Yahoo seen getting even more Alibaba value. By Benjamin Pimentel, MarketWatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Yahoo Inc. continues to find much value in its Asian properties, particularly Alibaba Group. Yahoo /quotes/zigman/59898/delayed/quotes/nls/yhoo YHOO +0.45% disclosed the financial results at Alibaba and Yahoo Japan in regulatory filings on Tuesday that pointed to robust growth at both companies. Einhorn boosts stake in Apple What’s News: Greenlight Capital’s David Einhorn is increasing his stake in Apple. The blue chips top 15,000 as the Dow Industrials mark another market milestone. Brazil’s Roberto Azevedo is chosen to lead the World Trade Organization.
The numbers at Alibaba, where Yahoo owns a 24% stake, were particularly impressive. Meanwhile, Yahoo Japan, in which Yahoo owns a 35% stake, posted a 13% year-over-year profit gain in the same period. The disclosure sent Yahoo’s shares rising more than 3% to $26.02. Alibaba’s financials, he wrote, “show very strong continuing operating momentum for Alibaba.” US : U.S.: Nasdaq. Amazon’s growing threat to H-P, Dell and Oracle. By Rex Crum, MarketWatch Reuters Andy Jassy, left, runs Amazon’s AWS business.
He interviews Netflix CEO Reed Hastings at the AWS Re:Invent conference in Las Vegas on Nov. 28, 2012. SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — At any given moment, Netflix Inc. is serving up thousands if not millions of videos online that are hosted in a big data center that the company’s 33 million subscribers couldn’t care less about as long as those shows run immediately on demand. While Netflix may be the face for providing its subscribers access to movies such as “The Hunger Games” and TV shows like “Mad Men,” it’s Amazon.com Inc. Amazon bringing cloud to CIA In March, the trade magazine FCW reported that Amazon’s Web Services business landed a multimillion-dollar deal with the CIA to build a private cloud service for the agency.
As such, Amazon has quickly become a significant force in the market for corporate IT services, where it now competes against big technology names like Hewlett-Packard Co. Not all agree. BMC Software’s $6.9 Billion Buyout Reflects Cloud Shift. BMC Software Inc. (BMC) agreed to be taken private in a $6.9 billion deal by Bain Capital LLC and Golden Gate Capital after struggling to compete with newcomers better equipped to handle the shift toward cloud computing. The buyout group, which includes Singapore’s GIC Special Investments Pte Ltd. and Insight Venture Partners, is taking control of BMC in the third-largest private-equity deal of 2013. The investors said yesterday that they will pay $46.25 a share in cash, a 13 percent premium to the closing price on March 4, before Bloomberg reported that BMC had drawn renewed takeover interest after failing to find an acquirer last year. BMC, a Houston-based provider of software that keeps corporate computer networks running smoothly, gets about 40 percent of its sales from the lucrative business of managing powerful mainframe computers from International Business Machines Corp.
Investor Pressure Cloud Computing “We thought the price at most was going to be $48,” Fishbein said. Cash Flow. How a Major Conflict in Korea Could Ripple Through Mobile Industry. Each time North Korean leader Kim Jong Un threatens warfare on his neighbor to the south, the consumer-electronics industry should take a deep breath. South Korea has become so integral to the production of smartphones, tablets and other devices that a disruption there could have a major impact on the manufacturing of new gadgets, Mike Howard, an analyst at supplier-research firm IHS ISuppli, said in an interview.
It's not just Galaxy and Optimus phones from Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics that come from South Korea. Last year, the country accounted for two-thirds of the world's revenue from dynamic random-access memory, according to data from IHS. That's up from 58 percent in 2010. DRAM is a standard storage type found in many computing devices. South Korea also had nearly half of the world's NAND flash-memory revenue last year, IHS said. The threat from North Korea and its unpredictable dictator is real. Microsoft Sells 100 Million Windows 8 Licenses, Preparing Update.
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) is preparing an update for Windows 8 as new licensing figures indicate the new operating system isn’t fueling enough demand to reverse a slump in personal-computer sales. The 100 million Windows 8 licenses sold since the software’s debut in October are in the “general ballpark” with the previous version during a similar period, Tami Reller, chief financial officer of the Windows division, said in an interview last week. Microsoft completely overhauled its flagship operating system to make it more appealing to users amid a shift to mobile, touch-based computing.
Still, Windows 8 has failed to reignite the ailing personal-computer market, where shipments plummeted by their largest margin on record in the latest quarter, according to market-research firm IDC. While Microsoft said it’s planning to update Windows 8 to address customer feedback, updates won’t quickly turn the PC industry around. Close Open Photographer: Stuart Isett/Bloomberg Windows Blue Design Overhaul. Lenovo, IBM Talks on Server Deal Said to Break Down. International Business Machines Corp. (IBM)’s negotiations to sell parts of its server division to Lenovo Group Ltd. (992) broke down after the two sides couldn’t agree on a price, said a person familiar with the discussions.
Lenovo Chief Financial Officer Wong Wai Ming, who was in the U.S. this past week for the talks, left for Hong Kong without an agreement, said the person, who declined to be identified because negotiations are private. The talks could resume later, the person said. James Sciales, a spokesman for IBM, and Jeffrey Shafer, a spokesman for Lenovo, both declined to comment. Lenovo wanted to pay toward the low end of the $2.5 billion-to-$4.5 billion range that Bloomberg News reported on April 19, while Armonk, New York-based IBM sought a substantially higher valuation, the person said, without providing details.
The breakdown of talks was reported by Fortune on May 1. Wong Wai Ming, chief financial officer of Lenovo Group Ltd. Close Open Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg. 10 Technology Skills That Will No Longer Help You Get A Job. Update: Want to know what happend to the engineer in the 1976 photo above? Click here to find out how he he managed to stay relevant for almost 40 years: How To Thrive In The Tech Industry For Decades. If you want to know the most in-demand tech skills, that info is readily available. Want to learn the programming skills most coveted by employers? Done. But what are the skills and specialties that no one wants any more? What core competencies raise red flags instead of call backs? (See also the Top 7 Most In Demand Tech Skills For 2013 and 15 Programming Skills Most Coveted By Employers.)
A survey of 1,100 tech-hiring professionals by Dice, a job firm for tech professionals, offers some insight. 1. Many IT professionals, from engineers to help desk support workers to system administrators, have significant XP experience. (See also Microsoft Is Trying To Sell Windows 8 To Enterprises, But Most Want Windows 7 Instead.) 2. It did not. 3. (See also Legacy IT Vendors Shoot The Sales Messenger.) Tablets surge but Apple loses market share. By Benjamin Pimentel, MarketWatch Getty Images/file 2012 Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces the iPad Mini on Oct. 23, 2012. SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Tablet sales surged in the first quarter of 2013, as sales more than doubled to 49.2 million, IDC reported Wednesday. Tablet shipments surpassed the total for the entire first half of 2012, IDC said. What Apple will look like in 30 years Given how quickly fortunes fall in the tech landscape, does investing in Apple 30-year bonds make sense?
Apple Inc. However, tablets based on Google Inc.’s /quotes/zigman/30194416/delayed/quotes/nls/goog GOOG -1.49% Android operating system were the overall top seller for the first quarter with 56.5% total share, up from 39.4% in the year-earlier period. Despite the decline in market share, Apple actually beat IDC expectations, shipping 19.5 million iPads, ahead of a forecast of 18.7 million units. Samsung Galaxy Note 8 tablet. Microsoft Corp. /quotes/zigman/68270/delayed/quotes/nls/aapl US : U.S.: Nasdaq Market Cap. Citi: Disruptive Innovation. Best Smartphones. Parallels Nears IPO While Advancing in $40 Billion Cloud Market. Parallels Inc., a U.S. software developer seeking growth in cloud-computing services, is nearing an initial public offering after selling a stake to Cisco Systems Inc.
(CSCO) this year, Chairman Serguei Beloussov said. “While an IPO definitely won’t be in the first half of this year, it may happen sometime later, depending on market conditions,” Beloussov, Parallels’ co-founder, said in an interview in Moscow. The company may use proceeds to expand in the growing market for cloud services, he said. Parallels, based in Renton, Washington, and with programmers in Russia, supplies Web hosters and telecommunications operators with a standardized platform to provide cloud services to small and medium-sized businesses. Its clients include Sprint Nextel Corp. (S), America Movil SAB (AMX), Telenor ASA (TEL), CenturyLink Inc. (CTL) and Rackspace Hosting Inc. Rapid Growth “Parallels is definitely on the upswing these days,” Melanie Posey, research vice president at IDC, said by e-mail March 19.
$50 Android Smartphones Will Start Eating the World This Year, Andreessen Says. Marc Andreessen, who declared that software was eating the world in 2011 and that online-business services were the theme of 2012, has a new prediction for 2013: Cheap smartphones are going to connect the world. "The $50 Android smartphone is about to hit the market worldwide," Andreessen, the Netscape co-founder turned venture capitalist, said in an interview on Bloomberg TV.
"Smartphones are about to be put in the hands of another 3 billion people who don't have them. And that's probably the single biggest thing that's happening right now. " A bargain-basement phone running Google's mobile operating system would enable poor people who can't afford today's smartphones, including those in emerging markets, to finally have regular Internet access, according to Andreessen, a founder of Andreessen Horowitz. Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg.com, is an investor in Andreessen Horowitz. The prediction comes at the 3:38 mark in the video. Emerging Stocks Rise to One-Month High on Technology Earnings. Emerging stocks rallied to a six- week high, led by consumer shares, as investors speculated central bank stimulus will boost demand for riskier assets. Brazil’s Ibovespa rose a second day as Embraer SA surged.
Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUVR) soared 17 percent in Mumbai as its parent said it will increase its stake in the company, while Hermes Microvision Inc. (3658), a Taiwanese maker of electronics parts, jumped to a record in Taipei as profit climbed. Russia’s Micex Index gained for the first time in four days as OAO Sberbank and VTB Group advanced. Planemaker Embraer added 6.6 percent in Sao Paulo after announcing a $840 million jet order. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 1.2 percent to 1,039.45, extending its monthly advance to 0.4 percent. “It’s time for at least a bounce,” Bruce McCain, who helps oversee more than $20 billion as chief investment strategist at the private-banking unit of KeyCorp in Cleveland, said by phone. Emerging ETF Indian Shares. Network Upgrades Threatening 300,000 Europe Telecom Jobs: Tech.
Marianne Wehner is among about 80 Vodafone Group Plc (VOD) customer service employees in the Frankfurt suburb of Eschborn who were given a choice: Move to Halle, 400 kilometers (250 miles) to the east, for a job at a subcontractor at a “drastically lower” salary, or quit. Just one person is moving, said Wehner, a 20-year veteran at the company.
Vodafone “always said we wouldn’t have to worry,” the 47-year-old said in a phone interview. “But then it became clear they really didn’t want us any longer.” Vodafone confirmed that only one person accepted the transfer. Many of Europe’s 1.1 million telecommunications workers won’t have the option even of moving or accepting lower pay as new technologies make their jobs redundant. European carriers will probably cut their workforce by 30 percent -- more than 300,000 jobs -- over the next five years, said Franca Salis Madinier, chairman of the UNI Europa ICTS union, which represents telecom employees in 27 countries. ‘Moral Obligation’ More Layoffs. In Search of the Next Big Thing. Photography: Timothy Archibald Marc Andreessen knows both sides of the start-up game.
As freshly minted university graduates in the 1990s, he and his partners went hat in hand to venture capitalists in Silicon Valley to fund their new project, the breakthrough web browser Netscape Navigator. Within 18 months the enterprise had gone public and Andreessen had become a symbol of the internet generation. Now he’s a cofounder and partner of Andreessen Horowitz, a Menlo Park venture capital fund that’s trying to make smart bets on tech start-ups in a climate much icier than the one during the dot-com boom. In this edited interview with HBR’s editor in chief, Adi Ignatius, Andreessen talks about the complex challenges entrepreneurs now face and an investment opportunity that slipped away.
HBR: How would you characterize the best entrepreneurs you work with? Andreessen: We aim for a trifecta in the people we want to back. Do all those skills really have to reside in one person? The Next Turning Point For Apple Isn't Going To Be A Device. Fertile Ground for Startups: 10 Sectors of the $207 Billion Cyber-Security Industry Poised to Take Off. If you are hunting for startup business ideas, you might want to consider sectors of the $207 billion cyber-security industry that are expected to show impressive revenue growth over the next five years. If the revenue generated in the cyber-security industry were the economy of a country, it would be the 46th-largest economy in the world, just above Algeria and below Portugal, according to a report released this week from Los Angeles-based industry research firm, IBISWorld.
And it’s growing. For entrepreneurs seeking a foothold to launch a business, that can spell opportunity. Related: Cyber Security a Growing Issue for Small Business With the increasing adoption of cloud computing, mobile devices and web-based applications, hackers have more opportunities than ever to infiltrate the network systems of businesses. At the same time, as more sensitive data is moved online, cyber-security is becoming a high-stakes game. 1. 2.
Related: Hunting for Business Ideas? 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Samsung Stumbles With Galaxy S4 Phone: Rich Jaroslovsky. Does a phone need a soul? That’s what’s missing from the Galaxy S4, Samsung (005930)’s boldest effort yet to supplant Apple (AAPL)’s iPhone as the pace- and trend-setter among mobile devices. Certainly the S4, which arrives in the U.S. this week, is loaded with enough high technology to send the geeky hipsters who populate Samsung’s commercials into spasms of ecstasy. At the same time, it includes an “easy mode” that hides much of that technology -- in case your granny is just moving up from her old Motorola StarTAC -- as well as a business-users mode that seems designed to lure disgruntled BlackBerry (BBRY) customers. Lost somewhere in this no-consumer-left-behind device, though, is any sense of personality. With its quad-core processor, 16 or 32 gigabytes of storage and 13-megapixel camera, it’s state-of-the-art powerful, but several of its advanced features don’t work very well, and it feels more like a collection of functions than a smoothly integrated experience.
Dazzling Display Close. BlackBerry Diehards Get Their Keyboard: Rich Jaroslovsky. Google’s Schmidt Sees the Future, and It’s Messy: Books. Google chairman admits Google Glass can be “weird,” “inappropriate” $35 Computer: The Vast Possibilities of Raspberry Pi. The Building Is the New Server - Scott Weiss - Voices. The Best Antivirus App for Windows [UPDATED] Zynga Continues to Cut Ties With Facebook. iPhone Owners Consume More Entertainment Than Android | Digital. Yahoo Acquires Teen Entrepreneur's News Gathering App, Summly. Apple plans iPhone that always falls on its feet. The Best Servers for Linux in 2013. EA slides as Wall Street sees more uncertainty - Market Extra. CIA $600 Million Deal For Amazon's Cloud. Adobe Profit Tops Estimates as Web-Software Sales Jump. Wednesday movers: BlackBerry gets record order - Movers & Shakers. Amazon cuts price of large Kindle Fire tablets. The real threat to Apple - Brett Arends's ROI. Google Seen Passing Apple in Tablets as IPad Loses Ground.
Rumor: New iPads Could Come in April, iPhone 5S in August. Apple Stock Split 2013: Rumor suggests Apple will split stock. Nokia exec says Lumia 520 isn't the cheapest the range can go. Android quitters fuel Windows Phone UK growth. Sony talks — but doesn’t show — PlayStation 4. 3 lessons of the upcoming anniversary - Mark Hulbert. Schmidt to sell nearly half his Google stake. Dell’s largest shareholder opposes buyout deal. Forrester's top 15 emerging technologies to watch.
Big Switch Raises $6.5M From Intel Capital, Gains Attention For Next Generation Networking, Challenges Cisco. Meet The Next 10 Companies To Come Out Of StartX, Stanford’s Student Startup Accelerator. Street underestimating Samsung smartphone volumes: Crédit Suisse. Dell buyout deal could happen Monday -- Reuters | Internet & Media. Apple to Halt Mac Pro Sales in Europe - John Paczkowski.
Sony: MiniDisc Is (Finally) Dead. Sorry Apple, the BlackBerry Z10 Is Hotter Than the iPhone. China's Lenovo sees RIM as M&A option, CFO says. Google developing 'X Phone' aimed at Apple: report. Is Facebook turning into Match.com? Les règles du jeu ont changé. How To Read A Smashed Hard Drive. Linux Mint 14 Xfce Edition Is Available for Download. Audit firms sued in HP's Autonomy acquisition. Nokia seeks Blackberry sales bans after patent dispute. Groupon CEO Says He’d Fire Himself If He Wasn’t Right for Job. RIM Shares Fall After U.S. Market Share Shrinks to 1.6% Groupon Board Said to Consider CEO Change as Growth Slows. Orange Bets Spain Bargains Will Beat Telefonica. Sony, Panasonic Credit Rating Cut to Speculative Grade. HP Accounting Fraud And Business Outlook.
Hewlett-Packard Profit Forecast; $8.8 Billion Charge. Intel CEO Otellini to Retire in May After 40-Year Career. Qualcomm Sees Double Digit Growth for Next Five Years. Dell’s Sales Forecast Misses Estimates Amid PC-Industry Slump. Sony to Sell $1.9 Billion of Convertible Bonds to Expand. TIC TAC – L’horloge des iPhone et iPad a coûté 16 millions d’euros à Apple. First iPad mini teardown reveals Samsung display. Zynga Reports Q3 Loss as Game and Advertising Revenues Decline - Tricia Duryee - Commerce. Brazilian newspapers pull out of Google News. BGR: The Three Biggest Letters In Tech. AllThingsD. Gizmodo, the Gadget Guide. Product reviews and prices, software downloads, and tech news - CNET.