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| Groupon shares crumple after dismal outlook, take-rate cut Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 04:45 PM PST  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Groupon Inc lost a quarter of its market value on Wednesday after the company revealed it began to take a smaller cut of revenue on daily deals during the holidays, sacrificing revenue and profits to attract and keep merchants. The cut in its "take rate", which some analysts had said was needed to revive flagging interest among merchants in its Internet offers, was a blow to fourth-quarter results. And a sharper-than-expected post-holiday slowdown in its new e-commerce business contributed to a disappointing first-quarter sales forecast. ... Full Story | Top |
| BroadSoft forecasts lower current-quarter revenue; shares fall Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 03:51 PM PST (Reuters) - Internet communications company BroadSoft Inc forecast current-quarter revenue below analysts' estimates, sending its shares down 24 percent after market. BroadSoft, which sells software that telecom companies use to provide voice and video services, forecast first-quarter revenue of $37 million to $40 million, while analysts were expecting $43.6 million on average. The company said it expects its growth to be affected by weakness in its consumer applications division prior to service providers ramping up their voice-over-LTE investment. ... Full Story | Top |
| Groupon CFO says shared more revenue with merchants in fourth quarter Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 03:02 PM PST SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Groupon Inc Said it raised the percentage of revenue it shared with partner merchants in the fourth quarter, a move intended to keep and attract merchants for the Internet deals it runs, but that ate into revenue and profitability. Chief Financial Officer Jason Child told Reuters in an interview that Groupon began taking about 35 percent of deal-revenue in the quarter and handing 65 percent to its partners, describing the so-called "take rate." Groupon historically has kept about 40 percent of revenue generated through daily deals on its website. ... Full Story | Top |
| Groupon shares dive 24 percent on "underwhelming" forecast Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 03:02 PM PST SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Groupon Inc lost almost a quarter of its market value on Wednesday after the company began to take a smaller cut of revenue on daily deals, sacrificing revenue and profits to attract and keep merchants. "This raises questions about how these guys are going to be able to scale the business," said Tom White, an analyst at Macquarie. "The forecast is underwhelming." Groupon shares fell 22 percent to $4.65 in after hours trading on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Why retailers are pinning hopes on Pinterest Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 02:15 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - After a tough day at work as a publicist in Minneapolis, Becca Bijoch would often indulge in a little retail therapy. She usually headed out to the stores as she did not care much for online shopping. That changed last year when the 26-year-old joined Pinterest, a photo-sharing website that allows users to "pin" images to online bulletin boards based on their interests and to follow others. Bijoch says she has found all sorts of things that she bought after seeing them on Pinterest, from great kitchen tools on CrateandBarrel.com to clothes at Asos.com. ... Full Story | Top |
| Apple CEO says he feels shareholders' pain, urges long view Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 12:45 PM PST  CUPERTINO, California (Reuters) - Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook on Wednesday acknowledged widespread disappointment in the company's sagging share price but shared few details about its secretive product pipeline and touched only briefly on a raging debate about how best to reward shareholders. The world's most valuable technology company headed into its annual shareholders' meeting at its headquarters on shakier ground than it has been accustomed to in years, since the iPhone and iPad helped vault the company to premier investment status. ... Full Story | Top |
| NATO, European governments, hit by "MiniDuke" cyber attack Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 12:33 PM PST  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hackers targeted dozens of computer systems at government agencies across Europe through a flaw in Adobe Systems Inc's software, security researchers said on Wednesday, while NATO said it too had been attacked. The alliance said its systems had not been compromised, although it was sharing the details of the attack with NATO member states and remained vigilant. Security experts say governments and organizations such as NATO are attacked on a daily basis - although the sophistication varies wildly. ... Full Story | Top |
| Clearwire to tap Sprint money but continue Dish talks Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 12:04 PM PST  (Reuters) - Wireless service provider Clearwire Corp said on Wednesday it would draw on $80 million in financing from Sprint Nextel Corp, which is seeking to buy it, but vowed to continue talks with rival bidder Dish Network Corp. Shares of Clearwire fell 3 cents to $3.17 after the decision, which could end Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen's effort to buy Clearwire. But the stock was still above Sprint's offer of $2.97 per share, showing that investors still held out hope for a higher valuation. Analysts said Clearwire was likely trying to force Dish to firm up its proposal. ... Full Story | Top |
| Oracle CEO Ellison buys Hawaii's Island Air Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 10:42 AM PST  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Billionaire Larry Ellison can now afford to fly commercial - on his own commercial airline, that is. The Oracle Corp chief executive on Wednesday added a small Hawaiian airline to his holdings, less than a year after he purchased the vast majority of land on the small Hawaiian island of Lana'i, off the coast of Maui. Island Air, a Honolulu-based carrier with a handful of island-hopping planes and about 245 employees, will not make any staff changes as part of the sale and will continue normal operations, the company said. "We are excited Mr. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chinese may have edge in emerging market dash for smartphones Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 10:09 AM PST  BARCELONA (Reuters) - The next billion people to connect to the internet in developing countries will do so largely via smartphones, prompting a battle that could favor low-price Chinese manufacturers like Huawei and ZTE over market leaders Samsung and Apple. Fixed-line telephone networks are often weak in emerging markets and building new ones is expensive, and so smartphones are becoming a vital way to connect populations to the web and bolster economic growth. ... Full Story | Top |
| Court denies Apple's motion to reduce damages in VirnetX lawsuit Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 08:33 AM PST  (Reuters) - VirnetX Holding Corp, which holds internet security patents, said a federal court has upheld a ruling against Apple Inc in a patent infringement lawsuit and denied the iPhone maker's motion to reduce the $368 million in damages. VirnetX shares rose 6 percent to $35.91 in morning trading on the American Stock Exchange on Wednesday. The court ordered Apple to pay $33,561 in daily interest and $330,201 in daily damages up to the final judgment, VirnetX said on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Qtel banks on Morocco ties in Maroc Telecom bid: CEO Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 08:21 AM PST  BARCELONA (Reuters) - Qatar Telecom , seeking to complete its North Africa footprint and grow via mobile broadband, said the Gulf country's good rapport with Morocco could give it an edge over other firms bidding for partly state-owned Maroc Telecom . Qtel Chief Executive Nasser Marafih told Reuters in an interview the kingdom of Morocco, which owns 30 percent of Maroc Telecom, would play a role in picking the winner. ... Full Story | Top |
| Google not expected to check every upload says Italian court Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 07:58 AM PST  MILAN (Reuters) - Internet platforms like Google cannot be forced to filter every video uploaded by users without endangering freedom of thought and their own functionality, an Italian court ruling made public on Wednesday said. The details of the ruling were made public 60 days after the Milan court acquitted three Google executives of charges of having violated the privacy of an Italian boy with autism by allowing a video, showing him being bullied, to be posted on the site in 2006. ... Full Story | Top |
| Networking creates devices buzz at mobile fair Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 04:09 AM PST  BARCELONA (Reuters) - Networks, whether superfast mobile broadband, wifi or a combination of both, are helping add pizzazz to new mobile products as the rapid evolution in smartphone and tablet design slows to a trickle. The world's fastest smartphone, new "phablets" - sized between a phone and tablet - and small tablets optimized to watch video and run multiple applications on 4G mobile networks were making the biggest splash at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Networks are also enabling millions of other devices, from coffee makers to bicycles and cars to homes, to become "smart". ... Full Story | Top |
| Korean operators warn Europe of "curse" of 4G networks Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 03:51 AM PST  BARCELONA (Reuters) - South Korean telecom executives have a message for European cousins who have long looked on in envy at the highly connected Asian market: Be careful what you wish for. South Korea, the world's most wired country with 30 percent of its 50 million mobile users on superfast networks, has inspired many European operators ahead of their own rollout of networks based on LTE, or fourth-generation technology. ... Full Story | Top |
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