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Category Archives: technology
Steve Ballmer, Fence-Sitter
The WSJ is reporting that Microsoft’s board, having met to decide what to do about the Yahoo bid, has decided, um, not to decide what to do about the Yahoo bid. Instead it’s punting the decision back to Steve Ballmer, … Continue reading
Posted in leadership, stocks, technology
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Apple Datapoint of the Day
This is entirely anecdotal, but there’s no doubt what the single most popular laptop is at the Milken Global Conference: the MacBook Air. The conference skews decidedly Republican, with a lot of very senior executives: we’re talking the conservative rich … Continue reading
Posted in milken 2008, technology
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Does the World Need Rich Venture Capitalists?
Fred Wilson’s blog entry about "a new path to liquidity" has resulted in a spectacular outpouring of very high-level comments, as well as responses from other bloggers such as Roger Ehrenberg. But I’m not at all convinced that there’s really … Continue reading
Posted in technology
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The Fight for Yahoo
The more I think about it, the more I like this idea of a joint bid for Yahoo from Microsoft and News Corp. The bits of Yahoo which Microsoft doesn’t want – call them "content", if you like – are … Continue reading
Posted in technology
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Why Microsoft Will Buy Yahoo, A Picture Speaks A Thousand Words Department
(Via Jack Flack; photo by Jason Lee/Reuters/Landov)
Posted in technology
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Why Silicon Valley Need Not Worry About Increased Regulation
Chris Nolan is worried about the unintended consequences of investment banks being regulated: Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson was right when he noted on Monday that the reforms he or anyone else envisions will take years to enact. But, … Continue reading
Posted in regulation, technology
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Google: Not Buying the New York Times
Russ Mitchell has a must-read interview with Eric Schmidt in the April issue of Portfolio. It gets off to a cracking start, with Schmidt saying that a combined Yahoo-Microsoft would have "certain applications–like instant messaging and email–that could be used … Continue reading
Posted in Media, technology
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Google vs Microsoft: Can You Tell the Difference?
Are Google and/or Microsoft interested in buying Digg? We don’t know: Google and Microsoft both declined to comment on whether they are interested in Digg, issuing identical statements that they do not address "rumors or speculation." Identical, you say? I … Continue reading
Posted in technology
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Search Engine Capitulation of the Day
When I first saw this over at Aaron Schiff’s, I thought it must have come from the Onion. But no, it’s for real: In a dramatic about-face, Ask.com is abandoning its effort to outshine Internet search leader Google Inc. and … Continue reading
Posted in technology
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Apple Buybacks: Still a Bad Idea
Back in December, I wasn’t a fan of Apple buying back its stock. I’m still not a fan, despite the fact that Apple stock has dropped 40% since then and the fact that Arik Hesseldahl says that a buyback is … Continue reading
Posted in stocks, technology
1 Comment
The Unjustified Google Panic
Remember the panic which ensued when comScore announced that Google’s paid-click rate was declining? Henry Blodget went so far as to call it a "Google Disaster", and the shares plunged. But it turns out that the comScore data aren’t nearly … Continue reading
Posted in stocks, technology
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I’d Like to Escalate This Issue to Level Ballmer
It was an experience suffered by millions: people with new PCs, or with newly-installed copies of Vista, finding themselves with peripherals which simply wouldn’t work because there were no drivers available. Aggrieved customer John Shirley decided to write an email … Continue reading
Posted in technology
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Bandwidth Datapoint of the Day
Says Google: According to the TeleGeography Global Bandwidth Report, 2007, Trans-Pacific bandwidth demand has grown at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 63.7 percent between 2002 and 2007. It is expected to continue to grow strongly from 2008 to … Continue reading
Posted in technology
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Microsoft: Where Fines are a Cost of Doing Business
Neelie Kroes ain’t pulling her punches: "Microsoft was the first company in 50 years of E.U. competition policy that the commission has had to fine for failure to comply with an antitrust decision," Ms. Kroes said. …and so did Microsoft … Continue reading
Posted in regulation, technology
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The Microsoft-Yahoo Merger-Arb Plays
The New York Post says that Yahoo’s board is splitting into factions, with one group taking its fiduciary duties seriously, and the other, more emotional, group supporting CEO Jerry Yang’s attempts to rebuff the Microsoft takeover bid. It also reports … Continue reading
Posted in stocks, technology
1 Comment
Yahoo and the Failed M&A Deals
Stephen Grocer has a great post about Yahoo’s M&A track record: the companies it did buy and shouldn’t have, as well as the companies it didn’t buy and should have. In the former camp: the $3 billion acquisition of GeoCities, … Continue reading
Posted in M&A, technology
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The Arithmetic of the Microsoft-Yahoo Bid
Dan Gross, looking at Yahoo’s share price, says that investors assume the Microsoft-Yahoo deal won’t happen. Which is weird, because Yahoo’s share price has actually been gaining on Microsoft’s bid ever since the announcement was made. I think Gross is … Continue reading
Posted in M&A, stocks, technology
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Why Does Google Oppose the Microsoft-Yahoo Deal?
Sam Gustin reckons that Google, for all its protestations, could actually benefit from a Yahoo-Microsoft merger. I’m more likely to take Google at its word, but Sam says that Google is playing a sophisticated game: trying to delay the merger … Continue reading
Posted in M&A, technology
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Deathwatching Mainstreet.com
Today marks the launch of mainstreet.com, a mass-market spinoff from thestreet.com. The idea behind it seems improbable: When we heard about A-Rod’s new contract with the New York Yankees, the pinstriped fans among us rejoiced and then considered, “Have we … Continue reading
Posted in technology
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Tech Salary Datapoint of the Day
Jeff Bewkes is cutting back: Time Warner, seeking to cut costs and streamline operations, plans to split off AOL’s Internet access business from its Web site and online advertising business and cut 100 jobs at its corporate unit, the company’s … Continue reading
Posted in pay, technology
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FT Alphaville’s Secret RSS Feed Revealed
FT Alphaville has a full RSS feed! It’s top-secret, and available only to Market Movers readers; it can be found here. My plan for world domination is coming along nicely: the only last holdout now is the NYT. Sorkin, get … Continue reading
Posted in technology
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The Power of Bloomberg
An interesting conversation this morning: Paul Kedrosky, an ideas blogger who speaks stock-market, trying to talk to Jim Cramer about ideas, but getting answers overwhelmingly about stocks. Cramer’s not stupid: he said right at the beginning that his "perspective is … Continue reading
Posted in technology
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The Unedifying Google-Microsoft Fight
Herb Greenberg is unimpressed with the spectacle of Google lumbering in to the Microsoft-Yahoo ring, trying to spoil the deal before it happens. "The irony is obvious," he says. "So is the arrogance of Google." Maybe it was simply nice … Continue reading
Posted in technology
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How Google is Like a Hedge Fund
Big stand-alone hedge funds generally did well in 2007; hedge funds owned by investment banks, by contrast, did much worse. I can’t help but see an analogy here: Microsoft is bringing Yahoo in-house, to compete with the big stand-alone Google. … Continue reading
Posted in hedge funds, M&A, technology
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Goldman Loses Microsoft Mandate
Which banks did Microsoft mandate to put together its monster $44 billion bid for Yahoo? Morgan Stanley – and Blackstone! This is a huge loss for Goldman Sachs, which advised Microsoft in its failed attempt to buy Yahoo last year. … Continue reading
Posted in banking, M&A, technology
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