(Image Source: Venture Beat)

(Image source: CNBC)

BY EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR JIM FLINK

The wheels fell off Facebook’s IPO, and now the official fallout is on its way. Subpoenas and class action suits have already started flying, and there are rumblings of an SEC investigation.

CNET quotes SEC chairman Mary Schapiro, who says the commission needs to “look at” how the market handled Facebook.

“I think there is a lot of reason to have confidence in our markets and in the integrity of how they operate, but there are issues that we need to look at specifically with respect to Facebook.”

But MarketWatch columnist David Weidner wonders how much good it will do.

“I don’t know if it changes anything at this point. There were problems with the Google IPO, many, many years ago. In the outcome of that, nothing really happened.”

The news broke Tuesday that a Morgan Stanley analyst cut his outlook on Facebook just days before the company went public. Bloomberg reports Massachusetts wants some answers.

“The state of Massachusetts, for one, has subpoenaed the bank over claims an analyst shared negative news about Facebook with institutional investors ahead of the IPO.” 

PC Magazine reports via Reuters — Massachusetts regulators want to know why analysts shared sour earnings guidance with some investors, but not others. This selective disclosure meant bigger institutional investors had better information to base their trades on — and, critics say, an unfair advantage.

Meanwhile, CNBC reports an investor plans to sue the Nasdaq for negligence.

“Phillip Goldberg, a Maryland resident, is seeking class-action status on behalf of all investors who lost money because Nasdaq delayed or otherwise mishandled their buy, sell or cancellation orders for Facebook stock on May 18.”

A hedge fund manager spoke to Business Insider on condition of anonymity. He says he’s heard of the plans for a suit.

“The question is will NASDAQ do the right thing. They made $400 million last year and could pay out some. There's so much exposure and so much press on this and finger pointing, if they turn around and say they screwed up but they don't care that's a pretty big deal…”

Facebook, meanwhile, closed its third day of public trading at $31 a share.

(Image source: Flickr/deneyterrio)

BY CHRISTINA HARTMAN

It’s not just bleeding — it’s hemorrhaging in the business press over the downward slide of Facebook’s shares.

ITV: “Facebook have continued their slide down by nearly 9% today.”

Fox Business: “This is a textbook case of a broken IPO. … FB should be FK for falling knife.”

Sky News: “...has now sunk by more than 18 percent in just three days of trading.”

Reporters and analysts have been scrambling to piece together just what happened with the pricing of Facebook’s initial public offering.

Al Jazeera: “Morgan Stanley is being investigated over claims it informed some investors that the revenue estimates for the social network had been cut before Facebook’s IPO last week.”

CBS: “...an analyst reportedly Scott Dewitt, sent out a cautionary note that Facebook's outlook was weakening but only to a select group of the bank's top clients.”

Morgan Stanley — the lead underwriter on the deal —  says it followed all the same procedures it does for all IPOS. But Reuters reports the bank told clients its internet analyst had lowered his revenue forecasts for the company. On top of that — Business Insider reports — albeit acknowledging the information is unconfirmed — that Facebook itself downgraded its own prospects.

“...we have now heard from one source that … one of the underwriter’s analysts has said he was told by a Facebook financial executive to cut his estimates.”
Leading the Insider’s Henry Blodgett to conclude...
“In one of the biggest IPOs in history, in which a huge amount of stock was sold to small investors, privileged Wall Street insiders once again got top-notch information...and individuals got the shaft.”

Still others blame Morgan Stanley for botching the IPO, and allege it sold the public too many shares. Meanwhile though, Bloomberg’s Jonathan Weil has had enough of what he calls Facebook’s “whiny” investors.

“Nobody forced anyone to buy Facebook shares. Blaming the company’s underwriters for the stock’s plunge is like losing money at a casino and then waiting until afterward to complain about the house's odds.”

Still — allegations the banks shared information with some and not all investors could put the IPO under regulatory scrutiny. Both the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority are considering looking into Facebook’s process.

 

(Image Source: Cowan Global)

BY JIM FLINK

ANCHOR CHRISTINA HARTMAN

The global economy is gradually recovering.  

But the eurozone is in crisis, and could face even more trouble.
That’s the word from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

 

“The euro area remains the single biggest risk to the global economy and recent events have increased that risk. ... There must be a major rebalancing. ... Everyone must do something.”

Specifically, the OECD says, the South must get more competitive, the north must boost demand and wages.  Euronews focuses in on the forecast.

“The OECD forecasts the eurozone’s economy will shrink by .1 percent this year, and grow by just under one percent by next year, with unemployment in the region rising above 11 percent of the workforce next year.”

Believe it or not, the OECD is delivering the good news.
The Daily Mail notes:

“The OECD's forecast is still more optimistic about both the U.S. and Europe than the International Monetary Fund.  Last month the IMF said in its own global economic forecast that the U.S. should expand 2.1 per cent this year, while Europe should shrink 0.3 per cent.”

Wednesday, European leaders will meet to discuss how to address the crisis.
Some see both the OECD and the IMF supporting a eurobond, to stabilize the region.
Analysts at the Wall Street Journal note, neither the eurozone nor the German constitution currently allow for the measure.

“The thing that people are looking for right now are more along the lines of shorter term fixes, shorter term solutions, bank recapitalization, one of foremost of what is in people’s minds to try and restore confidence in Europe....”

But an advisor to German Chancellor Angela Merkel notes, with so many divergent positions within the eurozone, politically speaking, this crisis will either be solved or created by cooperation or the failure to cooperate. Here’s Bloomberg.

“Austerity is certainly needed, if you are in a public deficit. But it depends on the degree ... Once you are in recession, if you try to continue to raise taxes and reduce expenditures, the recession gets worse.”
 

(Image source: Motorola)

BY MATTHEW PICHT

ANCHOR JIM FLINK

Software giant, meet hardware titan.

After a lengthy wait, Google has finally acquired Motorola Mobility in a $12.5 billion merger. The deal, which was announced last August, closed Tuesday after approval from Chinese regulatory agencies over the weekend. CNET reports, Google is promising to keep Motorola’s operations independent.

“However, according to reports, China was not so convinced of that, and forced Google to agree to keep Android open and free for a period of five years to ensure it didn't change its stance and give Motorola preferential treatment.”

So what is Google getting for its money? Well, protecting the Android is one major reason behind the merger. Bloomberg’s Betty Liu notes Motorola’s established stake in mobile hardware will bolster Google’s mobile operating system.

“It gives Google more firepower in its competition with Apple and the iPhone, and also gives them about 17,000 patents, which it can use against its competitors.”

But smartphones aren’t the only possible beneficiary. ComputerWorld reports, Google might be looking to enter the home entertainment market, another area where Motorola’s established hardware sector will come in handy.

“With Motorola, Google may be better able to push its way into the home entertainment market with its Google TV platform. In addition to being a world-renowned smartphone maker, Motorola also is a major player in the home set-top box sector.”

Now that the deal is formally closed, ZDNet says Google has a lot of work ahead of it.

Among other post-merger tasks, Google will need to reassure other Android partners like HTC and Samsung that Motorola products won’t receive preferential treatment. Google will also have to decide the future of Motorola’s struggling manufacturing arm. Rumor has it that massive layoffs might be in the near future.

As part of the acquisition, Motorola’s CEO Sanjay Jha, has stepped down. Replacing him is Google veteran Dennis Woodside. In a company blog post, Google CEO Larry Page says, this merger creates a synergy in mobile space, calling it a “great time” to be in the business.

“Many users coming online today may never use a desktop machine, and the impact of that transition will be profound--as will the ability to just tap and pay with your phone.”

As for the future of Motorola, Woodside has said that the company will focus on “fewer, bigger bets.” Beyond that, we can only speculate what Google has in store for the company.

(Image source: Technorati)

BY EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR LAUREN GORES

It wasn’t the perfect arrival investors wanted for Facebook. After its second full day of trading, the social network is languishing below its IPO price. Bloomberg has the details.

“It just speaks to the fragility of the initial public offering system. A hot IPO had all kinds of technical issues coming out. Its underwriters tried to support the issue through close of trading on Friday, discovered that was a very expensive proposition…”

The New York Times reports a series of hitches accompanied Facebook’s debut.

“A systems error at the Nasdaq, where shares of Facebook are listed, hampered trading in the first few hours. With the company hovering around its offering price of $38 a share, Morgan Stanley had to step in to help stabilize the price.”

Venture Beat explains — thanks to that systems glitch, the Nasdaq’s computers couldn’t keep up with the actual stock price.

“The computer system backup led to traders not [knowing] if their orders went through for hours and many times, they found out too late that shares weren’t available at the price they wanted.”

But it wasn’t just computers making things difficult, according to CNET. Facebook made a last-minute call to boost its IPO range, and offered more shares.

“… it was to accommodate inside investors looking to take advantage of the higher range and dump more stock. It's not a good sign when the smart investors with the company from the beginning increase the number of shares they want to sell before it goes public.”

The move may have put those insiders in the black, but the Wall Street Journal says the market paid the price.

“It seems there was too many shares out there in the market, and there wasn’t enough demand to meet the supply of shares out there. ... You could just see it by watching the chart that Morgan Stanley and the other underwriters were in there — they were propping up the stock.”

But the biggest trouble might have been kept out of the spotlight. Reuters reports analysts from three different underwriters, including Morgan Stanley, cut their earnings forecasts for Facebook just days before the company went public.

Business Insider says that’s bad news.

“…the fact that these analysts suddenly all cut their earnings forecasts at the same time, during the roadshow, and then this information was not passed on to the broader public, is a huge problem. What's more, it's likely that news of these estimate cuts dampened interest in the IPO among those who heard about them.”

Business Insider wonders if the SEC will have anything to say about this selective disclosure.
In the meantime, the Nasdaq says it will earmark at least $13 million to compensate investors who got burned by the exchange’s technical issues.
 

(Image source: ABC)

BY STEVEN SPARKMAN
ANCHOR CHRISTINA HARTMAN

Here’s a look at your top news headlines from Newsy.

The ex-Rutgers student convicted in March over spying on his roommate’s homosexual encounter has been sentenced to 30-days in prison. Dharun Ravi faced a possible sentence of up to 10 years in prison. A Fox News analyst says the light sentence will likely spare Ravi from deportation.

“I believe to be eligible for the deportation, he would have had to be sentenced to a minimum of one year. As I understand it, because that did not happen, deportation now is probably not an issue.”

World leaders at the NATO summit have approved a missile defense shield in Europe, despite condemnation by Russia. Democracy Now! has the details.

“The plan will deploy a U.S. warship armed with interceptors in the Mediterranean, as well as a radar system in a German base.”

Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for today’s deadly bombing in Yemen. While the terror organization has battled the government before, a BBC analyst says it’s unusual for anything like this to happen in the capital.

“Most of the violence this year in Yemen has taken place in the South. … This was meant as a big message to Yemen’s rulers.”

After a less-than-stellar IPO on Friday, Facebook shares continue to tumble. A CNN analyst gives some of the numbers from midday Monday.

“Facebook shares are getting hammered, right now trading down more than nine percent below their IPO price of $38. Shares are at about $35. So much for all the hype, right?”

Stay with Newsy for more multisource video news throughout the day. For Newsy, I’m Christina Hartman, highlighting the top headlines making you smarter, faster.

(Image source: The New York Times)

BY EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR JIM FLINK

The makeover over at Yahoo! is still a work in progress. Monday, the company announced it was selling off a portion of its stake in Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group.

According to its press release, Yahoo plans to sell half of its 40 percent stake in Alibaba. The deal will net Yahoo about $7.1 billion dollars, mostly in cash, and will value Alibaba at $35 billion.

The Wall Street Journal expects a lot of Yahoo!’s proceeds will go straight back to its shareholders.

“There's a fair bit of pressure just to give investors better returns. Selling off some of this stake allows them to do a large share buyback. We're expecting maybe on the order of $5 billion."

The deal allows Yahoo! to make more and different investments in China. But The Next Web doesn’t think it’s likely.

“With Yahoo reportedly keen to also offload its stake in Yahoo Japan - its joint venture with operator Softbank - the prospect of further investment in Asia is unlikely and would appear to go against its restructuring."

VentureBeat says, what the cash infusion will do is help give Yahoo! some much-needed momentum.

“Yahoo seriously needs cash to help it come up with new direction and new products, especially in light of the company losing CEO Scott Thompson recently in an embarrassing resume-padding scandal.”

Alibaba, for its part, has indicated it may expand in the near future. Bloomberg reports.

“The deal values Alibaba at $35 billion, and now Alibaba chief executive officer Jack Ma is considering an IPO for his company in the next few years.”

And PC World says since Yahoo! will still have a stake in Alibaba, it would benefit from such a move.

“The agreement also allows Yahoo to cash in on its remaining stake, once Alibaba decides to go public in the future. Alibaba will be required to buy one quarter of Yahoo's current stake at the initial public offering price, or allow Yahoo to sell off those shares.”

Yahoo could then sell off its remaining stake, if it so chose — and per this agreement, Alibaba would provide marketing support for that sale.

(Image Source: VentureBeat)

BY AUSTIN ALONZO

ANCHOR LAUREN ZIMA 

After a chaotic IPO, Facebook’s much-hyped stock fell flat of expectations, earning only 28 cents at the close of trading on Friday.
 

The stock rose in value by 10 percent to $42 per share within minutes of opening as investors overwhelmed the NASDAQ with trades, but by end of the day Facebook’s underwriters had to step in to keep the stock above the IPO price of 38 dollars.
 

The Wall Street Journal explains...
 

“Morgan Stanley … had to dip into an emergency reserve of around 63 million Facebook shares — worth more than $2.3 billion at the offer price — to boost the price ... In successful IPOs, the reserve … is used by underwriters to meet soaring demand but in this case, it was used to prop up Facebook's ailing share price.”
 

Both retail and institutional investors rushed in to buy the stock, but experts weren’t impressed. CBS News spoke with an economist who said the stock fell on its face …
 

“The average first day is about a 15 percent gain over-all … so we have basically a nothing percent gain. So they unveiled the next great starlet of the tech world and she fell on the red carpet.”
 

Despite a mixed reception, Facebook aims to raise around $18 billion on its IPO shares. But the BBC reiterates -- there are doubts the $104 billion company can turn its users into revenue.

“It’s very early days in developing this business model. The company is still rolling out new ways for advertisers to reach those 900 million users.” 

Facebook has faced tough questions about whether its advertising is effective. The Christian Science Monitor reports revenues are shrinking, especially on mobile devices.

“GM decided to pull a $10 million ad buy. And with revenue growth slowing, Facebook has also struggled in the mobile space, which will become, according to Zuckerberg, its prime goal this year.”

Investors and interested parties can look forward to this summer when Facebook releases their post IPO financials in their first quarterly earnings report.

(Image Source: nikecraft.com)

BY JOE DEUTSCHMANN

Nike’s Air Jordans let you be “like Mike.” Now, Nike is teaming up with artist Tom Sachs - known for his sharp criticism of major apparel brands - to give you the chance to be like an astronaut with its new NikeCraft collection. CNET has the story.

“Nike has launched NikeCraft, a sportswear line of items made from bizarre materials to help you survive a mission to space, such as the Mars Yard Shoe. It’s a sneaker made from the same material used in the airbags of the Mars Rover.”

The collection is part Sachs’ art exhibit “Space Program: Mars.”

Bloomberg reports Sachs is famous for works like “Chanel Guillotine,” which depicts a guillotine plastered with Chanel labels. Sachs has long been a critic of brand worship and consumer culture.

So why is Sachs teaming up with such a huge consumer brand? The New York Times explains it’s partly so Sachs can get his hands on Nike’s high-grade materials, and partly because Nike CEO Mark Parker challenged him.

“They spent hours talking about the merits of individual handcraft versus factory production. Mr. Sachs was interested in technical materials used for NASA and the military, but also in notions like durability and reuse … At one point, Mr. Parker told him, ‘If you think you can do better, why don’t you try.’”

A writer for Fast Company says NikeCraft is the latest example of artists using consumer culture to criticize....well, consumer culture.

“NIKEcraft might be proof of the increasingly ambiguous relationship between the art world and corporate interests. … In a way, the NIKEcraft line is a functioning Sachs piece, encouraging us to participate in his ritual recreation, courtesy of a corporate sponsor who’s in on the joke.”

According to The New York Times, NikeCraft items will be sold in boutiques in cities like L.A. and Berlin. They will range in price from $385 for the shoes to $700 for a tote bag.

(Image source: The Sun)

BY CHRISTINA HARTMAN

In world news, a teenager in southern Italy is dead after a bomb exploded in front of a girl’s school. ITV has more details.

“Six others were wounded in the explosion which happened in Brindisi. Police are investigating reports that two devices were hidden in bags outside the school.”

Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng is heading to the United States after what international observers are calling a face-saving move by the Chinese government.

“He spent six days in the US Embassy after escaping from house arrest, sparking a diplomatic row between the two countries. … He says he plans was studying law in New York City and he does not know what the future will hold, he will find out when he and his family get to America.”

G8 leaders are meeting at Camp David to discuss — among other topics — the eurozone crisis. Al Jazeera reports — protesters are expected to come out in force, but leaders aren’t likely to be distracted.

“They’re facing questions about Greece possibly exiting the euro. They were quick to say that’s not going to happen.”
JOSE MANUEL BARROSO, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: “We never comment on Plan B. We’re working on Plan A.”

And it was supposed to be a historic launch to the International Space Station — but SpaceX was forced to cancel after computers found an anomaly in one of the rocket’s engines. CNN has video of NASA’s press conference shortly after the failed launch.

“We're looking at the additional launch opportunities this 22nd looks good, that was pre-planned. The 23rd looks like it's a good date from the trajectory.”

 

(Image source: CNET)

BY EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR JIM FLINK

Facebook has a lot to like Friday morning. At long last, the social network has debuted on the public market.

Facebook ended up distributing more than 421 million shares, priced at $38 per share — the high end of the expected range. It will begin trading today on the Nasdaq under the two-character ticker symbol FB.

The IPO raised $16 billion Thursday, and valued Facebook at $104 billion. The New York Times reports it’s the third largest IPO in U.S. history.

“Investors now consider Facebook more stalwart than start-up. At $104 billion, the social network’s market value is higher than those of McDonald’s, Citigroup, Amazon and all but a handful of other American companies.”

And analyst Art Hogan tells The Wall Street Journal, until trading gets moving today and in subsequent sessions, it’s impossible to tell if that market value will go higher.

“Remember back when Google came, and we all said ‘this is crazy?’…We’re in the same situation with FB. We could sit back and say ‘this multiple’s crazy’ but we don’t know how big this gets, or if they continue to grow.”

Bloomberg says investors snapped up everything they could. Facebook was oversubscribed — and that’s good news for the company, at least in the short term.

“You’re left with this wondering of whether or not Facebook’s not only worth $104 billion based on the market here — pricing — but whether it’s going to be worth more than Oracle or Intel by this afternoon.”

Will that translate into sustainable, long-term gains? David Williams tells CNBC — yes, as long as Facebook can nail mobile advertising. That’s its next big revenue source.

“Some sort of growth rate will start to pick up again…At a $100 billion valuation, people are assuming that revenues are going to go up a good 50-100 percent a year for the next few years.”

But as TechCrunch points out, Facebook must now walk the tightrope all public companies do — between shareholders and everyday users.

“If it refuses to explore new business models, its share price could sink. But if it strays too far in favor of making money, Facebook could lose its addictiveness and the faith of its users.”

Facebook says the IPO will run through May 22.

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

BY MATTHEW PICHT

ANCHOR LAUREN GORES

While some investors are clamoring for a share of Facebook stock, billionaire Warren Buffett has a different plan. The investment mogul is proud of his days as a paperboy; now, it seems he’s returning to his roots. He just made a purchase that’s sure to grab headlines.

“Warren Buffett is continuing his newspaper buying spree. A unit of Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway firm has offered to buy 63 newspapers from Media General.”

Buffett’s paper grab comes with a $142 million price tag. It includes all of the newspapers owned by Media General except the Tampa Tribune.

The chairman of Media General, J. Stewart Bryan III, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch he was sorry to sell the papers, but he’s glad Buffett’s the one buying them. He adds that if not for the buyout, Media General might have had to file for bankruptcy protection. It’s an alternative he calls “unacceptable”.

By and large, the deal has been well received by local media outlets, who are thrilled by what they see as a vote of confidence from the billionaire.

“It’s very encouraging, to hear the things that he says about community newspapers, the faith that he has in community newspapers, and his knowledge that we are a viable institution.”

But Buffett hasn’t always been this positive about print journalism. The Wall Street Journal notes that in 2009, Buffett’s vision for the future of newspapers was pretty bleak.

“‘For most newspapers in the United states, we would not buy them at any price,’ he said that year in response to a question about whether he would consider investing in newspapers. ‘They have the possibility of going to just unending losses.’”

So what changed? Well, look at which papers Buffett is buying. Media General’s papers are local weeklies and dailies with a strong focus on community--and the Washington Post says that type of paper is doing just fine.

“While the big regional and national newspapers have elevated the crisis of newspapering to a countrywide obsession...small weeklies and dailies have been plodding along. Not printing money, mind you, but making a living....Slow, steady, unspectacular gains: Sounds a lot like a Buffett investment.”

As part of the deal, Berkshire Hathaway will also loan $400 million to relieve Media General of its debt problems.

(Image source: WREG)

BY NATHAN BYRNE  

Here’s a look at your top news headlines from Newsy.

An alleged police impersonator is under arrest in Mississippi.

(Image source: The Atlantic Wire)

BY MALLORY PERRYMAN

A virtual bulletin board worth more than a billion big ones. Social networking startup Pinterest has raised $100 million in a financing round that values that scrapbooking site at $1.5 billion. Here’s KNTV.

“Pinterest, just down the street from Facebook, has raised $100 million worth of private investment this morning, mostly from a Japanese investor.”

That investor — Rakuten — is the largest e-commerce site in Japan. All Things D reports...

“It’s interesting that the latest round was not led by an institutional investor, since everyone and their mother wanted in on the deal.”

So what is Rakuten? And why does it want a piece of Pinterest? Business Insider explains — the Japanese e-commerce giant is trying to crack into the U.S. market. 

The company recently picked up Buy.com for $250 million, and may use Pinterest to try and drive traffic to the site. If that doesn’t pan out...

“...Rakuten can make money from Pinterest through Linkshare, which ... it owns. Linkshare sends traffic to retailers sites and gets a commission for each sale. If Pinterest does a deep integration with Linkshare, Rakuten will make lots of money.”

But as of right now — Pinterest isn’t actually making any money. A blogger for The New York Times says, that’s OK.... for now. 

“Whether Pinterest can generate revenue remains to be seen. Still, with a healthy round of new funding, the company has bought itself time to explore all its options for turning millions of ‘pinned’ photographs from around the Web into real money.”

According to The Financial Times — in March — Pinterest had about 19 million users. 

(Image source: U.S. Census Bureau)

BY NATHAN BYRNE  

Here’s a look at your top news headlines from Newsy.

New data from the United States Census Bureau shows minority births outnumbered white births for the first time in 2011.

(Image source: CNET)

BY NATHAN BYRNE

ANCHOR ZACH TOOMBS  

Here’s a look at your top news headlines from Newsy.

Facebook says demand is driving the company to offer 25 percent more shares in its IPO Friday.

(Image source: New York Daily News)

BY MATTHEW PICHT

ANCHOR LAUREN GORES

Good news for the housing industry--after a five-year bust, the market may finally be on the mend. New economic data suggests, from a builder's perspective, things are looking up. Fox News explains.

“Housing starts in the US rose more than expected last month. They increased by 2.6 percent from March, to an annual rate of 717,000. The estimate was for 680,000.”

Not only are more new houses going up, but builder confidence in the market is also increasing rapidly. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Builder Confidence Index climbed to 29 points this month, up 5 points from April to reach a five-year high.

“This continues to reinforce the notion that consumers are coming back into the marketplace. They’re taking advantage of very low mortgage rates, low house prices.”

While this new data seems to indicate a growing confidence in the market, skeptics caution against reading too much into the numbers. The increase in housing production may not mean much if the corresponding demand doesn’t grow as well.
 

“Doesn't this US positive data account for anything?”
 

“Absolutely not. Look, I’m not trying to be doom and gloom here, but you’d be a fool to buy a home right now. Homebuilders are not doing themselves a favor by building more supply; they’re adding to supply right now.”

And while builder confidence is on the rise, it’s not where it should be. The Wall Street Journal notes ...

“The index has a long way to go before it reaches pre-bust levels. A reading above 50 in the NAHB index would mean that more builders view conditions as good rather than poor. The gauge hasn’t been in positive territory since April 2006.”

The positive news about housing starts offsets a 7 percent drop in April building permits.

(Image Source: Left Lane News)

BY EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR MEGAN MURPHY

No more sponsored stories from Chevy on your Facebook feed. GM has pulled its paid ads citing poor return on investment.

A GM official told the Wall Street Journal the paid Facebook ads were doing little to affect buyer choice concerning new vehicles. And the worry is that GM is only the first of many such withdrawals.

“What’s to stop Ford following suit? If GM’s not doing it, why should Ford do it, and why should Chrysler do it, and why should Toyota, if it doesn’t work? Presumably they all have access to the same data.

Did GM move too quickly? Forbes wonders — if the goal is to promote interest in its brand, why not use tools its target audience will use? Like Facebook.

“GM also is pulling the plug on a way to appeal to younger consumers, too. …a third of Facebook users are between 23 and 35,  according to Pew Internet, an age group that car companies are having more and more trouble attracting.”

But what about other, non-carmaker advertisers? Business Insider says Facebook’s worst-case scenario is a full-on exodus.

“This is Facebook's worst nightmare: If P&G (read: Procter & Gamble) and GM both question why they should pay to be on Facebook, how long before Facebook's other big advertisers—American Express, AT&T, Disney, Verizon—suddenly ask, Hey, where's the return on investment?”

But ReadWriteWeb says this is no reason for Facebook — or anyone else — to panic.

“…the loss of one big advertiser is not enough to upend a company that could be worth more than $100 billion by this time next week. More importantly, the automaker is depriving Facebook of only $10 million in direct advertising buys; it will continue to spend about $30 million annually on Facebook content…”

Ars Technica quotes an analyst, who says the timing as it relates to Facebook’s IPO is happenstance.

"It would be naive to panic about GM's decision to pull out of Facebook advertising. If any investor sees this as a bad omen, it means they did not do their homework."

That IPO is set for Friday. In the meantime, GM will maintain a lot of presence on the site — including its free profile page.

(Image source: ZDNet)

BY EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR EMILY ALLEN

The dreaded OS upgrade lag on Android devices may soon be a thing of the past. The Wall Street Journal reports Google is changing up partnerships with equipment manufacturers which make its Nexus phones.

Sources say Google will release the latest version of Android to as many as five manufacturers, and sell the resulting flagship phones and tablets directly to consumers through its own store rather than moving phones through carriers.

Under the current business model, there’s usually just one vanilla flagship running the latest OS at a time. Computerworld explains.

“The choice and diversity within the platform are fine; that's an inherent part of the open model. But for users who want the Android that Google designed, who want the guarantee of timely and reliable OS upgrades, and who want a bloatware-free experience, there's typically only one option…”

So, if you follow that line of reasoning, Google increasing control over its Android ecosystem is good news. PocketNow does, and says fragmentation helps no one, least of all consumers.

“That would mark a huge shift in how accessible new Android releases are, and hopefully help avoid some of the issues that have led to so few Android users having access to Ice Cream Sandwich, even this long after the platform debuted.”

GigaOM says the trick is to cut carriers out of the equation. Unlocked phones are typically more expensive than their subsidized brethren, but they can be used anywhere and will likely be more up to date.

“Should Google be able to stimulate demand for unlocked phones and tablets not tied to wireless carriers, it would presumably be able to update those devices in a much more timely fashion than at present, when carrier concerns can hold up new software for weeks or months.”

But IntoMobile says pricey hardware and an unfamiliar OS hobbled Google’s first shot at selling Nexus phones directly. It offered the Nexus One from an online storefront in 2010.

“It recently jumped back into this game by offering an unlocked pentaband Galaxy Nexus for $399 directly from the Play Store. It’s only been on the market for a few weeks, so it’s unclear how well this has done.”

Google plans to have the new Nexus line out by Thanksgiving, running the Android 5.0 OS – codenamed Jelly Bean.

(Image Source: Bloomberg)

BY JOHN O'CONNOR

ANCHOR JIM FLINK

The 1980s was an era when asset-stripping, job-slashing corporate raiders ruled. Guess what -- they’re baaack. Carl Icahn just bought out CVR Energy with a 2.6 billion dollar bid. Bill Ackman and Daniel Loeb have taken control of Canadian Pacific and Yahoo respectively. But unlike the old raider days, Loeb tells CNN he has no intentions of liquidating the company.

“(We are) committed to working with new leadership to unlock Yahoo's significant potential and value."

Bloomberg asks, is this the new face of the corporate raider, more interested in running companies than stripping them?

“So how did the robber barons of yesteryear become the shareholder’s best friend? The answer comes down to a shift in rules, techniques, and investor attitudes. Leveraged buyouts and hostile takeovers have morphed into proxy battles, ad campaigns, and shareholder resolutions.”

Forbes says activist shareholders such as Icahn, Ackman, and Loeb are increasing their efforts to turn around corporations that are otherwise struggling to stay afloat.

“FactSet Research reports hedge funds and others have already initiated 18 takeover campaigns so far this year against companies with market capitalizations greater than $1 billion.  That’s more than they put forth against large corporations in all of 2009.”

Not everyone is on board with these hedge fund driven management techniques.  
An analyst for MSNBC says Daniel Loeb’s role in Yahoo! has hurt the company over the long term.

“...it is not just the management that is in a state of turmoil, it is the board. They are having six board members report, Daniel Loeb and two others coming on. They have had six CEO’s, the first five of which left under cloudy circumstances...."

A blogger for the Houston Chronicle says, while the new corporate raider is far short of being a white knight, the new approach can be good for other investors.  Take Icahn, for instance...

“....as a private equity investor, he still likes to go after undervalued companies and shake them up. These days, Icahn’s targets usually stay public. That means investors who buy alongside the billionaire often make money, which explains today’s rise in Chesapeake shares.”

Forbes notes, the FactSet data shows hedge fund campaigns targeted 47 big companies in 2011.
 

(Image source: The Guardian)

BY STEVEN SPARKMAN

ANCHOR LAUREN GORES

Here’s a look at your top news headlines from Newsy.

In Norway, a man reportedly set himself on fire outside the murder trial of Anders Breivik. The BBC reports the man doused himself with flammable liquid and tried to rush past security.

“The man who police say was seriously injured was stopped as he tried to break through the security fence around the court.”

A JP Morgan shareholders meeting has ended. While chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon faced some heat over the company’s $2 billion loss, Fox Business reports it was a different business practice that drew the most criticism.

“Most of the questions from shareholders and most of the pointed statements … had to do with the way the bank failed to refinance people who might be upside down in their mortgages.”

Just one more complication for the Eurozone crisis. Talks between the German chancellor and the new French president were delayed after Francois Hollande’s plane was struck by lightning. CNN reports.

“We got word that Francois Hollande was on his way to Germany when there was a storm that sort of kicked up and forced his plane back to where it took off from in Paris.”

And President Obama spoke at the National Peace Officers Memorial Service which honors police officers killed in the line of duty. Fox News has the president’s speech.

“The rest of us can never fully understand what you go through, but please know that we hold you in our hearts, not just today but always.”

Stay with Newsy for more multisource video news throughout the day. For Newsy, I’m Lauren Gores, highlighting the top headlines making you smarter, faster.

(Image source: TechnoBuffalo)

BY LAURA JANVIER

ANCHOR LAUREN GORES

Facebook is raising the price at which it plans to sell stock to the public. CNN has the details.  

“That previous target of $28 to $35 dollars for a share, now is up to $34 to $38 dollars. Keep in mind the final pricing is expected to come out Thursday night.”

According to Business Insider raising the price range on a hot deal like this is common--and part of the IPO pricing strategy.

“The underwriters intentionally place a low initial price-range on the company to drum up interest. Then, when the order book is looking strong, they raise the price range to signal that there's a lot of demand for the stock. This then generally whips up even more excitement and orders. Sometimes, the process even gets repeated a couple of times.”

The company's initial price range was expected to raise $11 billion for the company. The Next Web explains how much the company will raise under the new price range.

“At the high end of the $34 – $38 price range, the IPO would see Facebook raise $12.1 billion, assuming a midpoint $36 per-share price. All in all, the company is looking to raise $14.7 billion tops.”

Facebook is set to start trading Friday morning and will trade under the symbol FB.

(Image source: The Guardian)

BY STEVEN SPARKMAN

ANCHOR ALLIE SPILLYARDS

Here’s a look at your top news headlines from Newsy.

British prosecutors announced they will charge former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks and her husband with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. The BBC has the charges.

“Rebekah Brooks, between the 6th of July and the 19th of July, 2011, conspired with Charles Brooks … to conceal material from officers at the Metropolitan Police Service.”

Strong winds pushed one of Arizona’s wildfires toward the community of Crown King, prompting mandatory evacuations. Here’s HLN.

“One of the wildfires in Arizona doubled in size overnight while you were sleeping, forcing hundreds of people from their homes. Now, it’s one of four fires reported just north of Phoenix.”

JP Morgan’s annual shareholders meeting takes place today in Florida. Investors are expected to ask who knew about the company’s $2 billion loss and when. CNN’s Ali Velshi says there are no good answers to that question.

“One is Jamie Dimon knew, in which case it feeds into what everybody thinks about these banks and greed and all of that. And then there’s the one that he said: he didn’t know. And if he didn’t know, that’s scary, too.”

And French president-elect Francois Hollande officially took office this morning. Here’s euronews.

“Socialist Francois Hollande has been officially sworn in as France’s new president during a ceremony at the Elysée Palace in Paris.”

Stay with Newsy for more multisource video news throughout the day. For Newsy, I’m Allie Spillyards, highlighting the top headlines making you smarter, faster.

(Image source: Bloomberg)

BY JIM FLINK

ANCHOR ZACH TOOMBS

Buy -- at any price.

That’s the advice from Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, when broached on the subject of the Facebook IPO.  Here’s the exclusive interview from Bloomberg.

“I would invest in Facebook and I don’t care what the opening price is.  And I would for good reason if I were an investor looking to make money.

Wozniak goes on to compare Mark Zuckerberg as a combination of Steve Jobs and the Woz himself. When Facebook goes public Friday, it’s expected to raise close to $100B.

The ferver is already building for the stock -- expected to be offered between $28 and $35 per share. CNET notes...

“Wozniak may have trouble getting in on the ground floor and will likely have to wait until after the stock hits the market. Reports say that Facebook's IPO is already oversubscribed.” 

Oversubscribed. And -- to some -- overhyped. Value walk says, Facebook is no slam dunk.

“... statements like these are troubling to hear … Facebook is already trading at a large premium ...  There is always the chance that Facebook will be the next Apple, but the odds are against it. For every company like Apple, there are numerous firms, which have failed some point along the way.”

And while Wozniak is confident in the future of Facebook, Chip Chick says, there may be another reason for that.

“Fusion-io, a business dedicated to making flash memory, boasts Wozniak as their chief scientist. Facebook accounts for an incredible 36% of Fusion-io’s revenue, so Wozniak has good reason to make a hefty bet on Facebook – his company probably wouldn’t be relying on them if confidence was lacking.”

The Sacramento Bee talked with another billionaire who takes a more guarded view of Friday’s public offering.

“...multibillionaire Warren Buffett is non-committal on Facebook's pending initial public offering ...CEO Buffett … recently told shareholders in his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. that IPOs are almost always bad investments, due to the overblown hype-to-actual value ratio.”

Buffett -- by the way -- tells the Bee, investors should never buy on news-driven hype.  Rather ask yourself the question, how’s this company going to do 10 years from now?

(Image source: The News & Observer)

BY STEVEN SPARKMAN

ANCHOR LAUREN GORES

Here’s a look at your top news headlines from Newsy.

John Edwards’ lawyers began presenting his defense today on charges of violating campaign finance laws. A Fox News analyst says it’s possible Edwards himself may take the stand.

“Calling your own client to testify always has some risk for the defense, but remember — John Edwards is a skilled trial lawyer … So you may see the defense wanting to use his persuasive skills.”

Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel have agreed to end a weeks-long hunger strike. The prisoners accepted a deal brokered by Egypt. Sky News has some of the terms.

“It’s largely over improving conditions for these prisoners inside the jails — allowing their relatives to see them more often, taking some of them out of long periods of solitary confinement.”

Greece’s political leaders have one last chance to form a government before the country heads to new elections. Euronews reports Greece’s president has been unable to get the pro and anti-austerity camps to see eye to eye.

“Despite warnings Greece could run out of cash unless a new administration is formed, attempts to bridge the gap have so far proved fruitless.”

And while Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg turns 28, his company’s IPO is within sight. But a management firm president tells CNN it’s probably wise to sit out the initial stock frenzy.

(SWV_cnn_:05-:16)
“The mutual funds and the institutional investors are going to be the major ones buying up the stock. So when the stock actually opens, I do believe it’s going to come in probably between 90, maybe even 100 dollars a share when it actually gets released.”

Stay with Newsy for more multisource video news throughout the day. For Newsy, I’m Lauren Gores, highlighting the top headlines making you smarter, faster.

(Image source: DAWN)

BY JIM FLINK

ANCHOR MEGAN MURPHY

More fallout at JP Morgan Chase, as the firm's CIO is out. Ina Drew stepped down Monday, in the wake of the company’s announcement it had lost $2B in bad investments.

CNN has more on the investments she authorized in higher risk, higher-yielding assets, like structured credit, equities and derivatives.

“On the other side of those trades were hedge fund managers, who were gambling.  Now how can Ina Drew be hedging, and hedge fund managers be gambling?  The answer is, they were both gambling.”

Could JP Morgan-Chase CEO Jamie Dimon be next? An analyst tells Bloomberg, these kinds of catastrophic losses should lead to a complete overhaul at Morgan-Chase.

“So I don’t understand why Mr. Dimon can’t stand up and take responsibility for this himself.”
“So, the question is, at what level did the system at JP Morgan fail”

Dimon did take to the airwaves over the weekend, owning up to a massive lapse in judgment on NBC’s Meet The Press. But also saying, the company would be fine in the long run.

“I do want to put it into perspective, the company is going to earn a lot of money this quarter.  So, it’s a very strong company. We made a terrible, egregious mistake. There was almost no excuse for it.”

But the pro-regulation crowd says banks obviously haven’t learned from the financial crisis of 2008, still playing the same bad bets that nearly brought down the world economy.

Elizabeth Warren appeared on CBS’s morning show to make her case.

“What happened here is not just about JP Morgan Chase, it’s about the kind of attitude that the banks should be regulating themselves rather than have real regulatory overisght.

And Charlie Gasparino writes in The New York Post, regulation isn’t enough. It’s time to break up the banks.

“... for all Dodd-Frank’s mind-numbing rules, it fails to address the fact that regulators can’t catch every screwup ... Dodd-Frank allows these banks to remain large, unmanageable and (in the end) ‘too big to fail,’ which could leave the taxpayers on the line for a bailout that could easily dwarf TARP and the Obama stimulus.”

But the Heritage Foundation’s Foundry blog writes, that assessment is an overreach. This is -- not -- a case for more regulation. It’s a system, with flaws, that works.

“Hedges are often very complex and require an expert to understand. Chase did a bad job of structuring the hedge ...  Mistakes that cause losses are part of capitalism, but they should be handled responsibly by the company that made the error. This is what happened here.”

(Image source: CNN)

BY EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR ALLIE SPILLYARDS

After four months as CEO of Yahoo, Scott Thompson is on his way out.

All Things Digital reports Thompson stepped down from his position on Sunday. Ross Levinsohn will take over as interim CEO, and there’s a boardroom shuffle underway, too.

Thompson’s had a controversial last week at Yahoo. He tried to defend a falsified computer science degree on his resume. Official sources aren’t saying as much, but Business Insider suggests this outcome was inevitable.

“By waiting a week to offer any sort of explanation for the bogus degree on his bio--and then having his explanation immediately and angrily exposed as a lie by the headhunting firm he blamed for the mistake—there was no conceivable way Thompson could have remained as CEO.”

On top of that, sources familiar with the discussion tell the Wall Street Journal, Thompson announced he had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer right as the resume issues came to light.

“I am told that part of the reason why he agreed to step down was because he is ill, and it is a serious illness, as you might imagine.”

A press release by Yahoo doesn’t say exactly why Thompson is leaving, but it does say five directors fast-tracked their plans to step down and left immediately along with him. Dan Loeb and two others from Third Point Capital have joined the board, Fred Amoroso takes over as chairman, while Ross Levinsohn steps in as the new interim CEO.

Forbes says Levinsohn is a much better fit for Yahoo than Thompson was. For starters, he knows how the digital media business works.

“And while Scott Thompson — the now ousted CEO — was famous for saying that he didn’t much understand advertising or media, Levinsohn understands both. And he’s careful not to over promise and under deliver.”

Bloomberg agrees, saying Levinsohn’s experience will help Yahoo get its bearings after the game of musical chairs in the boardroom.

“He is a media guy. He has a long history of digital media. He’s done stints at Fox, HBO, also CBS, and that’s likely the direction he’s going to steer the company in.”

Sources tell All Things Digital Yahoo terminated Thompson’s employment for cause, because of the inaccuracies on his resume. If that’s the case, he won’t get his severance.
 

(Image source: CNN / JP Morgan)

BY STEVEN SPARKMAN

Here’s a look at your top news headlines from Newsy.

Three top executives at JP Morgan are expected to leave the company over their role in the bank’s massive trading loss. CNN reports Ina Drew, the highest-ranking of the trio, is expected to resign as early as Monday.

“She is the bank’s chief investment officer. She ran the risk management division, or she oversaw it at least, that was responsible for the bet that cost the nation’s largest bank $2 billion.”

New Department of Defense rules have gone into effect opening 14,000 combat jobs to women. This overturns a 1994 rule barring women from combat-adjacent jobs, like tank mechanic and radio operator. HLN has more.

“Military officials say as positions open women can apply. There are still more than 200,000 military jobs that are only available to men.”

In Germany, a key regional election handed Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic party their worst defeat in decades. Euronews reports this is a serious blow to Europe’s austerity policies.

“The disastrous results for Merkel leave her vulnerable at a time when a backlash against her insistence on fiscal discipline is building across Europe.”

Ugandan forces have captured a high-ranking commander in Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army. A military spokesperson told Al Jazeera the capture of Caesar Achellam will hopefully encourage more fighters to leave the LRA.

“They say they ambushed him Saturday in the Central African Republic after tracking him for weeks in the jungle.”

Stay with Newsy for more multisource video news throughout the day. For Newsy, I’m Allie Spillyards, highlighting the top headlines making you smarter, faster.

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)

BY STACEY WELSH

ANCHOR ZACH TOOMBS

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says everyone makes mistakes, but this was far too big. Dimon told NBC’s “Meet the Press” the company lost more than $2 billion because it “screwed up” managing its securities portfolio.

“In hindsight we took far too much risk. The strategy we had was barely vetted, it was barely monitored, it should never have happened.”

Dimon also told “Meet the Press” the government should be able to take down banks that are supposedly “too big to fail,” but The Wall Street Journal reports he’s also spoken out against bank regulation.

“Dimon has been particularly critical of the so-called Volcker rule, named after former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, which prohibits banks from trading with their own funds.”

While lawmakers are still working on the final version of the rule, Dimon said he doesn’t think it would have prevented the trades that lead to JPMorgan’s loss. But C-SPAN points out, Dimon has changed his tune when it comes to the derivative trades themselves.

“Dimon said he was dead wrong when he dismissed concerns about the trading last month... He said he made a terrible egregious mistake.”

Dimon expects the firm to earn a lot of money this quarter and says he doesn’t think the loss will be life-threatening. The Los Angeles Times reports.

“Because of his reputation for having managed his bank well, Dimon has had greater credibility than many other Wall Street figures in the debates over financial regulations.”

Despite this, some politicians are questioning Dimon’s management prowess. Bloomberg reports a U.S. Senate candidate called on Dimon to step down as a director of the New York Federal Reserve Bank.

“Dimon should resign from his post at the New York Fed to send a signal to the American people that Wall Street bankers get it, and to show that they understand the need for responsibility and accountability.”

Reuters reports Dimon feels the $2 billion embarrassment hurt his and the firm’s credibility. He is also scheduled to speak about the loss Tuesday at JPMorgan’s annual meeting in Florida.

(Image source: CNN/Yahoo!)

BY NATHAN BYRNE

Here’s a look at your top news headlines from Newsy.

Reports say Yahoo’s CEO will resign after recently claiming innocence over his disputed academic record.

image source: Wired

BY EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR NATHAN BYRNE

There could be even less Google in your next iPhone. 9to5Mac reports Apple will drop Google Maps in favor of an in-house solution with iOS 6.

The blog cites trusted sources, who say Apple’s maps will be faster and more reliable than Google’s. The application will be built on various mapping companies Apple acquired over the last few years, and the overhaul will come complete with a new icon.

All Things Digital independently confirmed the rumors. One source said the new maps will “blow your head off.”

“I’m not quite sure what that means, and the source in question declined to elaborate, but it’s likely a reference to the photorealistic 3-D mapping tech Apple acquired when it purchased C3 Technologies.”

All Things Digital says C3’s mapping tech is based on software originally designed for missile targeting. An airborne array of cameras picks up images from various angles, which are crunched into the 3D images seen in this video from Cult of Mac.

The visual polish is a nice touch, but TechCrunch says Apple wouldn’t have been able to cut ties with Google if it hadn’t had a database of its own.

“While C3′s tech seems to have been used in building features, the purchase of white-label mapping service Placebase presumably allowed Apple to build up their store of map data to the point where they apparently feel comfortable giving Google the boot.”

And GigaOM suggests Apple is indeed comfortable in distancing itself from a competitor.

“This is the same company that Steve Jobs promised to go “thermonuclear” on and accusing it of “grand theft” in designing Android. It makes sense not to incorporate product from one of your chief rivals in mobile into your most important product.”

So a switch makes good business sense. But John Gruber at Daring Fireball says Apple has to make sure its offering is a categorical improvement.

“This is a high-pressure switch for Apple. Regressions will not be acceptable. The purported whiz-bang 3D view stuff might be great, but users are going to have pitchforks and torches in hand if practical stuff like driving and walking directions are less accurate than they were with Google’s data.”

9to5 Mac expects iOS 6 to debut at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in mid-June.

 

(Image source: Al Arabiya)

BY NATHAN BYRNE  

Here’s a look at your top news headlines from Newsy.

Two Turkish journalists imprisoned in Syria have been released to Iran.

(Image source: Bloomberg/Irish Times)

BY NATHAN BYRNE 

Here’s a look at your top news headlines from Newsy.

The third attempt to form a coalition government in Greece has failed.
The BBC explains.

“Hopes of forming a coalition government in Greece have been dashed after the head of the anti-bailout Syriza party said he would not join the coalition government.”

A New York Times report says the SEC is now investigating JPMorgan following the bank’s $2 billion loss.

CNN looks at the backlash.

“ … this is why everybody loves to hate big banks and why you hear Congress pounding their fists about tougher regulations. … (FLASH) JPMorgan gambled and lost, making some big, risky bets.”

Indonesian rescue workers say they’ve recovered 12 bodies from this week’s Russian plane crash.
Here’s euronews.

“Most of the dead are Indonesian and aviation officials. Although eight Russians were also on board. Rescuers have been using climbing equipment, including ropes, to scale the near-vertical Mt. Salak … ”

Facebook is stirring more buzz leading up to its IPO.
Chicago’s WBBM highlights a new feature Facebook’s testing.

“It looks like Facebook is considering a pay-for-popularity plan. For two bucks, Facebook will highlight your post. A trial is underway right now, and the option to highlight shows up when you’re posting an update.”

Stay with Newsy for more multisource video news throughout the day.

(Image source: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg)

BY NATHAN BYRNE

ANCHOR CHRISTINA HARTMAN

JPMorgan’s CEO shared an unpleasant surprise with shareholders Thursday.

image source: Microsoft

BY EVAN THOMAS

Microsoft debuted a fresh take on search results Thursday — and it’s going toe-to-toe with Google over the social side of search.

Bing’s new search results will be organized into three columns: the standard algorithmic blue-links results we’re used to seeing; quick, vital data-like pictures, maps and pricing; and a completely discrete column for social search — information from friends and experts across the web.

“We believe a better search engine starts with the results you’re looking for, and combines the best of the web with the people you know to make the web more meaningful.”

But ZDNet says the new Bing has the potential to be pretty disruptive — because people trust their friends.

“The general consensus amongst search engine services is that adding social networking will fix a major problem with traditional search, namely that users often have a hard time figure out which links are worth the click. Having friends give them insight removes any uncertainty, at least in theory.”

Business Insider suggests Microsoft’s got an edge up in a key market segment, because it’s focusing on more than just one social network.

“The big problem with this is that Google doesn't offer info from other social networks, like Facebook and Twitter, as prominently. Microsoft did. And it's using this access to trump Google in social search.”

Search Engine Land reports Microsoft has deals in place with Facebook and Twitter to pull content — deals Google lacks.

And Microsoft pulls info from public Google+ profiles just as effectively as Google itself does.
Bing will also grab social results from those people it identifies as influential or knowledgeable on networks like LinkedIn and Quora.

Bing VP Derrick Connell tells Bloomberg he expects quick adoption. He says as much as 25 percent of Bing’s 100-million-strong user base could get on board to start with, and it will grow from there.

“We’ll see how it goes, but in that range. The product is built to be viral. All of those users have an opportunity to reach out to their friends, ask for help, and then we hope that will also bring in some new customers.”

Whether they’ll stick around remains to be seen. Digital Trends notes even if the new Bing turns out great, it will still be a feat to break the Internet’s collective Google inertia.

“Still, Google has its massive reach in its corner, and Bing still has to get people to try its service. It seems crazy, but one of the largest hurdles for the service will be breaking our Google search reflexes.”

Microsoft says the new Bing will be rolling out in the next few days.
 

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)


BY NATHAN BYRNE  

Here’s a look at your top news headlines from Newsy.

JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon addressed stockholders in a surprise conference call about the company’s reported $2 billion loss.

(Image source: Think Progress)

BY NATHAN BYRNE  

ANCHOR CHRISTIAN BRYANT

Here’s a look at your top news headlines from Newsy.

Five of Mitt Romney’s high-school classmates tell The Washington Post the GOP presidential hopeful bullied a classmate.

Romney apologized in a radio interview with Fox News — and said he didn’t recall the incident described here on CNN …

“ … Romney and a group of his friends tackled and cut the hair of a fellow student, who was rumored to be gay. The alleged victim of the bullying incident, according to the Post’s account, cried and screamed for help.”

The Los Angeles Times says the Rev. Jesse Jackson is likening the support of same-sex marriage to the fight against slavery.

Jackson praised President Obama’s decision, but says he wishes Obama would have pushed further — for federal protection of all citizens, rather than leaving the issue up to each state.

Tech giant Sony is reporting a record annual loss. Toronto’s CFTO has the details.

“Sony has recorded its worst year on record taking a 5.7 billion — that's billion –– dollar hit. The company had a 10 percent drop in sales this year, moving fewer tvs, cameras, game consoles and computers.”

New legislation would make it illegal to force employees to give up their social media passwords. WRTV in Indianapolis explains the bill that’s been introduced in both houses of Congress.

(Image source: Bloomberg)

BY EVAN THOMAS AND JIM FLINK

Deutsche Telekom has a new plan for T-Mobile USA — this time, hoping to repackage it in a merger with MetroPCS Communications Inc.

Bloomberg broke the story and reports, DT is proposing a stock-swap transaction which would give the German company control over the combined entity.

"Europe’s second-biggest phone company … wants to bolster the business’s ability to gain size and customers … T-Mobile USA has cut jobs and stepped up investments in faster networks as it tries to stop a flight of contract subscribers to rivals. … Combining with a smaller player 'isn’t really the option they prefer, but they don’t really have a choice...'”

That’s a reference to the failed sale last year of T-Mobile to AT&T — a deal scuttled by regulators. And while it isn’t a first choice, VentureBeat says, this just might work.

“DT would have an easier time passing a merger between T-Mobile and MetroPCS through U.S. regulators .. As the fourth and fifth-place U.S. wireless carriers, a merger wouldn’t have the monopoly concerns that the AT&T deal did …”

A Fox Business analyst looks at the possibilities.

“This would give Deutsche Telekom some options, especially with Metro PCS, which is a customer-losing business, not really going very well.”

T-Mobile stands to get more than a few subscribers out of the deal, says CNET.

“MetroPCS could also contribute a small bump in customers. With T-Mobile so heavily in the prepaid business already, adding MetroPCS would work on a business level.”

GigaOM isn’t so sure, noting, this is like running two different businesses under one roof.

“Mergers are supposed to be about ‘synergies’ and economies of scale. T-Mobile would have to sell separate handset portfolios. It would have to maintain two separate sets of networks. The only thing the T-Mobile has in common with Metro is an LTE network in the same spectrum band.”

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)

image source: Facebook

BY EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR NATHAN BYRNE

You might be able to skip the App Store when you pick up the latest Angry Birds. Facebook has plans to consolidate a bunch of your desktop and mobile apps into one location — the App Center.

The App Center will track engagement, feedback and ratings to control quality, and give developers real-time feedback. The higher the quality, the more prominently an app will be featured. Facebook says The App Center will list any app, Android or iOS, that uses Facebook login, and there are plans for a flat-rate paid-apps system, too.

This is a welcome evolution from the social growth model — where users see what their friends are watching, reading and listening to on Facebook and elsewhere. Apps like the Washington Post Social Reader track the most popular stories among your friends.

But All Things Digital says popular apps like the Washington Post’s are the lucky few. Facebook apps could use a clearinghouse.

“But as Facebook seems to realize with Wednesday’s announcement, developers can’t rely entirely on social discovery for their apps to grow. Sure, you’ll get the occasional breakout successes… but users still need a home page to browse through apps.”

VentureBeat points out since it’s not tied to any one OS, Facebook has the opportunity to become a go-to solution for apps, no matter if users are on their desktop or mobile.

“…it has the Mechanical Turk-style combination of human intelligence (in the form of star ratings) and machine intelligence (in the form of app performance and usage data) to render better scores of quality than just about any other distribution channel.”

Cross-platform app indexing? The Next Web is impressed. And speculative.

“That’s a pretty big deal, I think. The bigger deal though is that Facebook, whether it wants to admit it or not, is setting itself up to be a huge player if it were to ever launch its own phone or operating system.”

Of course, Facebook has routinely shot down rumors to that effect. And ZDNet points out in its latest S-1, Facebook warned investors it’s still lacking in the mobile department. Facebook still isn’t making any revenue there. But Softpedia says the App Center could provide the catalyst — thanks to Facebook’s 900-million-odd users.

“It may look like a me-too effort, but Facebook's approach is different than anything we've seen so far, and the site's got some big advantages, the single biggest being its unmatchable size.”

For now, the App Center URL seen in Facebook’s screenshots doesn’t actually work. Facebook says we can expect access “in the coming weeks.”
 

(Image: Iowa Backroads)

BY DAVID EARL

The Postmaster General has offered up a new plan to keep thousands of rural post offices from packing it in.  Here’s HLN with the headline.

“The 13,000 post offices would stay open, but with much shorter hours. Full-time employees could be forced to work part-time. … it could save a half-billion dollars a year. The new strategy would take couple of years to complete … ”

So come rain, or sleet, or snow … or budget cuts, folks in rural America will continue to get their mail. The possible shutdown led to a bitter debate in Washington. Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill -- whose state would have seen many of those rural closures -- is quoted by the Guardian, saying …

"Targeting rural post offices for closure is callous, unnecessary and irresponsible and doesn't solve the fiscal problems facing the Postal Service.”

But if closing rural post offices isn’t the answer … the Wall Street Journal points out something’s gotta happen.

“In its fiscal first quarter, which is usually the strongest quarter for the post office, it lost 3.3 billion dollars, which is its worst ever loss.”

And that’s not the worst of it. The New York Times reports the situation isn’t getting any better for the postal service.

“Daily losses of $36 million have been piling up like last week’s junk mail, and as matters stand, the Postal Service is headed for projected losses of about $18 billion a year by 2015, compared with about $14 billion this year.”

But with rural post offices … it’s about more than money.

Here’s WINK with the sound bite from post office brass.

“We heard loud and clear. Our customers are concerned about losing their community identity if their post office were to close. With our plan ... we keep the flag flying out front.”

After many rounds of layoffs, the USPS still has 650,000 employees.

(Image: Bloomberg)

BY DAVID EARL

Fannie Mae’s taking a bunch of money to the bank. The bailed-out mortgage holder seeing green for the first time in years. Here’s WMBD with the headline.

“Fannie Mae earned nearly 3 billion dollars last quarter and will not ask for additional money from the government. It’s the first time the mortgage giant has reported a profit since being taken over by the government in 2008.”

Compare today’s announcement by Fannie to the net loss of $6.5 billion in the same quarter of 2011. The company says the significant improvement in its financial results in the first quarter of 2012 was due...

“...primarily to lower credit-related expenses, resulting from a less significant decline in home prices, a decline in the company’s inventory of single-family real estate owned (“REO”)  properties coupled with improved REO sales prices, and lower single-family serious delinquency rates.”

And Bloomberg says the top brass at Fannie expects more good things for the rest of this year.

“The chief financial officer in this statement goes on to say we expect numbers for 2012 to be significantly better than 2011 … our credit performance headed in the right direction, a significant improvement from 2009.”

Taxpayers spent $116 billion keeping Fannie afloat. Its counterpart Freddie Mac took more than $72 billion from the feds, and The Hill reports Freddie isn’t in as good of financial shape as Fannie.

“Freddie announced last week that it needed another $19 million in federal assistance after posting a net loss of $1.2 billion for the first quarter, compared with a net loss of $929 million in the same quarter of 2011 … the two firms guarantee $5 trillion in home loans.”

Forbes points out there’s still a way to go til these two are back on their feet.

“Shares of Fannie and Freddie, once coveted for their seemingly-bulletproof dividends and the implied government guarantee standing behind the firms, now change hands over-the-counter for about a quarter apiece.”

Fannie and Freddie remain in conservatorship with the federal government.

(Image source: ABC)

BY NATHAN BYRNE
ANCHOR DAVID EARL   

Here’s a look at your top news headlines from Newsy.

President Obama announced he supports gay marriage. Previously he’d described his position on the issue as “evolving” — but Wednesday afternoon the president said this to ABC’s Robin Roberts...

“...for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married.”

No word yet on what happened to the Russian plane that disappeared from radar during a demo flight over Indonesia this morning. Here’s Fox News.

“The latest reports suggest that the Russian plane could’ve crashed in Indonesian mountains. There’s also reports coming out of Russia now that it may have been hijacked. But there’ been nothing so far to substantiate that claim.”

TSA officials say they found a disassembled gun inside a four-year-old boy’s stuffed animals at a Rhode Island airport. Neither the boy nor his father claimed to know anything about the gun parts. Now, the boy’s mother is being investigated. Boston’s WHDH describes what the TSA found.

“The main frame was located inside a bear.  A magazine loaded with two rounds was hidden in a bunny and a firing pin was stuffed inside Mickey Mouse.”

The New York Times reports Fannie Mae posted a first-quarter profit and the government-backed mortgage company won’t seek more bailout money.

Peoria’s WMBD explains.

“Fannie Mae earned nearly 3 billion dollars last quarter and will not ask for additional money from the government. It’s the first time the mortgage giant has reported a profit since being taken over by the government in 2008.”

The United States Postal Service is backing off plans to close thousands of rural post offices.
HLN has details on the Postmaster General’s new plan.

“The 13,000 post offices would stay open, but with much shorter hours. Full-time employees could be forced to work part-time. … it could save a half-billion dollars a year. The new strategy would take couple of years to complete … ”

Stay with Newsy for more multisource video news throughout the day. For Newsy, I’m David Earl, highlighting the top headlines making you smarter, faster.

(Image source: Silicon Republic)

BY EVAN THOMAS AND NATHAN BYRNE

ANCHOR LAUREN GORES

Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson has been under fire for a false claim on his resume. Now, the board member in charge of vetting that hire will step down.

The company revealed the news about Patti Hart in a press release Tuesday.  The Wall Street Journal has more.

“They are saying she resigned and decided not to stand for reelection because her own company — she’s the CEO of a gaming systems company — asked her to pull herself back from it, but she was going to go no matter what.”

Hart is the CEO of International Gaming Technology.  Her company’s board requested she distance herself from Yahoo.  Silicon Republic has her statement.

“…my primary responsibilities are to serve as chief executive officer of IGT and to eliminate activities that may interfere with my ability to carry out my commitments to IGT and its valued stakeholders.”

Board member Dan Loeb started the whole investigation into Thompson’s background. AllThingsD reports Loeb once went after Hart for the same transgression.

“Loeb’s allegations also nailed Hart in much-less-egregious padding of her own college record, making it appear as if she had economics and marketing degrees. She has one in business administration, with “specialties” (Yahoo’s ridonkulous word, not mine) in economics and marketing.”

Venture Beat quotes the IGT chairman, who says, Hart’s credentials are fine.

“After a thorough review, the IGT Board of Directors has found no material inconsistencies in Patti Hart’s academic credentials.  The Board unanimously stands behind Patti as our CEO and fully supports her leadership and the direction she has set for the Company.”

PaidContent says the IGT board made a smart call.

“Why wouldn’t the board of International Game Technology … prefer its CEO’s energies go toward running that company rather than co-starring in Yahoo’s latest soap opera?”

Once Hart completes her term, Yahoo’s board will be made up of nine directors.

(Image Source: The Onion)

BY ALLYSON BROWN

ANCHOR CARISSA LOETHEN


Good news for Bank of America customers … after a forced $25 billion dollar settlement with federal and state agencies ...
The banking giant is giving homeowners mortgage debt relief …
Up to 150,000 dollars worth
The New York Times says


“Bank of America has started sending letters to thousands of homeowners in the United States, offering to forgive a portion of the principal balance on their mortgages”


Bank of America is paying the largest portion out of the five banks included in the settlement.
The Charlotte Observer reports ….


“The deal, which resolved claims that banks used shoddy servicing and foreclosure practices like "robosigning," marks the largest federal-state civil settlement in history,”



People whose mortgages are headed for foreclosure could save up to 30 percent on monthly payments.
But NPR reports an exec for the bank worries those who qualify aren’t cashing in.
 

‘"They have become defensive and they have not responded, … ‘We would like for them to know this one is different. I don't want to say this is their best last chance, but I think it's the best chance they've had so far.’



Does it sounds too good to be true? That’s because it is … in order to qualify, you have to meet some requirements. A recently published Bank of America press release spells it all out. A homeowner qualifies if he or she ...


“Owes more on the mortgage than the property is worth today … Was at least 60 days behind on payments on January 31, 2012 …”



In addition to those requirements, 4-Traders also says there is one more thing homeowners have to worry about.


“Homeowners are required to make at least three timely payments before the modification can become permanent.”



A blogger for Total Mortgage Services says between the conflicting information in the original press release and the New York Times article … it is not leaving much for him to believe in.


“Call me a cynic, but I am not holding my breath for this to happen … given the way these programs have worked in the past I suspect the number of people that get principal reductions will be far fewer than 200,000.“



And to knock that number down a few more …
Homeowners whose loans are serviced by Bank of America but …  held by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Administration or the Veterans Administration are not eligible for principal reductions under the settlement.

 

(Image: Daily Portal)

BY DAVID EARL

Back in 2008, the U.S. government entered the private insurance business after it bought out AIG -- yet another victim of the financial crisis. Four years later, the taxpayers stand to make a pretty penny on that bailout. To the tune of, well, we’ll let News 12 tell you …

“A congressional watchdog says the U.S. government stands to make $15 billion on the bailout of insurer AIG. You’ll recall AIG was bailed out because of its exposure to the mortgage market during the housing meltdown.”

There are a couple caveats the Government Accountability Office points out...

“The actual repayment of the remaining assistance continues to depend on AIG’s long-term health, the timing of Treasury’s sale and the share price of AIG stock, among other things.”

But still. A $15 billion profit -- on a very unpopular $165 billion rescue package? That’s a 9 percent return. Mad Money man Jim Cramer sees a bright future for a company that nearly disappeared.

“Under the phenomenal leadership of CEO Robert Bemoshey, AIG has gone from an over leveraged, highly complicated financial company to a leaner slimmed down play on life insurance, property and casualty insurance and mortgage guarantee insurance.”

AIG itself is buying nearly half of what the government sells in an effort to cut the numbers of outstanding shares. And a financial analyst told the the Business News Network that’s a sign that investors should snap up the available shares.

“It’s going to increase the earnings per share. I think it’s a very attractive stock with little downside. The core business is actually a strong business.”

Treasury officials won’t comment on the potential profits. Fox Business has the statement.

“‘We remain hopeful that taxpayers will ultimately recover every single dollar invested in the company, which is something few would have expected during the depths of the financial crisis.’”

But the Financial Times reports a profit for the federal government made on the insurer’s bailout might be some insurance for the campaign trail.

“Monday’s estimate probably will help the Obama administration as it tries to convince voters ahead of November’s election that AIG is on the path to sustained profitability and that taxpayers will eventually turn a profit on their bailout of the insurer.”

After Monday’s sell off of some AIG stock, the U.S. Treasury’s stake in the insurance giant is still more than half -- it owns 63 percent of outstanding shares.

(Image: Forbes)

By Evan Thomas and Allyson Brown

Anchor Megan Murphy

Trouble is brewing at internet giant Yahoo.
A Yahoo minority investor, Dan Loeb and his investment company, Third Point are invoking the law in their investigation into Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson’s background -- and asking for Yahoo’s records.


The trouble stems from Thompson listing a degree he never earned on his resume — but still being hired by the company.
 

All Things Digital has Third Point’s press release:
 

“Third Point demands ‘under Section 220(b) of the Delaware General Corporation Law to inspect books and records relating to the hiring of CEO Scott Thompson, the appointment of Patti Hart to the Yahoo! Board, and the selection of Board Members…’”


Third Point’s reason for all this is to find out whether Thompson intentionally lied … and why the higher ups at Yahoo didn’t fact check.

“They’re really all about how Scott Thompson was picked, what he said about himself, what directors asked about him, and then how the company evaluated that information.”


But some believe Loeb’s attention stems from a personal vendetta.
Loeb has repeatedly demanded representation on the board.
And PCWorld says this is another case of Yahoo’s chronic problem -- board infighting.


“Gee, a high-tech CEO brought down by a disgruntled board member -- where have I heard that before? Oh yeah -- at Yahoo, about a half-dozen times now. That story is familiar to anyone who's followed Yahoo's frankly hilarious history over the last five years.”



Business Insider polled employees lower on the totem pole …. here are some reactions -- that Business Insider characterizes as representative of the overall sentiment at Yahoo.


“He cheated and lied his way to his position at PayPal, didn't get caught, got brazen, and decided to swing it to become a CEO of an ailing giant. I hope he falls hard and lands on his thick head!

...


“... we are all very unhappy about the resume issue... not because of the issue itself but because we have had so much drama. It's becoming unbearable and this is the icing on the cake …”



No official response from Yahoo yet, but The Washington Post reports the board has met to discuss the situation. Loeb says he could file a lawsuit against Yahoo for any documents relating to Thompson.

 

image source: SlashGear

BY EVAN THOMAS

A messy split decision in Oracle’s case against Google. The San Jose Mercury News reports a federal jury has made its first decision in the case — but it raises more questions than it answers.

The jury found Google did infringe on Oracle’s copyrights by mirroring the structure of Oracle’s existing software instructions in its code for Android. But infringement was only half the question. Bloomberg explains.

“The jury came back and said ‘yes, they did use all of those instruction sets, and those were copyrighted, but we’re not sure if that use was fair or not. We can’t decide on that one.’”

With this copyright argument, Oracle was after a cut of Android’s profits. But Marketing Land points out without a jury decision on fair use, Oracle can’t collect much.

“If the court or a later trial decides that the inclusion of Java code qualifies as ‘fair use,’ the damages available would be far lower than what Oracle is asking for. They would be capped at $150,000 and could be much less.”

Meanwhile, given the lack of an immediate decision on fair use, Google has moved for a mistrial. The Verge reports the judge will have to figure out whether and how to surmount the jury’s indecision.

And Ars Technica says depending on how that decision comes down, it could have significant implications for more than just Google and Oracle.

“Java is an open source language, but now it's not clear how free programmers are to use it, since Oracle has said that anyone following the Java APIs—which are basically sets of instructions about how to use Java—needs a license.”

Following the jury’s findings, the trial now considers Google’s infringement on Java patents. Damages for Oracle could be higher there, but they won’t be decided until later.
 

(Image source: ABC)

BY STEVEN SPARKMAN

Here are your top news headlines from Newsy.

U.S. officials say intelligence agencies foiled a plot to blow up an airliner bound for America, following a covert operation in Yemen. The new bomb was designed to slip past airport scanners. CNN explains.

“The explosive device is similar to the one that was used by the so-called ‘underwear bomber’ back on Christmas Day of 2009, only this time more sophisticated and harder to detect.”

In an email to his supporters last night, Rick Santorum urged them to get behind Mitt Romney. This comes after a heated campaign in which Santorum repeatedly told voters Romney wasn’t conservative enough. HLN has more.

“But now Santorum says that he has a better idea of where Romney stands on the issues. Now, Santorum also says that they agreed President Obama must be defeated and that Romney needs all hands on deck to achieve that goal.”

Bank of America began sending letters to homeowners saying the bank is willing to forgive a portion of the principal balance on mortgages. The move is the result of a settlement with state governments earlier this year. Here's Fox News.

“The average amount that they’re willing to forgive — $150,000. The reduction for qualifying homeowners would amount to monthly savings up to 35 percent.”

And Greece came one step closer to another election, after the head of the winning New Democracy party failed to form a coalition government. Here’s euronews.

“He tried talking to Alexis Tsipras whose radical Left Coalition scored second place in Sunday’s vote, but the young politician is staunchly anti-austerity.”

Stay with Newsy for more multisource video news throughout the day. For Newsy, I’m Blake Hanson, highlighting the top headlines making you smarter, faster.

(Image source: euronews)

BY STEVEN SPARKMAN

ANCHOR CHRISTINA HARTMAN

Sunday’s elections in France and Greece showed voters aren’t fans of the EU’s austerity policies.

France’s Socialist party now holds the presidency for the first time in nearly four decades. (Video source: Al Jazeera)

And the Greek vote shattered the two main parties as voters fled to smaller, anti-austerity fringe parties. (Video source: The Guardian)

That has analysts asking: what does this mean for EU austerity? Some see doom and gloom, like Fox News’s Stuart Varney who commented on the world-wide slump in markets after the election news.

“They hate the election because they can see another debt crisis coming in Europe which will ripple around everywhere. All stock markets around the world are down, Wall Street included. Your 401k takes a hit.”

But opponents of austerity are taking the chance to crow, saying austerity is an all pain, no gain policy. Economist Paul Krugman wrote in his New York Times column that without Nicolas Sarkozy, the austerity treaties have a rocky future.

“What is true is that Mr. Hollande’s victory means the end of ‘Merkozy,’ the Franco-German axis that has enforced the austerity regime of the past two years. This would be a ‘dangerous’ development if that strategy were working, or even had a reasonable chance of working. But it isn’t and doesn’t; it’s time to move on.”

Krugman goes on to suggest the unthinkable: dismantling the euro. Media and economic sources treat that option as taboo, but a blogger for The Economist says even if you want to preserve the euro, austerity might not be the answer.

“The point is that the economy that matters is that of the euro zone as a whole. And when one steps back and looks at the dynamics in play, it becomes clear that the robotic push for national-level austerity across the euro zone is undermining integration and thereby exacerbating the crisis.”

But a CNN analyst says it doesn’t really matter what the voters want — ultimately, the markets will have the final say.

“These are the people celebrating Hollande’s election in France, right? They’re very happy. They’re celebrating. They’re silly people, because they will not get what they want. The markets will impose austerity on France, regardless of whether or not they want that.”

Hollande says he wants to stimulate economic growth to try to lower unemployment. Similar promises have caught on in Greece. But a blogger at Mindful Money says a middle ground may be the best answer.

“Austerity alone is increasingly understood to be an insufficient cure. But completely abandoning the strategy just to appease the voters isn’t the answer either. A more balanced approach between austerity and growth is what is called for...”

Greece’s political future is still up in the air. If a coalition government can’t be formed in the next few weeks, the country could hold another election as early as mid-June.

(Image: ABC News)

BY DAVID EARL

Your channel lineup is about to get a little more crowded … and if you’re tired of the traditional options for cable news … you might like this announcement on from ABC News.

“ABC News is about to join forces with Univision -- that is the number one Hispanic media company -- we’re gonna launch a 24 hour news, information, and lifestyle network that’s targeted right at America’s Hispanic community.”

Media reporters have speculated the new network will be based in Miami — with reporters stationed all across the country. Plans are to have it up and running in 2013. The Huffington Post says the two media companies plan to offer ...

“‘... uncompromising coverage of current events with a unique perspective’ with the around-the-clock, English-language television network and digital platform … The television network will be staffed by journalists from ABC News and Univision News.”

And the New York Times points out — the demo ABC and Univision are going after is a lucrative one.

“Media companies like Disney are eager to provide advertisers new ways to reach Hispanics, whose numbers are swelling according to census estimates. A recent report by Nielsen projected that the buying power of Hispanics in the United States, estimated at $1 trillion in 2010, will grow to $1.5 trillion in 2015.”

But it’s not easy getting cable ops to put you in the lineup. The Wall Street Journal says that’s where Disney can shine in this relationship.

“Disney having ESPN … that gives them heft in negotiations with cable operators, so that’s a way that it’s ensured that the channel will get taken up.”

And if you think it’ll just end up looking like a carbon copy of all the other cable news outlets, MediaBistro has words from the head of ABC News.

“Don’t expect the network to look anything like existing cable news channels, CNN, Fox News or MSNBC. ‘This is not an ideological venture,’ ABC News president Ben Sherwood tells us. ‘The vision here is a full-service operation providing culturally relevant programming in English.’”

Right now, the new network is still unnamed.

(Image source: CNN)

BY NATHAN BYRNE

Facebook’s IPO will own tech and business headlines Monday. But the Oracle of Omaha isn’t buying in.

(Image Source: Pepsi, Co.)

BY JUSTIN PROCHASKA

ANCHOR CHRISTIAN BRYANT

Now he’s the king....of soda pop. Michael Jackson’s estate has entered into an agreement with Pepsi. WFOR in Miami reports the late singer’s silhouette will be prominently featured on new Pepsi Cola cans.

“It will appear and some of his iconic dance moves for the promotion which also coincides with the 25th anniversary of his Bad album. The limited edition cans will go on sale in China tomorrow and later in the U.S. next month.”

This won’t be the first time Jackson is face of Pepsi. Back in the 1980s, Jackson starred in several Pepsi commercials. Here’s a clip from the Wall Street Journal.

“You are the Pepsi generation!”

TMZ says the relationship between the Jackson and the company soured when the singer was badly burned in a 1984 incident when a Pepsi can exploded and caught his hair on fire.

A TMZ columnist says the incident left Jackson burned and some argue it led to Jackson’s addiction to painkillers and eventually his death.

Some critics are saying the partnership is inappropriate. One reason? The history of the Jackson/Pepsi partnership, according to a writer for the Week, is just “too creepy.”

“The prescription drug habit eventually led Jackson to Dr. Conrad Murray, who was convicted of manslaughter in the King of Pop's death. Why is Jackson's estate getting back in bed with Pepsi?”

Other critics argue, it’s just too soon. A columnist for iVillage says though it’s not uncommon to use the images of legends passed on to sell goods, Jackson is a much different story.

“There was that Dirt Devil commercial starring Fred Astaire, and that Gap ad using footage of Audrey Hepburn. But those celebrities experienced their heyday more than 50 years ago, and died after long, fulfilling lives. Jackson died three years ago, and fans are still mourning his early passing.”

Proponents say Jackson could boost Pepsi sales. A writer for Forbes says this partnership will work because of the King of Pop’s marketability, especially in foreign countries.

“More obvious, though, is the fact that PepsiCo is trying to capture markets outside the United States. It has invested heavily in Asian beverage companies in recent years. Jackson is the perfect vehicle to support these investments.”

Pepsi announced they expect to produce around one billion cans with the Jackson likeness on it.
 

image source: iDownloadBlog

BY EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR NATHAN BYRNE

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson says he regrets ever offering unlimited data plans, saying it cost the carrier a lot to maintain the network for unrestricted use.  Here are his comments from a wireless conference this week.

“I wish we had moved quicker to change the pricing model, to make sure that people who were consuming the bandwidth were paying for the bandwidth. We had a model where the high-end users were being subsidized by the low-end users. We got that model straight.”


Now, except for certain users grandfathered in on their old unlimited data plans, AT&T uses a tiered data price model. CNET says it’s a balancing act.

“Carriers are taking in billions from tiered data plans, but increasingly users are actually using up a higher percentage of their data allowances. That means more network traffic without more revenue to compensate…”

Critics say, it’s not like AT&T’s doing poorly. 9to5 Mac reports tiered pricing is actually making the company loads of money.

“AT&T discontinued its unlimited data plan in 2010 and moved to a pricey tiered data plan, which it has since reprised and restructured. The plans paid off, because the company earned a whopping $6.1 billion in revenue during Q1 alone.”

Indeed, Stephenson says he doesn’t regret offering the first iPhone on AT&T back in 2007. iDownloadBlog suggests that choice is largely responsible for the network’s revenue and general success.

“It’s feasible to assume that if AT&T hadn’t signed on to exclusively carry the iPhone back then, that it wouldn’t be competing with Verizon for the nation’s number one carrier spot now.”

And analysts say, it would appear AT&T’s momentum in iSpace will continue. More than 70 percent of the smartphones the carrier activated last quarter were iPhones.
 

(Image source: The Telegraph)

BY NATHAN BYRNE

ANCHOR MEGAN MURPHY

The U.S. Department of Labor reports a slight drop in the unemployment rate — from 8.2 percent to 8.1.

(Image source: U.S. Department of State)

BY NATHAN BYRNE AND HARUMENDHAH HELMY
ANCHOR NATHAN BYRNE  

Here’s a look at your top news headlines from Newsy.

China says if dissident Chen Guangcheng wants to go to the United States, he can apply to study abroad through the usual channels. The BBC explains.

(Image Source: The Guardian)

BY GILLIAN STEDMAN

ANCHOR JIM FLINK


Swedish furniture giant Ikea is under fire over allegations it used forced labor to make furniture in East Germany during the 1970s and 80s. A Swedish Current Affairs program claims to have found secret police files that reveal Ikea was using political prisoners for labor. A former prison guard tells the BBC...

“We took it for granted that they were criminal prisoners that had been sentenced for crimes against East Germany law, of course there must have been prisoners that today we would consider political prisoners but they were all in the same prison.”

New reports also reveal Cuban dissidents were among the unwilling members of the workforce.
According to The Telegraph...

“The deal was struck in 1987 when representatives of Ikea Trading Berlin, an East German branch of the Swedish company, met with the head of Emiat, a Cuban company that furnished the homes of Havana's elite and holiday facilities for Western tourists.”

The largest furniture retailer in the world says it is working to resolve the issue.
The International Business Times quotes Ikea’s sustainability manager…

"We have requested documents from the old Stasi archives and are interviewing people at Ikea who were around back then. So far there are no indications that we would have asked that prisoners be used in manufacturing or known about it.”

It’s not the first time Ikea has come under fire for its business practices.
A blogger for Jezebel says this report makes the thought of buying Ikea’s furniture “less appealing”.

“Their furniture tends to fall apart too fast, and, oh, they've been accused of doing strange and devious things like spying on their employees. Well, now comes another dark truth about the makers of the beloved Billy bookcase.”

Earlier in the week, Ikea issued a statement defending its practices, though placing that in a more recent time frame.

“IKEA products must be manufactured under acceptable working conditions and since 2000 we have had a very strong code of conduct for suppliers in place to ensure this. This includes a zero tolerance of any form of forced or bonded labor.”

Last year German broadcaster WDR revealed that Ikea’s billionaire founder was a member of the Swedish Nazi Party as a teenager nearly 70 years ago.  
 

(Image Source: CNET)

BY JIM FLINK

Facebook is about to become the most valuable U.S. internet company ever.
That is, as soon as it launches its IPO in a couple of weeks.
CNBC has the lowdown.

“Facebook’s IPO may actually price in the mid-20s to low-30 dollar range, which would put a valuation according to the Journal, of about 85 to 95 billion dollars.”

The Wall Street Journal broke the story and says — that would put Facebook just behind Amazon.com’s market cap, and ahead of tech giant HP.  
But it asks — with questions about monetizing its users circling, is Facebook really worth it?

“When investors start thinking, a site that has a billion users, coming in an being engaged by it, has all this monetization potential, I think that’s what people are buying on, more than the actual numbers they see now..”

337 million shares will be made available, including more than 30 million belonging to CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
CNBC tweets...

“Mark Zuckerberg selling 30.2 million shares in IPO. $FB #FacebookIPO”

But before you go thinking Zuck might be cashing out of the company here, Business Insider says — not so much.

“So Zuckerberg will still have a ton of Facebook stock, and he will control 57.3% of voting share post-IPO.”

As good as all this sounds, Facebook is actually shooting LOWER than some expected.
It was once thought this IPO could exceed $100 billion.
The Verge says, Facebook has had questions about its true value circling since IPO talk began.

“Recent tech IPOs like Groupon and Pandora have seen big bumps on the first day, sometimes doubling in value ... Facebook reported its Q1 financials two weeks ago, and the results showed a significant slowdown in growth and drop in profit. The new, more conservative IPO price range may be a reflection of that slide.”

And slide is not how Facebook, or any other IPO, wants to start out.
An analyst tells Bloomberg, this pricing gives Facebook the proper runway and trajectory for growth.

“The worst thing for an IPO, on the way they’re marketed to the street, is to see the price decline. So you want to start with the lowest range you can stand, and give you some room to work.”

In the lead up to the IPO, Facebook officials plan to tour the country on a road show — designed to drum up support for the stock offering.
 

(Image source: Boy Genius Report)

BY EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR NATHAN BYRNE

Would you pay a video game console bill every month? Sources tell The Verge Microsoft is planning to offer its Xbox 360 console on a two-year contract, like a cell phone.

For $99 up front and $15 per month for two years, you get the 4GB Xbox, Kinect, and a Gold-level subscription to Xbox Live for online multiplayer. the Verge says there might be some extra streaming media content as part of the deal, as well.

That comes out to $459. PC Magazine says it’ll cost you $420 to buy the same package all at once. Is that extra 40 bucks worth it?

“So, the subscription plan will cost a little bit more overall, but comes with much lower upfront costs and may even provide access to more content than Xbox Live Gold offers.”

Subsidizing expensive console hardware is the de facto business model. But as Venture Beat points out, Microsoft has an opportunity to refresh how it sells the Xbox — and it could make some money.

“As the years pass, consoles become cheaper to make, and companies are able to make a profit from the hardware itself. Given that the Xbox 360 is now almost seven years old, Microsoft can afford to be creative with its pricing model.”

And the benefits don’t stop at hardware. Business Insider says hooking players into the Xbox Live ecosystem early could mean more purchases of downloadable content.

“Microsoft takes a cut of each transaction for the digital download, just like Google and Apple. With a high enough volume of transactions, Microsoft will probably end up making way more money off this bundle than selling the typical hardware.”

According to The Verge’s sources, the bundle will only be available at physical Microsoft stores in the U.S. But The Next Web says it might not stay that way for long.

"That said, if this news proves to be true, then there’s no reason why Microsoft wouldn’t consider offering the package elsewhere…either online, or through third-party retailers."

Microsoft has yet to comment, except to say it doesn’t discuss its pricing plans. Sources said the bundle could roll out as early as next week, though, so we might not have long to wait.
 

(Image Source: MIT News)

BY BREANA JONES

ANCHOR CARISSA LOETHEN

Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced they’re getting together for a $60 million joint venture called EdX. Here’s the official announcement from the schools.

“Beginning this fall, an array of courses developed by faculty at both our institutions will be available online … Anyone with internet access, anywhere in the world can have access.”

And internet is all you need, because those courses will be free with students given the option to pay a “modest” fee for a certificate of mastery.

A year’s worth of schooling at MIT costs around 20K, and a year at Harvard? Well, that will set you back 40 grand. But the universities say — don’t expect the online courses to be a dummy version. Here’s the provost for MIT.

“This is not to be construed as MIT ‘Lite’ or Harvard ‘Lite.’ The content is the same content.”

The venture is a continuation of a pilot program MIT began in December, and it’s been successful so far with 120,000 students enrolled online. But The New York Times points out the new partnership could mean trouble for others.

"Education experts say that while the new online classes offer opportunities for students and researchers, they also pose some threat to low-ranked colleges."

EdX will work on an open-source platform which it hopes will eventually lead to other schools using and adding to the system. Nature.com says there are still details to be worked out.

"EdX officials were vague today about how the nonprofit would sustain itself financially. The philosophy of EdX is to offer courses for free, said Agarwal, but officials are still figuring how to generate revenue."

Harvard and MIT say EdX will offer a wide variety of courses from sciences to humanities.

(Image: PaidContent)

BY DAVID EARL

It’s been a very good quarter for media companies. They’re posting huge earnings, and record profits. Here are the headlines about Comcast and CBS from Bloomberg and Fox Business, respectively.

“I wanna talk about Comcast, specifically, first of all, because it was a decent quarter for them, they actually posted sales and profits that beat analysts’ estimates.”

“Earnings for the company topped estimates at 54 cents a share, revenue also beat forecasts at 3.92 billion dollars, CBS continued to benefit from content licensing deals.”

Q1 wasn’t as good for Time Warner — but the company still came out ahead of the Street’s expectations. So, are media companies on the rebound? CNBC has the head of Comcast saying this...

“The advertising business continues to show real strength ... You know there’s always uncertainty around the economy in the last couple years, traditionally television has powered through this.”

And as all these media companies head into what’s arguably the most important time of year — the upfronts season, where the companies sell their show lineups to advertisers — the Chicago Tribune reports...

“Barclays' media analyst Anthony DiClemente sees upfront revenue for ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC rising 4.3% to nearly $9.5 billion powered by the auto sector, which reps about 20% of all network and cable TV advertising.”

The upper management at CBS is smiling at the money to be made in licensing and retransmission fees — especially when its lineup comes out on top in the ratings war yet again. The LA Times quotes CBS chief Leslie Moonves...

“‘There are a lot of players out there circling the building,’ Moonves said. ‘They need our content.  It's an exciting period of time.’”

But is a strong ad environment blanket good news for every media company? Minyanville has the thoughts of another an industry analyst.

“The economic and media cycles have moved to the point where individual company fundamentals have replaced macro concerns as the drivers of stocks.  Coming off the cyclical low in 2009, there was a rising-tide-lifts-all-boats mentality among media investors, particularly for advertising-supported stocks. [However] ad dollars will flow toward networks with good ratings.”

Upfronts wrap up toward the end of May.

(Image Source: MoneyInFacebook.com)

BY LUKE LEONARD

With an estimated $100 billion initial public stock offering around the corner, it seems Facebook is turning down multi-million dollar proposals from serious advertisers. A writer for CNET says …

“The famous well-worn refrain from ‘The Godfather’ would apply here: It's most definitely not personal... But the big ad folks knocking on Facebook's door want more than the company has thus far been willing to give -- at least in the form of ad formats that agencies want. And every marketer wants to find more ways to reach an audience that now sits at an unprecedented 900 million strong.”

So why is Facebook brushing off these big offers? A blogger for The Atlantic Wire says it’s due to the company’s focus and attitude being different from other online businesses — calling it …

“ … a direct result of that Mark Zuckerberg’s hacker way, which focuses more on the product than the business side of things. Beyond flat out ignoring interested clients, the social network doesn't exactly bend over backwards for advertisers. The company often chooses user experience over appeasing these business partners.”


A writer for The Wall Street Journal says Facebook has created obstacles for companies trying to measure the effectiveness of their advertisements.

“It doesn't help that Facebook has alienated some advertisers with what they perceive as a high-handed attitude that implies that marketers have nowhere else to turn. Some media buyers and advertisers said Facebook has stymied their attempts to get more ad measurement, for instance.”

Facebook is also under scrutiny from advertisers questioning whether they should get more for their dollar. WTVT reports.

“Facebook pushes marketers to buy new forms of advertising designed to create buzz... But these new methods haven't been fully tested. This leaves advertisers wondering if a potential consumer really sees the ad - and if it leads to a sale.”

Facebook’s unique method of advertising has built up a $3 billion-a-year revenue advertising business, which The Wall Street Journal says makes up 33 percent of Facebook’s projected valuation total.
 

image source: CNN

BY EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR NATHAN BYRNE

BlackBerry 10 is finally seeing the light of day — at least in limited release. On Tuesday Research in Motion issued developers at the BlackBerry World conference with software toolkits and a prototype testing device.

This video from The Verge shows the test phone in action. It resembles a chopped-down PlayBook tablet. Apps run in the background, you swipe to check notifications and move between programs, and, interestingly for a BlackBerry, the physical keyboard is nowhere to be found.

The touch keyboard looks pretty decent, says PC Magazine. It’s got big enough buttons and predictive text. But it’s a big risk.

“That's right—the first BB10 devices will be touch screen-only. It looks very cool, though it may not be enough to satisfy physical keyboard diehards—many of whom are RIM's core audience.”

Another issue: who’s going to develop for this new platform? Bloomberg cites a recent survey that shows RIM is hurting for developers.

“There’s a huge amount of interest in continuing to develop for the iPhone, 89 percent said they’re very interested. 79 percent said very interested for the Android. Blackberry? 16 percent.”

But VentureBeat reports RIM’s got a plan to make BlackBerry apps worth developers’ time. If an app passes quality assurance and makes $1,000 on its own, RIM will guarantee $10,000 in revenue — even if it has to cut the developer a check for the difference.

Boy Genius Report’s Jonathan Geller reported RIM is looking at an October release for its new phone. He tells CNBC — the timing will stack the deck against RIM.

“And what’s going to be out in October? You have a new version of Android, you have a new iPhone, you have a new OS for iOS. So I think there’s all these headwinds that they’re not going to be able to get through.”

But Forbes says — don’t count RIM out of the smartphone game just yet.

“…RIM’s keynote highlighted that there is more innovation happening within the firm than we as analysts have given them credit for. The market is still challenging for RIM. No details on launch date were announced but obviously time to market for BB10 is a critical gate for success.”

BlackBerry World will continue through Wednesday in Orlando.
 

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)  

BY VICTORIA CRAIG

American manufacturing is up for the 33rd month in a row. That’s according to the Institute of Supply Management’s April survey...and analysts say it’s big news for the future of the U.S. economy. CNBC has the story, and how it’s affecting markets.

“Pace of U.S. manufacturing is accelerating and it’s put a fire under the market. As you can see, within the last thirty minutes, Karl, you’re saying we’re very close to a year high on the markets. 13,297 is the bull market high on the dow, which is obviously one point away.”

The ISM monthly index rose to 54.8 percent, up more than one percent from last month’s numbers. CNNMoney explains why that’s good news for investors.

“The news was seen as a welcome surprise, given economists were expecting the index to fall to 53. Manufacturers reported that as new orders for their goods rose in April, factories ramped up production at a faster pace. They also hired more workers, a welcome sign ahead of the government's jobs report on Friday.”

FXStreet.com outlines the numbers of each manufacturing sector... most of which are on the rise.

“...16 out of 18 manufacturing sectors reporting expansion, one remaining stable, and only one reporting contraction. The only sector reporting contraction was wood products.”

The numbers aren’t just good for U.S. economic factors...Bloomberg explains the effect those figures have on the global market.

“I think this is a harbinger of what the economy globally is going to look like for the year to come...And we will be the standout likely to be dented the least by that recession in Europe.”

And from global impact — to political impact.
A contributor for Fox Business breaks down what these numbers mean for the 2012 election.

“But it’s what the voters at home feel. And I don’t know how many voters, if you look at actual polling of right track, wrong track, and is this country going in the right direction, overwhelming majority say it’s not.”

The ISM numbers won’t be the last round of government economic data released this week. The April U.S. jobs report is due out on Friday.

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)  

BY VICTORIA CRAIG

ANCHOR BLAKE HANSON

Ever wish you could just make your own fuel to avoid rising gas prices? Well, that’s exactly what Delta Airlines is about to do. MSNBC explains the airline’s big purchase.

“We’ve seen that Delta Airlines has bought a refinery close to Philadelphia. It’s being spun off from Conoco-Phillips to try to cut down its jet fuel bill.”

Last year, the airline spent $12 billion on fuel alone – up $3 billion from the previous year. With those numbers, making your own jet fuel sounds appealing, but is buying your own oil refinery worth the cost? Bloomberg breaks down the numbers and puts the purchase into perspective.

“The carrier is paying $180 million to buy the complex from Conoco-Phillips, or less than the cost of a new wide body plane. Delta expects the refinery to cover 80 percent of its domestic fuel needs and shave $300 million off its annual fuel bill.”

So how exactly will it work? Fox Business explains, the airline will outsource production in order to pump out 180,000 barrels of fuel each day, providing 80% of the airlines fuel needs.

“Oil major BP will supply crude oil to be refined at the plant under a three-year agreement. BP and former refinery owner Phillips 66 will get a share of the gasoline, diesel and refined fuel to sell, in exchange for supplying Delta with jet fuel in other locations.”

It seems Delta’s acquisition will not only provide a glimmer of hope for the airline, but also the state. Pennsylvania’s WYOU explains how the state’s governor is helping the airline preserve more than 5,000 jobs in Trainer.

“He had no problem coming up with 20 percent of the $150 million purchase price of this to give Delta $30 million in Pennsylvania tax money to create those jobs.”

Despite the excitement about the investment, an energy economics professor at the University of Houston told Forbes, Delta’s acquisition is just plain stupid. He says the risk isn’t worth the investment.

“Unless the airline buys an oil well, it still won’t own the reserves...Delta would be better off buying call options on oil prices if it is worried about jet fuel costs...[W]hy would Delta think it knows more about running a refinery than Conoco, the oil company that is selling the Trainer [,Pennsylvania] facility?”

Still, the New York Times reports investors are backing Delta’s unique, first-of-its-kind purchase.

“Despite the skepticism from oil specialists, investors seem to support Delta’s unusual approach. The company’s shares have gained more than 10 percent since the beginning of April as word of its interest in the refinery started to spread.”

The airline says it hopes to have the refinery acquisition complete by summer. And it plans to  start producing jet fuel by the end of the third quarter.

(Image source: Wikipedia)

BY EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR BLAKE HANSON 

The latest salvo against illegal file sharing has hit in Britain. The High Court of Britain and Wales ruled Monday all UK Internet service providers must block access to The Pirate Bay. The BBC reports.
 
“Some of the ISPs are appealing. British Telecom has basically said it wants to consider its position, because they’re also concerned that the onus will then be on them to prevent people accessing copyrighted material, and they say that’s not a job that they should really do.”

But ISPs are interested in diverting pirates to legal alternatives. Wired quotes Virgin Media.

“As a responsible ISP, Virgin Media complies with court orders addressed to the company but strongly believes that changing consumer behavior to tackle copyright infringement also needs compelling legal alternatives…”

The new law isn’t without its detractors, of course. A writer for Forbes highlights a problem with the ruling: Parse it out finely enough and it becomes too broad.

“Given that The Pirate Bay holds no content itself, just the links to where you can find the content at other online destinations… when will Google be legally blocked? Yes, that’s a great punch line, but in the eyes of the law, what has been banned is a search engine.”

The court order follows a February ruling in which the High Court found The Pirate Bay enables massive-scale copyright infringement. A consortium of record labels brought the initial suit, and VentureBeat worries about the trend.

“The ruling also sets up an ugly precedent for large organizations to get the court to deny access to sites they don’t like. It could easily get abused.”

In any case, The Pirate Bay is used to dealing with attempted legal pressure. TorrentFreak quotes the site’s spokesman, who sounded pretty unconcerned.

“This will just give us more traffic, as always. Thanks for the free advertising.”

The UK joins a collection of European countries, including Italy, Denmark and Belgium, where access to The Pirate Bay is now blocked.
 

(Image Source: CNN)

BY JIM FLINK

ANCHOR  JIM FLINK

The Occupy movement is back at it.
Calling for the 99% to stay home from work May 1st -- also known internationally as Worker’s Day.
The Washington Post previews one worker shutdown in San Francisco.

“While protesters are backing away from a call to block San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, bridge district ferry workers said they’ll strike Tuesday morning to shut down ferry service, which brings commuters from Marin County to the city. Ferry workers have been in contract negotiations for a year and have been working without a contract since July 2011 in a dispute over health care coverage...”

These protests are supposed to take place in 100 cities across America.
Question is -- how many people will actually stay home?
One Occupy organizer tells The Nation, that doesn’t really matter -- it’s all about keeping the message alive.

“We’ve moved to a different phase.  That part of occupy, we can never take away the contributions its made to reworking the landscape to make potential solutions possible.”

Undoubtedly, the Occupy Movement made its mark.  Banks are certainly paying attention.
Bloomberg reports....

“Banks have pooled resources and cooperated to gather intelligence after learning of plans to picket 99 institutions and companies, followed by what organizers have described as an 8 p.m. “radical after-party” in an undetermined Financial District location.”

But most media outlets believe, the movement has lost its muster.
CBS.com Senior Political Reporter Brian Montopoli writes...

“Gone are the days when celebrities like Kanye West showed up in Zuccotti Park to show their solidarity - if not much of an actual connection - with "the 99 percent." Gone are the breathless news reports about whether Occupy was about to remake the political system, and, just maybe, society as a whole. Gone, for many, is the notion that the movement even matters...”

The Wall Street Journal says, Occupy never resonated because it seemingly lost focus before it could coalesce.
 

“The group didn’t do itself many favors by refusing to define even the most basic list of grievances … Now, they’re back. To what extent remains to be seen ... So if you’re favorite burger joint is closed down tomorrow, or the dry cleaner closes early, or you can’t get room service, you know why.”

(image source: Wikipedia)

BY EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR DAVID EARL

The Australian Parliament is calling on tech companies, Apple and Microsoft among them, to explain why software is so much more expensive down under than it is in the U.S.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the goal of the inquiry is to normalize pricing. Lawmakers say the worldwide connectivity of the Internet means companies can’t continue to justify software premiums based on geography.

How bad is the markup? TechEye reports some Australian companies are resorting to international workarounds to get a deal.

“It is all pretty dumb because it is possible to buy the software in other parts of the world and install it. Companies are getting addresses in the US just so they are able to download a piece of American software at American prices.”

That can mean substantial savings. Take Adobe’s Creative Cloud package, for example. Lifehacker Australia ran the numbers: a 12-month sub in the U.S. is $600. It’s 750 Australian dollars for the same package. Exchange the currencies and it comes out to more than $780.

The Register points out the basic economics of the situation: companies will charge whatever price their customers are willing to pay, no matter what it is you’re buying.

“In part, consumers can blame themselves for this: if you’re at the back of a four-hour queue for the newest device-with-an-i-in-its-name, complaining that it costs too much seems a little contrarian.”

Computerworld suggests there’s only one thing that will actually fix the market.

“…if the gouging is to eventually end, it will do so because the pricing disparity between different national markets is now so egregious that a clever entrepreneur will find a way to make a buck. And Microsoft, Apple, Canon, Lenovo, Sony, Adobe and sundry others will have no one to blame but themselves.”

Parliament is still finalizing its inquiry. It’s expected to proceed sometime later this year.

 

(image source: Wired)

BY EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR LAUREN GORES

An interesting move for the last big-box book retailer standing: Barnes & Noble and Microsoft announced Monday they’re teaming up to start a new subsidiary focused on the digital reading businesses.

Microsoft is investing $300m for a 17.6 percent stake in the venture. Barnes and Noble holds the remaining stake, which is valued at $1.4 billion.

That stake, reports All Things Digital, is nearly double Barnes & Noble’s current market cap.

“…if you assume the deal does go forward, then it’s a bit of magic trick for Barnes & Noble, which will manage to extract an extraordinary amount of value from a business that didn’t exist a few years ago…”

Bloomberg reports it’s quite the change of pace for the two companies. They were stuck in royalty fights just earlier this month.

“Barnes & Noble and Microsoft have ended patent litigation between them and also agreed to create a Nook app for Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system.”

9to5 Google wonders what this means for the future of the Nook.

“While the press release doesn’t say so specifically, it would appear that Barnes and Noble would be abandoning Android as their future e-Reader OS.”

Business Insider agrees, saying now that Barnes & Noble has a heavyweight friend in the industry, it can improve its offerings.

“The Nook Tablet, much like the Kindle Fire, is an entry level tablet. We doubt this new company is going to settle for making just Nook e-readers and entry level tablets. Eventually it will have a full blown tablet that rivals Windows 8 tablets.”

Investors took kindly to the news that Barnes & Noble may be almost tripling its value in the near future. Its stock soared 80% in pre-market trading.

(Image Source: Klouchebag.com)

BY JIM FLINK

ANCHOR  LAUREN GORES

What’d you do over the weekend? A lot of people, it seems, fussed about their Klout.
You know the score that’s supposed to gauge your social media savvy and savoir faire?

Then, Brit Tom Scott came up with a parody, asking “Are you a Klouchebag?”
To find out, just enter your Twitter handle — and voila — Klouchebag reveals if you’re an asshat or not.
Klouchebag uses an ARSE rating system: Anger, retweets, social apps, and English usage, to determine how nice of a Twitter user you are.
Scott is clearly having fun with this, answering hypothetical questions in his FAQ, like:

(Question) But… but my Klout score is important!(Answer) No it’s not. It’s like search engine optimisation, only for yourself. Ignore it. Concentrate on making amazing things, caring about the people around you, and not being a douchebag. If you do that, then you’ll soon realise that it doesn’t matter one jot what an algorithm thinks of you.

Scott says he felt compelled to develop his own algorithm after so many people were turning to Klout to make real business decisions. Digital Trends agrees, saying, really? People do that?

“If you ask me, using Klout scores for anything — even if a person is trying to get a job in social media — is as disgusting and absurd as employers asking for Facebook passwords from job candidates.”

Now some — tongue in cheek — took exception to the Klouchebag methodology, after discovering they themselves were not scoring too highly.
Like The Atlantic Wire.

“Our first complaint is that the system gives far too much punishment to those who habitually retweet. We actually like when people retweet! It gives credit where it's due and helps us find cool stuff. Also, the site seems as much a parody of CNN's Piers Morgan as it is ... of Klout. He gets a full score of 100.”

All of which has the Twitterati and other Social Media Mavens questioning the rise and fall of influence metrics — like the folks over at PR Week.

“Part of what chafes about Klout is that its algorithm is designed to measure the individual's influence not only on a single social media platform but also on all related presences as a whole … Klout can never suggest its algorithm understands the complex, human relationships that exist within the multitude of small, fractured communities that exist inside and across such sites.”

Oh — and by the way, Scott himself scores 100, calling himself — "The Asshat of the Year."
Want to find your score? We have a link to Klouchebag.com in our transcript section.

 

(Image Source: Bloomberg)

BY AUSTIN ALONZO

ANCHOR CHRISTIAN BRYANT

The US economy’s growth rate slowed to 2.2 percent in the first quarter of 2012, missing most experts’ expectations and raising questions about the strength of the economic recovery and US job market.

The New York Times give the highlights of the Commerce Department’s report:

“Consumer spending did turn out to be the major strength early this year, growing 2.9 percent compared with 2.1 percent in the last quarter of 2011. Business investment, which had been a bright spot, declined in the most recent quarter. Government spending also fell more than anticipated, lopping more than half a percentage point off total growth.”

Although US consumers spent more on durable goods, the Washington Post reports the trend is not sustainable and notes consumers are taking on more debt and savings less.

“What people earned isn’t keeping up with their rising bills, and the new figures reflect the financial pressures facing many U.S. households. Moreover, growth of this nature may be unsustainable because eventually consumers will run out of money.”

The lack of growth in business investment has some economists worried the job market will sour. Bloomberg interviews economist Phillip Swagel who explains...

"We can’t expect consumers to keep spending if the job market is not there. and its hard to see job gains being there if business aren’t willing to spend.”

Government spending fell for the sixth straight quarter, the longest such streak since 1953. CNNMoney reports the trend isn’t expected to change as the country heads toward a “fiscal cliff” in 2013.

“The Bush tax cuts, payroll tax cut and extended unemployment benefits are all set to end, at the same time that the government slashes more spending. In a press conference earlier this week, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the fiscal cliff poses ‘significant risk to the recovery.’”

Forbes’ Kenneth Rapoza isn’t surprised by the numbers, he sees the decreased government spending as a symptom of politics on Capitol Hill, but not a major cause for concern.

“The gains have been below historic post-recession growth because the U.S. economy is continuing to deleverage and Republican led initiatives to shrink the federal government are cutting into the economy. The 2.2% will disappoint, but the market will have to learn to live with lowered expectations. The U.S. is still the best developed market around and growing faster than Japan and faster than the eurozone.”
 

(Image Source: inquisitr)

BY EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR NATHAN BYRNE

What do you do after you settle a protracted lawsuit over who invented Facebook? Go into venture capital, apparently. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss took to CNBC on Friday to explain their plans for the newly founded Winklevoss Capital.

“We’re closing a couple deals hopefully within the month.  Unfortunately we can’t — it’s a little premature to disclose what they are. But we focus on early-stage, disruptive startups.”

The move is raising eyebrows across the web. For one thing, CNET says, the VC world certainly seems easy to get into.

“What, after all, do you do when you have more money than you know what [to do] with and you're just 30 years old? Naturally, you become a venture capitalist. Or, in the case of Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, just hang out a VC shingle and become Winklevoss Capital.”

Well, you’ve got to start somewhere. TechCrunch points out the twins have as good a grasp of industry buzzwords as anyone else.

“‘We think the cloud is going to be huge,’ Tyler Winklevoss told [CNBC’s] Sorkin today, after all. They’re focusing on ‘early stage disruptive startups’ who are ‘shifting the paradigm.’ I mean, Marc Andreessen, watch your back.”

TechCrunch goes on to temper the sarcasm, and points out if nothing else, the Winklevoss twins are smart and committed. These sort of celebrity investments could give Silicon Valley a new kind of momentum, but The Next Web wonders — where do you draw the line?

“…I don’t think that the fame of Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss is the type of fame someone wants associated with their startup, but I could be wrong. Personally, I’d rather take money from the guy who played them, Armie Hammer.”

The twins didn’t say how much money they were putting into Winklevoss Capital, but it could be a hefty sum — they took equity in Facebook when the lawsuit settled.
 

(Image Source: everythingiCafe)

BY EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR NATHAN BYRNE

Looking to get more out of your Apple TV? According to Reuters, Apple’s looking for a streaming content shot in the arm.

CNET reports Apple is in talks with Epix, a joint content outlet run by MGM, Paramount and Lionsgate. The service delivers movies like Rango and Iron Man 2 via its website and to various premium television channels.

You can get Epix movies through various devices if you already have a subscription. But VentureBeat points out — if you want to stream them to your TV on demand, you’ve got one option.

“Netflix currently has an exclusive deal with EPIX to be the sole streamer of its content. The deal was struck in 2010 and expires this September, leaving Apple room to swoop in.”

Of course, there’s no need to wait if you’re already a Netflix subscriber. The Verge says if you want to watch Epix content, there’s an app for that.

“In other words, it would be a while before anything comes of this, and in the meantime, you can already watch EPIX content on Apple TV via the Netflix app.”

But iDownloadBlog says if the much-rumored Apple TV really is on its way, it needs this content under its own name.

“Apple’s video content archive pales in comparison to the likes of Netflix and Hulu. If a rumored Apple television set is to be taken seriously and sell like hotcakes, as one analyst said it would, it needs premium Hollywood entertainment, plain and simple.”

But there’s no need to hold your breath. Sources say the deal is in preliminary stages, and neither Apple nor Epix are commenting. Meanwhile, the Apple TV this content would presumably run on is still unconfirmed speculation.

 

(Image source: Chomp)

BY JIM FLINK

We’ve seen plenty of efforts to take a bite out of Apple. Now Apple’s taking a Chomp out of Android.  Literally. Here’s Giga Om’s Om Malik.

“Apple acquired app discovery service Chomp earlier this year, betting that it would help make app discovery easier and better on its iTunes Appstore. The casualty of that acquisition is the Chomp for Android app which seems to have been discontinued.”

GigaOM has a side-by-side screen grab of Chomp before its acquisition and afterward.  Look, no Android. The Verge says … it just went poof.

“....the app has vanished from Google Play, and all mentions of Google's OS have been removed from the Chomp homepage... it's widely believed that Chomp's algorithms... will be used to improve search and discoverability in iTunes and the App Store.”

What made Chomp so desireable in the first place? Its technology provides results based on an app's function, not its name.

Slash Gear says, that’s kind of a game changer.

“A common complaint of the App Store is that, while it is rammed with choice, actually sifting through those options to find software worth downloading is time-consuming and inelegant. ”

Now, there are still a couple of alternatives to nibble on in the Google marketplace. Gotta Be Mobile notes...

“Services like AppsFire and AppAware are still available in the Google Play Store … The easiest way to find great new apps is still talking to friends with the same mobile OS...”

9to5Google notes, there’s also a workaround for Android users who want to still sample Chomp.

“...when searching for apps on the website, changing the platform to “Android” in the URL still allows you to view Android apps.” 

That will surely be fixed soon enough. As will -- likely -- one more casualty to get bitten. Verizon. MacRumors reports...

“Apple reportedly paid about $50 million for Chomp, which also had a deal with Verizon to power its Android app search tools. That agreement will presumably be ending as Chomp completes its integration into Apple and focuses all of its attention on iOS.”

(Image Source: Amazon)

BY LAURA JANVIER

ANCHOR LOGAN TITTLE

Amazon posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results. Bloomberg reports on the earnings.  

“28 cents a share: it’s a 35 percent drop from last year, but it’s way better than the seven cents that analysts were predicting. Also encouraging, gross profit margins rose.”

The company poured billions of dollars into the Kindle, corporate applications, customer service, and sales. CNN explains with so much money being spent many analysts were looking for another big profit drop this quarter.

“Amazon's been spending lots of money on expanding its operations, so analysts expected a huge drop in profit for the first quarter. And even though earnings did fall, they didn't decline nearly as much as analysts had feared.”

One CNBC analyst says Amazon is doing well because it’s sinking money into partnerships and infrastructure.

“They are running their business better. They added more third-party resellers, and that’s a really high-margin business for them. ... They spent billions last year building out those warehouses so they can get stuff out very quickly.”

Amazon doesn’t publish its Kindle numbers, but The Wall Street Journal says we can assume they’re doing quite well.

“One good indicator is that we saw they had a 19 percent jump worldwide media sales. That could be coming from people buying movies, books, music from their Kindles.”

Analyst Jordan Rohan says the company clearly knew it had a good quarter on its hands.Chicago Tribune reports.   

"This looks like a quarter that has something for everyone, growth and margins to satisfy investors. This was a perfect balance. It looks to me there was a follow-through for the Kindle and Kindle Fire in the re-acceleration of growth in media.

(Image Source: Topnews)

BY LAURA JANVIER 

ANCHOR MEGAN MURPHY

Expectations were high, but the outcome – not so good. MSNBC reports, in the latest Gross Domestic Product – or GDP numbers – the U.S economy grew slower than expected.  

"First quarter GDP came in at 2.2 percent – that’s lower than expectations.
And it’s lower than the 3 percent number registered in the fourth quarter of 2011.
So. bad news, right?
Well, the good news is that consumer spending continues to pick up."

ABC explains how the GDP numbers are stalling a faster economic recovery.

“In reviewing the numbers, the fear now is that we may be running out of runway before the onset of another recession....what is becoming slightly concerning is that the unemployment rate is not decreasing at a fast enough rate. ”

Bloomberg talks with professor Phillip Swagel who says it’s not a great report.

“Its pretty underwhelming consumers were there but businesses were not, we saw the federal government subtract a bit and really getting nothing from the trade side exports and imports balanced out so it is definitely weaker than expected."

An analyst on Fox Business says, this is not all bad news.

“Although the details were mixed, the GDP report offered a somewhat better picture of growth compared with the fourth quarter, when inventory building accounted for nearly two thirds of the economy's growth.”

Even though expectations didn’t meet predicted outcomes the quarterly growth was better this period. Forbes reports.

“While the drop in GDP growth appears worrisome, economists say the first quarter’s growth was, in some ways, healthier than the greater expansion in the prior period.”

(Image Source: MotherJones.com)

BY LOGAN TITTLE

Turns out a lot of doctors are sick — of their jobs. Medscape released a study revealing just how much doctors make and what they think of it.

Here’s WFLD.

“…most of the commonly seen doctors are getting some of the lowest pay, while most people would kill to make $150,000 a year, doctors say they are barely getting by on that money…”

Wait — getting by? On $150,000? According to a 2011 Gallup Poll — most people say an annual income of $150,000 or more is rich.

So what’s up, doc?

WebMD says it’s not just about what they make, but some are concerned with what their colleagues make.

“Female doctors make 40% less than male doctors…Some doctors resent the greater pay earned by doctors in other specialties….Doctors fear how new accountable care organizations will affect their patients -- and their pay.”

And a representative of healthcare providers told Medscape Today — while doctors might be jumping the gun a little—they have reason to worry.

“Hospitals are buying up private practices both in primary care and the specialties. The heavy-handed message they send out is that if you don’t join us, you won’t survive.”

And they aren’t necessarily being greedy either. KTVI explains why almost half of the 24,000 physicians surveyed are feeling less enthusiastic.

“…They also said they make a lot of money, yes, but only 11 percent considered themselves to be rich because they have debt, they have expense…long hours and a lot of stress trying to save lives.”

KIDK reports physicians’ overall income has been falling since 2010 and it’s expected to continue.

(Image source: CNBC)

BY NATHAN BYRNE

Here’s a look at your top news headlines from Newsy.

The National Association of Realtors says home sales are up — indicating a possible return for the market. Fox Business reports housing is …

(Image source: Flickr / marcopako)

BY JIM FLINK

ANCHOR LAUREN GORES

Is Apple about to fall from the tree of prosperity? That’s the premise of the latest post on George Colony’s Blog on Forrester.com, also published in Forbes.

In that blog, Colony predicts a dire future for Apple, comparing it to (gasp) Sony.  In Colony’s words...

“When Steve Jobs departed, he took three things with him: 1) singular charismatic leadership... 2) the ability to take big risks, and 3) an unparalleled ability to envision and design products. Apple's momentum will carry it for 24-48 months.”

But — without Jobs — Colony predicts an eventual “commensurate step down in revenue growth and product innovation.”

Now, this isn’t just some fly-by-night blogger.

CNN calls Colony — a top analyst — noting he’s the CEO of a preeminent tech research firm. While, at the same time, pointing out Colony is definitely NOT talking about the here and now.

“This week, Apple reported doubling its profits in the first three months of the year, largely on the strength of the 35.1 million iPhones it sold.”

And — CNN notes — Apple also says it sold nearly 12 million iPads and nearly 8 million iPods during that quarter. Daring Fireball’s John Gruber says, while he doesn’t necessarily agree with Colony, he also thinks his reasoning is sound.

“Apple did not fall to pieces when Jobs died, but no one with a clue expected it to. But Tim Cook and the remaining leadership team have yet to prove themselves in the long run...”

Now, one person’s logic is another’s rubbish. Over at TechCrunch, John Biggs parodies this prediction, if not outright lambasts it — in fact calling it a “short-sighted” “bit of drivel.”

“Rather than seeing a number of vibrant companies duking it out for market share, Colony sees a darkling plain where ignorant armies clash by night.”

Still others like ZDNet see this as a direct jab on the workmanlike Cook, noting, the focus on charisma is a bit over the top.

“Colony partially dismisses Cook’s charisma and creativity. I’d argue he’s just looking at the wrong part of the company. Apple’s supply chain—largely created by Cook—is a work of art.”

Want to see Colony’s full posting?  Check out the link in our transcript section.

(Image source: Apple)

BY DAVID EARL

Despite a five-day stock slide, Apple’s first quarter earning blew by expectations anyway. The tech giant had a nearly 100 percent increase in profit from the same quarter last year. In the first quarter of 2012 … Apple sold, get this, 16,000 iPhones per hour.

While company documents show Mac computers and iPods suffered slight sales drops year-over-year, sales of iPhones and iPads were up big time.

Apple cleared $14b in cash. What’s that mean? Compare Microsoft, which had about $17b in revenue last quarter. CNBC puts it in perspective.

“Apple added a microsoft, almost, in cash. They did double Microsoft’s revenue, double microsoft’s profit in this quarter. It’s pretty staggering.”

An analyst tells Bloomberg Apple can thank China for all the iPhone success.

“These numbers — they did really well outside of the U.S., and that’s a sign that, even though they’re prepaid phone markets, the iPhone’s having success. I think this is a really strong long-term data point about the success of iPhone in emerging markets.”

For now, the Wall Street Journal points out, because of the iPhones blistering success, all of Apple’s eggs appear to be in one basket. So how will its stock handle the wait for the next iphone version?

“…because most people aren’t expecting to see the iPhone 5 until sometime in the fall …it’s worth asking ‘is there going to be something to drive the stock in these next few months?’”

Shares of Apple spiked 7% in after-hours trading Tuesday … all thanks to news of the first quarter earnings report.

(Image source: Mashable)

BY DAVID EARL

Popular movie subscription service Netflix took a walloping on Wall Street in after-hours trading Monday. But, should it have? Here’s Fox Business with the headline.

“Netflix shares are under pressure following its first quarter earnings report. The company posting a narrower-than-expected loss of 8 cents a share.”

The shares were actually down 16 percent in after-hours trading. Some analysts say the news from Netflix on Monday shouldn’t have precipitated a sell off. It beat the street. But TIME points out not all things are based on stats...

“Netflix’s 16% after-hours swoon is really being driven by emotional factors, as increasingly nervous shareholders seem to be losing patience with the company’s stalling growth and rocky transition from DVD rentals to video streaming.”

And it’s not just traders who are ticked off at Netflix … CNBC analysts aren’t happy with the company either.

“It comes down to one thing and that is content, everybody is ideally focusing on creating their own content, the dilemma of Netflix is that they are actually just distributing other people’s media content.”

Businessweek says the CEO is touting the first quarter results …. and thinks Netflix is poised to get stronger.

“[The Netflix CEO] predicted the company will add about 7 million streaming subscribers in the U.S. for all of 2012. That would be about the same number that Netflix attracted in 2010 -- the company's biggest growth year so far.”

But while the head of Netflix is painting a rosy picture of the company — CNET says it’s just too good to be true.

“Remember that ‘virtuous cycle’ [the CEO] crowed about the past two years? The formula went something like this: more titles = more subscribers = more revenue = more titles and back round again. All Netflix had to do to keep the wheel turning was continue writing checks for new films and TV shows. But licensing costs have gone through the roof.”

Netflix recently failed to renew its license with Starz — which provided Netflix with films from Disney and Sony Pictures. Add to that — HBO and Xfinity recently launched their own streaming service.

(Image source: BusinessWeek)

BY DAVID EARL

Two doses of big news from the world’s original personal computer company — in the same day. IBM boosted its quarterly dividend by 13 percent … and Bloomberg reports the computer giant is adding $7 billion to its stock buyback plan.

“IBM had $5.7 billion remaining from a previous buyback plan, bringing the total buyback to just short of 13 billion dollars.”

So what’s behind the moves? The Street thinks the company is paying off investors, after posting flat sales numbers for the first quarter of 2012. And … with a share price over $200 … it’s getting more expensive to pay those investors off.

“It's the 17th straight year IBM has increased its quarterly cash dividend, payable June 9 to shareholders of record on May 10. In the past five years IBM has reduced its share count about 23% as its dividend and share price has roughly doubled.”

Being an IBM shareholder can be lucrative. Wanna know just how much it costs IBM to maintain its shareholders? The Wall Street Cheat Sheet has the numbers.

“IBM CEO Ginni Rometty said that the company has returned over $137 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases since 2000. IBM continues to invest in capital expenditures, acquisitions, and research and development to keep the chip marker at the forefront of innovation.”

IBM’s not the only company adding a dividend. An analyst as Fox Business says while it may be good for Wall Street, it’s not good for Main Street ...

“Three months ago president Obama threw down the gauntlet for corporations to use that money, they have been, they’ve been increasing the dividend and buying back stock … they’re not hiring people, they’re not putting money to work.”

IBM’s announcement helped boost Blue Chip shares during Tuesday trading.

(Image source: White House Flickr)

BY CHRISTINA HARTMAN

This is Newsy, and here’s a look at your top headlines.

President Obama pushes low-rate student loans. Speaking to a crowd at the University of North Carolina, he called on Congress to help keep the cost of college low. And he told students he knows what struggling with tuition feels like. Here’s C-SPAN.

OBAMA: “I didn't get a policy briefing on this. Michelle and I, we’ve been in your shoes. … We had a mountain of debt. When we married, we got poorer together.”

Across the pond, British Labour Party leaders are calling on the country’s Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt to resign. Hunt reportedly gave officials at News Corp sensitive information relating to the company’s controversial bid for broadcasting company BSkyB. The BBC has video of lawmakers pressing News Corp’s James Murdoch over emails he got from the culture secretary.  

“He said he would get there at the end and he shared our objectives. … If it weren’t for the public relations disaster of the Guardian piece of the 5th of July … you would have gotten the remaining shares, wouldn't you have?”

And in South America, Reuters reports Peru is reconsidering a U.S. request to extradite Dutch citizen Joran Van der Sloot to the U.S. That’s in connection to the disappearance of teen Natalee Holloway in Aruba in 2005. Here’s HLN with more.

“He has federal charges in the United States of extortion and wire fraud, very serious charges that could keep him in a U.S. prison for many, many years.”

And in business and tech — a partial victory for Motorola in the company’s patent fight with Apple. A U.S. International Trade Commission judge says Apple violated one out of four Motorola Mobility patent rights — relating to 3G technology. Bloomberg has a look at what that could mean for Apple.

“Worse case scenario is the ITC could ban iPhone sales. Of course that sounds quite extreme and that would be very unusual.”

Finally — the U.S. Department of Agriculture is confirming mad cow found in a dairy cow in central California. It’s the first case in the U.S. in six years.

That’s a look at your top headlines. Stay with Newsy for more video news analysis throughout the day.

(Image source: Bloomberg)

BY JIM FLINK AND EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR MEGAN MURPHY

Just days after releasing disappointing Q1 earnings, Nokia got a double dose of bad news. Its debt has been reduced to junk.

Bloomberg reports....

“Fitch Ratings today lowered Nokia’s long-term debt ranking to BB+, one step below investment grade, citing a deterioration in the handset business in the first quarter and a ‘general lack of visibility.’ Fitch said it may further cut the rating if Espoo, Finland-based Nokia’s revenue doesn’t stabilize and operating margins don’t return to positive.”

Bloomberg notes, Fitch’s decision affects six and a half billion dollars in debt. And the company is forecasting more losses.

Here’s Nokia’s official response:

“We are quickly taking action to position Nokia for future growth and success. Nokia will continue to increase its focus on lowering the company’s cost structure, improving cash flow and maintaining a strong financial position.”

But getting to that strong financial position might come at a cost. Intomobile explains what the Fitch downgrade means in the near term for Nokia:

“When Nokia wants to borrow money to do things like build a factory or make a large order from a component supplier, the interest that they’ll be paying back on their loan will be ridiculously high.”

Not all the news is bad. ZDNet notes, Moody’s just maintained Nokia’s rating at investment grade.

“...although it downgraded Nokia's long-term credit rating to Baa3 and maintained a negative outlook on the rating. Moody's said that its investment grade rating is backed by Nokia's strong liquidity position and capital structure.”

Of course, Nokia is banking on the release of the Lumia 900 to salve its wounds. But even there, the news is less than encouraging. Microsoft’s market share is down too, from 5.2% to 3.9% on the quarter, according to ComScore.

And if that partnership is any indication, ReadWriteWeb says, Nokia has an uphill climb.

“The trouble is that Microsoft's phones - though decent - just aren't good enough to demand attention. They're certainly better now than they used to be - especially the new Lumia series from Nokia - but that isn't enough. To cause any real damage to Apple or Google, Microsoft's phones would have to be dramatically better than the competition, and they just aren't.”

(Image source: Digital Trends)

BY EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR BLAKE HANSON​

Facebook is looking pretty solid ahead of its IPO. The social network issued an amended S-1 Monday, which included financials for the latest quarter.

Facebook made in excess of $1 billion in revenue for the quarter ending in March. That’s a 45 percent jump from last year, but it’s also a six percent drop from last quarter. And net income sank by 32 percent from December. The Wall Street Journal explains.

“Their employees are also up 57 percent, compensation expense is up a ton, marketing expense is up a ton. So that’s the reason we’re seeing profit come down.”

But that decline hasn’t hurt Facebook — the S-1 numbers value the company at some $77 billion. And Facebook said it’s passed the 900-million-monthly-user mark to boot. TechCrunch puts that in perspective.

“With 901 million users and 7.009 billion Earthlings, now one in 7.7 people in the world have a Facebook account.”

SlashGear suggests there’s only one reason Facebook will stop growing.

“Facebook has not reached that point of diminishing returns yet. Eventually, the number of people signing up for an account will have to taper off because, well, there won’t be that many people left.”

And Facebook is holding onto its users. Social Internet Fund founder Lou Kerner tells Bloomberg — more than half of of those 901 million people log in on a daily basis.

“The majority of Facebook’s users are highly engaged, and in fact they’re growing as a percentage of the total Facebook userbase. And that’s really positive for Facebook.”

Positive, Engadget says, because each user makes Facebook a little more money.  

“Facebook was even able to slap a per-user amount on its 900 million active monthly members -- $1.21 -- that's the average revenue for each person with an account at the site.”

Shareholders are going to want to see those returns climbing when Facebook goes public. And for the moment, it looks like growing revenue will be as simple as signing up more users.

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

BY JOE DEUTSCHMANN

You're watching multisource global video news analysis from Newsy.

A New York Times report claiming a Wal-Mart cover-up of widespread bribery in Mexico spurs more media investigation.

“Wal-Mart de Mexico was the company’s brightest success story, pitched to investors as a model for future growth... Confronted with evidence of corruption in Mexico, top Wal-Mart executives focused more on damage control than on rooting out wrongdoing.”

Wal-Mart headquarters first learned about its Mexican stores’ bribery practices in 2005. New York 1 says Wal-Mart conducted an investigation that uncovered more than $24 million in payoffs, but...

“...the company never told law enforcement officials... Executives at the subsidiary tried to conceal the bribes, which allegedly were paid to quickly obtain permits allowing Wal-Marts to be built across Mexico.”

The bribes violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a law established in 1977 to prohibit bribery of foreign officials, as well as require accounting transparency in foreign business. Fox News describes Wal-Mart’s current approach to the case:

“...its latest, ongoing investigation is being handled by outside lawyers and accountants who are experts with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The company also said it has tightened procedures and expanded training in Mexico to ensure compliance with the law.”

But a writer for Forbes says bribery is a common business practice in countries like Mexico. If you want to do business there, it’s simply an additional expense. 

“This really is just the way of the world. Some places do things differently from either the way we do or the way that we think things ought to be done. I tend to think that domestic laws which fail to recognise this fact are doomed to eventual failure.”

The Associated Press says one in every five Wal-Mart stores is in Mexico. The company is Mexico’s largest private employer.

(Image Source: Facebook)

BY JUSTIN PROCHASKA

Video-streaming giant Netflix has been through a bit of everything lately. But when the company releases its first quarter financials next week, it could experience something it hasn’t in almost seven years. — a loss.

Here’s Miami’s WPLG.

“After a bad year of price raises and PR gaffes, Netflix stock is down 65 percent from last summer.”

Financial experts predict Netflix will lose 27 cents per share. The International Business Times puts the numbers in perspective.

“In its projections for the first three months of the year, Netflix has hinted that the probable loss would be anywhere between $9 million and $27 million.”

Why the sudden reversal of fortune? CNBC’s “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer says the recent price hike cost the company almost 3 million subscribers.

Another aborted plan to spin-off its DVD service also cost the company some good will.

“Netflix did at one time have an advantage but everyone has caught up with them and it isn’t special, yet it sells at a special 25 times earnings and that makes it too expensive for this guy.”

A columnist for Seeking Alpha says Netflix brought it upon itself by alienating customers with new policies.

“By offering a ‘one size fits all’ model Netflix has essentially told the customers how much they are able to buy even if they may want to buy more. Who can possibly question the real fact that some customers would like the convenience of pay-per-view on Netflix if only it was available?”

But ScreenRant says Netflix could be pulling a rabbit out of its hat with its newest venture — a resurrection of the critically acclaimed comedy “Arrested Development.”

Netflix recently announced it will stream the upcoming fourth season by releasing all episodes at the same time.

“The streaming service is more interested in total viewers calculated across a much wider window of time, and they therefore can release entire seasons of a show all at once, in order to help increase interest and views by getting audiences to do what they already do naturally with the service: watch large blocks of programming in marathon fashion.”

Netflix currently has almost 25 million subscribers worldwide.

(Image source: Motor Trend)

BY ALLYSON BROWN

Ahead of Monday’s Beijing Car Show, leaked pictures reveal a high-end luxury SUV from an unlikely brand … Caradvice.com says …

(Image Source: Walt Disney Studios)

BY KRISTIAN MUNDAHL

ANCHOR ZACH TOOMBS

The chairman of Disney’s movie division officially stepped down Friday after three rocky years on the job. He’d previously been successful running Disney’s cable operation. Here’s CNBC.

“Ross, who successfully grew the channel into a worldwide powerhouse with hit franchises like "High School Musical", failed the golden touch with cable tv to film.”

After his success with The Disney Channel, Ross was expected to turn around Walt Disney Studios. But after overseeing one of the biggest flops in film history, the sci-fi flick John Carter, Ross told his staff in a statement it was time to move on.

“... I no longer believe the chairman role is the right professional fit for me. For that reason, I have made the very difficult decision to step down...”

It was Ross’s television success that led Disney President Bob Iger (EYE-ger) to promote him to the studio’s top job. But bloggers for the Los Angeles Times point out, the choice was criticized from the start.

“Many inside and outside Disney were skeptical at the time that a TV executive with limited film experience could transition successfully to running a large movie studio.”

Ross was Iger’s first choice to replace former chairman Dick Cook. The New York Times’ blogger Brooks Barnes says, Ross’s tenure reflects badly on the CEO.

“Mr. Iger’s hiring of Mr. Ross was heralded as a bold decision. Now his exit marks a rare blemish on Mr. Iger’s record as chief executive, partly because of the selection of Mr. Ross but also because the studio continues to be in turmoil more than two years after Mr. Iger first moved to fix it.”

Disney has not named a successor and, according to Barnes, it may take months to fill the role.

(Image source: The Gamer Access)

BY EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR NATHAN BYRNE

Things are looking pretty decent for Microsoft. The company reported its earnings Thursday after the markets closed, and it beat expectations nearly across the board.

Microsoft reported revenue of $17.41 billion for the quarter, up six percent year-over-year. Its operating income was $6.37 billion, a 12 percent increase year-over-year.

And ahead of the launch of Windows 8, Bloomberg reports unearned revenue projections show continued growth.

“$15,191,000. That is the unearned revenue figure Microsoft had at the end of the March quarter. ... They’re growing unearned revenues faster and faster every quarter. It’s really impressive growth.”

The only division to lose revenue was entertainment, reportedly because consumers aren’t picking up Xbox 360s at the rate that they used to. Engadget has details.

“The one division seeing a big drop is Entertainment & Devices, which dipped a hefty 16 percent year-over-year to $1.62 billion in revenue -- something Microsoft blames on a ‘soft gaming console market…’”

An analyst tells CNBC gaming has shifted some of its focus off traditional platforms.

“We are seeing gaming turn more to mobile, and it’s putting more weakness on the overall console market. It’s not as though Microsoft is losing share within that market…”

Microsoft’s next console refresh isn’t expected until the 2013 holidays. VentureBeat says in the meantime, the company needs to push what it can in Entertainment and Devices.

“Windows Phone will have to actually start earning some money for the Entertainment & Devices division. Microsoft can’t afford to have two major product lines sagging and bringing down an entire portion of its business.”

On that phone front: Microsoft didn’t have any concrete data to share on how Nokia’s Lumia 900 has been doing so far, saying only that it’s pleased with the launch on AT&T and with its Nokia partnership.

(Image source: Silicon Angle)

BY EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR NATHAN BYRNE

Your friends know what you read, watch and like on Facebook. Soon, they could know what your investment portfolio looks like, too. A company called Loyal3 is looking let anybody get into the stock market, straight from Facebook brand pages.

According to Business Insider, Loyal3 announced Wednesday it’s planning a service that will allow anyone to buy shares from a participating company’s profile page. Starting in June, companies can sell shares for as little as $10, and users don’t have to worry about dealing with brokers or other fees.

Loyal3 CEO Barry Schneider says companies absorb those surcharges for the chance to offer shares to more stockholders. Loyal3 breaks the more expensive stocks down into fractions to make them attainable. Schneider says the goal is to get more ownership of corporate America into the hands of citizens.

“Today, 81.5% of American families don't directly invest in the stock market. …institutional ownership in American companies far exceeds individual ownership, which we believe is unhealthy.”

To that end, Gizmodo says, Loyal3 has made getting in as easy as anything else on Facebook.

“Loyal3 promises stock purchasing plans for as little as $10 and a process that zips by in three clicks. You can own a piece of stock faster than writing on someone's wall. Amazing.”

Of course, more owners means more eyes on the company. Ad Age points out with the boost in awareness from trading on Facebook will come liability.

“Brands have to prepare for backlash if the stock doesn't perform. The same network effects they enjoy when a consumer buys stock and broadcasts that on Facebook could go the other way if an investment goes bad.”

All Facebook is similarly content to wait and see how Facebookers learn their way around markets.

“…that doesn’t make us any less curious — ahem, or skeptical — about what flubs may occur in the first round of buying high and selling low that will take place on the social network in June.”

Loyal3 is imposing a $2,500-per-month limit on trading, so it’s not likely Facebook trading will crash any markets.

 

(Image source: The Vegetarian Star)

BY TATIANA DARIE

ANCHOR NATHAN BYRNE

What can we get started for you today?

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)

BY NATHAN BYRNE

Here’s a look at your top news headlines from Newsy.

A congressional staff member who took part in Secret Service briefings says more resignations are expected from the agency.

(Image source: NokiaPhones.net)

BY EVAN THOMAS AND JIM FLINK

ANCHOR  JIM FLINK


In the midst of a huge advertising campaign, Nokia has other news it’s being less boisterous about.
The European phone giant posted some less-than-stellar earnings in the first quarter of 2012.

Here are the numbers.
A $1.2 billion loss in the first quarter.
Sales plunged 29 percent.

Nowhere were those losses bigger – than in China – once a Nokia hotbed.
TechCrunch reports Nokia’s Chinese market has been collapsing under competition from cheaper Android handset makers and Apple’s iPhone.

“As a measure of what a decline this was: this time last year Greater China was Nokia’s second-biggest market; today it’s the third-smallest … ”

Anticipating these losses, Nokia has been reloading — with a new product — the Lumia 900.
Early returns are hopeful for the company — and it’s hitching the whole train — to that engine.
In a campaign, now sweeping the planet.

“The smart phone Beta test is over....(cheers)....”
“You were a secret product tester in the greatest social experiment ever undertaken.”
“Was I a product tester?”
“Was I?”
“Yes, you both were.”

Forbes says, that ad campaign has closed the Buzz Score gape — seen in this chart — with Samsung and Apple.

“After the April release of the Window-based Nokia Lumia 900 and a cheekily confident new ad campaign, the brand has seen its Buzz score rise to its highest point for 2012.”

But will it be enough to recharge Nokia, as it tries to regain a foothold in the all-important US market?
Bloomberg says it will certainly help.

“I have to say, sales have been gaining traction there. They’ve sold more than 2 million in the first quarter, and if we see sales of Lumia picking up, and if we see increased interest from Chinese consumers, that could be a bright spot.”

The Wall Street Journal says, Nokia will try to regain footing — with cheaper, and yet still high-quality handsets.  A market it has been losing to Apple and Google, starting in 2007.

“Nokia has been losing market share in Western markets since the introduction of Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone in 2007 ...Now its bread-and-butter revenue from sales of basic phones in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa is under threat from the arrival of cheap Android-powered smartphones at the low-end of the market as well.”

But in the fast-paced world of smartphones, as seen with Blackberry maker RIM, the fight to keep up can be tough.
One analyst tells CNBC the Lumia could well be Nokia’s last chance.

“They haven’t kept up with the likes of the iPhone, with the likes of Android devices. This Lumia handset, this Windows phone we’ve been discussing, is make-or-break for them.”

And CNET says, Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop has his work cut out for him on both ends of the market.

“On one hand, Elop said it will ramp Lumia advertising and new features with "a clear sense of urgency." On the other side of the equation, Elop noted that it will be aggressive on the low end of the market while conserving cash.”


 

(Image source: ValueWalk)

BY EVAN THOMAS

ANCHOR NATHAN BYRNE

Facebook’s public debut is still a month off, but watchers are hardly waiting idle. CNBC took to Twitter Wednesday to deliver the most specific prediction yet for Facebook’s IPO.

CNBC cites an anonymous source who says Facebook will arrive on the market as soon as May 17.

TechCrunch’s own anonymous sources are corroborating that date — it looks good, they say, as long as the SEC gets through the paperwork on Facebook’s Instagram buy before then.

The other big question is how much Facebook will go for. ZDNet says we’re close to getting an official word there, too.

“We won’t know Facebook’s actual valuation until right before the offering is made, which typically occurs about three months after a firm files for its IPO.”

In the meantime, analysts are kicking around a price tag between $75 and $100 billion. And thanks to Facebook buying Instagram, that number is getting more accurate.

Facebook split its billion-dollar payment for Instagram into about 30 percent cash and 70 percent stock. The New York Times says if Facebook’s stock is valued at $30 per share now, that means the company is worth more than $75 billion. But according to its sources, that’s not the whole story.

“During the negotiations with Instagram, the parties framed the deal around a logical assumption: Facebook could soon trade publicly at a much higher market value. As part of the talks, the companies discussed a potential value of about $104 billion for Facebook…”

That would mean Instagram technically went for more than a billion dollars. The Next Web wonders how Facebook covered the deficit.

“…did Facebook issue more stock to cover the massive purchase? When the company files an amended S-1, we’ll know, but for now, it seems all but certain that Facebook put down $300,000,000 in hard currency for the photo-sharing firm.”

And Instagram’s true worth could continue to climb, depending on how Facebook’s stock trades when it goes public. Facebook, meanwhile, can’t comment on any of the numbers — the company is keeping quiet in the period leading up to its IPO.

(Image Source:venturebeat)

BY GILLIAN STEDMAN

ANCHOR DAVID EARL

Mobile payments company Square is seeking a fresh round of capital that could bring its valuation to $4 billion.

Square makes a tiny credit card reader that allows businesses to process payments from a smartphone.  If this rumored cash infusion goes ahead, Square will have quadrupled its worth in less than a year.

The rumors began after Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s recent meetings with global investment firm-Legg Mason. The company confirmed that it is “looking into Square”, but hasn’t made further comment.

According to All Things Digital, the business has come a long way…

“Over the past year, it has quickly expanded beyond handing out magnetic-swipe readers to offer more robust experiences for both consumers and merchants, including software on the Apple iPad that acts like a register, and software on the iPhone that is a virtual wallet.”

No doubt there’s money to be made in this mobile payment space. Google is also giving it a stab, with Google Wallet for mobile phones.  But a tech blogger for Wired thinks Square will win out in the long run…

“The “wave-and-pay” Google Wallet feature can’t be used. In fact, of the four major wireless carriers in the U.S., only Sprint supports the Google Wallet platform.”

But not everyone agrees that these devices will catch on. Fox’s Shelly Palmer says they’re not cheap to use...

“Its actually going to cost you a couple cents extra to take a credit card that way. If you’re using a lot of credit cards, you already have other solutions. So I’m not sure how big the market actually is for this device.”

However, Vator TV says Square is doing all the right things and this additional funding could bring greater opportunities to the market…

“All I know is that if Square gets a valuation between $3 billion and $4 billion, it will give them momentum that could place them out of reach for all except for Visa and PayPal.”

(Image: 

BY EVAN THOMAS AND JIM FLINK

ANCHOR  JIM FLINK

They’re screaming — “Yahoo!” — over at Yahoo! this morning.  Or at least, offering up a little — “yea...”.
The internet company beat the Street with its first quarter earnings under new CEO Scott Thompson.

Here are the numbers.
Yahoo reported a total revenue of $1.22 billion.
That’s up 1 percent from Q1 2011.
And it had net earnings of $286 million — up 28 percent year-over-year.

Not too many people were expecting a spectacular performance from Yahoo, given its recent administrative reorganizations and job cuts.
But Yahoo cleared the bar, and ZDNet says, that bar was set pretty low.

“That’s just a 1 percent increase over the first quarter of 2011. Still, that qualified as a “beat the Street” performance as analysts had projected flat earnings.“

So not necessarily great expectations.
But with Thompson just now getting his footing, Darren Chervitz tells CNBC, it’s probably safer to expect Yahoo to go slow and steady for the moment.

“I happen to think that stabilization is probably the best thing you can assume for Yahoo in the near term …whatever they can do, again, to stabilize and perhaps even grow the core business only means good things for the valuation of the company.”

Most analysts agree — stability comes before potential growth.
Now, all eyes turn to the CEO and what his plans are going forward.
And the Wall Street Journal notes, he’s definitely talking the talk.

“…Scott Thompson, the new CEO who took over in January, he’s talking a big talk. He’s saying ‘we are, right now, at one percent revenue growth. We want to get to more than 20 percent revenue growth.’”

So how does Yahoo! go from foundering — to robust?
TechCrunch notes, Thompson outlined a strategy of — focus.

“He said he will be shutting down or “transitioning” at least 50 Yahoo properties, so that it can focus on core products like Mail, Finance, and Sports... and accelerating the process of developing new features and products.”

While some hail Q1 as a small victory, other analysts believe the pressure now mounts on Yahoo!.
Among them, an analyst for Bloomberg.

“The year over year growth is really not there...””
There are a lot of impatient investors who’ve been waiting for stock to get back up to the levels Microsoft offered to buy the company at a couple of years ago.”

Microsoft offered $31 a share for Yahoo! in February 2008.  Since then, the stock has dropped by more than half, to about 15 dollars per share.

 

(Image Source: Miami World-Herald) 

BY VICTORIA CRAIG

In a surprising announcement Tuesday, Warren Buffett said he is seeking treatment for stage one prostate cancer. Dayton’s WRGT has the details.

“Buffett says he found out last week its in the early stages and his doctors expect him to make a full recovery. He plans to start two months of radiation in July.”

What does a prostate cancer diagnosis mean for the 81-year-old billionaire investor? Fox Business speculates how it will affect Berkshire Hathaway and its investors.

“The two-month daily treatment will limit his travel, but will not limit him in his capacities as chairman and chief executive. In the letter to shareholders, he says quote, ‘My condition is not remotely life-threatening or even debilitating in any meaningful way.’”

Early Tuesday after the announcement, Berkshire investors were already reacting to the news. The company’s shares sunk nearly two percentage points in after hours trading. CNBC explains why investors are worried about the future of the company without Buffett.

“A lot of comparisons being made about buying into Buffett, buying into Berkshire, to buying into Apple and Steve Jobs...Warren Buffett invests in a portfolio of companies. He doesn’t actually produce anything. And they’re disparate businesses as well versus Apple, which some say at least has a history of innovation.”

According to the American Cancer Society, the survival rate for prostate cancer is near 100 percent. Still, Buffett’s diagnosis puts a focus on the future of Berkshire and its succession planning. Forbes explains why it’ll be different from the transition that took place at a post-Steve-Jobs Apple.

“Many viewed [Steve Jobs] as inextricable from the company’s value...but it will be years before Apple runs out of products to sell that he had a hand in developing. When Buffett leaves Berkshire, whenever that may be, his investing acumen — and the seal of approval he grants the companies he invests in — leaves with him.”

The Street says the bigger issue for stakeholders is Berkshire’s empire — which includes financials, utilities, the housing market, consumer goods, and more.

“Buffett's outsize role in negotiating mergers and acquisitions for the company, and his reputation as the don of American capitalism, are viewed by most market watchers as harder, likely impossible to replace, through any one individual.”

Still, Buffett tried to ease investors’ worries Tuesday saying he has no plans to retire any time soon. He added he plans to alert investors immediately if his health worsens. Buffett pens an annual letter to the company board alerting them of a successor should he step down.

(Image source: FreePatentsOnline)

BY EVAN THOMAS

Weaponized patents have seen some pretty high-profile cases of late — just look at Yahoo and Facebook trading salvos. Now, Twitter has a plan to make the patent scene a little less litigious.

In a blog post on Tuesday, Twitter explains the Innovator’s Patent Agreement. The IPA prevents the company from taking offensive legal action with an employee’s patents without first getting permission from said inventor. Without that permission, the patents can only be used for defensive action.

And inventors can neutralize any suit that goes ahead in spite of the agreement. TechDirt explains.

“The method by which this works is pretty creative. Basically, if the actual patent holder tries to use the patent offensively without first obtaining the permission of the inventor, the agreement allows the inventor to issue a license to the entity being sued…”

Under the IPA, inventors keep the rights to their patents, no matter which company owns them. At VentureBeat, analyst Rocky Agrawal speaks from experience — inventors will probably get on board.

“Twitter’s move could serve as an important recruiting tool and could help enforce good corporate behavior around patents. The idea of having more control over how a patent gets used is very compelling to me as an inventor.”

But a writer for Forbes worries — no inventor should have all that power.

“…it really places all faith in questions of law, strategy and morality into the hands of the inventors. There’s nothing wrong with giving them some say. But the posture of inventor infallibility that seems to be embedded in the doctrine flies against the American systems of fairness and participation.”

Silicon Beat is calling it now: the IPA will be a non-starter. Shareholders won’t want to invest in declawed companies.

“Patents are now assets, plain and simple. And anyone who restricts their own patents in any way, or offers to unilaterally back down, is essentially reducing the value of those assets.”

And TIME points out the only thing distinguishing the IPA from the current system is that inventor permission.

“Twitter says that it won’t sue other companies offensively over patents without the permission of the patent’s inventor. It says that it won’t bully inventors into granting that permission, but if it does get it, it can go ahead and sue and be as offensive as it pleases.”

It’s worth noting Twitter has never been in court over patents, and it says it plans to keep it that way. The company will roll out the IPA later this year, and it’s issued an open invitation for adoption.