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Internet: Peace breaks out in Yahoo leadership row
The struggling internet company Yahoo has struck a pact with its billionaire critic Carl Icahn by giving the hedge fund activist a minority presence on its board to avoid a potentially tempestuous showdown at a shareholder meeting next month. Facing crumbling support among Yahoo investors, Icahn yesterday abandoned his efforts to overthrow the leadership of the embattled Silicon Valley company and force its sale to Microsoft. Instead, the 72-year-old Icahn & Co hedge fund manager is settling for an offer of three seats on Yahoo's board. One director will stand down and the board will expand from nine to 11 members. Wall Street analysts greeted it as a qualified victory for Yahoo's founder, Jerry Yang, who has pressed hard to maintain its independence and who waged an energetic campaign to discredit Icahn. Roy Bostock, Yahoo chairman, was "gratified" to reach a deal. "We look forward to working productively with Carl and new members of the board on continuing to improve the company's performance and enhancing stockholder value." The pact ends a vitriolic two months in which Yahoo and Icahn have traded stinging accusations. The showdown arose after Yahoo turned down a $47.5bn (£23.8bn) takeover offer from Microsoft, angering investors who have grown impatient with its failure to keep up with Google as a leader in lucrative online searches. Lobbying shareholders for support last week, Yahoo characterised Icahn as a short-term corporate agitator who was merely interested in a quick profit. It dug up remarks from the billionaire last year in which he described technology companies as "hard to understand" and admitted he had rarely focused on them. In turn, Icahn compared Yahoo directors to Alice in Wonderland. He won over high-profile backers, including the oil tycoon T Boone Pickens and star fund manager John Paulson, renowned for making billions by predicting the sub-prime mortgage crisis. As Yahoo's annual meeting on August 1 approached, the prospect of a hastily compiled slate of Icahn's friends running the company appears to have been too much for institutional shareholders. The balance tipped on Friday when Yahoo's second-biggest investor, the fund management firm Legg Mason, decided to support the existing leadership. Scott Kessler, an equities analyst at Standard & Poor's in New York, said the upshot amounted to a defeat for Icahn. "The writing's not only on the wall but on an agreement for all to see," he said. In spite of the deal, Kessler said, there would be pressure for a shake-up in recognition of discontent among a sizeable minority of investors. "Jerry Yang's been back in place for a year and a lot of people think he is not the right person for the job. It wouldn't surprise me if there were some management changes to come," said Kessler. Icahn will take one of the board seats handed to his group under the deal, which is subject to approval by investors. In a statement, the New York-based financier said a sale of the firm or of its core search business should be given "full consideration". But striking a conciliatory note, he continued: "I believe this is a good outcome and that we will have a strong working relationship going forward." By mid-session on the Nasdaq exchange, Yahoo shares had slid 63 cents to $21.82. Microsoft was willing to pay $33 a share and Yahoo has shunned several attempts by it to reignite talks, opting for a controversial tie-up with Google, in which the two pool resources for some online searches and share the ad revenue. This infuriated the advertising industry, which sees it as anti-competitive. Backstory The billionaire hedge fund manager who has been niggling away at Yahoo doesn't own a personal computer. Carl Icahn, 72, whose fortune is estimated at $14bn (£7bn), made his name by seizing control of the airline TWA in 1985. His targets have included Texaco, Time Warner, Nabisco, Motorola and Blockbuster. Brought up in Queens, New York, he runs his Icahn & Co hedge fund from offices overlooking Central Park. He is ruthless, once remarking that there was no place for sentiment in business: "If you want a friend, get a dog."
The Guardian – Jul 21, 2008 11:04 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Technology
The struggling internet company Yahoo has struck a pact with its billionaire critic Carl Icahn by giving the hedge fund activist a minority presence on its board to avoid a potentially tempestuous showdown at a shareholder meeting next month. Facing crumbling support among Yahoo investors, Icahn yesterday abandoned his efforts to overthrow the leadership of the embattled Silicon Valley company and force its sale to Microsoft. Instead, the 72-year-old Icahn & Co hedge fund manager is settling for an offer of three seats on Yahoo's board. One director will stand down and the board will expand from nine to 11 members. Wall Street analysts greeted it as a qualified victory for Yahoo's founder, Jerry Yang, who has pressed hard to maintain its independence and who waged an energetic campaign to discredit Icahn. Roy Bostock, Yahoo chairman, was "gratified" to reach a deal. "We look forward to working productively with Carl and new members of the board on continuing to improve the company's performance and enhancing stockholder value." The pact ends a vitriolic two months in which Yahoo and Icahn have traded stinging accusations. The showdown arose after Yahoo turned down a $47.5bn (£23.8bn) takeover offer from Microsoft, angering investors who have grown impatient with its failure to keep up with Google as a leader in lucrative online searches. Lobbying shareholders for support last week, Yahoo characterised Icahn as a short-term corporate agitator who was merely interested in a quick profit. It dug up remarks from the billionaire last year in which he described technology companies as "hard to understand" and admitted he had rarely focused on them. In turn, Icahn compared Yahoo directors to Alice in Wonderland. He won over high-profile backers, including the oil tycoon T Boone Pickens and star fund manager John Paulson, renowned for making billions by predicting the sub-prime mortgage crisis. As Yahoo's annual meeting on August 1 approached, the prospect of a hastily compiled slate of Icahn's friends running the company appears to have been too much for institutional shareholders. The balance tipped on Friday when Yahoo's second-biggest investor, the fund management firm Legg Mason, decided to support the existing leadership. Scott Kessler, an equities analyst at Standard & Poor's in New York, said the upshot amounted to a defeat for Icahn. "The writing's not only on the wall but on an agreement for all to see," he said. In spite of the deal, Kessler said, there would be pressure for a shake-up in recognition of discontent among a sizeable minority of investors. "Jerry Yang's been back in place for a year and a lot of people think he is not the right person for the job. It wouldn't surprise me if there were some management changes to come," said Kessler. Icahn will take one of the board seats handed to his group under the deal, which is subject to approval by investors. In a statement, the New York-based financier said a sale of the firm or of its core search business should be given "full consideration". But striking a conciliatory note, he continued: "I believe this is a good outcome and that we will have a strong working relationship going forward." By mid-session on the Nasdaq exchange, Yahoo shares had slid 63 cents to $21.82. Microsoft was willing to pay $33 a share and Yahoo has shunned several attempts by it to reignite talks, opting for a controversial tie-up with Google, in which the two pool resources for some online searches and share the ad revenue. This infuriated the advertising industry, which sees it as anti-competitive. Backstory The billionaire hedge fund manager who has been niggling away at Yahoo doesn't own a personal computer. Carl Icahn, 72, whose fortune is estimated at $14bn (£7bn), made his name by seizing control of the airline TWA in 1985. His targets have included Texaco, Time Warner, Nabisco, Motorola and Blockbuster. Brought up in Queens, New York, he runs his Icahn & Co hedge fund from offices overlooking Central Park. He is ruthless, once remarking that there was no place for sentiment in business: "If you want a friend, get a dog."
The Guardian – Jul 21, 2008 11:04 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Technology
Dear Open ID: You Deserve Better
The nascent identity management service OpenID is suffering from half-hearted adoption by web heavyweights Yahoo and Google, and from publishers' unwillingness to move away from traditional, more-restrictive user-registration models.
Wired News – Jul 21, 2008 8:30 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Technology
The nascent identity management service OpenID is suffering from half-hearted adoption by web heavyweights Yahoo and Google, and from publishers' unwillingness to move away from traditional, more-restrictive user-registration models.
Wired News – Jul 21, 2008 8:30 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Technology
Scholar Finds Archaeological Sites by Googling
An archaeologist unable to travel to war-torn Afghanistan turns to Google.
Discovery Channel – Jul 21, 2008 5:42 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Technology: Science
An archaeologist unable to travel to war-torn Afghanistan turns to Google.
Discovery Channel – Jul 21, 2008 5:42 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Technology: Science
Google Issues Lame Response to Android SDK Gaffe
Google errs on the conservative side by offering its new Android SDK to only the 50 winners of the Android Developer's Challenge. My guess is that Google's Android mission going forward will be full disclosure of the SDK and its overall open source development practice. - Google made a critical faux pas last week when it sent out a new Android SDK (software development kit) to only the 50 winners of the Android Developer's Challenge. How very un open source of it!But it might have even erred more greatly in responding to the issue as a spokesperson told me July 1...
eWEEK.com – Jul 21, 2008 4:36 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Technology: Wireless
Google errs on the conservative side by offering its new Android SDK to only the 50 winners of the Android Developer's Challenge. My guess is that Google's Android mission going forward will be full disclosure of the SDK and its overall open source development practice. - Google made a critical faux pas last week when it sent out a new Android SDK (software development kit) to only the 50 winners of the Android Developer's Challenge. How very un open source of it!But it might have even erred more greatly in responding to the issue as a spokesperson told me July 1...
eWEEK.com – Jul 21, 2008 4:36 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Technology: Wireless
Ex-Google Angels: Sharing the Wealth
They struck it rich, and now they may want to help your company do the same.
TheStreet.com – Jul 21, 2008 4:23 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Business: Investing
They struck it rich, and now they may want to help your company do the same.
TheStreet.com – Jul 21, 2008 4:23 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Business: Investing
Netbytes: Girl Power blogger takes Singapore by stormBlogging looked like fulfilling Andy Warhol's prophecy that everyone would get their 15 minutes of fame. Xiaxue, however, has been famous for five years, and has turned into a full-time professional blogger, attracting around 300,000 visitors per month. Singapore's National Library Board has added her to its electronic archives. She may have passed her peak - marked by her Best Asian Weblog award in the 2005 Bloggies - but there's no sign of this lippy former student/waitress going away. Xiaxue ("snowing") has described herself as "just a normal girl who got rather lucky". Her real name is Zheng Yan Yan, aka Wendy Cheng, and she's now 24. She started blogging in April 2003, and could easily have sunk without trace. Instead, she became, briefly, a celebrity blogger for The Straits Times newspaper, a Maxim columnist, and co-starred in a sort of reality TV series, Girls Out Loud. She now does a fortnightly series, Xiaxue's Guide To Life, which runs on Munkysuperstar's web-based TV channel, clicknetwork.tv. There are quite a few on YouTube. If you want to know about blinging your long nails with crystals, getting a tongue piercing, losing weight, cooking live crabs, shopping for slutty clothes or fitting out your totally pink Princess Room on the cheap, Xiaxue is your girl. She'd be an ideal Big Brother contestant. Part of Xiaxue's appeal is that she's offensive, by Singapore standards. "Singaporean (Chinese) guys," she wrote, "like girls who keep quiet and nods in agreement to everything they say, rather than a girl who speaks up for her own opinions. They like girls who are weak, diminutive and vulnerable, not girls who are strong and can protect themselves." They must also dress modestly and be virgins. Xiaxue - perhaps corrupted by reading California-based Sweet Valley High books - is the opposite of this Singaporean ideal. She's bitchy, swears, wears "chio" (pretty but provocative) clothes, writes in intimate detail about things like panty liners, and flaunts her American boyfriend, Mike. It provokes hundreds of comments. She also generates controversy by attacking other bloggers. One famous post dealt with the Top Seven Most Disgusting Bloggers in Singapore, including Xiaxue. She attacked herself for being a fake, short, fat and ugly. "She is so hao lian [arrogant] of her stupid angmoh [caucasian monkey] boyfriend," she wrote. "SPG!" Sarong Party Girl: the ultimate insult. Some of Xiaxue's posts are labelled as advertorials: she's paid to write about products, review restaurants etc, and she also got a free "nose job". Since she's always writing about the things she does and the products she buys, these aren't much different from her usual slang-packed, heavily illustrated (and skilfully photoshopped) posts. You can take it or leave it. As you'd expect, most of Xiaxue's readers - around 70% - live in Singapore or Malaysia. For the rest of us, she's a virtual tourist spot, providing an uncensored, unmediated and somewhat voyeuristic peek into a different society. Every nation should have its own Xiaxue, and perhaps they do. We just don't know about them.Related StoriesEditorial: High waterOnline POKER marketing could spell the NAKED end of VIAGRA journalism as we LOHAN know itEmily Bell: If Google should falter, how many others will follow?Solve IT: How can I chat to people with different Instant Messenger applications?Paul Lewis on why Bluetooth technology is raising fears about privacy
The Guardian – Jul 21, 2008 1:37 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Technology
New Campaign Raises Child Safety Concerns Over Google's 'Street View'
Read full story for latest details.
PR Newswire – Jul 21, 2008 1:37 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Top Stories: Press Releases
Read full story for latest details.
PR Newswire – Jul 21, 2008 1:37 PM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Top Stories: Press Releases
Google, Microsoft Hit by Disappointing Q2 Earnings
Stocks slide as the electronics giants disappoint
DailyTech – Jul 21, 2008 11:47 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Technology
Stocks slide as the electronics giants disappoint
DailyTech – Jul 21, 2008 11:47 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Technology
Paul Lewis on why Bluetooth technology is raising fears about privacy
Related StoriesBluetooth is watching: secret study gives Bath a flavour of Big BrotherEditorial: High waterOnline POKER marketing could spell the NAKED end of VIAGRA journalism as we LOHAN know itEmily Bell: If Google should falter, how many others will follow?Solve IT: How can I chat to people with different Instant Messenger applications?
The Guardian – Jul 21, 2008 08:57 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Technology
Related StoriesBluetooth is watching: secret study gives Bath a flavour of Big BrotherEditorial: High waterOnline POKER marketing could spell the NAKED end of VIAGRA journalism as we LOHAN know itEmily Bell: If Google should falter, how many others will follow?Solve IT: How can I chat to people with different Instant Messenger applications?
The Guardian – Jul 21, 2008 08:57 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Technology
Ars Technica Preview: H.A.W.X. rocks Ubisoft's E3 room
Ars Technica writes: "My visit to the Ubisoft E3 room during the week was pretty productive. In addition to boarding with Shaun White and yelling with EndWar, I saw brief glimpses of Prince of Persia and FarCry 2. But easily the most surprising title in the company's room was H.A.W.X., a new flight combat game from the company. I typically hate these kinds of games, but Ubisoft has made one significant change to the formula that drew me in. On the surface, H.A.W.X. looks and plays very similar to Ace Combat: it's more arcade-y than realistic, very pretty to look at, and very difficult to play at first. The game's areas, including Rio de Janiero, are built from real satellite data in high-definition, making the game like "flying over Google Earth on steroids," as the rep so eloquently put it."
N4G.com – Jul 21, 2008 07:30 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Technology: Video Games
Ars Technica writes: "My visit to the Ubisoft E3 room during the week was pretty productive. In addition to boarding with Shaun White and yelling with EndWar, I saw brief glimpses of Prince of Persia and FarCry 2. But easily the most surprising title in the company's room was H.A.W.X., a new flight combat game from the company. I typically hate these kinds of games, but Ubisoft has made one significant change to the formula that drew me in. On the surface, H.A.W.X. looks and plays very similar to Ace Combat: it's more arcade-y than realistic, very pretty to look at, and very difficult to play at first. The game's areas, including Rio de Janiero, are built from real satellite data in high-definition, making the game like "flying over Google Earth on steroids," as the rep so eloquently put it."
N4G.com – Jul 21, 2008 07:30 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
found in Technology: Video Games