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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
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
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
Mar 11 2009, 01:31 PM
by
Minyanville
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
The Internet gutted newspaper classifieds with text ads - and things may get worse in a hurry for the dead-tree industry.
Google (GOOG) plans to sell display advertising pegged to users’ interests, making illustrated ads the next to move online.
Surprisingly, Google is playing catch-up. Yahoo (YHOO) and Time Warner’s AOL (TWX) offer similar services. Google may have been slow to enter the field because it’s wary of privacy advocates who gripe that the search leader already compiles too much information on users. Furthermore, CEO Eric Schmidt said there were 3 major problems facing display ads:
"1. If you have a display property, it's very difficult to figure out which ad to show... We're in the process of building the equivalent of an ad exchange which will allow you to do that automatically and do it with scientific measurements. So today what people do is they use heuristics, and the heuristics in that space are terrible.
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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
Dec 30 2008, 08:52 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Thousands of employees have gone to Glassdoor's site to rant and rave (but mostly rant) about their jobs and share salary information. They also have plenty to say about their CEOs, and Glassdoor reviewed the CEO ratings to find out who's been naughty and nice this year. According to the reviews, the CEO that Santa should have rewarded the most this year is Art Levinson of Genentech, who was praised for making great products and taking care of his employees. Apple's Steve Jobs came in second place, followed by Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs. Who was the naughtiest of them all? Steve Odland of Office Depot, who is accused of stifling retail stores with failed business programs and allowing underperforming workers to stay on board. Others on the list include AOL's Randy Falco and Greg Brown of Motorola. Here are the full naughty and nice lists:
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Posted
Aug 20 2008, 10:14 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Time Warner plans to separate AOL's dial-up business from the rest of the company next year. The next step would be to sell it off, and EarthLink is the most likely buyer. But is it in EarthLink's best interest to invest in a dying business? EarthLink CEO says that buying AOL's business is a possibility, according to the Wall Street Journal. The buy would allow EarthLink to scale up the business, which means more cash and opportunities to cut costs. Already, EarthLink's ongoing cost-cutting has lifted its share price from $7 a year ago to $9.09 today.
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Posted
Jul 25 2008, 11:13 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
AOL is cutting back some blogs and closing down its Bluestring, Xdrive and AOL Pictures properties. Some people are speculating the division is trying to pretty itself up for a sale, but I think it's going to take a lot more than that to prep AOL. This sounds more like all-around trimming of underperforming sites in an economy that no longer allows those indulgences.
Shares of AOL parent Time Warner are up 1% today to $14.63. Time Warner has reportedly been trying to shop AOL to the likes of Microsoft and Yahoo, but so far no one is biting.
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Posted
Jul 16 2008, 10:06 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
The back-and-forth competitive drama between Microsoft and Yahoo has opened a perfect opportunity for Time Warner to once again shop its AOL unit. Time Warner is reportedly looking at either merging AOL with Yahoo (with Time Warner getting a minority stake) or selling it outright to Microsoft. Time Warner shares have risen more than 2% today to $14.26 on the news, with Yahoo shares up nearly 4% to $22.38 and Microsoft shares up nearly 3% to $26.90.
Time Warner has wanted to offload AOL for a while, but now Microsoft and Yahoo are scrambling for Plan B's in the aftermath of failed buyout talks. AOL has a growing ad network and an aggressive new strategy, and could be a decent acquisition for either company. The question is, where should it end up?
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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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