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Disney’s future turns board geeks to possible rats

16 Jan 2018

Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey are leaving the entertainment giant’s board. Convergence with technology – in virtual reality, say – makes conflicts of interest likelier. That can dent directors’ effectiveness. Put less blandly, it can make them dangerous.

Facebook discovers cost of factory-farming users

12 Jan 2018

The $550 bln social network’s success harvesting ad dollars from mass-appeal content made it very profitable. The snag is that users are increasingly unhappy. Mark Zuckerberg’s return to focusing more on their welfare may limit short-run profits but should improve sustainability.

Domino’s Pizza is 2018’s most unlikely tech stock

21 Dec 2017

True, there’s nothing high-tech about pizza. But the take-out chain also dominates the “last mile” that delivery companies covet. Its app-to-infrastructure model makes Domino’s a little bit Uber, and a little bit Amazon. Investors are already baking in some futuristic assumptions.

Facebook targets children with Snap rip-off

4 Dec 2017

Mark Zuckerberg’s outfit is launching a messaging app for kids under 12. It’s a bid to attract a new generation of users by a company struggling to lure youngsters from Snapchat. Yet it’s also a gamble for Facebook. Targeting tweens will invite even closer regulatory scrutiny.

Review: Firm ideas for a world of soft assets

1 Dec 2017

Modern economies are increasingly built on intangible factors like research and development and software. "Capitalism Without Capital" shows how this trend contributes to problems like rising inequality. But it stops short of tackling the rising dominance of big tech groups.

Investors scramble for a slice of almost-Tencent

9 Nov 2017

Chinese search engine Sogou, which just listed in the U.S., is the No. 3 in its home market. The reason to invest, though, is its connection to the owner of near billion-user chat app WeChat. If ties with Tencent get closer, Sogou might merit its $5.1 billion valuation.

Sina’s board wins Yahoo-like prize

3 Nov 2017

Bosses of the $8 bln Chinese web outfit thwarted a U.S. hedge fund's quest to add two directors. Sina's big problem is that it's worth less than its big stake in Weibo. As Yahoo laid bare, it can be hard to run a company whose value sits elsewhere – regardless of who's in charge.

Facebook’s long-term problem just got shorter

1 Nov 2017

Mark Zuckerberg vowed to do more to combat fake content in response to the fallout from Russia-backed ads. He warned profitability will take a hit just as the social network added almost $5 bln to the bottom line. As government scrutiny grows, the $500 bln firm has little choice.

Tencent’s hit spinoff reads like a prologue

1 Nov 2017

China Literature’s $1.1 bln IPO priced at the top of the range. That could encourage parent Tencent to list other units, which would both raise capital and lessen the regulatory scrutiny on some businesses. The most radical move would be floating crown jewel WeChat.

Complacency is biggest risk for Facebook investors

31 Oct 2017

Mark Zuckerberg’s firm set new highs even as it said nearly half of American voters may have seen Russian propaganda on its site. The fallout from fake content could hit its runaway value, but investors can’t be bothered as long as advertisers keep flocking to the social network.

WPP woes cement Mad Men bargain-basement valuation

31 Oct 2017

The group may cut targets for the third time this year. Advertising firms are grappling with frugal customers and online sales. Investors rate them as lowly as media dinosaurs like newspaper sellers. M&A options look tricky. Their best bet is to hope clients start spending again.

Twitter’s credibility is for the birds

26 Oct 2017

Jack Dorsey’s social network had to restate user numbers for three years. Quarterly ad revenue fell a whopping 8 pct. However, a promise of coming profitability has put investors in a tizzy. Cutting costs is a start, but it’s going to take more to mend Twitter’s broken wings.

Sexual harassment forces way into the board room

18 Oct 2017

Harvey Weinstein’s movie studio is in tatters. Mighty Amazon is wrestling with the fallout from alleged misbehavior of a top executive. They're not alone. The mistreatment of women has swiftly moved from an HR issue to a serious business risk deserving of attention from the top.

China’s iQiyi is like Netflix with extra challenges

17 Oct 2017

The Chinese video-streaming service is eyeing a debut on U.S. markets next year and already inviting comparisons to its American partner. Both are burning cash on new content to lure fans. Fickle consumers and limited appeal abroad stand in the way of a $10 bln-plus valuation.

Expect buybacks but not M&A from China’s Sina

29 Sep 2017

An activist wants the $8 bln web group to consider a sale or a merger with subsidiary Weibo. The former would never get past boss Charles Chao, and the latter is a bad idea. But Chao could compromise by expanding the board, stepping up buybacks and handing out more Weibo shares.

Facebook owners ignore Russian affair at own peril

22 Sep 2017

The $500 bln social network's alleged role in election meddling has legislators flapping, regulators gearing up and even roiled Mark Zuckerberg from paternity leave. Yet Facebook's valuation, at 27 times forward earnings, remains robust. There's a risky disconnect at work here.

Activist has fighting chance with China’s Sina

19 Sep 2017

U.S. hedge fund Aristeia is going after the $8 bln Chinese web company. Sina looks like a good target: it is clearly undervalued and its boss is not protected by super-voting shares. A big stake in microblogging affiliate Weibo offers some straightforward ways to create value.

Facebook’s fuzzy math blurs its TV picture

6 Sep 2017

A claim to reach 100 mln younger people in America doesn't square with U.S. census figures, an analyst found. Despite a growing list of number blunders, advertisers have limited sway over the $500 bln titan. As Facebook pushes into streaming, though, it'll find tougher pushback.