Private Equity
Good In Hindsight: Google tried to buy Color for $200 mln. Color said No. Google is thankful. Out of Work: Atlantis ended its 30 year mission today. Now, about 9,000 NASA workers will be unemployed. Deals: President Obama and Speaker John Boehner are reportedly near a major budget deal. Meanwhile, the NFL is expected to vote on whether to accept a labor deal on Thursday. Slow Death: The Quiznos death watch begins. Earnings: MSFT Q4 profit jumps 30%. On the Block: Metlife has put its banking operations up for sale. Apple: In just one day, downloads of Mac OS X LION have topped 1 mln. Getting More Social: Google has bought Fridge, which lets users share with groups. Beautiful Ripoff: A fake Apple store in China is so well done it even fooled the staff that work there. Fight the Power: Anonymous and LulzSec lash out at the FBI and tells them, "We're not going anywhere."
1 min read · 21 July 2011
Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool. Rupert Murdoch has been all over the news lately. The 80-year-old media mogul refused to take responsibility for the hacking scandal that has slashed billions from News Corp.'s market value. It got even more bizarre earlier this week when a protester tried to hit Murdoch with a cream pie. Wendi Deng, Murdoch's wife, smacked the protester before he was able to touch the elder CEO. (Deng has now become a trending topic on Twitter, and a fake Twitter
1 min read · 21 July 2011
Not California: What five state's did Moody's put on watch for downgrade? Blowout Earnings: Apple sold 20.3 mln iPhones and 9.25 mln iPads. And, Apple confirms that OS X Lion will be released Wednesday. Not Me: Rupert Murdoch denies knowledge of phone-hacking scandal and then nearly gets hit with a pie. Humble Pie: What other rich and famous people got smacked with pies? How to Defend Your Man: What CEO wives can learn from Wendi Deng. Deal Possible: MSFT drops out of the bidding for Hulu leaving Yahoo. What Financial Crisis? Warburg Pincus plots $12 bln fund. Bleak House: Neil Gaiman, author of American Gods, gives his list of top 10 books to read. Good on Paper: It's time for the Southern California newspaper market to consolidate, says The Deal's Richard Morgan.
1 min read · 19 July 2011
Goldman, Barclays, Bank of China: Here are 29 companies with more cash than the U.S. Treasury. Crunchfund: Michael Arrington, founder and co-editor of TechCrunch, is about to launch his own angel fund to invest in startups. Life Issues: Can successful entrepreneurs have a work-life balance? More than Myspace: Justin Timberlake has invested in Dekko, which merges augmented reality with actual reality. Or something. Vroom Vroom: TTI Floor Care North America Inc., which owns Hoover and Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner brands, goes up for sale. PhoneGate: Scandal causes Les Hinton to resign as Dow Jones CEO. Rupert Murdoch apologizes to murdered schoolgirl parents whose phone his journalists hacked. And, will the scandal claim Rupert Murdoch as its next victim? Another Cut: S&P says they could also cut U.S. government debt later this month. Wow: Yelp hits 20 million reviews. Fundraising: Providence Equity is offering a fee break to large investors of its seventh fund (a $6 bln pool) Just Because: Elin Nordogren, Tiger Wood's ex-wife, has a new boyfriend and he doesn't play golf.
1 min read · 15 July 2011
Finally: Spotify, the European digital music service, makes its U.S. debut. Earnings: Google revenues top $9 bln. And, Larry Page can't stop talking about Google+. Minor Mistakes: Rupert Murdoch, in an interview with WSJ of course, says News Corp. has handled the tabloid newspaper scandal "extremely well." The FBI is also investigating whether News Corp. tried to hack into the phones of Sept. 11 victims. AND, the New York Post tells junior staffers not to do any "obvious, unethical journalstic things." Going Public: Groupon adds 11 more banks to its already hefty IPO. What Was That? Google searches may affect your memory, a study finds. Scarey Weird: Shares of Medicis Pharmaceutical tumble after CEO's girlfriend found dead in his house. No More: One PE exec tells RIM they won't get anymore of his money. Rejected: Zynga bid $1 bln to buy PopCap but was rejected in favor of EA. Out of Business? Borders Group proposed sale to NaJafi Cos. falls apart. Cat Fight: You thought "Real Housewives" was bad? Just wait until "Wall $treet Wives" airs. Casting call notices went out Wednesday, Dealbook says.
1 min read · 14 July 2011
Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool. Earlier this week, my co-worker Connie Loizos wrote about how VCs aren't getting much love from institutional investors. In second quarter, 37 U.S.-based funds raised about $2.7 billion, according to the National Venture Capital Association and and Thomson Reuters (publisher of peHUB). That compared to 48 funds that collected about $2.1 billion for the same time period in 2010. Worse, just 76 U.S.-based VC funds were raised in the first half of this year, marking the lowest number of funds garnering commitments since the first half of 1995, according to the NVCA.
1 min read · 14 July 2011
Internet's Irony Meter Explodes: Mark Zuckerberg closes his Google+ account so he can't be tracked. So do Google's Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Scandal's Outcome: News Corp. drops its $12.6 bln bid to take over BSkyB as scandal over NoTW continues. Advisors on the deal--JPM, DB, Morgan Stanley, UBS and BofA--may lose $90 mln in fees. Earnings: The Hartford warns that Q2 profit fell by about 68%. Going Down: Moody's puts U.S. ratings on review for a downgrade. Tablet Wars: Amazon plans to introduce a tablet computer before October and will release two updated versions of the Kindle in third quarter. Inside RIM: The rise and fall of the company that made smartphones smart. Not a Death Sentence: Chavez says he may require chemo or radiation for a baseball like tumor. Just For Fun: One in 10 UK pets have a social networking profile. Goal! U.S. women makes the finals of the World Cup.
1 min read · 13 July 2011
I was Unloved: Lord Voldemort responds to critics. An Outrage: Netflix has increased its prices by as much as 60%. Big Mistake: VCs are not your friends. Layoffs: Cisco to cut as many as 10,000 jobs. Apple: Richard "Chip" Lutton Junior, Apple's chief patent counsel, is leaving. And, estimates for Q3 tablet sales are 6 mln to 9.5 mln. Groundbreaking: Google+ about to hit 10 mln users. Serious Consequences: Gawker gets smacked for trying to reveal the CIA agent who helped take out Bin Laden. After the Scandal: News Corp. to buy back $5 bln in stock. Rupert Murdoch and his son, James, summoned to appear before U.K. lawmakers. And, Breaking Views says James Murdoch should step down. Where's The $$: Tech VC community view hedge funds as unsupportive, devil-esque and scary. Demoted: Moody's cuts Ireland bonds to junk. The Butler did It: How realistic are the Wall Street thrillers? Dealbook reviews three new novels. Go Maru: 10 animals with more social media fans that major media outlets.
1 min read · 12 July 2011
This week: Spotify plans to launch in the U.S. and will give existing members invites to distribute. Oh Sheila: Bair says rescuing Bear Stearns was a mistake. And, Bair will write a book on the financial crisis. Deals: Google buys Punchd and Hertz extends its offer for Dollar Thrifty. July 11: It's free slurpee day at 7-Eleven stores (get it?) No Friend Request: How Google+ will balkanize your social life. Linked In: The biggest tech IPOs of 2011. How much? The U.S. recession that supposedly ended in June 2009 cost $7,300 per person.
1 min read · 11 July 2011
So long, Atlantis: The space shuttle made its final voyage into space today. No Morgan: Living Social has hired underwriters for its long-awiated IPO but Morgan Stanley, Goldman and CSFB aren't among them (they're with Groupon). Succession: Deutsche Bank is near picking someone to succeed CEO Josef Ackermann, whose contract doesn't expire for two years. Delay: News Corp.'s $12.5 Bln buy of BskyB gets delayed even more after the News of the World scandal. And, what damage could Rebekah Brooks do to News Corp.? Oh Sheila: Today is Sheila Bair's last day as chairwoman of the FDIC and Wall Street celebrates. Looking for Work: Some applicants flunk their social media background check. Will you?
1 min read · 08 July 2011
