Search results for AOL
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Posted
Feb 11 2008, 12:09 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Yahoo's board met Friday to discuss and then reject Microsoft's cash-and-stock acquisition offer. And why wouldn't they? Consider:
--Microsoft offered a 50/50 combination of cash ($31 a share) and stock
--Microsoft shares closed at $28.56 Friday. That means Microsoft would pay $27.16 in stock for each Yahoo share.
--Under the 50/50 scenario, that put Microsoft's bid at $29.08 a share. But Yahoo shares closed at $29.20 on Friday.
So it's no wonder that Yahoo would dismiss the offer as too low. And the Street seems to agree, because today Yahoo shares have climbed to $30. That shows investors are hoping for a better deal. As the New York Times points out, Yahoo shares would sink if investors truly believed Yahoo was going to ignore all offers and go it alone.
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Posted
May 28 2008, 09:53 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Some headlines that caught my eye today: Who has the worst customer service? MSN Money went snooping, and Time Warner's AOL topped the list. I agree, having seen AOL's horrible service firsthand. Short version of a long story: A family member with Alzheimer's could no longer speak -- let alone remember his AOL password -- and AOL wouldn't let his wife discontinue the service because she wasn't the primary account holder. His wife had to pay for years, and threaten legal action, before AOL canceled the account. Thanks, AOL. Delaware has the best broadband. A new report says Delaware tops the country when it comes to the number of Internet connections using "high broadband" -- meaning speeds exceeding 5 Mbps. About 60% of Delaware's Internet connections fall into this category. Rhode Island and New York round out the top three. I was surprised to see Nevada and Oklahoma next on the list, given that vast rural areas aren't the best environment for fast broadband.
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Posted
Mar 13 2009, 03:03 AM
by
Bernhard Warner and Matthew Yeomans
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
This post is from partner site The Big Money.
Your pockets no doubt feel a bit lighter these days, but just how much wealth has been lost in the tumult of the economic downturn? The Federal Reserve has the answer, releasing a calculation of the incredible shrinking income of the American family on Thursday. Citing the Fed figures, the Wall Street Journal says last year the wealth of American families fell nearly 18%, "the biggest loss since the Federal Reserve began keeping track after World War II." American families, the engine of the global economy, saw their net worth slip by a remarkable $11 trillion, or, the WSJ points out, "a decline in a single year that equals the combined annual output of Germany, Japan and the U.K."
Even those at the top will be (if they haven't already) feeling the pinch. According to a front page WSJ article, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is talking with Rep. Barney Frank and other lawmakers to devise "a plan to tie Wall Street pay to the long-term performance of the firms." There is not yet any new legislation targeting fat-cat compensation, but Frank told the newspaper to expect something soon.
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Posted
Apr 11 2008, 12:09 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
My, how things can change in a week. Last Friday, Microsoft was putting the screws to Yahoo, telling Reuters it was "evaluating" its $31-a-share bid for the company because Yahoo has dropped in value. This week, a furious round of wheeling and dealing has given Yahoo the edge. I have to hand it to CEO Jerry Yang. His flirtation with AOL and Google is putting incredible pressure on Microsoft to raise its offer. The market seems to like where all this is headed: Yahoo shares are
up slightly from where they started the week and closed today at $28.34. The Street seems to think a Microsoft acquisition is still the most likely scenario, and Yahoo shares are up because of a general belief that Yang can extract more money out of the deal. And while things today may appear murkier than ever, this corporate drama seems to be careening (wildly, perhaps) to some sort of closure, possibly in the next week.
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Posted
May 05 2008, 06:15 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Google rules the search world in all but one important country. China not only has the largest population in the world, it has the largest number of people online totaling 221 million users. It passed the US last month for total number of internet citizens. At some point China could have 500 million people on the worldwide web, more than double the US.
Google's share of the search market in China is only 25%. Local search engine Baidu has 60%.
Baidu is a very small company when put along side Google. Revenue at the Chinese company many hit $200 million this year. Operating income might be $60 million. Google's revenue will be well over $20 billion this year. Operating income should be almost $10 billion. Still, Google can't make progress in China.
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Posted
Jun 10 2009, 10:08 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 I love MSN Money's annual "customer service hall of shame" survey. The newest survey is out today, and all the usual suspects are on it: Comcast, Citigroup, Qwest, Sprint and Bank of America.
I also see my No. 1 pick for worst-ever customer service: AOL. When my father-in-law's Alzheimer's disease had progressed to the point where he couldn't remember anything, or even speak coherently, his wife called AOL to cancel his account. But AOL refused because she wasn't the primary account holder, and continued billing for years despite numerous phone calls, letters and threats of legal action. Nice one, AOL. I'm glad MSN gives people a place to share these kinds of experiences, because these companies deserve to be talked about. Bad customer service should not be rewarded with silence and inaction. And some companies do change after being pummeled for the way they treat customers.
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Posted
Feb 05 2009, 03:15 AM
by
Bernhard Warner and Matthew Yeomans
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner site The Big Money.
Fat cats, you've been warned. From here on in, pay packages for the executives of those stricken firms on taxpayer support must show "common sense," President Barack Obama chided yesterday from the White House. The Obama administration is calling for a $500,000 cap on executive pay, and for restrictions on "golden parachute" payouts and when stock incentives can be cashed in (now, who would be foolish enough to do such a thing these days?) until the government assistance is repaid. The limits run deep. As the New York Times reports, even "luxury perquisites like private jets and country club memberships" are to be scrutinized. The Wall Street Journal calls it "the most aggressive assault on executive pay by federal officials," one that shows Washington is determined to take greater control of the companies it bails out.
The moves are not retroactive, the WSJ points out, sparing, for now, the John Thains of the world.
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Posted
Jun 30 2009, 03:49 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Facebook is becoming one of the most dangerous places on the Internet. According to Reuters, “scammers break into accounts posing as friends of users, sending spam that directs them to Web sites that steal personal information and spread viruses.”
Since Facebook has, by some measures, more than 200 million members, the problem is extremely serious and could undermine the growth of the social network and cut into the time that current members spend on the site.
The cybercrime issue could also damage Facebook’s reputation with marketers, a reputation is just beginning to build in the hope of increasing its modest revenue by bringing in large national advertisers. Industry sources suppose that Facebook will lose a modest sum of money on $500 million of revenue this year, a tiny sum compared to the size of its audience.
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Posted
Feb 05 2008, 02:59 PM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
A look at News Corp earnings shows that the "other" revenue and profit line, which is mostly its online service MySpace, only had an operating profit of $23 million. MySpace is one of the largest websites in the world. That can't be good for the value of social networks. So far, there is not a lot of evidence that the universe's largest video-sharing site, YouTube, is bringing in much money for Google.
According to The Wall Street Journal, an "issue is advertiser comfort with having their ads displayed alongside less-predictable content."
Predictability is not the entire problem. Social networks and video-sharing sites are a maze of unrelated content of questionable quality. Sites like MySpace have a large portion of their members who are weirdos and agoraphobics. Advertisers who spend any times on these sites know that.
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Posted
Feb 27 2008, 10:52 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
"I think it's a mistake. But I think Napoleon said never interrupt your enemy when they're in the middle of making a mistake." -- AOL chief exec Randy Falco on Microsoft's bid to acquire Yahoo in order to compete with Google.
More interesting quotes from the usually reserved Falco in this AdAge.com article.
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