Yahoo seeking up to $500 million for small business unit

Yahoo hopes to get up to $500 million for a unit that hosts websites for small companies, after putting it on the market for several months, two people familiar with the matter said.

Yahoo has received interest from corporate buyers and private equity firms, one of the sources familiar with the situation said. It is unclear if any party has made an offer.

But some potential corporate buyers who have looked at the asset in recent months have decided not to bid because they think the price is too high, a second source said.
Last week, Yahoo sold its stake in China's top e-commerce company Alibaba.com for $150 million.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the sale process has not been made public. A Yahoo spokeswoman said the company does not comment on rumors or speculation.

The small business division provides domains, email, Web hosting and other merchant services to customers. Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo, which posted $7.2 billion in revenue last year, does not break out the unit's performance.

Yahoo prefers to sell to another company rather than a buyout shop, believing that a strategic buyer would be more likely to pay a higher multiple for the synergies that the unit has with its own business, the sources said. Do you think this post is informative??Share this:
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Sun Microsystems losing US$100m a month

Sun Microsystem Inc is losing about US$100 million a month as European regulators delay approving his company's US$7 billion purchase of the struggling hardware maker.

Sun's revenue has tumbled since April when Oracle agreed to buy the world's No. 4 computer server maker in April as rivals IBM and Hewlett-Packard Co have poached customers amid uncertainty about its future.

Oracle has pledged to boost investment on development of Sun's products,but the hardware company has cut spending prior to the deal's closing as sales have plunged. Last month it reported a quarterly loss of US$147 million.

- Reuters

Will this means the end of Sun?? Let's wait and see..

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UOB plans to sell insurance unit

United Overseas Bank Ltd (UOB) of Singapore is selling its life insurance unit, according to sources involved in the auction in an effort to shed a non-core division and raise up to US$500 mil in the process.

The move shows a pick-up in confidence among executives seeking to divest business and high lights the continued interest of Western firms looking to tap Asia's growing personal wealth.

Sources said HSBC was advising SOuth-East Asia's second biggest lenger on the sale of the business, known as UOB Life Assurance.

Pruduential Plc was among the global insurer, has also shown interest in UOB Life. Great Eastern the largest insurance group in Singapore and Malaysia, dwarfing UOB Life with S$45 bil in assets and 3.8 million policyholders in both countries.

The auction comes at a time when global insurance companies are seeking to expand their networks in fast growing regions such as Asia..

- Reuters


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Delta in talks on big stake in JAL

Delta Air Lines, the world's biggest carrier is in talks to invest in Japan AIrlines Corp (JAL) and become its top shareholder.

The report said Delta was in talks to invest several talks to invest several tens of billions of yen in Asia's largest airline by revenue.

JAL is forecasting a net loss of 63 billion yen (US$692 mil) for the year to March, hit by the global economic slump.

-Reuters


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Pertamina, Petronas get rights to drill

JAKARTA - PT Pertamina and Talisman Energy Inc won rights to drill for crude oil and natural gas in Indonesian areas as SOuth-East Asia's biggest crude producer seeks new reserves to replace aging fields.

Pertamina and partner, Petronas Carigali Overseas Sdn Bhd won the rights to jointly develop West Glagah Kambuna block off the coast of Sumatra. Talisman's unit won the rights to develop the Andaman III field.

- Bloomberg



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Possible Opel sale

German Finance Minister said General Motors CO's decision on a possible sale of its German Opel unit will be driven mainly by GM's business interests which may have changed after the company's situation improved since March.

Decision are being taken based on the 'very narrow business interest of GM'

- Bloomberg


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US imports and exports increased

The US trade deficit was probably little changed in July as imports and exports both grew, signalling a revival of commerce as the global slump eased, economists said before this week.
The gap between imports and exports increased 1.5 % to US$27.4 bil from US$27 bil the prior month, according to the median of 63 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey ahead of the COmmerce Department's Sept 10 report.

Rising demand for US-made goods from trading partners such as China, Mexico and the European Union is combining with domestic stimulus measure to help pull the economy out of arecession. With prediction the US economy will grow at an average 2.1 % rate in the second half ot his year, imports will probably climb further. The US$26bil trade deficit in May was the smallest since November 1999.

Import prices probably rose 1% in AUgust from the prior month, lebd by oil and other commodities.

- Bloomberg

Is it really a sign of recovery? Will US trading increased ?

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Icon in your product

I think most of us know about the importance of icon in the product.
Using an Icon can identify your brands. It is important to ensure your customer easily remember your brands and become loyal ... There's another way to make an icon to your brands

1. Using celebrity in product is an expensive way to do but it works. Customer who're the celebrity fans will try the product.
2. Create your own icon. Look at McDonalds that use ROnald Mc Donald as their brand. It is easy to recognize and their competitor such as KFC using their own icon.
3. Tagline icon. It is also a useful way to create icon. Nike used 'Just Do It' and becoming more popular...


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AIG to Sell Fund Unit

- American International Group Inc., the insurer bailed out by the U.S. government, agreed to sell its external fund management business to Richard Li’s Pacific Century Group of Hong Kong for about $500 million.

The purchase price for AIG Investments consists of a cash payment of approximately $300 million at closing, plus additional future consideration based on future performance and a continuing share of carried interest, New York-based AIG said in a statement.
AIG has already announced sales of some $9.3 billion of assets to help repay U.S. Federal Reserve loans extended as part of the firm’s $182.5 billion bailout.

The portions of AIG Investments up for sale managed about $114 billion of client assets, including stocks, bonds, and investments in hedge and private equity funds, when UBS AG started an auction for the unit earlier this year. The assets under management have declined since then.

Li, the son of Li Ka-shing, Asia’s richest man, is chairman of PCCW Ltd., the Hong Kong phone company.

The auction of AIG Investments attracted earlier interest from Franklin Resources Inc., the San Mateo, California-based fund manager, and Macquarie Group Ltd., Australia’s biggest investment bank, and New York-based Crestview Partners LP.
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Toshiba bid for Areva unit

Toshiba Corp plans to bid for French nuclear group Areva's power distribution and transmission equipment unit, four sources with direct knowledge of the situation said, in a deal that could cost it more than US$ 5 billion,

The sources said Toshiba planned to participate in the bidding on Sept 18.Toshiba, which runs a far-flung electronics conglomerate, is banking on power generation for growth as it reins in investment in its recession-hit computer chip business

But the health of Toshiba's balance sheet is uncertain following a $5 billion capital hike in May, and its presence as the first foreign suitor for the up-for-sale business might sit uneasily with French government efforts to promote national industrial champions.

Areva has put its transmission and distribution (T&D) business on the block and is seeking to sell 15 percent of the group's capital to fuel its nuclear expansion plans. The government will play a major role in both decision for the 91-percent state-owned firm, already a global leader in nuclear technology.
Toshiba's shares fell 2.3 percent after news that it might bid broke.
- Reuters..


Source Pic : Homotron

bid

SOurce pic :- Scied

What is Areva??

AREVA (Euronext: CEI) is a French public multinational industrial conglomerate that is mainly known for nuclear power; it also has interests in other energy projects. It was created on 3 September 2001, by the merger of Framatome and Cogema (now AREVA NC). Its main shareholder is the French-owned company CEA, but the German company Siemens also retains 34% of the shares of AREVA's subsidiary, AREVA NP, in charge of building the EPR Reactor, an advanced Generation III+ nuclear reactor.[1]

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IMF revises forecast upwards

Before this I've write about IMF says economy is recovering . Now in this news, The IMF has revised upwards its forecast for economic growth this year and next in major industrialised economies and worldwide, according to a document obtained by Reuters.

They forecast the world economy will shrink by 1.3 % in 2009, a shade less than its earlier forecast of 1.4 % contraction, before growing by 2.9 % in 2010, revised up from the 2.5% it expected in April 2009..

- Reuters

Not good news.. Hope our economy still growth..

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Intel raises sales forecast

Intel is still growth and maybe make profit in this years.


Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Intel Corp., the world’s biggest chipmaker, raised its sales forecast for this quarter, adding to evidence that personal-computer demand is recovering.

Third-quarter sales will be at least $8.8 billion, Intel said in a statement today. That compares with at least $8.1 billion the company projected last month. The company also increased its gross-margin forecast for the period.

Intel joins computer-industry companies including Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. in predicting a recovery, and has credited consumers in Asia for a rebound in PC orders. The increase bodes well for the technology industry because Intel is a barometer for spending, said William Kreher, an analyst at Edward Jones & Co. in St. Louis.

“Consumers are driving the strength and the relative strength in PCs,” said Kreher, who recommends buying the shares and doesn’t own any. “We do have an expectation that 2010 will bring renewed demand from the corporate sector as well.”

Intel, based in Santa Clara, California, advanced 78 cents, or 4 percent, to $20.25 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The stock has gained 38 percent this year.

Analysts predicted sales of $8.57 billion, according to the average estimate in a Bloomberg survey. Sales were $10.2 billion in the third quarter of 2008.

Source :- Bloomberg

Maybe there's still big demand on computer that make Intel raises sales forecast while the competitor still struggling. But it still forecast, maybe it happen maybe not..

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IMF says economy is recovering

The report from International Money Funds (IMF) forecast the global economic recovery has started. It also noted, however, that sustained improvement will require continued structural changes to correct global imbalances.
The IMF said that Asia must be re-oriented toward increased consumption, while the United States needs to move toward exports,. IMF Chief Economist Olivier Blanchard also cautioned that potential economic output may be lower than it was before the global financial crisis. "The turnaround will not be simple," Blanchard wrote in the report. "The crisis has left deep scars, which will affect both supply and demand for many years to come."

Full release : IMF website

This IMF report maybe give impact to world economy. The positive is when the IMF believes the global economy is recovering . It can ending the world's longest and worst global contraction since the end of World War II. .Can we trust IMF??

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Increase in home sales

A good news for home developer and broker for US market..

August 14, 2009, USA TODAY
By Stephanie Armour, USA TODAY

Home sales rose in most of the country in the second quarter compared with the first, a trend driven by falling prices, lower interest rates, and a tax credit for first-time home buyers.

The sales increase is viewed as a positive sign that the struggling housing market is showing more signs of stabilization, even though foreclosures continue to escalate.

Existing home sales rose 3.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.76 million units in the second quarter from 4.58 million units in the first quarter, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). That is still 2.9% below the second quarter of 2008.

"We're seeing a growing percentage of metropolitan areas (with home sales) up over the year, which is impressive," says Joel Naroff, with Naroff Economic Advisors. "We're seeing growing strength in a variety of areas across the country."

But foreclosures are rising, and that's pulling down home prices. Foreclosure filings were reported on 360,149 properties in July, according to a RealtyTrac report today. That's an increase of nearly 7% from the previous month and a jump of 32% from July 2008.

Thirty-nine states saw sales increases from the first quarter, and sales in nine states were higher than a year ago. Washington, D.C., showed both quarterly and annual rises.

Double-digit gains in sales between the first and second quarters were seen in Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, Washington, Hawaii, New York, New Jersey, Maine, Vermont, Wisconsin, Indiana, South Dakota and Montana.

"This data suggests that the recovery is broadening," says Lawrence Yun, chief economist with NAR. "Low interest rates and the tax credit (for first-time home buyers) are beginning to pull buyers back into the market."

But prices on existing homes are continuing to fall. The national median price for single-family homes was $174,100 in the quarter, which is 15.6% lower than during the same period last year.

The largest sales gain between the first and second quarters was in Idaho, up 67.5%, followed by Hawaii, up 24.2%. New York was up 22.3% and Wisconsin's sales rose 21.7%.

"It's important to see the growth because of the volume (of homes) out there," says Pat Lashinsky, CEO of ZipRealty. "We're seeing inventory come down and the market come back into equilibrium."


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Retailers See Slowing Sales in Back-to-School Season

Stock analysts at Citigroup are predicting a decline in back-to-school sales for the first time since they began tracking the figures in 1995. They estimate August and September sales at stores open for at least a year — known as same-store sales — will fall 3 to 4 percent, compared with an increase of nearly 1 percent in the same period last year.

The National Retail Federation, an industry group, expects the average family with school-age children to spend nearly 8 percent less this year than last. And ShopperTrak, a research company, predicted customer traffic would be down 10 percent from a year ago.

“This is going to be the worst back-to-school season in many, many years,” said Craig F. Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, a retailing consultant firm.

Many analysts consider the season to begin in mid-July; sales numbers for that month are out already, and they were poor. Same-stores sales fell 5 percent compared with last year, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, an industry group. Figures out this week from the government showed that overall retail sales in July were down 8.3 percent from the same month last year.

Back-to-school sales in July were hurt because many states moved their sales tax holidays out of July and into August. This month, retail sales should get a lift from those tax holidays. Still, the council expects August same-store sales to decline 3.5 to 4 percent compared with last year.

A report this week by IBISWorld, a research company, found that back-to-school spending would fall in nearly every category compared with last year: clothing, down 5.4 percent; footwear, down 4.4 percent; and electronics, down 1.8 percent. Sales of traditional school supplies like notebooks and pencils are expected to be about the same as last year.

Retailers typically do some of their biggest business during the back-to-school shopping period, also considered to be an early predictor of the holiday shopping season. If the forecasts turn out to be right, this could be another tough holiday period.


Source :- New York TImes

It ain't good news for retailer in this situation. It is the worst back to school sales.

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Sony to challenge Amazon

In a further challenge to Amazon, Sony will switch its electronic book store to an open system that will let customers read a wide range of materials on the company’s e-readers.

Sony’s store will then be useful for people with multiple types of e-readers.

“Our intention is to lead by example,” said Steve Haber, boss of Sony’s digital reading business unit.

Sony introduced several new models that hit shelves later this month (both will support the new open format) and cut the prices of e-books on its online store to increase pressure on Amazon. This latest move will also lure more customers to its devices and its bookstore, the company hopes.

E-readers cost at least several hundred dollars, and some customers consider them a serious purchase worthy of consumer-review research and planning. Amazon and Sony hope that once a customer starts out with one of their devices, they’ll keep coming back the rest of their lives out of customer loyalty or even just inertia.

Source :- San Francisco Business Times

Will Sony beat Amazon? Let's see while Apple want to join the market too.

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W.T.O. Rules Against China’s Limits on Imports

HONG KONG — The World Trade Organization gave the United States a victory on Wednesday in its trade battle with China, ruling that Beijing had violated international rules by limiting imports of books, songs and movies.
The W.T.O. panel decision in Geneva buttresses growing complaints from the United States and Europe that China is becoming increasingly nationalistic in its trade policies. It also offers some hope that China will remove its restrictions on media and reduce rampant piracy of intellectual property, though the country can appeal.

Also, because of piracy, Chinese consumers are so accustomed to paying very little for DVDs, or downloading movies or songs free on the Internet, that American movie companies already sell authorized DVDs of their movies for much less in China than in the United States — and still struggle to find buy

Source : - NYTimes

All of we know that China is one of most popular place for pirate DVD so it is no use to import to CHina.. Maybe W.T.O has some idea..

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France and Germany Lift European Economy

FRANKFURT — The European economy bounced back with unexpected strength in the second quarter after contracting sharply at the beginning of 2009, data released Thursday showed, offering the clearest evidence yet that a searing recession is drawing to a close.

The economy of the 27-nation European Union shrank at an annual rate of 1.2 percent in the three months that ended in June, while the 16 countries that use the euro, the common European currency, registered an annualized 0.4 percent decline in economic activity during the period. That contrasted with a shrinkage at an annual pace of 1 percent during the same period in the United States.

Despite being in negative territory, the European data underscore a sharp recovery from the first quarter of this year, when both the E.U. and the euro zone saw a 2.5 percent contraction, or a 10 percent annual rate. Underlying the surprisingly strong reading were solid performances in France and Germany, both of which grew by 0.3 percent in the second quarter, compared to the first, government data showed Thursday.

Germany, Europe’s largest economy, will still probably see its gross domestic product contract by about 6 percent for the full year, economists say. But the surprise expansion — most economists had expected a flat or slightly negative reading — underscores how German exporters are benefiting from growth in Asia and what may be a bottoming of the downturn in the United States.

Source :- http://www.nytimes.com

This will help Euro economy recoveries in such a short time. How about British?? Will they fall or growth?

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What is Money Laundering ?

I've read about the article about internet Gambling Payment Processor Charged With Bank Fraud, Money Laundering and Illegal Gambling Offenses. I thought that many of individu has been cheated about this money laundering scheme. It is illegal on some of country to make money laundering.. Some of them using a pyramid scheme to recycle the money..

What is Money Laundering?

Money laundering is the practice of disguising illegally obtained funds so that they seem legal. It is a crime in many jurisdictions with varying definitions. It is a key operation of the underground economy.

You can get tips about money laundering at money laundering.com

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Professional' beggars earning up to £200

Wow.. What a business. Beggars can earning up to £200.. It is easy money and good business. Maybe you want to try.. Read the article..


The sight of a person in tatty clothes begging on the street is enough to elicit money from many well-meaning passers-by.

But, it was claimed last night, some 'beggars' could be office workers with homes who are topping up their salaries by earning £200 a night from donations.

Employees are said to be returning from their day jobs and dressing up in rags to spend their evenings pocketing spare change.

One office worker with a 9 to 5 job said she planned to use the money earned by begging outside cash points and shops to pay for a new kitchen in her flat.

Last night, police warned that growing numbers of people were turning to professional begging to stave off the recession by earning hundreds of pounds tax-free a night.

Officers in Leicester have launched a crackdown after discovering that none of the 20 beggars they had cautioned in the last fortnight was homeless.

Sergeant Adrian Underwood said some beggars could earn up to £200 on a Friday or Saturday night.


Source From Dailymail

Wow.. Isn't it good business. In this economy down this is perfect job to earn more money.. No internet, no knowledge.. Just go to people without shy..

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