Facebook shares sink 11 percent as reality overtakes hype
(Reuters) - Facebook shares sank 11 percent in the first day of trading without the full support of the company's underwriters, leaving some investors down almost 25 percent from where they were Friday and driving others to switch back to more established stocks. Facebook's debut was beset by problems, so much so that Nasdaq said on Monday it was changing... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, Yesterday, 1:33am
Nasdaq seen struggling with aftermath of Facebook IPO
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nasdaq OMX faces short-term costs from its botched handling of Facebook shares on their first day of trading but the longer term repercussions could be more expensive as it struggles to restore its image. Initially, the exchange said it plans to set aside $13 million to resolve bad trades, and even if all of that was used, the cost would be minimal compared with the $387 million in net income it reported last year. The bigger hit to Nasdaq's business is likely to come from the damage done to its reputation by the stumble. ... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, Yesterday, 1:33am
Insight: Morgan Stanley cut Facebook estimates just before IPO
(Reuters) - In the run-up to Facebook's $16 billion IPO, Morgan Stanley, the lead underwriter on the deal, unexpectedly delivered some negative news to major clients: The bank's consumer Internet analyst, Scott Devitt, was reducing his revenue forecasts for the company. The... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, Yesterday, 1:16am
Alibaba repurchases half of Yahoo’s stake for $7.1 billion
As Yahoo’s struggles continue, the company is looking to cut costs and dig up cash wherever it can. Yahoo announced plans last month to lay off 2,000 workers, or nearly 15% of its staff, and before that it filed a “puzzling” patent lawsuit against long-time partner Facebook. Now, Yahoo will sell half of its 40% stake in China-based retail giant Alibaba. Led by Chinese Internet entrepreneur Jack Ma, Alibaba will repurchase part of Yahoo’s holdings in the e-commerce firm for $7.1 billion as it prepares... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 11:25pm
Nasdaq seen struggling with aftermath of Facebook IPO
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nasdaq OMX faces short-term costs from its botched handling of Facebook shares on their first day of trading but the longer term repercussions could be more expensive as it struggles to restore its image. Initially, the exchange said it plans to set aside $13 million to resolve bad trades, and even if all of that was used, the cost would be minimal... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 11:05pm
At seventh birthday, YouTube marks new milestones
YouTube celebrated its seventh birthday by saying it has hit fresh milestones in terms of its offerings and the amount of time spent on the video-sharing website. Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 10:18pm
Facebook stock slide puts new pressures on company
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc's underwhelming debut on Wall Street increases the pressure on the social networking giant to deliver stellar growth - a novel situation for Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, who has been clear he is more interested in building products than making money. Facebook shares fell 11 percent on Monday, the company's second day as a publicly traded company, due to what many analysts and investors blamed on overly aggressive pricing by Facebook's underwriters, as well as a decision to expand the size of the offering by 25 percent. ... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 8:52pm
Chrome passes Internet Explorer to become world’s most popular browser
Google’s Chrome Web browser has continued to gain market share since its introduction in 2008. Despite surpassing Internet Explorer in select regions and on weekends, Google’s browser has never been able to dethrone Microsoft in global usage share. According to new numbers from StatCounter, however, Google’s browser has finally averaged higher traffic than Internet Explorer for the first time over a full seven-day stretch. From May 14th through May 20th, the Internet... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 8:25pm
Ex-Yahoo director, fund manager made illegal trades: U.S.
(Reuters) - Federal prosecutors on Monday announced insider trading charges against a former Yahoo employee and a fund manager for illegally sharing and trading on secret company information. The pair pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court on Monday, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office said in a press release. They were also charged by U.S. securities regulators in a parallel civil proceeding. The SEC said it is pursuing a civil settlement with... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 8:14pm
Computer hackers access U.S. Justice Department website: spokeswoman
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One or more unauthorized users gained access to the inner workings of a website run by the U.S. Justice Department, a department spokeswoman said on Monday after the hacker group Anonymous said they were behind the incident. The hackers accessed a server that operates the Bureau of Justice Statistics' website, the spokeswoman said. The bureau is responsible for collecting and analyzing data about crime — including computer security incidents — from throughout the United States. ... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 7:25pm
Early Facebook mutual fund buyers still in money
(Reuters) - Fidelity Investments and other big mutual fund families that were early backers of Facebook Inc are likely still winners despite the social network's troubled stock market debut. Facebook shares were priced at $38 per share in its initial public offering on Thursday. Despite an initial bump in their market debut on Friday, the shares fell on Monday, closing down 11 percent at $34.03. The decline prompted much hand-wringing among technology investors who had expected a bigger boost for the widely used social networking service. ... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 5:51pm
Lawrence Lessig: Internet Privacy Is an Oxymoron [VIDEO]
Lawrence Lessig called Internet privacy an "oxymoron" in a backstage interview during this year's Mashable Connect, held in Orlando, Florida. Lessig added that the solution lies in building what he called an "identity layer" into the Internet. Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 5:02pm
A look at tech companies with recent IPOs
Here's a look at how some companies that had initial public offerings of stock since January 2011 are faring. The companies are all loosely Internet-related, though their businesses vary widely. Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 4:53pm
What earnings reports have revealed about ads
Here are highlights of recent quarterly earnings reports from selected Internet and media companies and what they say about the state of spending on advertising: Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 4:38pm
CableWiFi to offer more than 50,000 free access points to cable subscribers
Five major U.S. cable companies have teamed up to offer more than 50,000 free Wi-Fi hotspots to subscribers. The service will be known as “CableWiFi,” and will be offered to customers of Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable. The service initially launched in New York City and central Florida earlier May, and is set to expand to other markets in the coming months. “This effort adds great value to our high speed Internet... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 3:35pm
Europe gives Google one last chance to end antitrust investigation
European Union antitrust regulators launched an investigation into Google’s search practices in November 2010 after rivals accused the company of promoting its own services ahead of theirs. EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia on Monday said regulators and Google were not looking at a lengthy proceeding, and if the Internet giant could meet certain demands, the antitrust investigation could be brought to a close, Reuters reported. “Google has repeatedly expressed to me its... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 2:30pm
Europe gives Google one last chance to end antitrust investigation
European Union antitrust regulators launched an investigation into Google’s search practices in November 2010 after rivals accused the company of promoting its own services ahead of theirs. EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia on Monday said regulators and Google were not looking at a lengthy proceeding, and if the Internet giant could meet certain demands, the antitrust investigation could be brought to a close, Reuters reported. “Google has repeatedly expressed to me its... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 2:30pm
There Was a lot of Internet at the Ultra-Orthodox Rally Against the Internet
That ultra-Orthodox rally in New York this weekend all about the evils of the Internet used the Internet in so many ways. At the gathering of 40,000 Jewish men in CitiField, a rabbi warned about all the horrible things the Web is doing to the chosen people. "This is reprogramming our way of life! It’s changing who we are!" said Rabbi Rav Ephraim Wachsman, according to BetaBeat's Adrienne Jeffries, a woman who went undercover to... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 2:27pm
Morgan Stanley works on Facebook IPO orders: source
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley's brokerage affiliate, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, has a "large number" of market orders entered on Friday for Facebook shares that still have not been reconciled, according to an adviser at the firm. The adviser, who is not allowed to talk to the media and who declined to be identified, received an email from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney sent to financial advisers right after Morgan Stanley Smith Barney's Monday morning meeting at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT). ... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 1:41pm
‘Copyright cop’ system for U.S. ISPs delayed
The new “six strikes” anti-piracy policy soon to be implemented by a number of major Internet service providers in the United States will reportedly stumble out of the gate. The policy, which is set to be adopted by Comcast, Cablevision, Verizon, Time Warner Cable and other ISPs, will see action taken against users caught downloading pirated files in six steps, ultimately resulting in bandwidth throttling or even service suspensions. The system responsible for managing the new policy may not be ready on schedule, however, and the targeted launch... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 1:35pm
Facebook investors left guessing after Nasdaq glitch
(Reuters) - Individual investors were left in the dark for hours on Friday about whether their buy and sell orders for newly issued Facebook shares had actually been executed, in the latest of a series high-profile exchange glitches in recent years. Massive demand for the social networking giant's initial public offering, which set a trading volume record for U.S. market debuts, led to a 30-minute delay in the start of trading in the stock. But it was what happened after trading started that had some on Wall Street fuming. ... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 12:44pm
Nasdaq alters IPO procedures after Facebook glitch
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nasdaq OMX Group Inc said it is changing its initial public offering trading procedures following glitches in Facebook Inc's market debut that left some traders unsure if their orders for shares had been completed. The exchange operator said in a statement on Monday that modifications to its IPO procedures would prevent a repetition of the Friday problems with Facebook. Nasdaq Chief Executive Robert Greifeld said in a conference call with reporters on Sunday that there had been a malfunction in the trading system's design for processing order cancellations. ... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 12:01pm
Facebook sinks as Nasdaq scrambles to square trades
(Reuters) - Facebook shares sank on Monday in the first day of trading without the full support of the company's underwriters, leaving some investors down 25 percent from where they were Friday afternoon. Facebook's debut was beset by problems, so much so that Nasdaq said on Monday it was changing its IPO procedures. That may comfort companies considering a listing but... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 12:01pm
Nasdaq announces plan for unfilled Facebook orders
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nasdaq has engaged federal regulators to untangle the problems that occurred at the opening of Facebook Inc's initial public offering on Friday that could eventually result in financial restitution for investors who did not get shares at the desired price. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority will review requests from investors whose orders were not filled at the opening cross price of $42 or were filled at an inferior price, the Nasdaq said in a statement. FINRA will report on the total value of investor claims to Nasdaq. ... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 11:29am
Nasdaq alters IPO procedures after Facebook glitch
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nasdaq OMX Group Inc said on Monday it is changing its initial public offering trading procedures following glitches in Facebook Inc's market debut at the end of last week that prevented some traders from knowing for hours whether their orders for shares had been completed. The exchange operator said in a note to traders that modifications to its IPO and halt cross application would prevent the problems that occurred on Friday from recurring. (Reporting By John McCrank; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick) Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 9:59am
EU offers Google last chance in antitrust case
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's antitrust chief on Monday ratcheted up the pressure on Google, giving it a matter of weeks to settle an investigation into allegations of anti-competitive behavior and avoid formal charges and a possible fine. Even if the world's most popular search engine offers concessions to resolve the issue, it will still be under the EU spotlight following fresh complaints... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 9:23am
Nasdaq alters IPO procedures after Facebook glitch
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nasdaq OMX Group Inc said on Monday it is changing its initial public offering trading procedures following glitches in Facebook Inc's market debut at the end of last week that prevented some traders from knowing for hours whether their orders for shares had been completed. The exchange operator said in a note to traders that modifications to its IPO and... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 9:06am
Watch Web Celebs in Super Slo-Mo [EXCLUSIVE]
Remember the pop-up trivia version of Antoine Dodson's "Bed Intruder" we premiered a few weeks ago? Well, now you can watch your favorite Internet stars do crazy things in super slow motion. Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 8:54am
Google Chrome Now the No. 1 Browser in the World
Google's Chrome web browser just passed Microsoft's Internet Explorer to become the most-used browser in the world, says the latest data from a digital analytics service. Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 7:13am
Microsoft launches social network So.cl, claims not to compete with Facebook
While Facebook is busy reveling over its recent IPO, Microsoft has quietly taken its own social network, So.cl, out of beta and opened it up to users around the globe. Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 7:07am
Google Insights: deaths of Donna Summer and ‘Swamp People’ star
Legendary disco queen Donna Summer died on May 17 after losing her battle with cancer. Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 5:45am
Alibaba buys back 20 percent stake held by Yahoo for $7.1 billion
SHANGHAI/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chinese Internet entrepreneur Jack Ma is buying back up to half of a 40 percent stake in his Alibaba Group from Yahoo Inc for $7.1 billion, in a deal that moves the Chinese e-commerce leader closer to a public listing. Under the agreement, Yahoo will sell half its stake in Alibaba for at least... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 2:53am
Alibaba in talks to raise $2.3 billion equity for Yahoo deal: sources
SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese Internet firm Alibaba Group is in talks with existing shareholders, including Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings, to raise about $2.3 billion in equity to partly finance its deal with Yahoo Inc., two sources said. Entrepreneur Jack Ma is buying back up to half of a 40 percent stake in his... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 21, 2:17am
Kelly Brook's dress causes a stir: Twitter highlights from Cannes
The appearance of actress Kelly Brook at Cannes causes a buzz on Twitter due to her "figure-hugging dress". Reactions to Kelly Brook's dress can be found below in this latest article from Relaxnews examining social media reaction to the Cannes Film Festival. Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 20, 8:04am
Pakistan blocks Twitter access over "blasphemous content"
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan on Sunday blocked access to Twitter in response to "blasphemous" material posted by users on the microblogging and social networking website, a senior government official said. "This has been done under the directions of the Ministry of Information Technology. It's because of blasphemous content," said Mohammed Yaseen, chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). "They (the ministry) have been discussing with them (Twitter) for some time now, requesting them to remove some particular content," he said. ... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 20, 7:35am
Google says it has China's approval for Motorola deal
(Reuters) - Google said on Saturday that Chinese authorities have approved its $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility Holdings, the last regulatory hurdle to a deal that would allow the world's No. 1 Internet search engine to develop its own line of smart phones. Google, which will be the newest entrant to the handset market, announced plans for the acquisition last year in a bid to secure Motorola's valuable patents and pave... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 19, 9:22pm
Google says it won China's approval for Motorola deal
(Reuters) - Google said on Saturday that Chinese authorities have approved its $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility Holdings, the last regulatory hurdle to a deal that would allow the world's No. 1 Internet search engine to develop its own line of smart phones. Google, which will be the newest entrant to the handset market, announced plans for the acquisition last year in a bid to secure Motorola's valuable patents and... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 19, 4:01pm
SEC to look at Facebook trade glitches
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Securities and Exchange Commission will review the Nasdaq trading glitches surrounding the initial public offering of Facebook Inc on Friday, an agency spokesman said. "As is our practice, staff will review the incident with Nasdaq to determine its cause and steps that will be taken to address it," SEC spokesman John Nester said in a statement. (Reporting By Dave Clarke; Editing by Gary Hill) Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 18, 6:03pm
Facebook investors left guessing after Nasdaq glitch
(Reuters) - Individual investors were left in the dark for hours on Friday about whether their buy and sell orders for newly issued Facebook shares had actually been executed, in the latest of a series high-profile exchange glitches in recent years. Massive demand for the social networking giant's initial public offering, which set a trading volume record for U.S. market debuts, led to a 45-minute delay in the start of trading in the stock. But it was what happened after trading started that had some on Wall Street fuming. ... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 18, 6:03pm
Everything You Need to Know About Facebook's IPO
Now that Facebook's finished its first day on the market, it's time to figure out what it all means. It ended the day at a price of $38.23 per share, almost exactly where it started the morning at $38 per share, does that mean today basically didn't happen? No. As you can see over at our live blog, it was an eventful day, which saw the stock peak at $45 per share, amid tech glitches and a resounding meh from the Internet. What does this mean for Facebook? America? The Internet? Me? You? Let's find... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 18, 6:03pm
Beyond Facebook: A look at social network history
Facebook may have made social networking a worldwide cultural phenomenon, but it wasn't the first Internet company to connect people online. And it won't be the last. Here's a look at how social networking has evolved. Some companies have come and gone. Some are mere shells of their former selves. And others show promise, even as Facebook dominates the social Web. Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 18, 5:19pm
Scramble for Facebook stock ends in "Face-flop"
NEW YORK (Reuters) - On Monday, 74-year-old Betty Tanguilig told her financial adviser to liquidate a $400,000 account and put all the proceeds into Facebook Inc IPO shares. Her adviser, Alan Haft, agreed to sell only $46,000 of the $400,000 account, one of several the retiree has. But at about 6:00 a.m. EDT Friday, Haft heard from his brokerage firm, E*Trade Financial Corp, that Tanguilig did not get any IPO shares. Tanguilig, a retired mother of eight, was furious. She has been on Facebook for many years and regularly logs in. "I had to have it," she said. ... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 18, 5:01pm
Nasdaq to resolve early Facebook orders through matching process
(Reuters) - Nasdaq OMX said it intends to reach a resolution for Facebook Inc orders entered from 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. ET through an "offline matching process." Firms that had questions regarding executions would have to submit requests to Nasdaq by 5 p.m. (Reporting By David Gaffen) Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 18, 4:59pm
Ultra-Orthodox plan huge NYC meeting on Net risks
Ultra-Orthodox Jews who believe that the Internet threatens their way of life have rented the New York Mets' stadium for an unprecedented gathering on how to use modern technology in a religiously appropriate way. Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 18, 2:49pm
Facebook investors left guessing after Nasdaq glitch
(Reuters) - Individual investors were left guessing for more than two hours on Friday about whether their buy and sell orders for newly issued Facebook shares were actually executed. Exchange operator Nasdaq OMX Group had problems sending electronic messages back to the brokerages that handle orders from individual, or "retail," investors orders, said sources with direct knowledge of the situation. Because the acknowledgements didn't come back from the exchange, the brokers were unable to tell their clients that trades had been executed. ... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 18, 2:40pm
Facebook's IPO averts questions over "odd lots"
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Facebook Inc's modest debut on Friday may have averted a potential headache for the company and regulators, and kept at bay a debate over the role of "odd lots" in the marketplace. Shares of Facebook traded as high as $45.00, near the price of $50 that would keep many retail investors from placing a typical "round lot" order of 100 shares, because the total cost will be $50,000 - considered a threshold for many investors. An order for less than 100 shares is called an odd lot. ... Read more...
Yahoo! News: Internet News, May 18, 2:24pm