Bloomberg News
Posted: 07/02/2009 02:06:17 PM PDT
Updated: 07/02/2009 04:31:06 PM PDT
Google's music service in China, which lets users download Michael Jackson, U2 and Beyoncé songs for free, may have helped increase its share of the world's biggest Internet market, research company IResearch said.
The service, which Google introduced at the end of March, had 22.4 million visits in April, according to a report IResearch posted on its Web site Thursday. Baidu.com's share of the Chinese search market in the first quarter was more than triple that of Google's, the Shanghai-based researcher estimates.
Google began offering downloads of licensed music with EMI Group, Warner Music Group, Sony, Universal Music Group and other record companies to compete against Baidu, which offers a search service that helps users find music on nonaffiliated third-party Web sites.
More than 99 percent of online music in China is pirated, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. China had more than 316 million Internet users at the end of March, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
Bilibala's comments:
Happy to see free & legal download on music happen in China and hope it will soon be happening in everywhere. It is the trend & the true way of doing business in today's market and consumer.
7.03.2009
Econ Data 09 week 27
USA
Consumer market
Economic
Consumer market
- Jun ISM index up to 44.8 from 42.8 in May (inline with expectation 44.9)
- May factory orders up +1.2% M/M from up +0.5% M/M in Apr (better, +0.9%)
- Durable orders and non-durable orders both get some pick ups from the bottom, which is a good sight in terms of production.
House market
- Apr home price down 19.2% Y/Y from 18.7% Y/Y in Mar
- Although i think the total GDP$ has reached its bottom in 1Q, but recession will only be over when the home price stablized, looks like the house market is still searching for bottom
Job market
- Jun unemployment rate up to 9.5% from 9.4% in May (better, 9.6%)
- Jun non-farm job pos down -467k from -322k in May (worse, -367k)
- In comparison to May, lots of job cut came from service sector (business -118k vs -48k in may, government -52k vs -10k in may)
- One thing very interesting to me is the expectation on ADP employment change is -394k higher than non-farm job pos cut -367k. Usually, Job cut is always higher than ADP, looks like the analysts are lowered their estimation purposely to create a market drop signal
- 06/27 inital job claims down to 614k from 630k last week (inline, 615k)
Economic
- Apr GDP down -0.1% M/M or -3.0% Y/Y. Manufacture, energy, retail sector down -1.0%, -0.7%, -0.6% M/M. Wholesale, Finance up 0.5%, 0.4% M/M.
7.02.2009
Wells Fargo accept registered warrants
Wells Fargo Will Accept Registered Warrants Issued by State of California for Limited Time
July 02, 2009 01:05 PM Eastern Daylight Time
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) said today it will accept registered warrants issued by the State of California from its retail and business customers for a limited time. It will begin accepting the registered warrants for deposit on July 2, 2009 and stop accepting them no later than July 10, 2009.
“We’re very disappointed, as are many Californians, that California has taken the unfortunate step of issuing IOUs in lieu of its payments to some businesses and individuals,” said Lisa Stevens, head of Community Banking for Wells Fargo in California. “Wells Fargo has a long history of taking extraordinary measures to help our customers and will accept registered warrants from our customers, but only for a limited time, to allow them time to make other arrangements. We are reluctant to take this step, but are doing so to help our customers who are not at fault and with the expectation that the Legislature and Governor will complete the budget within days. We join all Californians in urging our Legislature and our Governor to take the appropriate steps as soon as possible to resolve this budget crisis.”
Wells Fargo is the oldest and largest financial institution headquartered in California, where it has more than 50,900 team members, $138 billion in deposits in 1,161 banking stores, 291 mortgage stores, 23 commercial banking offices and 97 consumer finance stores.
Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with $1.3 trillion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance through more than 10,400 stores, over 12,000 ATMs and the internet (wellsfargo.com) across North America and internationally.
Bilibala's comments
Got to read 2q09 results to determine whether Wells' balance sheet is improving or getting worse. Californians is one of the state the house price fall the most and unemployment up a lot.
July 02, 2009 01:05 PM Eastern Daylight Time
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) said today it will accept registered warrants issued by the State of California from its retail and business customers for a limited time. It will begin accepting the registered warrants for deposit on July 2, 2009 and stop accepting them no later than July 10, 2009.
“We’re very disappointed, as are many Californians, that California has taken the unfortunate step of issuing IOUs in lieu of its payments to some businesses and individuals,” said Lisa Stevens, head of Community Banking for Wells Fargo in California. “Wells Fargo has a long history of taking extraordinary measures to help our customers and will accept registered warrants from our customers, but only for a limited time, to allow them time to make other arrangements. We are reluctant to take this step, but are doing so to help our customers who are not at fault and with the expectation that the Legislature and Governor will complete the budget within days. We join all Californians in urging our Legislature and our Governor to take the appropriate steps as soon as possible to resolve this budget crisis.”
Wells Fargo is the oldest and largest financial institution headquartered in California, where it has more than 50,900 team members, $138 billion in deposits in 1,161 banking stores, 291 mortgage stores, 23 commercial banking offices and 97 consumer finance stores.
Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with $1.3 trillion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance through more than 10,400 stores, over 12,000 ATMs and the internet (wellsfargo.com) across North America and internationally.
Bilibala's comments
Got to read 2q09 results to determine whether Wells' balance sheet is improving or getting worse. Californians is one of the state the house price fall the most and unemployment up a lot.
Rogers' acquisition
TORONTO, July 2 /CNW/ - Rogers Publishing Limited announced today that ithas acquired the assets of Employee Benefit News Canada from SourceMedia in atransaction that closed June 30th, 2009.
Rogers Publishing is Canada's leading publisher for the financialservices industry and already publishes Benefits Canada, Avantages and WorkingWell, titles written for executive and specialist management responsible forthe provision of pension and benefit plans at large Canadian employers.
Employee Benefit News Canada also targets the human resources and benefitsdecision-makers with Canadian benefit responsibilities.
New York-based SourceMedia is a leading provider of authoritativeinformation, analysis and insight for the financial services, investment,insurance, accounting and related technology industries. "This is a natural fit for us at Benefits Canada and an excitingexpansion of our portfolio," says John Milne, Senior Vice-President, Business& Professional Publishing Group. "The benefits and pension industry isevolving and we are well-positioned to evolve along side it. This acquisitionwill help us broaden our scope and better serve readers with responsibilitiesacross North America."
To meet the challenging information needs of this key audience, RogersPublishing is re-positioning Employee Benefit News Canada as a cross-borderedition of Benefits Canada. Beginning this fall, it will be published sixtimes per year and mailed separately to decision-makers in both Canada andUnited States.
This new edition will have a unique look and feel and willprovide decision-makers who have cross-border responsibilities with unique,relevant and timely content. "As the North American economy becomes increasingly integrated, benefitand pension professionals are being called on to make strategic decisions ontheir plans for both Canada and the United States," says Milne. "We at RogersPublishing have already built the industry relationships required to servethis audience. Now, we are extending our reach and our expertise."
In addition, Rogers Publishing acquires the Canadian Benefits Summit andlooks forward to hosting the 3rd annual event next spring. This is a premiereducational and networking event for benefit directors, human resourceexecutives, pension managers and financial officers attended by hundred ofprofessionals each year to learn abut the latest trends and technologiesshaping the benefits industry.
Please visit http://www.benefitscanada.com/.
Bilibala's comments:
Need to read more information about the acquisition before i can put any comments.
Rogers Publishing is Canada's leading publisher for the financialservices industry and already publishes Benefits Canada, Avantages and WorkingWell, titles written for executive and specialist management responsible forthe provision of pension and benefit plans at large Canadian employers.
Employee Benefit News Canada also targets the human resources and benefitsdecision-makers with Canadian benefit responsibilities.
New York-based SourceMedia is a leading provider of authoritativeinformation, analysis and insight for the financial services, investment,insurance, accounting and related technology industries. "This is a natural fit for us at Benefits Canada and an excitingexpansion of our portfolio," says John Milne, Senior Vice-President, Business& Professional Publishing Group. "The benefits and pension industry isevolving and we are well-positioned to evolve along side it. This acquisitionwill help us broaden our scope and better serve readers with responsibilitiesacross North America."
To meet the challenging information needs of this key audience, RogersPublishing is re-positioning Employee Benefit News Canada as a cross-borderedition of Benefits Canada. Beginning this fall, it will be published sixtimes per year and mailed separately to decision-makers in both Canada andUnited States.
This new edition will have a unique look and feel and willprovide decision-makers who have cross-border responsibilities with unique,relevant and timely content. "As the North American economy becomes increasingly integrated, benefitand pension professionals are being called on to make strategic decisions ontheir plans for both Canada and the United States," says Milne. "We at RogersPublishing have already built the industry relationships required to servethis audience. Now, we are extending our reach and our expertise."
In addition, Rogers Publishing acquires the Canadian Benefits Summit andlooks forward to hosting the 3rd annual event next spring. This is a premiereducational and networking event for benefit directors, human resourceexecutives, pension managers and financial officers attended by hundred ofprofessionals each year to learn abut the latest trends and technologiesshaping the benefits industry.
Please visit http://www.benefitscanada.com/.
Bilibala's comments:
Need to read more information about the acquisition before i can put any comments.
Jobs report rattles investors
Stocks slump after June employment report. Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all down over 2%.
By Alexandra Twin, CNNMoney.com senior writer
Last Updated: July 2, 2009: 2:04 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Wall Street retreated Thursday, with the major market gauges all off at least 2%, as a worse-than-expected jobs report exacerbated fears that the recession could drag on longer than has been thought.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 175 points, or 2.1%, with 2 hours left in the session. The S&P 500 (SPX) index lost 21 points, or 2.3%, and the Nasdaq (COMP) fell 44 points, or 2.4%.
Employers cut 467,000 jobs from their payrolls in June, after cutting 322,000 jobs in May, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That made June the first month in four in which job losses rose from the previous month. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected 365,000 job losses.
The unemployment rate, generated by a separate survey, rose to 9.5% from 9.4%, short of forecasts for an increase to 9.6%.
"The report was terrible," said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at Maria Fiorini Ramirez Inc."It's telling us that there is a lot more pain than people realize that we are going to have to get through before there can be a recovery."
Bilibala comments
job pos cut more than my expect, but unemployment rate up lesser than my expect. This is not a good signal for a recover. Most of the "out of expected" fall claim from business and government. Got to see the July data in order to form a trend analysis and direction of the economy.
By Alexandra Twin, CNNMoney.com senior writer
Last Updated: July 2, 2009: 2:04 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Wall Street retreated Thursday, with the major market gauges all off at least 2%, as a worse-than-expected jobs report exacerbated fears that the recession could drag on longer than has been thought.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 175 points, or 2.1%, with 2 hours left in the session. The S&P 500 (SPX) index lost 21 points, or 2.3%, and the Nasdaq (COMP) fell 44 points, or 2.4%.
Employers cut 467,000 jobs from their payrolls in June, after cutting 322,000 jobs in May, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That made June the first month in four in which job losses rose from the previous month. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected 365,000 job losses.
The unemployment rate, generated by a separate survey, rose to 9.5% from 9.4%, short of forecasts for an increase to 9.6%.
"The report was terrible," said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at Maria Fiorini Ramirez Inc."It's telling us that there is a lot more pain than people realize that we are going to have to get through before there can be a recovery."
Bilibala comments
job pos cut more than my expect, but unemployment rate up lesser than my expect. This is not a good signal for a recover. Most of the "out of expected" fall claim from business and government. Got to see the July data in order to form a trend analysis and direction of the economy.
Google growth in China
. (Nasdaq: GOOG Quote Chart News PowerRating) maintained a brisk growth in sales and market share in China in the second quarter of 2009, in spite of a pornography dissemination-laced incident.
Google's advertising revenue in the country grow nearly 25% in the April-June period, boosting its local operating revenue up 45%-50% in the first half of the year, said one of the regional agents for Google China.
The US company is expected to see its share of the Chinese online search edge up 3% roughly in the January-June period, predicted an Internet traffic data provider, noting that Google China's traffic posed a dramatic growth when it was blamed for disseminating pornographic contents.
Google China, on the other hand, declined to give the detailed statistics. It managed to bring its share of the Chinese Internet search market to more than 30% for the first time in the first quarter of the year.
Source: www.163.com (July 02, 2009)
Bilibala's comment:
That is better than my expect, let's see whether that is the case when the 2Q earning release.
Google's advertising revenue in the country grow nearly 25% in the April-June period, boosting its local operating revenue up 45%-50% in the first half of the year, said one of the regional agents for Google China.
The US company is expected to see its share of the Chinese online search edge up 3% roughly in the January-June period, predicted an Internet traffic data provider, noting that Google China's traffic posed a dramatic growth when it was blamed for disseminating pornographic contents.
Google China, on the other hand, declined to give the detailed statistics. It managed to bring its share of the Chinese Internet search market to more than 30% for the first time in the first quarter of the year.
Source: www.163.com (July 02, 2009)
Bilibala's comment:
That is better than my expect, let's see whether that is the case when the 2Q earning release.
7.01.2009
5 reason to sell Google?
07/01/09 - 09:16 AM EDT
(Bilibala's comments in purple)
Google (GOOG Quote) CFO Pat Pichette told investors at a Credit Suisse tech conference June 9 that the company is working on "big, complicated problems, building solutions for decades."
The message, while grand, didn't exactly answer a more immediate question among shareholders: How is Google going to get business growing again?
=> I agree. All investors ask the same question, not just to Google, but all corporation that mature to certain size will have challenge in continue growth.
Search volume has slumped. For years, the number of searches has grown dramatically. Now, it's flat. As more and more information being posted on the interest, it become more and more important to "Google" the accurate and matching information, the growth will continue. New users are drying up. Now that everyone "Googles," where are the new searchers coming from? Similar as above
Market share is flat. Google has 65% of the search business, says comScore, but that hasn't varied much in the past three quarters. That's right!! On the other hand, Youtube is starting to make $$, mobile search (with the powerful bargaining deal search feature), and power saving plan will help Google to generate new revenue in future.
The recession has curbed international growth. I don't think so, recession means 1) more people need to search info for fun or for job, 2) corporation will cut traditional adv and turn to online adv
Ad pricing has stopped increasing. That's true, but less is more.
=> I like Bing's video search feature (provide sounds when my pointer point onto one clip) and its historical search record on the side. But in terms of search, it still has a long way to improve. I can't search as many info as Google does.
Not only does Google need to defend its stagnant search business, but it also needs to find a new growth plan.
Scott Moritz (Bilibala's comments in purple)
Google (GOOG Quote) CFO Pat Pichette told investors at a Credit Suisse tech conference June 9 that the company is working on "big, complicated problems, building solutions for decades."
The message, while grand, didn't exactly answer a more immediate question among shareholders: How is Google going to get business growing again?
=> I agree. All investors ask the same question, not just to Google, but all corporation that mature to certain size will have challenge in continue growth.
The recession stalled the Internet search industry and handed Google its first ever sequential sales decline last quarter. The cool-down ended a long, prosperous run for the search shop, and it may mark the end of the era of Google's ever-expanding dominance.
=> Sorry, the 3% decline in revenue from 4q08 to 1q09 is mainly due to US dollar drop, if currency neutral, the revenue is in fact 2.2% higher than 4q08.
=> I don't understand why as an analyst will give misleading advise based on misleading info.
That doesn't mean Google won't continue to have the biggest tent in the Internet advertising show, nor will it soon start dismantling its vast Web works. But Google's greatest growth sources are sputtering, and other ventures aren't picking up the slack.
Five reasons to sell Google:
Google booked $21.8 billion in revenue last year, and 97% of that came from Internet ads. Google has mastered the art and science of search ads. It gets paid a portion of money when users click on one of its advertisers' ads, and it also gets paid by the number of impressions or number of times it places ads on Web sites.
Search ads are a wonderful trick, but it's still only one trick, and Google has not had any breakthrough success in other areas beyond search. YouTube, for example, continues to be a popular service and Google still hasn't found a way to make money from it. By some estimates, Google loses between $200 million to $500 million a year on the video site.
=> I agree, if we ignore those future market potential. Whether those business will make $$ or not, will create uncertainty on the company's future growth.
Google's smartphone software venture Android has enormous potential, that potential is still much bigger than the current Android reality.
Earlier this year, Google took aim at Netflix (NFLX Quote) and online video outfits like Hulu by adding a premium video offering called Google Shows. The programs and movies have brief ads, but the service hasn't really caught on.Also this year, Google introduced an Internet calling service dubbed Google Voice, a cheap phone offering to rival eBay's Skype and other voice-over-the-net shops like Vonage (VG Quote). The service threatened to further erode the landline business at telcos like Verizon (VZ Quote) and AT&T (T Quote) and curb the growth of calling services at cable shops like Comcast (CMCSA Quote), Time Warner Cable (TWC Quote) and Cablevision (CVC Quote).
So far, however, Google Voice's success has been modest at best.
Meanwhile, No. 2 Internet shop Yahoo! (YHOO Quote) has been holding steady on search as new chief Carol Bartz puts her imprint on the company's structure and business focus. Yahoo! has 20% of the search market, a remarkably resilient share considering the year-long turmoil at the company as it fended off a hostile Microsoft (MSFT Quote) takeover.
Bartz has vowed to improve Yahoo!'s Web sites like its homepage, sports and finance, to help foster user growth, and she's said she wants to use search to help tailor display ads to user interests. Google, on the other hand, has its own display ad business -- basically the DoubleClick outfit it bought last year -- but it has yet to pay off.
And, not to be left out, Microsoft introduced its third effort at search this month. The site, called Bing, has attracted curious users and even gained fans who seem to be eager to find alternatives to Google.=> I like Bing's video search feature (provide sounds when my pointer point onto one clip) and its historical search record on the side. But in terms of search, it still has a long way to improve. I can't search as many info as Google does.
Not only does Google need to defend its stagnant search business, but it also needs to find a new growth plan.
But don't expect the company to tap its $17.8 billion bank account. As CEO Eric Schmidt told analysts on the company's first-quarter earnings call: "Cash is not burning a hole in our pocket."
=> I like Google's improvement in cost management after they hired the new CFO from Bell Canada. That should generate 5-10% growth in EPS from the coming 2 years.
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