Microsoft CEO once vowed to 'kill Google'
Associated Press May 4, 08 7:36 PM CDT
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Microsoft's Yahoo bid put CEO Steve Ballmer to the test: How much would he pay to fulfill his promise to "(expletive) kill Google"? Forty-seven billion bucks was too high, but many say he'll try again—and may have a tough time convincing investors it's all cool calculation. Microsoft still lags behind Google in search advertising, and that makes Ballmer steam, the AP reports.
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Owner of platforms from newspapers to TV targets Web revenue
Associated Press Apr 29, 08 6:04 PM CDT
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Media outfit Cox is moving into the online business, buying an Internet startup that pools sites’ specialized ad needs, the AP reports. The $300 million purchase of Adify will mean competition for Web giants such as Google and Yahoo, creating an alternative for customers who might previously have relied on the big boys for ad placement.
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Google, YouTube step in after official commission's snub
Times-Picayune (New Orleans) Apr 29, 08 2:32 PM CDT
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Overlooked by the commission that schedules presidential debates, New Orleans has enlisted Google and YouTube in organizing its own forum, the Times-Picayune reports. The Sept. 18 event, 8 days before the first official debate, is intended to bring the political spotlight to the beleaguered city. Gov. Bobby Jindal touted it as "a discussion of many challenges facing not just New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, but our entire country."
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Site moves to fix mistakes by raiding Silicon Valley powers
Forbes Apr 28, 08 7:47 PM CDT
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After some high-profile blunders, Facebook is looking for older and more seasoned executives to round out its team. Former Google veep Sheryl Sandberg has already joined up, and the social-networking site is looking for a new general counsel and a vice president of communications and public policy, Forbes reports.
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Talks quietly die after Yahoo demands $35 a share
Wall Street Journal Apr 27, 08 4:05 PM CDT
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Microsoft may get nasty now that its deadline for a friendly Yahoo purchase expired yesterday. Talks died quietly after Microsoft refused to up its offer from $29.68 a share on Friday; Yahoo execs wanted $35. Microsoft could now press Yahoo, tack back the offer, or deal directly with Yahoo shareholders, the Wall Street Journal reports.
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No speedy way to digitize the rarest of volumes, search giant finding
Associated Press Apr 25, 08 6:30 PM CDT
(Newser)
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In its ongoing effort to digitize the world's 50-100 million books for online book searching, Google is funding scanning efforts for rare volumes at leading libraries. The AP observed one such digitizing—the oldest Bible with Arabic type, scanned manually at 600 pages per day—which, to protect the work, can't use Google's standard, and much speedier, process.
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OPINION
Slow quarter spurs push for acquisitions
BusinessWeek Apr 25, 08 11:52 AM CDT
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Microsoft's first quarter saw flat sales and dipping profits, all the more reason to make nice with Yahoo, Aaron Ricadela writes in BusinessWeek. Steve Ballmer has said he is ready to walk away from the attempted takeover, but with most of Microsoft's revenue coming from smaller divisions and overseas interests, his company sorely needs a big shot in the arm.
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OPINION
Blogger ponders path Web surfers take to his threshold
Guardian (UK) Apr 21, 08 2:04 PM CDT
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Freud would have a field day studying Google searches, posits a blogger who tracked the terms visitors to his web page used and found a window into man's pathologies. John Kelly, a columnist on leave from the Washington Post, writes in the Guardian about "how the fetishes, pathologies and strange obsessions of humankind are catalogued every day on the world wide web."
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Earnings Preview
Data out tomorrow expected to be in line with analysts' expectations
Wall Street Journal Apr 21, 08 10:50 AM CDT
(Newser)
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All eyes will be on Yahoo's first-quarter earnings report tomorrow; the company hopes to use solid results to pressure Microsoft into sweetening its takeover bid, the Wall Street Journal reports. The report comes just 2 days before Microsoft's own and 4 days before the deadline the latter set for a deal to avoid a hostile takeover. Yahoo is expected to meet modest projections for first-quarter growth.
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MARKETS
Nasdaq up almost 5%, Dow and S&P jump 4% for the week
Bloomberg Apr 18, 08 3:22 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Stocks rallied to weekly gains today as the markets absorbed last night's strong earnings report from Google and industrial multinationals Caterpillar and Honeywell recorded unexpected first-quarter growth, Bloomberg reports. Google propelled the Nasdaq up 61.14 to close at 2,402.97. The Dow rose 228.87 to 12,849.36, and the S&P 500 climbed 24.77 to 1,390.33. All the indices saw 4%-5% weekly gains.
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Firm's core apps face Google competition
Wall Street Journal Apr 18, 08 3:10 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Microsoft is considering introducing a subscription-based business model for its Office suite of applications in the US, the Wall Street Journal reports. The firm said it was launching a beta testing program, “Albany,” and expected to make the subscription generally available by the end of 2008. Microsoft’s Office is facing some competition from Google and Yahoo, who offer free web software that performs similar functions.
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EARNINGS REPORT
Search giant profits up 30% as international ad business takes off
Bloomberg Apr 17, 08 5:45 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Google reported a 30% increase in first-quarter profits today, bettering analysts’ predictions and sending share prices up 17%, Bloomberg reports. Forecasters had assumed that growth in domestic advertising clicks would slow, but Google said it “remains healthy;” a 55% increase in international ad sales gave the search giant the bump it needed to exceed expectations.
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A successful system test puts Yahoo in the catbird seat with Microsoft
Wall Street Journal Apr 17, 08 8:45 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A deal that would have Google operate Yahoo’s core search ad business may be closer now that the two have successfully tested the system, reports the Wall Street Journal. An agreement would increase Yahoo’s cash flow by as much as $1 billion annually, and give it additional leverage to fight a hostile Microsoft takeover bid—or at least boost its sale price.
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