Internet

Google not immune to a recession

30 Jan 2008

The search engine s profit machine still looks like a onetrick pony. A US economic slowdown would hammer advertising spending. Yahoo s precipitous decline in 2000 provides some clues of how bad things could get.

Shareholders lose when moguls collide

29 Jan 2008

John Malone and Barry Diller are headed to court over the breakup of IAC. Both have irrational requests. The best outcome for shareholders would be a fair auction, or spinoff, of all the component parts.

Diller adopts good governance…to shaft Malone

25 Jan 2008

The IAC boss known for his excessive compensation is adopting a singleshare voting structure in the spinoffs of the web conglomerate s assets. But this looks more like a tactical attempt to get John Malone off his back than an aboutface for shareholders.

Ebay’s new boss will have lots to work with

22 Jan 2008

Ebay CEO Meg Whitman looks set to step down. This seems like the right time. She turned the auctioneer into an internet giant with good businesses, but she made some mistakes too. A new chief will soothe edgy shareholders. Spinning off Skype and Paypal could be a good first step.

Murdoch Monster bid might make sense

10 Jan 2008

News Corp. denied it has made a $4.8bn bid for the employment website. But it s not a bad idea. Online classified ad machines like Monster have gutted one of the newspaper industry s best business lines. Purchasing Monster might be a sweet form of revenge for the newspaper baron.

Do central bankers dream of abolishing banks?

10 Jan 2008

That s the approach of the most powerful central bank in the virtual world. Linden Labs, which operates Second Life, has responded to bad behaviour by closing down the sector. The catch: banks help even pretend worlds run. The ban on finance may cost Second Life some business.

CNET should sell out to Henry Blodget

7 Jan 2008

The Wall Street pariah recently launched a whimsical offer for the $1.3bn internet publisher on his blog. Now four investors have followed suit by amassing a stake with intent to flip the board. As jokey as it sounds, Blodget s onto something: CNET needs a Web 2.0 makeover.

Web 2.0’s 2008 challenge: privacy

21 Dec 2007

Many internet companies aspire to be the next Google by figuring out and influencing how groups of people act. The catch these businesses depend on users surrendering their privacy. The limits have already been tested.

Social networking gets a jolt of reality

12 Dec 2007

Classmates Media has canned its IPO. The flotation had little chance. After all, the company wasn't really a social network. But it did claim to be and others in the sector should take note. If sanity has set in, the valuations of real social networks could be headed lower.

Facebook steps too far into users’ lives

4 Dec 2007

Do you want your friends to know you bought a book on sexual dysfunction off Ebay? That s the sort of conundrum the networking site s new Beacon platform poses. Facebook s drive to justify its $15bn valuation has it crossing the line of privacy, threatening its business model.

Could Citadel’s $2.5bn bailout of E*Trade go beyond bottom-fishing?

29 Nov 2007

The $16bn hedge fund group is buying problem CDOs from E*Trade at firesale prices. It s also injecting lifesaving funds into the troubled online broker. The deal looks canny. But with Citadel s big electronic trading business, there might even be a strategic rationale one day.

Is Google turning into a sovereign wealth fund?

28 Nov 2007

The search group is gushing cash like an Abu Dhabi oil well. Its latest effort to redeploy this bounty is a push into green energy. Ambition is the fuel of Silicon Valley, but Google is in danger of flooding its engine by investing in everything from personalised biotech to space flight.

Web 2.0 allows retail investors to make DIY subprime CDOs

26 Nov 2007

The CDO meltdown indirectly hurt a lot of retail investors. But at least they couldn t invest directly in subprime loans. Until now. A fastgrowing web service, Prosper.com, connects hard luck cases with lenders who assemble portfolios of loans. Sound familiar?

QXL’s Ebay dreams may yet come true

8 Nov 2007

During the heyday of the dotcom boom, the Britishbased online auction group had ambitions to be the Ebay of Europe. That never quite worked out. Yet, QXL s exposure to emerging markets with high online consumer growth now looks attractive. Ebay is thought to be behind the latest approach.

Yahoo needs practical plans, not platitudes

7 Nov 2007

The internet portal jettisoned its chief executive in June and brought back founder Jerry Yang, yet still can t explain its turnaround plan. Outside the realm of genius, what can t be explained can t be done is a good motto. We offer Yahoo a suggestion outsource search.

ACS founder is the problem, not its directors

2 Nov 2007

Five independent directors are to resign at ACS amid boardroom rancour and a withdrawn $6.2bn management buyout offer. They tried to run an auction, but the company is fraught with conflicts that are of the founder s doing. Shareholders should take it out on him.

IAC breakup gives Diller leverage with Malone

31 Oct 2007

The two media moguls are fighting over how to unwind their partnership in IAC. Malone owns a $2bn stake and wants IAC s cable shopping channel, HSN. Diller may want Malone off his back. But shareholders would only be served if Malone pays a premium for HSN. Spinning it off makes this more likely.

Chinese internet groups don’t need Nasdaq any more

29 Oct 2007

Many Chinese internet companies have chosen to list in New York over Hong Kong or Shanghai. Nasdaq simply attracted a deeper pool of capital. The stunning $1.5bn float of internet auction firm Alibaba has turned this equation on its head.

Why didn’t Facebook just go public?

26 Oct 2007

The social networking site raised $240m from Microsoft and may pull in $500m more. That s an unusually large VC round. The reason lies in its hugely successful cultivation of thirdparty software developers. That makes the site sticky, but creates huge risks. Until these are under control, Facebook shouldn t go public.

Ebay admits buyer’s remorse over Skype

1 Oct 2007

It s a delicious bit of irony that the auction company got carried away and paid $1.4bn too much for the internet telecom group. Ebay might be better off selling, but it will have to live with its tchotchke a bit longer. It will pay $195m in handling costs if it sells before April 2008.