Internet

Bebo valuation pokes a hole in social networking’s bubble

13 Mar 2008

Facebook s skyhigh theoretical value makes AOL s $850m offer for rival Bebo look paltry. It s more like News Corp s purchase of MySpace in 2005. But social network growth has rocketed since then. Why not their values? Maybe buyers have learned how hard it is to make money.

Is Washington State the next Napa Valley?

10 Mar 2008

Amazon.com shareholders should hope so. The Seattlebased internet giant is set to enter the online wine business. A number of websites, including one backed by Amazon, have struggled in the US before. But the company is wellplaced to capture the industry s grand cru riches.

Yahoo’s play for time shows weakness of its hand

5 Mar 2008

The internet company has extended the deadline for nominating directors. It can now delay its annual meeting, giving it time to fight Microsoft s unsolicited bid. If Yahoo could win a proxy fight or had a credible alternative plan it wouldn t need to do this.

Backdating casualty offers big upside

5 Mar 2008

Comverse Technology trades on the US pink sheets. Its founder absconded to Namibia. It hasn t released financial statements in two years. Lawsuits are flying. And the stock may be a great investment.

Microsoft takes Google battle to the clouds

3 Mar 2008

The software giant has unveiled new online subscription services cloud computing for businesses. Google s cheaper version of similar services has proved underwhelming so far. But Microsoft s new efforts and its bid for Yahoo shows just how worried it is by the trend.

Will Steve Ballmer throw a chair at Yahoo?

28 Feb 2008

The tempertantruming Microsoft boss has been uncharacteristically temperate while Yahoo dithers about its future. Yahoo s negotiating window may slam shut sooner than expected. Already its closest proxy, Google, has seen its shares slide by 15%. Time s a wasting.

Microsoft should pay cash for Yahoo

20 Feb 2008

The software giant s market capitalisation has fallen by $43bn since it offered to buy the internet company. One way to claw back some of this is to offer cash rather than equity financing half the deal with debt would generate tax savings worth around $3bn.

Yahoo-MySpace deal nothing but a spoiler

13 Feb 2008

It s hard to see how Yahoo s discredited management could convince shareholders it will create more value than Microsoft s offer by overpaying for a social networking site already in bed with Google. Hats off to Murdoch for his opportunism, though.

Online gambling plays on

13 Feb 2008

Sure, the stocks are far from their glory days before the US effectively banned the practice. But the profitable European companies are now expanding and there s not much chance of competition from US operators. The shares might just be worth a flutter.

Microsoft may need Yahoo more than it admits

11 Feb 2008

The software giant has justified its bid on the basis of beefing up online search and advertising. Now that it faces the likelihood of paying more for its quarry, it might be worth admitting that it s worried about the web s longterm threat to its dominant software businesses.

Microsoft’s shareholders have overreacted

8 Feb 2008

Its market cap has plunged by $41bn roughly the value of its offer for internet rival Yahoo. Adjusted for synergies and the likelihood Microsoft will sweeten its bid, this implies cataclysmic value destruction of an unlikely dimension.

Spam tells sad economic story

6 Feb 2008

Looking for insight into the zeitgeist? The mix of spam email provides a clue. Cheap mortgage offers jumped when the Fed cut rates, but hot stock tips have all but disappeared. And to judge from the increased share for enhancements , people are feeling mighty insecure.

Microsoft makes Google look smart over AOL

4 Feb 2008

It sure didn t mean to. But the price tag Microsoft has put on Yahoo vindicates its archenemy s decision to value the Time Warner internet portal at a chunky $20bn a couple years ago. Take a look at the arithmetic.

Jerry Yang replies to Steve Ballmer

4 Feb 2008

Ok, not really. But if the Yahoo founder and chief executive were to respond to Microsoft s $45bn hostile bid, this is what he might say.

What’s the best outcome for Google?

4 Feb 2008

The search giant is trying to frustrate Microsoft's $45bn Yahoo bid in an effort to preserve the status quo: two wimpy rivals. But forcing Microsoft to pay more and choke on integrating Yahoo wouldn t be a bad outcome either.

Microsoft-Yahoo should get antitrust green light

4 Feb 2008

Expect US and EU regulators to take a tough look but clear the $45bn proposed acquisition. Regulators have long portrayed Microsoft as a bully. But now it looks more like a saviour, trying to preserve competition and keep Google from becoming the new Microsoft.

Yahoo should negotiate the best price for itself

1 Feb 2008

Microsoft's $44.6bn offer is sweet but Yahoo's dawdling management and board would further compound their poor recent stewardship by folding without a fight. While the headline numbers look nutty, once stripped of its cash and Asian investments, Yahoo looks more reasonable.

Microsoft needs to search for more than size

1 Feb 2008

Microsoft s and Yahoo s ad businesses are reeling from competition with Google. Combine them, and the two might prop each other up. The challenge is to avoid creating a lumbering business stuck in a larger conglomerate quagmire.

Silicon Valley doesn’t understand books

31 Jan 2008

Numerous companies have unsuccessfully tried to crack the digital book market. Amazon s purchase of Audible is the latest effort. Ebooks are likely to remain the Brazil of digital content a promising future that never quite arrives.

Google needs to figure out MySpace

31 Jan 2008

The internet group already dominates search, so further market share gains will be difficult. Now Google is having trouble convincing social networkers to click on its ads. It better figure this out before a consumer slowdown hits.