Archive for the ‘global’ Category

Google: The Recession Takes Its Toll

Saturday, April 18th, 2009

It’s official now: Even Google can’t escape the recession. With its first-quarter results on Apr. 16, the leader in Web search revealed its first quarter-on-quarter decline in sales, reflecting cutbacks in online ad spending. Thanks to cost cutting, Google handily beat profit expectations, but it offered no assurance that overall business conditions would turn around anytime soon.

Google’s revenue, almost all of which comes from advertisements placed next to related search results, rose 6% from a year earlier but slipped 3% from the fourth quarter. Sales, after subtracting commissions to Web site partners, were $4.07 billion. That’s about what analysts, who have been reducing their estimates in recent weeks, had expected.

Investors initially liked what they saw, boosting the stock almost 6% in extended trading after the figures were released. After all, Google’s slowdown looks good compared with the larger advertising market, which is expected to fall at least 5% this year. But as it became apparent that Google’s underlying business was feeling the effects of the recession, shares reversed course and gained only a fraction of 1%. “The quarter confirms that Google is suffering from the economic slowdown,” says Sandeep Aggarwal, analyst at financial-services firm Collins Stewart.

MORE

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

If you liked this post, buy me a beer. (Suggested: $2 a beer or $5 for a pitcher)

Tatas, RIL, Infosys among world’s 50 most innovative cos

Saturday, April 11th, 2009

Three Indian entities — Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, diversified conglomerate Tata Group and IT bellwether Infosys have
entered BusinessWeek magazine’s list of world’s 50 most innovative companies, topped by iPhone maker Apple.

The league of innovative firms also features NRI Lakshmi Mittal-led world’s largest steel producer ArcelorMittal.

Among the 50 companies, Tata Group ranks 13th, Reliance Industries 15th and Infosys 26th.

Tata Group and Reliance Industries have been ranked ahead of American industrial conglomerate General Electric (17), German car manufacturer BMW (20), Japanese auto firm Honda Motor (22) and telecom major AT&T (23), among others.

However, while the Tata Group slipped in ranking from the sixth place in 2008, Reliance Industries has improved its previous year’s rank 19. Infosys was not in the list in 2008.

BusinessWeek has placed ArcelorMittal at the 35th spot. Among the top five, Apple is followed by Internet search giant Google at the second position. Both companies have retained their respective ranks from last year.

Japanese auto maker Toyota Motor, software major Microsoft and Jap

[SOURCE]

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

If you liked this post, buy me a beer. (Suggested: $2 a beer or $5 for a pitcher)

Google’s newest venture

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

For a moment i was confused, a news about Google should go in my tech blog but this one’s different and therefore requires this blog..

Google today announced its new venture and that is Google venture capital fund… Even in these recession times its good to see something so motivating from Google.

Here what the official Google Blog Post says >>

Today we’re excited to announce Google Ventures, Google’s new venture capital fund. This is Google’s effort to take advantage of our resources to support innovation and encourage promising new technology companies. By borrowing the best practices of top-tier, financially focused venture capital firms and bringing to bear Google’s unique technical expertise and brand, we think we can find young companies with truly awesome potential and encourage their development into successful businesses.

At its core, Google Ventures is charged with finding and helping to develop exceptional start-ups. We’ll be focusing on early stage investments across a diverse range of industries, including consumer Internet, software, clean-tech, bio-tech, health care and, no doubt, other areas we haven’t thought of yet. Central to our effort will be our fellow Googlers, whom we view as a critically important resource to help educate us about potential investments areas and evaluate specific companies.

Economically, times are tough, but great ideas come when they will. If anything, we think the current downturn is an ideal time to invest in nascent companies that have the chance to be the “next big thing,” and we’ll be working hard to find them. If you think you have the next big idea, or if you just want to to learn more, please see our website at www.google.com/ventures.

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

If you liked this post, buy me a beer. (Suggested: $2 a beer or $5 for a pitcher)

Credit crises, Recession – what’s the hell is it?

Friday, February 20th, 2009

So you are not from financial background, doesn’t know a thing about the present market situation, big words and terms are confusing you…

But Still want to understand the whole situation and what happened to big banks like Lehman brothers but don’t want to read big articles about it over the net or in those brown colored newspapers…

Well here it is… Credit Crises explained in simple english with the help of this animated video…


The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

To watch this video offline, download the HD quality clip from the CrisisOfCredit.com website.

Hope you now know atleast a bit of it…

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

If you liked this post, buy me a beer. (Suggested: $2 a beer or $5 for a pitcher)

ArcelorMittal planning to shut units?

Saturday, November 1st, 2008

ArcelorMittal workers in France and Belgium said on Thursday that the company has told them it will stop steel output at some plants this winter as demand drops. 

The Luxembourg-based steelmaker, the world’s largest, declined to confirm that it will temporarily halt output but said it was “taking prudent and responsible steps to adapt supply to demand in the light of present market conditions.” 

It said it will provide details when it reports third-quarter earnings on November 5. 

The company has already announced a 15-percent cut in European output as its main customers — the construction and the car industries — see sales slip. 

Trade union representatives in France said management at the Fos-sur-Mer plant had told workers that it would reduce output and asked workers to take vacations of up to 16 days from November 1 and December 31. One furnace will cease work until the end of January, said Alain Nougue, a delegate from the CGT. 

Another steel plant at Florange in eastern France would also stop output for the month of December, Jean-Marc Verin of the CFDT union said. 

In Belgium, local press said workers had been told that ArcelorMittal plants at Genk and Chatelet would cease production for four weeks at the end of the year while facilities at Seraing and Ghent would decrease output levels. 

Source

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

If you liked this post, buy me a beer. (Suggested: $2 a beer or $5 for a pitcher)

Anil Ambani gets nod for London office

Thursday, July 10th, 2008

Britain’s Financial Services Authority has approved an application by the Anil-Ambani owned Reliance Asset Management (RAM) to open an office in London.

The company has launched an offshore fund ‘Emergent India’ targeted at international investors, according to the Wealth Bulletin, a Dow Jones-owned online service for the global wealth management industry.

RAM manager Sunil Singhania said: “The timing for marketing may not be right, but from an investment perspective it is just right. From these levels there is a great opportunity for investors, although there will also be some short-term dips.”

Singhania started raising his cash weighting in October in expectation of a market correction. He had 25 per cent in cash at the start of June, but has just started to put the money to work.

The online services reported that: “He (Singhania) likes capital goods and construction companies, where he has been underweight of late. With valuations in these sectors down by more than half, its stocks are starting to look attractive again.”

He also likes financial services companies on the grounds that India is under-banked, although he expects the next six months to be tough for the local economy. India is in danger of becoming a hostage to inflation, which has hit 11.4 per cent, due to the rising cost of fuel and food”, it added.

[source]

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

If you liked this post, buy me a beer. (Suggested: $2 a beer or $5 for a pitcher)