internet
News
Insight: Who got Facebook IPO shares? Fairness may not come into it
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A lot of loyal Facebook fans and occasional investors are discovering a hard truth this week: Money and connections talk, especially when it comes to a hot deal handled by Wall Street. The scramble for shares in what is one of largest initial public offerings in U.S. history quickly divided the haves from the have-nots on Thursday. Those with big brokerage accounts and a long history as customers of Wall Street firms likely got at least part of their orders for Facebook shares filled, but would-be buyers who had no such ties were lucky to get any. ...
Yahoo! News | 18-May-2012 06:33
Investors brace for Facebook debut on Wall Street
(Reuters) - Investors are bracing for Facebook's Wall Street debut on Friday after the world's No.1 online social network raised about $16 billion in one of the biggest initial public offerings in U.S. history. Valued at $104 billion, Facebook is larger than Starbucks Corp and Hewlett-Packard combined, sparking intense speculation on how much higher its valuation will rise once shares start trading. "A 15 to 20 percent pop is in the realm of possibility," said Tim Loughran, a finance professor at the University of Notre Dame. ...
Yahoo! News | 18-May-2012 06:08
GM ad move followed failed Facebook pitch: sources
DETROIT/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Facebook may only have itself to blame for why General Motors rained on its IPO parade this week. GM announced the decision to drop Facebook paid ads on Tuesday in what was the first highly visible crack in Facebook's strategy and illustrated doubts about its perceived advantage over traditional media. GM's decision followed Facebook officials' failure to convince top marketing executives at the U.S. automaker of the benefits of Facebook's paid ads at a meeting that took place in the past few weeks, people familiar with the meeting said on Thursday. ...
Yahoo! News | 18-May-2012 04:13
Morgan Stanley ups Facebook IPO share cap to 5,000
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, one of the three lead underwriters on the Facebook Inc IPO, has increased the number of Facebook shares it will allow advisers to allocate to each client account. The firm previously set a cap of 500 shares per retail client, but e-mailed advisers late on Thursday afternoon that it had increased the limit to 5,000 shares, according to two sources familiar with the situation, who declined to be named because they are not permitted to speak to the press. ...
Yahoo! News | 18-May-2012 02:53
UN, Brazil to host Internet debate on green planet
The United Nations and the Brazilian government are launching an Internet debate around 10 themes for a green planet to elicit suggestions from experts and the public for next month's Rio+20 summit.
Yahoo! News | 18-May-2012 01:11
Facebook prices at top of range in landmark IPO
NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc priced its initial public offering at the top of its target range to raise more than $16 billion, as strong demand, particularly from retail investors, fuels anticipation of a big pop in the stock when it begins trading Friday on the Nasdaq. Predictions of how much the stock will rise on its first day of trade vary greatly -- some experts said the high IPO price and increased float could limit gains to 10 percent to 20 percent, while others said anything short of a 50 percent jump would be disappointing given the hype. ...
Yahoo! News | 17-May-2012 23:51
Facebook share flippers risk missing future IPOs
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors who managed to buy Facebook Inc shares ahead of the No. 1 social network's initial public offering might want to think twice before "flipping" them. Brokerages can impose restrictions on participating in future IPOs for those trying to profit from market debuts. Some serial flippers could even face lifetime bans. Strong demand for the third-largest initial share sale in U.S. history has fueled anticipation of a big pop in Facebook's stock price once it begins trading on Friday. [ID:nL1E8GH5U4] Only Visa Inc and General Motors Co had bigger IPOs. ...
Yahoo! News | 17-May-2012 23:28
Comcast to start charging heavy downloaders extra
Comcast Corp., the country's largest Internet service provider, is going to start charging extra when customers go over a certain monthly data limit.
Yahoo! News | 17-May-2012 23:27
Reports: HP poised to eliminate up to 30,000 jobs
Hewlett-Packard is poised to eliminate as many as 30,000 jobs to compensate for dwindling demand for personal computers as more people connect to the Internet on smartphones and tablets, according to reports published Thursday.
Yahoo! News | 17-May-2012 23:24
Morgan Stanley ups Facebook IPO share cap to 5,000
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, one of the three lead underwriters on the Facebook Inc IPO, has increased the number of Facebook shares it will allow advisers to allocate to each client account. The firm previously set a cap of 500 shares per retail client, but e-mailed advisers late on Thursday afternoon that it had increased the limit to 5,000 shares, according to two sources familiar with the situation, who declined to be named because they are not permitted to speak to the press. ...
Yahoo! News | 17-May-2012 23:23
Insight: Who got Facebook shares? Fairness may not come into it
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A lot of loyal Facebook fans and occasional investors are discovering a hard truth this week: Money and connections talk, especially when it comes to a deal handled by Wall Street. The scramble for shares in what is one of largest initial public offerings in U.S. history quickly divided the haves from the have-nots on Thursday. Those with big brokerage accounts and a long history as customers of Wall Street firms likely got at least part of their orders for Facebook shares filled, but would-be buyers who had no such ties were lucky to get any. ...
Yahoo! News | 17-May-2012 23:09
Comcast trying out Internet usage pricing, dropping caps
(Reuters) - Comcast Corp said on Thursday it will introduce a trial for usage-based billing for its Internet subscribers in a move seen to pre-empt more complaints the cable company favors its own Web video service over rivals. Usage-based pricing would allow Comcast to charge its customers for the amount of data they use with a utility meter rather than pay a flat fee like they do today. Currently, that flat fee is priced on Internet speed and also features a 250 GB data cap each month. Comcast, the No.1 U.S. ...
Yahoo! News | 17-May-2012 22:45
Facebook bet pays off for Russia's Usmanov
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's richest man recognized the value of Facebook Inc three years ago when he invested in the social networking company and now stands to enjoy a payday of around $1 billion, propelling him further ahead of Russia's oligarchs, who have largely stuck with oil and steel. Alisher Usmanov, who topped Forbes magazine's annual list of Russia's richest investors in April, began his career making plastic bags and built his fortune in metals and mining. He is now worth $18.1 billion, up from $2.6 billion six years ago, according to Forbes. ...
Yahoo! News | 17-May-2012 22:24
Iran threatens to sue Google over dropping Persian Gulf
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's Foreign Ministry threatened on Thursday to take legal action against Google for dropping the name Persian Gulf from its Google Maps and leaving the waterway between Iran and Arab states nameless, state television reported. "One of the seditionist acts taken as part of the soft war against the Iranian nation has been Google's shameless act to drop the name 'Persian Gulf' which is ... against historical documents," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast was quoted as saying. ...
Yahoo! News | 17-May-2012 21:51
Facebook's Saverin says to pay millions in U.S. tax
(Reuters) - Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin said in a statement on Thursday that he is obligated to and will pay "hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes to the United States government." Saverin said his decision to renounce his U.S. citizenship and relocate to Singapore was "based solely on my interest in working and living in Singapore, where I have been since 2009." With social media company Facebook poised for a multibillion-dollar initial public offering on Friday, Saverin has been criticized by lawmakers for what they say is dodging U.S. ...
Yahoo! News | 17-May-2012 21:27
Merrill, Morgan Stanley doling out Facebook shares
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Santa - or scrooge - has come early for advisers at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. Advisers at the two firms have started to find out how many Facebook IPO shares they are getting, just hours before the social media company is expected to price its initial public offering, according to advisers and clients at the firms. Merrill advisers had until 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) to allocate shares to clients, two advisers said. ...
Yahoo! News | 17-May-2012 21:24
Analysis: Facebook can't take Asian growth for granted
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Even as Facebook fever grips investors ahead of the social networking giant's potential $100 billion-plus initial public offering, its breakneck growth in Asia may be slowing as it moves beyond desktop users to those who access the Internet largely or solely from a mobile phone. In March, Facebook revised its own SEC filings to scale back its scope for further growth in India - its third-biggest user base and the largest population it currently has access to - China remains off-limits to Facebook. ...
Yahoo! News | 17-May-2012 13:27
Pinterest raises $100 million in funding
(Reuters) - Japan-based online retailing giant Rakuten is leading the latest $100 million round of funding in U.S. social networking site Pinterest, saying on Thursday it expects the site to help it expand at home and in its 17 overseas markets. Interest in Pinterest, where users can "pin" their photographs and images and follow others' collections, has grown rapidly in recent months to become the 16th most-visited site in the United States, according to the Web information company Alexa. ...
Yahoo! News | 17-May-2012 12:06
Australia warns of 'bespoke' online child sex abuse
Australian police warned Thursday that paedophiles were using Internet live-streaming sites to order "bespoke" child sex crimes for real-time viewing, from countries including the Philippines.
Yahoo! News | 17-May-2012 06:38
Ad execs say jury still out on Facebook as medium
NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - General Motors Inc's decision to stop advertising on Facebook may be a wake-up call for the No. 1 social network, but Top advertising executives say it's far too early to know if the site will take off as an advertising platform. "There's a lot of potential but it's not a slam-dunk," said Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP Plc, the world's largest advertising agency. "Showing the impact of branding on Facebook is going to take a long time," he added. Facebook is due to begin trading on Nasdaq on Friday in an initial public offering that will raise about $15. ...
Yahoo! News | 17-May-2012 03:04
Several brokerages stop taking Facebook IPO orders
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors who want Facebook Inc shares when the No. 1 online social network goes public later this week may have lost the opportunity. TD Ameritrade and Fidelity's brokerage arm both stopped accepting orders of Facebook shares as of Tuesday evening, according to representatives for each of the companies. Morgan Stanley & Co did the same, according to three advisers at the firm who declined to be named because they are not authorized to speak to the press. E*Trade Financial also stopped accepting orders as of 4 p.m. ...
Yahoo! News | 17-May-2012 03:00
Factbox: Facebook's IPO: who gets rich?
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The rich are going to get richer when Silicon Valley's biggest IPO starts trading on Friday. Facebook this week raised the number of shares it intends to float by 25 percent to 421 million shares, and lifted the target price range to $34-$38 per share as investors clamored for a slice of the third-largest IPO in U.S. history. As a result, the No. 1 social network and its shareholders will now collectively reap more than $15 billion from the initial public offering - a $5 billion hike from early May, when Facebook sought an IPO of roughly $11 billion. ...
Yahoo! News | 17-May-2012 02:51
Ad execs say jury still out on Facebook as medium
NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - General Motors Inc's decision to stop advertising on Facebook may be a wake-up call for the No. 1 social network, but Top advertising executives say it's far too early to know if the site will take off as an advertising platform. "There's a lot of potential but it's not a slam-dunk," said Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP Plc, the world's largest advertising agency. "Showing the impact of branding on Facebook is going to take a long time," he added. Facebook is due to begin trading on Nasdaq on Friday in an initial public offering that will raise about $15. ...
Yahoo! News | 17-May-2012 01:33
Google searches get smarter
Google on Wednesday began making its search engine smarter, in what the Internet giant called a major upgrade that looks beyond query words to figure out what people are actually seeking online.
Yahoo! News | 16-May-2012 23:26
Income Inequality Apparently Too Touchy a Subject for TED
If you’re plugged into the Internet, chances are you’ve seen a TED talk—the wonky, provocative web videos that have become a sort of nerd franchise. TED.com is where you go to find Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg explaining why the world has too few female leaders, or Twitter cofounder Evan Williams sharing the secret power of listening to users to drive company improvement. The slogan of the nonprofit group behind the site is “Ideas Worth Spreading.”
Yahoo! News | 16-May-2012 22:58
Several brokerages stop taking Facebook IPO orders
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors who want Facebook Inc shares when the No. 1 online social network goes public later this week may have lost the opportunity. TD Ameritrade and Fidelity's brokerage arm both stopped accepting orders of Facebook shares as of Tuesday evening, according to representatives for each of the companies. Morgan Stanley & Co did the same, according to three advisers at the firm who declined to be named because they are not authorized to speak to the press. E*Trade Financial also stopped accepting orders as of 4 p.m. ...
Yahoo! News | 16-May-2012 22:44
Several brokerages stop taking Facebook IPO orders
NEW YORK (Reuters) - NEW YORK, May 16 (Reuters) - TD Ameritrade and Fidelity's brokerage arm both stopped accepting orders of Facebook shares as of Tuesday evening, according to representatives. Morgan Stanley & Co did the same, according to three advisers at the firm who declined to be named because they are not permitted to speak to the press. E*Trade Financial also stopped accepting orders Tuesday evening, according to a client alert sent out Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Co's brokerage arm, Wells Fargo Advisors, was stopping accepting new orders at 4:00 p.m. ...
Yahoo! News | 16-May-2012 22:01
NY tech fest heralds Silicon Valley of the east
The Big Apple may not have California's weather, but tech fans at New York Internet Week say that in every other way the city is on course to become Silicon Valley 2.0.
Yahoo! News | 16-May-2012 21:11
Sina shares jump on 1st-qtr report
Shares of Chinese Internet portal Sina Corp. jumped Wednesday as the company's first-quarter profit beat Wall Street expectations and advertising revenue rose.
Yahoo! News | 16-May-2012 20:38
Google revamps U.S. search
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google is revamping the way it handles searches in the United States to give users quick access to answers without leaving the page, the company said. The new search process is based on what Google calls the "knowledge graph" -- meaning that it tries to pinpoint faster the context surrounding its users' keyword searches. "Over the years, as search has improved, people expect more," said Amit Singhal, vice president of engineering at Google and the head of search, in an interview. "We see this as the next big improvement in search relevance. ...
Yahoo! News | 16-May-2012 20:36
What does Facebook's stock listing mean for users?
If you are one of the almost one billion people who use Facebook, you are unlikely to notice any major changes when you sign in this weekend.
Yahoo! News | 16-May-2012 18:53
Companies less wary of personal devices at work-Cisco
(Reuters) - Corporate IT departments in the United States are becoming less wary of staff bringing their personal devices to work, a Cisco study showed, although security remains a top concern. Among 600 IT and business executives questioned by Cisco's consulting arm 95 percent said they support employees bringing and using personal devices in the workplace in some way, Cisco's Internet Solutions Business group (ISBG) said on Wednesday. Corporate IT departments have been slow to embrace the trend dubbed 'Bring your own device' (BYOD) because of potential security risks. ...
Yahoo! News | 16-May-2012 14:28
Japanese lesbian can't wait for Disneyland "wedding"
TOKYO (Reuters) - Like many Japanese women, Koyuki Higashi adores Tokyo Disneyland. So it was only natural that she would want to hold her wedding there, as many other couples have done. "My partner and I just love going to Disneyland, so when we saw a pamphlet advertising wedding receptions by the Cinderella Castle in Tokyo Disneyland we called and asked if we could hold our wedding there," Higashi told Reuters in a telephone interview. ...
Yahoo! News | 16-May-2012 14:23
LG demos second generation Google TV at Internet Week New York
LG is exhibiting its second generation Google TV at Internet Week New York, a city-wide event showcasing the best of the web which runs from May 14-21 in the Big Apple.
Yahoo! News | 16-May-2012 14:07
Latest version of Google Chrome syncs open tabs across devices in real time
The newly released Chrome 19 Stable version of Google Chrome introduces live tab syncing across desktop and mobile versions of the internet browser.
Yahoo! News | 16-May-2012 13:13
Sina results beat view, warns Weibo to eat into second quarter
(Reuters) - Sina Corp sounded a bearish note for the coming quarters, warning that further losses may lie ahead because of increased investment into its microblogging platform Weibo, China's version of Twitter. China's largest Internet portal and media website posted a first-quarter loss that was smaller than Wall Street had expected after advertising revenue shot up 9 percent despite a weak domestic market. Its shares rose 7 percent in after-hours U.S. trade on Tuesday. ...
Yahoo! News | 16-May-2012 11:44
Google+ trends: Flickr gets bigger photos, Apple blocks One X, Evo 4G smartphones from entering US
Yahoo!’s photo sharing site Flickr is the latest social media site to get a bigger-photo makeover.
Yahoo! News | 16-May-2012 11:39
Twitter index: 10 Facebook tips, Rock the Bells festival lineup
The lineup for the annual American hip hop festival Rock the Bells has been announced.
Yahoo! News | 16-May-2012 11:14
Samsung loses $10 billion market value on Apple order report
SEOUL (Reuters) - Shares in Samsung Electronics Co slumped more than 6 percent on Wednesday, wiping $10 billion off the electronics giant's market value, on a report that Apple placed huge chip orders with troubled Japanese chip rival Elpida. Taiwan's DigiTimes, an online trade news site, reported that Apple recently placed large mobile dynamic random access memory (DRAM) orders with Elpida's 12-inch plant in Hiroshima, Japan, securing around half the facilities total chip production. It cited unnamed industry sources in its report, which hit shares of major chip suppliers to Apple. ...
Yahoo! News | 16-May-2012 10:58
Facebook boosts IPO size by 25 percent, could top $16 billion
NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc will increase the size of its initial public offering by 25 percent, a source familiar with the matter said, and could raise as much as $16 billion as strong investor demand for a share of the No.1 social network trumps debate about the company's long-term potential to make money. Those concerns over revenue growth were underscored earlier on Tuesday, when General Motors said it planned to pull out of advertising on Facebook. ...
Yahoo! News | 16-May-2012 07:14
GM to drop Facebook ads due to low consumer impact
DETROIT/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - General Motors Co said on Tuesday it will stop advertising on Facebook, even as the social networking website prepares to go public, with a source familiar with the matter saying the automaker had decided Facebook's ads had little impact on consumers. The decision by GM, the third-largest advertiser in the United States, marks the first highly visible crack in Facebook's strategy and underscores doubts about whether advertising on Facebook works better than traditional media. ...
Yahoo! News | 16-May-2012 05:47
Virgin Atlantic rolls out in-flight cellphone service
(Reuters) - Some passengers on Virgin Atlantic flights can now call home from the air. The airline announced on Tuesday it is providing travelers with a new cellphone service to make and receive phone calls from 35,000 feet in the air. The service will allow passengers to send and receive text messages, emails and access the Internet on Virgin Atlantic's new Airbus A330-300 planes flying between London and New York. The in-flight service is targeting business travelers and will be available in all cabins, although limited to six users at a time. ...
Yahoo! News | 16-May-2012 05:17
GM plans to stop advertising on Facebook
(Reuters) - General Motors Co will stop advertising on Facebook, a move that comes during the same week the social networking website is due to go public. The U.S. automaker confirmed a report by the Wall Street Journal. A source familiar with the automaker's plans said GM's marketing executives decided Facebook's ads had little impact on consumers. GM said it will still have Facebook pages marketing its vehicles, but it will drop use of paid ads. Anyone can create a Facebook page at no cost. GM pays no fee to Facebook for its pages, which allow the automaker to reach consumers directly. ...
Yahoo! News | 16-May-2012 00:08
Exchanges iron out kinks as Facebook IPO looms
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The frenzy around Facebook's public debut has exchange operators taking extra precautions to make sure the social network giant's stock trades smoothly on Friday, especially in the wake of recent technical glitches. When Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg rings Nasdaq OMX's opening market bell on Friday from company headquarters in Menlo Park, California, Nasdaq will have completed three straight days of testing on its initial public offering systems. On Tuesday, the exchange ran a test debut using the dummy ticker symbol ZWZZT. ...
Yahoo! News | 16-May-2012 00:00
Facebook options seen listed on May 29
(Reuters) - Traders will have their first crack at using options to hedge their bets or speculate on the direction of Facebook shares in two weeks, when U.S. options exchanges expect to list contracts on the hot new stock. "There is a lot of excitement around Facebook and investors are anxious to trade it by any means possible, either through the stock or its options," said TD Ameritrade chief derivatives strategist J.J. Kinahan. "So it is not surprising that the options exchanges are finding a way to make that happen as fast and efficient as possible. ...
Yahoo! News | 15-May-2012 23:57
Facebook price-hike: appetite trumps risk
NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc boosted the price range on its initial public offering by about 14 percent, as investors' appetite for the No. 1 social network seemed to trump ongoing questions about its long-term potential to make money. The price range, which could value Facebook at more than $100 billion, was raised a day before General Motors said it planned to pull out of advertising on Facebook, underscoring worries about slowing revenue growth. ...
Yahoo! News | 15-May-2012 23:46