downloading and sharing 30 songs on the Internet says he will continue fighting the penalty, despite the Supreme Court's refusal Monday to hear his appeal.
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EU offers Google last chance in antitrust case
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's antitrust chief on Monday ratcheted up the pressure on Google, giving it a matter of weeks to settle an investigation into allegations of anti-competitive behavior and avoid formal charges and a possible fine. Even if Google, the world's most popular search engine, offers concessions to resolve the issue, it will still be under the EU spotlight after fresh complaints about its Android mobile software, the top operating system for Internet-enabled smartphones. ...
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CableWiFi to offer more than 50,000 free access points to cable subscribers
Five major U.S. cable companies have teamed up to offer more than 50,000 free Wi-Fi hotspots to subscribers. The service will be known as ?CableWiFi,? and will be offered to customers of Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable. The service initially launched in New York City and central Florida earlier May, and is set to expand to other markets in the coming months. ?This effort adds great value to our high speed Internet customers by providing free wireless Internet access on all of their WiFi enabled devices in our markets and additional areas across the country,? said Nomi Bergman, President of Bright House Networks. The joint press release follows below. Major U.S. Cable Companies Join
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In Cuba, mystery shrouds fate of Internet cable
It was all sunshine, smiles and celebratory speeches as officials marked the arrival of an undersea fiber-optic cable they promised would end Cuba's Internet isolation and boost web capacity 3,000-fold. Even a retired Fidel Castro had hailed the dawn of a new cyber-age on the island.
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Europe gives Google one last chance to end antitrust investigation
European Union antitrust regulators launched an investigation into Google?s search practices in November 2010 after rivals accused the company of promoting its own services ahead of theirs. EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia on Monday said regulators and Google were not looking at a lengthy proceeding, and if the Internet giant could meet certain demands, the antitrust investigation could be brought to a close, Reuters reported. ?Google has repeatedly expressed to me its willingness to discuss any concerns that the Commission might have without having to engage in adversarial proceedings, this is why today I?m giving Google an opportunity to offer remedies to address concerns that we have identified,? Almunia said, adding that he wanted a proposal from Google ?in a matter of
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There Was a lot of Internet at the Ultra-Orthodox Rally Against the Internet
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?Copyright cop? system for U.S. ISPs delayed
The new ?six strikes? anti-piracy policy soon to be implemented by a number of major Internet service providers in the United States will reportedly stumble out of the gate. The policy, which is set to be adopted by Comcast, Cablevision, Verizon, Time Warner Cable and other ISPs, will see action taken against users caught downloading pirated files in six steps, ultimately resulting in bandwidth throttling or even service suspensions. The system responsible for managing the new policy may not be ready on schedule, however, and the targeted launch date of July 12th may slip back as a result. According to a recent report from TorrentFreak, the newly formed Center for Copyright Information and major U.S. ISPs will not implement the new system on
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