Private Equity
Here Comes The Sun: iTunes to announce that it will finally carry Beatles songs. But where are the Rutles? Lots and Lots of Users: Company says that 320 million have played Zynga games. Web Forecasting: Morgan Stanley's Mary Meeker to predict a $50 billion online advertising boom. Royal News: Prince William and Kate Middleton get engaged. Ahead of the Bell: Stock futures fall on global concerns while Wal-Mart Rises. Revamped Mail: How AOL failed to catch Facebook, from Venture Beat. Increases: GM ups the price range for its IPO to $32-33 a share. And, who should get the credit for GM's turnaround? It's not Rattner, Dealbook says.
1 min read · 16 November 2010
Brad Gerstner has joined the board of Off & Away, a Seattle-based auction site for travel connoisseurs. Off & Away in October received a $2 million follow-on investment led by Madrona Venture Group, a Seattle VC firm. Gerstner is founder & CEO of Altimeter Capital Management.
3 min read · 16 November 2010
Inaccurate: Yahoo denies report that it plans to cut 20% of staff. All Things Digital says cuts are more like 10% and limited to product group. Deals: Amazon's acquisitions make sense since its stock is trading so high, says Jeff Bailey. Seeking an Exit: Blackstone UK exec calls on buyout industry to go to war to convinces investors that PE-backed IPOs aren't complete busts. FB's Monday Event: Facebook's secret Project Titan, which is supposed to kill Gmail, is expected to be unveiled during Facebook's special event Monday. Selling Shares: Yuri Milner says his investments give companies an alternative to selling shares to the public.
1 min read · 12 November 2010
Groundbreaking: NLRB accuses company of illegally firing employee after she criticized her boss on Facebook. Yahoo Talk: Alibaba's founder, Jack Ma, was approached by a PE firm about joining a bid for Yahoo. Also, Ma is raising funds to buyout Yahoo's 40% stake in Alibaba. First Show: Conan is still bitter about split from NBC. Raising Money: Groupon is seeking funding that values the company at $3 billion. And More Yahoo: Is KKR interested in Yahoo? Meanwhile, others think the deal talk is just spin by the bankers. Sports: SB Nation, a network of sports blogs, raises $10.5 million.
1 min read · 09 November 2010
Wrong Time: Apple fails to fix iPhone daylight savings time alarm bug for U.S. And, is it time for business users to pick up the iPhone? Who Needs the Tonight Show: AmEx hires Conan as a pitchman. New Browser: Andreessen to unveil Rockmelt, which incorporates social networking services like Facebook and Twitter, while some wonder about Rockmelt's startup philosophy. Worst Kept Secret: AOL hires advisers to explore possible deals for the company including a possible tie-up with Yahoo. But there are no tallks going on. Seriously. General Motors: Should investors test drive the GM IPO? An Answer: Mick Jagger's imaginary response to Keith Richards tell-all book. Fascinating. Letting Go: Why can't HP's board get over Hurd? From Felix Salmon.
1 min read · 08 November 2010
Red Label: How one company games Google News, from CNET. Another Departure: Yahoo CIO Michael Kirwan Departs. Hoops: The NBA's highest paid players. And Lebron isn't in the top 20. Supermarket of Love: With Adoptaguy.com, women can select the guy they like by putting them in their shopping cart. International Issues: Video of Eric Schmidt on Google's foreign policy.
1 min read · 05 November 2010
Contest: Apple is now accepting Mac Ap store submissions from developers. OMG: Video of Mark Zuckerberg giving a candid, open interview. Is Smaller Better: Why Andreessen Horowitz raised $650,000, from Ben Horowitz. Incognito: Cubs Todd Ricketts cleans toilets on "Undercover Boss." Games: Zynga to launch its first Android social game. Stopping Hackers: PayPal races to fix iPhone app security flaw.
1 min read · 04 November 2010
Election Results: Whitman and Fiorna go down in flames. And, Obamanomics to blame for Democratic midterm collapse. Lawsuit: Jason Calacanis threatens to sue to get part of the proceeds of TechCrunch's sale to AOL. Video: Sesame Street parodies Apple with its "There's An Ap For That" song. Incredible: GM walks away from U.S. government financed restructuring with tax break worth $45 billion. Work Strategies: Why promotion breeds incompetence. Executive Moves: Adknowledge grabs senior Yahoo exec.
1 min read · 03 November 2010
The Real Issue: Om Malik on Google's biggest problem. Little Competition: Apple has 95% of tablet market but that might change. Mystery Acquisition: Dell to announce a cloud computing buy on Tuesday while Fortinet denies it's in talks with IBM. Walsh's Replacement: Cornell names Abbott investment chief of its $4.4 billion endowment. No Web: How losing the Internet for the holidays impacts you, according to Joe Hobot.
1 min read · 02 November 2010
Jumping Ship: Why Lars Rasmussen quit Google to join Facebook. Revamp: Gawker to drop its old blog look. Taking Sides: How groups are using the internet to distort everything. Letter to the Next Big Social Network: How to take down Facebook, by Dave McClure. Tender, Not Dry: Butterball turkey phone line remains a staple in the Internet age. Shocker: Bosses overestimate their management skills. Good Info: Must read Quora threads for startups.
1 min read · 01 November 2010
