2008 July 11 | money news blog

11 07 2008

Closing Glance: Major beverage stocks mostly rise - Boston Globe

Posted by: admin in Latest News

Closing Glance: Major beverage stocks mostly rise - Boston Globe
NEW YORK— Major beverage stocks mostly rose Friday despite broader market losses, after published reports stated Anheuser-Busch Cos. is prone to accept a sweetened buyout offer from Belgian-based brewer InBev SA as early as this weekend, following

Financial stocks get slammed - CNN Money
You’re already paying for Fannie and Freddie Fed in tug of war over mortgage rules Financial stocks get slammed Read Treasury Secretary Paulson’s statement NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Anxiety over a possible government takeover of Fannie Mae and

Investors dump stocks, push Dow briefly below 11,000 - Seattle Times
NEW YORK — Wall Street’s angst over the ongoing fallout from the credit crisis made for a turbulent end to a volatile week today — stocks tumbled, soared and then turned south again as investors tried to assess the dangers faced by the country’s

Breakout Stocks Weekly Summary - Street.Com
After a solid rally Tuesday provided some hope for investors looking for an end to recent declines, the second half of this week only offered disappointment as ongoing concerns over the broad economy and the financial sector helped knock the major

Dow deal helps stocks rise - Detroit News
NEW YORK — Stocks fluctuated late Thursday as a multibillion dollar deal between Dow Chemical Co. and rival Rohm and Haas Co. partially offset concerns over the health of the financial sector and the rising price of oil. The Dow Jones industrial

Stocks Pare Losses on Reports of Fed Offer - ABC News
Stocks pared steep losses in volatile trading Friday following reports that the Federal Reserve might step in to help mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shore up their finances. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New

Brazilian Stocks Fall on Record Oil, Inflation; Bolsa Retreats - Bloomberg
July 11 (Bloomberg) — Brazilian stocks fell for the first time in three days as a jump in oil prices hurt the earnings prospects for airlines and a higher-than-forecast inflation report send homebuilders lower. Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA led

Stocks end lower amid worries about mortgage financiers - Detroit News
NEW YORK — Wall Street’s angst over the ongoing fallout from the credit crisis made for a turbulent end to a volatile week Friday — stocks tumbled, soared and then turned south again as investors tried to assess the dangers faced by the country’s

Zacks’ Low Price Stocks strategy highlights: AeroCentury, First Place - MSN MoneyCentral
America’s Car-Mart Inc ( CRMT ) Stock Quote , Chart , News , Add to Watchlist Looking for stocks priced below $20? How about companies with discount valuations and a track record of a positive trend in earnings estimates revisions? The Low Price

Stocks end lower amid worries on Fannie, Freddie - Boston Globe
NEW YORK— Wall Street’s angst over the ongoing fallout from the credit crisis made for a turbulent end to a volatile week Friday — stocks tumbled, soared and then turned south again as investors tried to assess the dangers faced by the country’s

11 07 2008

Entrepreneur’s Journal: Selling to small businesses

Posted by: in Small Business

Filed under: MasterCard Inc’A’ (MA), FedEx Corp (FDX), Intuit Inc (INTU), Small business

I recently attended the Warrillow Conference, which focuses on how to sell to the small business market. And, yes, it’s a large opportunity — with more than 27 million small businesses in the U.S. Some of the big players in the space include MasterCard (NYSE: MA), FedEx (NYSE: FDX), Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) and so on.

Well, one of the panels at Warrillow had a group of small business owners — and they talked about what works when trying to sell to them.

Let’s take a look:

Wearing many hats: The small business owner does just about everything. In other words, time is a precious commodity. So, when pitching, make sure things are clear and concise. What are the main benefits? The costs?

More importantly, small business owners want something that is plug-and-play and doesn’t require a large learning curve.

The assistant: Many small business owners have one. And, an assistant is often a gatekeeper.

In other words, it’s actually a good idea to make your pitch to the assistant — since he or she will likely relay the information to the owner.

Also, small business owners are relying much more on the Net. Thus, an email pitch is OK so long as it isn’t wordy. Plus, you should have a website that’s easy to navigate and has a demo.

Long Sales Cycle: Because a small business owner is time-constrained, it can take a while to make a sale. But it can be worth it because he or she’s likely to be a loyal customer.

Members of the panel agreed that they do not switch vendors lightly — and usually not just based on cost. After all, it’s not easy finding a good vendor.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

11 07 2008

Steinway buys some tech magic

Posted by: in Small Business

Filed under: Small business

Founded more than 150 years ago, Steinway Musical Instruments (NYSE: LVB) is one of the top musical instruments companies - with brands like King trombones, Bach Stradivarius trumpets and Ludwig snare drums.

But with the relentless march of new technologies, Steinway realizes it needs to keep up with the times. So, the company recently plunked down $4.5 million for ArkivMusic, which is a web-based retailer of CDs (the price tag may be higher because of an earnout).

True, CDs are not necessarily cool. But, for an older demographic, there’s still demand. And, that’s something that Steinway understands.

There’s also the possibility of a long-tail effect. That is, music lovers want to purchase hard-to-find titles - which is much easier on the Net. ArkivMusic library has 90,000 titles and thousands of them are out-of-print recordings.

Moreover, with the backing of the Steinway brand, there should be some cross-sale opportunities. In fact, ArkivMusic is already growing at a health 30%+ annual rate.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar On the internet Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

11 07 2008

Steinway buys some tech magic

Posted by: in Small Business

Filed under: Small business

Founded more than 150 years ago, Steinway Musical Instruments (NYSE: LVB) is one of the top musical instruments companies - with brands like King trombones, Bach Stradivarius trumpets and Ludwig snare drums.

But with the relentless march of new technologies, Steinway realizes it needs to keep up with the times. So, the company recently plunked down $4.5 million for ArkivMusic, which is a web-based retailer of CDs (the price tag might be higher because of an earnout).

True, CDs are not necessarily cool. But, for an older demographic, there’s still demand. And, that’s something that Steinway comprehends.

There’s also the possibility of a long-tail effect. That’s, music lovers want to purchase hard-to-find titles - which is much easier on the Net. ArkivMusic library has 90,000 titles and thousands of them are out-of-print recordings.

Moreover, with the backing of the Steinway brand, there should be some cross-sale opportunities. In fact, ArkivMusic is already growing at a health 30%+ annual rate.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar On the internet Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

11 07 2008

Twitter buzzes with $15 million in venture capital

Posted by: in Small Business

Filed under: Small business

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been at a variety of tech conferences. And there was one question that kept coming up: What do you think of Twitter?

The site, which grants for microblogging, is definitely a growing brand. It’s cool technology.

But I don’t really know the utility of the service. In fact, many of the people I talked to concurred.

Yet, it doesn’t seem to matter much. This week, Twitter raised a cool $15 million (according to a report in GigaOm). The valuation? $80 million.

Interestingly enough, Twitter has had some issues with its performance (for example, there have been some outages). Then again, some of its users are constantly typing away on the service - which puts a lot of strain on the infrastructure.

But, I’m still skeptical. How many people have the time to microblog about minute-by-minute details of their lives? And who really cares?

Essentially, I think Twitter is addressing a niche market - not something that will ultimately become mainstream.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar On the internet Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

11 07 2008

Twitter buzzes with $15 million in venture capital

Posted by: in Small Business

Filed under: Small business

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been at a variety of tech conferences. And there was one question that kept coming up: What do you think of Twitter?

The site, which allows for microblogging, is definitely a growing brand. It’s cool technology.

But I don’t really know the utility of the service. In fact, many of the people I talked to agreed.

Yet, it doesn’t seem to matter much. This week, Twitter raised a cool $15 million (according to a report in GigaOm). The valuation? $80 million.

Interestingly enough, Twitter has had some issues with its performance (for example, there have been some outages). Then again, some of its users are constantly typing away on the service - which puts a lot of strain on the infrastructure.

But, I’m still skeptical. How many people have the time to microblog about minute-by-minute details of their lives? And who really cares?

Essentially, I think Twitter is addressing a niche market - not something that will ultimately become mainstream.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar On the web Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

11 07 2008

The Slinky still goes and goes….

Posted by: in Small Business

Filed under: Small business

Yes, as a kid, I had a slinky. So did many of my friends. What’s more, I remember the catchy commercials.

Well, amazingly enough, the slinky is still going strong. In fact, on CNBC’s “Business Nation,” there is a look at the intriguing history of this popular toy.

Richard James, an engineer from Pennsylvania, invented the Slinky in 1945. For the most part, the device hasn’t changed much (and is still American-made). Like many great innovations, the Slinky was an accident. Richard wanted to develop a device for shipboard instruments. But, in the development process, he accidentally dropped some springs — which had a rhythm.

Hmmm… could it be a toy? Richard’s wife, Betty, thought so and even came up with the Slinky name. Richard actually spent two years refining the Slinky. And, when it launched, it was an instant hit.

How many Slinkys have been sold? More than 300 million.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

11 07 2008

The Slinky still goes and goes….

Posted by: in Small Business

Filed under: Small business

Yes, as a kid, I had a slinky. So did many of my friends. What’s more, I remember the catchy commercials.

Well, amazingly enough, the slinky is still going strong. In fact, on CNBC’s “Business Nation,” there’s a look at the intriguing history of this popular toy.

Richard James, an engineer from Pennsylvania, invented the Slinky in 1945. For the most part, the device hasn’t changed much (and is still American-made). Like many great innovations, the Slinky was an accident. Richard wanted to develop a device for shipboard instruments. But, in the development process, he accidentally dropped some springs — which had a rhythm.

Hmmm… could it be a toy? Richard’s wife, Betty, thought so and even came up with the Slinky name. Richard actually spent two years refining the Slinky. And, when it launched, it was an instant hit.

How many Slinkys have been sold? More than 300 million.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar On the web Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

11 07 2008

Wetpaint brushes $25 million

Posted by: in Small Business

Filed under: Small business, Technology

Over the past few years, there has been an explosion of social media - as well as many fundings. However, it hasn’t been easy for social media platforms to standout.

But, as for Wetpaint, things have been moving nicely. In fact, the company has announced a $25 million venture round (in all, the company has raised $40 million). The investors include: DAG Ventures, Accel Partners, Trinity Ventures, and Frazier Technology Ventures.

Essentially, Wetpaint allows you to create your own social media site - with pictures, blogs, videos and so on. So far, there are more than one million sites - with about a half a billion words (keep in mind that the system is extremely easy to use).

More importantly, Wetpaint has had lots of success monetizing the traffic, which is no easy feat when dealing with user-generated content. Even though, Wetpaint’s pages are optimized for major search engines, allowing for cost-effective traffic. And now with much more money in the bank, there is apt to be a further push to get users to create many more sites.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.