Internet

SoftBank lives up to its name with Indian startup

19 May 2015

Housing.com CEO Rahul Yadav is a venture capital nightmare. The 26 year-old has slammed investors including the Japanese group as intellectually incapable and pledged to give away his shares. SoftBank may value a reputation for being founder-friendly, but being weak is worse.

Weibo investors should weigh life without Alibaba

19 May 2015

An alliance between the Chinese microblog and the country’s largest e-commerce group is set to expire in January. For the loss-making Weibo, the partnership hasn’t been as transformative as hoped. Instead, the microblog’s value relies ever more on factors beyond its control.

Review: The virtual bubble of bitcoin

15 May 2015

The digital currency fits well in the inglorious history of finance. Nathaniel Popper tells the story in “Digital Gold”. Bitcoin’s hot idea, limited supply and uncertain value helped spawn a price explosion. After the bust, the underlying technology may still have a future.

India online retail hierarchy looks far from fixed

14 May 2015

Investors are pouring money into the country searching for the next Alibaba or Amazon. Though India’s e-commerce opportunity is huge, low barriers to entry mean it is easy for anyone with deep pockets to spoil the party.

Alibaba entrée into U.S. is not so far fetched

14 May 2015

The Chinese e-commerce group denies plans to enter Amazon’s home turf. A growing list of U.S. investments, from retailer Zulily to Snapchat, sends a different message. Picking up expertise is useful, but as a stealthy approach to U.S. expansion, these deals may have a longer-term payoff. 

SoftBank’s next boss more symbol than succession

12 May 2015

Chairman Masayoshi Son has no plans to retire but has named ex-Google executive Nikesh Arora as his likely successor. Appointing a foreigner to the role may be mainly a way for SoftBank to gild its international credentials, but the gesture is still a valuable one.

Thruppence: Can Snapchat unmask dodgy borrowers?

8 May 2015

Alternative lender Affirm has raised $275 mln for a model that rates creditworthiness using social media data alongside other old-school indicators. Breakingviews columnists debate whether info gleaned from Facebook and its ilk could supplant traditional credit-scoring methods.

U.S. trucker offers Facebook owners ride to future

7 May 2015

Swift Transportation and the social networking giant face votes to dump feudalistic dual-share structures. Upset about their founder-CEO, the decades-old shipper’s second-class holders backed the idea last year. Facebook owners one day may find themselves similarly frustrated.

Yelp’s cry for help heard around the internet

7 May 2015

When the $3.4 bln review site rebuffed Google six years ago, its future looked almost limitless. Now Yelp is exploring a sale. That will resonate through boardrooms and venture capitalists’ tree-houses as they ponder slowing growth and the limits of online business models.

LinkedIn shareholders not endorsing lower growth

30 Apr 2015

The social network for jobseekers lost over $7 bln in value after it said 2015 revenue and earnings would be lower than expected. Investors assumed its niche assured fast and steady expansion, allowing them to rationalize a nose-bleed valuation. Reality is biting.

Rob Cox: Bitcoin enters age of Goldman and lawyers

30 Apr 2015

For libertarian early adopters, the discovery of the cryptocurrency by Wall Street’s top firm and a bevy of legal eagles is a pivotal moment. Diehards will mourn the lost privacy and edginess of bitcoin. The flipside is the prospect of mainstream financial industry acceptance.

China’s cyber crackdown: A guide for the perplexed

24 Apr 2015

The People’s Republic is squeezing technology companies. New banking rules and counter-terrorism legislation could make it harder for foreign groups to operate in the expanding market. Is security just an excuse to protect domestic players? Breakingviews cracks the code.

EU’s competition sprawl as worrying as Google’s

15 Apr 2015

Europe has accused the web giant of favoring its own shopping search results and broadened the case to include its Android mobile operating system. Investigations and appeals may take a decade. Brussels’ ambitious lack of focus is similar to what threatens ever-expanding Google.

Market curbing Google faster than EU

8 Apr 2015

After five years’ back-and-forth, European competition authorities may charge the internet search giant with abusing a monopoly. Changing advertising patterns suggest technology is moving ahead of the law in muting Google’s power – an echo of Microsoft’s case last decade.

Tencent’s discount to Facebook harder to justify

7 Apr 2015

The Chinese social media giant generated about the same revenue as its U.S. counterpart last year and was more profitable, despite having fewer users. Yet it trades at a lower multiple of earnings. As the two business models converge, the valuation gap needs a rethink.

Yoox and Net-a-Porter make a striking combo

31 Mar 2015

Europe’s two biggest players in selling fancy clothes online are combining in an all-share deal worth about 3 bln euros. Both should gain, and size matters as Amazon eyes luxury. Yoox of Italy gets clear control and scale, while NAP owner Richemont keeps a toe in a growing sector.

Hacked JPMorgan can leapfrog peers on cyber danger

26 Mar 2015

Big U.S. lenders scarcely mentioned the risk in their annual meeting documents in 2014. Since then, though, Jamie Dimon’s firm was hacked and cybersecurity has surged up the agenda. Wells Fargo and Citi said more in this year’s proxies, but JPMorgan could set a new standard.

Amazon faces double whammy from shipping costs

24 Mar 2015

One of the internet retailer’s biggest weapons against rivals has been fast and cheap delivery. The associated losses have been a clever marketing expense, driving revenue growth. Increased competition and delivery costs are blunting this edge - and dimming Amazon’s prospects.

Google’s CFO search should have it feeling lucky

24 Mar 2015

There’s a dearth of executives with the financial, tech and government experience needed to help run a $400 bln company. Even fewer women fit the bill. Silicon Valley and Wall Street just can’t find enough Ruth Porats fast enough. The challenge is to create more like her.

Alibaba deal spree strains its financial strength

24 Mar 2015

The e-commerce giant barely explained its recent investments in an Israeli venture capital fund or U.S. chat app Snapchat. Similar purchases absorbed 75 pct of Alibaba’s operating cash flow in 2014. Though its core business is robust, returns on the new ventures are uncertain.