Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Meet Delhi Porn Star from India - First One
Meet India's first porn star
A racy cartoon attracts millions and, of course, controversy in conservative circles.
NEW DELHI — Thanks to an anonymous group of computer geeks, India's first international Internet porn star is fast becoming this conservative country's answer to Wonder Woman — and Monica Lewinsky.
But here's the trick: The steamy web seductress is a cartoon.
Turning the tables on Bollywood's demure heroines — who've only recently started agreeing to lip-to-lip kisses on screen — “Savita Bhabhi” (or sister-in-law Savita) is a buxom, recently married housewife who knows what she wants and how to get it.
Bored with her workaholic husband, she seduces door-to-door salesmen, neighborhood cricket players, even a not-so-subtle stand-in for the gray-bearded Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan — a move that earned her some flak from Indian entertainment channels.
Though pornography is illegal in India, Savita Bhabhi's sexual misadventures, published on savitabhabhi.com with scripts based on fantasies submitted by fans, have attracted a huge following, according to one of the strip's anonymous creators, who goes by the screen name Deshmukh.
A racy cartoon attracts millions and, of course, controversy in conservative circles.
NEW DELHI — Thanks to an anonymous group of computer geeks, India's first international Internet porn star is fast becoming this conservative country's answer to Wonder Woman — and Monica Lewinsky.
But here's the trick: The steamy web seductress is a cartoon.
Turning the tables on Bollywood's demure heroines — who've only recently started agreeing to lip-to-lip kisses on screen — “Savita Bhabhi” (or sister-in-law Savita) is a buxom, recently married housewife who knows what she wants and how to get it.
Bored with her workaholic husband, she seduces door-to-door salesmen, neighborhood cricket players, even a not-so-subtle stand-in for the gray-bearded Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan — a move that earned her some flak from Indian entertainment channels.
Though pornography is illegal in India, Savita Bhabhi's sexual misadventures, published on savitabhabhi.com with scripts based on fantasies submitted by fans, have attracted a huge following, according to one of the strip's anonymous creators, who goes by the screen name Deshmukh.
New gig for P Kedrosky - Ten Asset Mgmt
Paul Kedrosky, Ph.D., Research Consultant
Dr. Kedrosky contributes to leading edge alpha development at Ten Asset Management. He is an acknowledged leader of research in areas such and unstructured data and the interaction between public and private equity.
Paul Kedrosky is an award-winning academic, lecturer, and columnist. He has published more than three hundred articles in academic and non-academic publications on finance, strategy, and public & private equity. In addition, he has lectured and consulted to pension funds, money managers, and venture funds in Canada, the U.S., and Europe. He has been a highly-ranked equity research analyst, and founded the technology equity research practice at HSBC James Capel. Transactions with which he was involved created in excess of a billion dollars in public market value.
Dr. Kedrosky has appeared on many media outlets, including CNN, CNBC, PBS Newshour, ABC Nightline, and the New York Times. He writes a weekly column on finance for the National Post in Canada, and a monthly column for Canadian Business magazine. His columns have also appeared in the Economist, the Wall Street Journal, the Brookings Institute, and Forbes.
Dr. Kedrosky is currently the Academic Director of the von Liebig Center at the University of California, San Diego. In that capacity he lectures and researches on various aspects of public and private equity, as well as being active in the Center's financing activities.
Dr. Kedrosky contributes to leading edge alpha development at Ten Asset Management. He is an acknowledged leader of research in areas such and unstructured data and the interaction between public and private equity.
Paul Kedrosky is an award-winning academic, lecturer, and columnist. He has published more than three hundred articles in academic and non-academic publications on finance, strategy, and public & private equity. In addition, he has lectured and consulted to pension funds, money managers, and venture funds in Canada, the U.S., and Europe. He has been a highly-ranked equity research analyst, and founded the technology equity research practice at HSBC James Capel. Transactions with which he was involved created in excess of a billion dollars in public market value.
Dr. Kedrosky has appeared on many media outlets, including CNN, CNBC, PBS Newshour, ABC Nightline, and the New York Times. He writes a weekly column on finance for the National Post in Canada, and a monthly column for Canadian Business magazine. His columns have also appeared in the Economist, the Wall Street Journal, the Brookings Institute, and Forbes.
Dr. Kedrosky is currently the Academic Director of the von Liebig Center at the University of California, San Diego. In that capacity he lectures and researches on various aspects of public and private equity, as well as being active in the Center's financing activities.
Fierce: App Store has redefined mobile experience
"the App Store has reshaped the mobile user experience from top to bottom--no longer must subscribers troll carrier decks and retailer web sites in search of applications optimized for their particular device or operating system, or suffer through absurdly complicated download protocols. Moreover, the sheer abundance of applications available from the App Store virtually guarantees there is an app tailored for every iPhone owner, regardless of their personal wants and needs--no longer must developers create applications designed to reach the widest possible mass-market demographic. No wonder Google, Research In Motion and Palm have all announced rival app shops of their own, and a likeminded Microsoft effort is reportedly in the works--for consumers and developers alike, the best is still to come."
Sex sells (and still mints money) - FriendFinder files S-1
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click here to view the post.
ap: Billionaire Wong Kwong-yu
SHANGHAI, China (AP) — Billionaire Wong Kwong-yu personifies the journey China has taken since it launched sweeping economic reforms 30 years that transformed the communist country into an economic power.
But as Wong — founder and chairman of the country's biggest appliance chain — is finding, getting rich in China is still plenty risky.
Born into poverty, Wong built a fortune selling appliances to a nation of consumers hankering for a modern, affluent lifestyle. Estimates of his wealth vary, but an October report by Shanghai-based researcher Rupert Hoogewerf named him the wealthiest Chinese individual, with assets worth about 43 billion yuan ($6.3 billion).
Last month, however, Beijing police confirmed that the 39-year-old Wong was the focus of an investigation into alleged economic crimes. His whereabouts are unclear. His company, Gome Electrical Appliances Holdings, has released scant information since it suspended its shares from trading in Hong Kong last month.
Scores of Chinese entrepreneurs like Wong have made fortunes by exploiting economic niches neglected by the state-run companies that still dominate many strategically vital businesses, such as banking.
But the loopholes and gray areas that are crucial assets in the early years sometimes come back to haunt those tycoons later — what some in China call the "original sin" problem. And apart from potential entanglement in corruption scandals, wealth inevitably draws unwelcome attention from the authorities. In China, the road to success often runs from rags to riches to, eventually, really big trouble.
"It's not because the government discourages wealth, but because of the 'original sin' problem," said Ge Dingkun, a professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai.
"Typically, the companies grew when the relevant legal system was lacking and they had to give 'sweets' to officials to get anything done that was not clearly legislated at that time, the so-called gray areas," Ge said.
The list is long, from Mou Qizhong, an early tycoon once billed as China's richest man who is now serving a life prison sentence for bank fraud, to Shanghai land mogul Zhou Zhengyi, sentenced earlier this year to 16 years in prison for bribery, tax receipt forgery and embezzlement.
The current era of what the Chinese call "reform and opening" officially began with a Communist Party gathering in December 1978 that legalized small-scale private farms, the first step toward the country's current melange of rollicking private enterprise and hefty government interference.
Wong was just a boy then. A few years later, he left his home in southern China's Shantou region, setting out as have millions of other Cantonese traders across the globe. But instead of migrating overseas, he went north, to peddle electrical products in Beijing.
Within a few years, Wong's knack for trading had enabled him to set up an electronics retailing chain. He dubbed it Gome (pronounced "go-may"), which literally means "country beautiful."
Typical of many first-generation tycoons, Wong is renowned for his modest, workaholic lifestyle. He flourished by satisfying escalating Chinese appetites for the accessories of the good life — first, black-and-white and then color televisions and later, refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners.
Ramping up Gome's size and reach, Wong steadily acquired regional rivals, putting together a retailing empire that by now includes 1,300 stores employing some 300,000 people, according to Gome's Web site.
Wong, also is known as Huang Guangyu, and his wife Du Juan, who is an executive director on Gome's board, hold a controlling stake in the appliances chain. But public information about Wong's private business dealings is scarce. China's financial disclosure requirements lag behind those in the U.S. and Europe, and much of the tycoon's own wealth is held in a web of private companies.
Problems arose as Wong, facing stiff competition from other retailers including U.S.-based Best Buy, forayed into more lucrative real estate and financial dealings.
A 2006 investigation into an allegedly illegal loan to Wong was dropped. Gome announced in June that it was facing a tax probe, but the results of that investigation were not announced.
According to a report posted on the Web site of the China Internet Information Center, which is published by the State Council, China's Cabinet, authorities say they suspect Wong of alleged share price manipulation, money laundering, illicit asset transfers, tax evasion and of bribing officials to gain approval for Gome's 2006 share listing in Hong Kong.
Wong was aiding the investigation and was not allowed to leave Beijing, the report said. It linked the probe to reported graft allegations against several senior Commerce Ministry officials.
"The charges are classic. It's about taking money from one place and playing with it in another place. It's not kosher," said James McGregor, author of the book, "One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China."
Wong's case has gotten intensive coverage in China's state-run media.
Gome says Wong's case is a personal matter. It has named its chief executive officer, Chen Xiao, acting chairman. Last week, it said it had appointed independent external auditors to assess the company's finances and legal advisers to review its management and risk controls.
"The group's business, operations and relationship with its suppliers has remained normal and have not been affected by the investigation," Gome said in a notice to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Last month, Gome reported that its net profit for the first nine months of the year had more than doubled from a year earlier to 1.6 billion yuan ($233 million). But Gome's last-traded share price at 1.12 Hong Kong dollars (14 U.S. cents) is a small fraction of its one-year high of HK$17.70.
Wong's case has highlighted China's struggle to improve corporate governance, even after 30 years of capitalist reforms.
A recent study by the think-tank RAND Corp. noted a slew of problems, from rampant insider trading to a lack of independent directors on corporate boards. Frequently, financial information is falsified, and many companies are only partially publicly traded, a situation that often compromises minority shareholders' rights, the study said.
While top state-owned companies with shares listed overseas are on a par with those elsewhere, many others lag far behind, says William Overholt, an expert with Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
"Below the top companies, the standards are far lower — better than 10 years ago but still highly vulnerable to personal and political manipulation," Overholt said.
But as Wong — founder and chairman of the country's biggest appliance chain — is finding, getting rich in China is still plenty risky.
Born into poverty, Wong built a fortune selling appliances to a nation of consumers hankering for a modern, affluent lifestyle. Estimates of his wealth vary, but an October report by Shanghai-based researcher Rupert Hoogewerf named him the wealthiest Chinese individual, with assets worth about 43 billion yuan ($6.3 billion).
Last month, however, Beijing police confirmed that the 39-year-old Wong was the focus of an investigation into alleged economic crimes. His whereabouts are unclear. His company, Gome Electrical Appliances Holdings, has released scant information since it suspended its shares from trading in Hong Kong last month.
Scores of Chinese entrepreneurs like Wong have made fortunes by exploiting economic niches neglected by the state-run companies that still dominate many strategically vital businesses, such as banking.
But the loopholes and gray areas that are crucial assets in the early years sometimes come back to haunt those tycoons later — what some in China call the "original sin" problem. And apart from potential entanglement in corruption scandals, wealth inevitably draws unwelcome attention from the authorities. In China, the road to success often runs from rags to riches to, eventually, really big trouble.
"It's not because the government discourages wealth, but because of the 'original sin' problem," said Ge Dingkun, a professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai.
"Typically, the companies grew when the relevant legal system was lacking and they had to give 'sweets' to officials to get anything done that was not clearly legislated at that time, the so-called gray areas," Ge said.
The list is long, from Mou Qizhong, an early tycoon once billed as China's richest man who is now serving a life prison sentence for bank fraud, to Shanghai land mogul Zhou Zhengyi, sentenced earlier this year to 16 years in prison for bribery, tax receipt forgery and embezzlement.
The current era of what the Chinese call "reform and opening" officially began with a Communist Party gathering in December 1978 that legalized small-scale private farms, the first step toward the country's current melange of rollicking private enterprise and hefty government interference.
Wong was just a boy then. A few years later, he left his home in southern China's Shantou region, setting out as have millions of other Cantonese traders across the globe. But instead of migrating overseas, he went north, to peddle electrical products in Beijing.
Within a few years, Wong's knack for trading had enabled him to set up an electronics retailing chain. He dubbed it Gome (pronounced "go-may"), which literally means "country beautiful."
Typical of many first-generation tycoons, Wong is renowned for his modest, workaholic lifestyle. He flourished by satisfying escalating Chinese appetites for the accessories of the good life — first, black-and-white and then color televisions and later, refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners.
Ramping up Gome's size and reach, Wong steadily acquired regional rivals, putting together a retailing empire that by now includes 1,300 stores employing some 300,000 people, according to Gome's Web site.
Wong, also is known as Huang Guangyu, and his wife Du Juan, who is an executive director on Gome's board, hold a controlling stake in the appliances chain. But public information about Wong's private business dealings is scarce. China's financial disclosure requirements lag behind those in the U.S. and Europe, and much of the tycoon's own wealth is held in a web of private companies.
Problems arose as Wong, facing stiff competition from other retailers including U.S.-based Best Buy, forayed into more lucrative real estate and financial dealings.
A 2006 investigation into an allegedly illegal loan to Wong was dropped. Gome announced in June that it was facing a tax probe, but the results of that investigation were not announced.
According to a report posted on the Web site of the China Internet Information Center, which is published by the State Council, China's Cabinet, authorities say they suspect Wong of alleged share price manipulation, money laundering, illicit asset transfers, tax evasion and of bribing officials to gain approval for Gome's 2006 share listing in Hong Kong.
Wong was aiding the investigation and was not allowed to leave Beijing, the report said. It linked the probe to reported graft allegations against several senior Commerce Ministry officials.
"The charges are classic. It's about taking money from one place and playing with it in another place. It's not kosher," said James McGregor, author of the book, "One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China."
Wong's case has gotten intensive coverage in China's state-run media.
Gome says Wong's case is a personal matter. It has named its chief executive officer, Chen Xiao, acting chairman. Last week, it said it had appointed independent external auditors to assess the company's finances and legal advisers to review its management and risk controls.
"The group's business, operations and relationship with its suppliers has remained normal and have not been affected by the investigation," Gome said in a notice to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Last month, Gome reported that its net profit for the first nine months of the year had more than doubled from a year earlier to 1.6 billion yuan ($233 million). But Gome's last-traded share price at 1.12 Hong Kong dollars (14 U.S. cents) is a small fraction of its one-year high of HK$17.70.
Wong's case has highlighted China's struggle to improve corporate governance, even after 30 years of capitalist reforms.
A recent study by the think-tank RAND Corp. noted a slew of problems, from rampant insider trading to a lack of independent directors on corporate boards. Frequently, financial information is falsified, and many companies are only partially publicly traded, a situation that often compromises minority shareholders' rights, the study said.
While top state-owned companies with shares listed overseas are on a par with those elsewhere, many others lag far behind, says William Overholt, an expert with Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
"Below the top companies, the standards are far lower — better than 10 years ago but still highly vulnerable to personal and political manipulation," Overholt said.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Amazing story - Joel Osteen Ministries
Michael Eisner has a good piece on CNBC featuring Olsteen and his wife's success. They are on the show to talk about how they arrived at this point and what the future holds. Joel Scott Hayley Osteen (born March 5, 1963[2]) is an American best-selling author and the senior pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. His Christian ministry reaches over seven million broadcast media viewers weekly in the United States and millions more in over 100 nations around the world.
Biography
Born in Houston, Texas, Osteen married Victoria L. Iloff on April 4, 1987.[4] They have two children, Jonathan and Alexandra. Joel, son of John and Dodie Osteen, is one of six children. His elder siblings, Paul, Lisa, Tamara and his younger sister April, are also involved in full-time ministry.[5] Joel's half-brother Justin, does missionary work out of New York[6]. Joel's father, John Osteen, a former Southern Baptist pastor who became Charismatic in the late 1950s, founded Lakewood Church on Mother's Day, 1959.[7] Osteen's father developed Lakewood into a body of approximately 6,000 members with an active television ministry, conferences, missionary support and food distribution.[6] He died of a heart attack in 1999.
"
Bits: EarthClassMail opening in Manhatten (doing well?)
"Earth Class Mail, a Seattle-based start-up, offers services that take old-fashioned mail and make it digital. Customers route their mail to one of the company’s offices, where employees scan the outside of envelopes. Then, customers log in to their Earth Class Mail accounts and select which pieces of mail are opened, scanned and e-mailed to them, and which ones are left unopened, shredded and recycled.
The company’s Manhattan storefront will offer shipping services and will also take packages, which is useful for city dwellers who lack doormen, said Ron Weiner, the company’s chief executive. And the Park Avenue address (near Union Square) is ideal for anyone who “works in an industry where your address means something,” he said.
A native New Yorker, Mr. Weiner started the company about five years ago after he found himself constantly shuttling among residences and offices to pick up his mail. “I never had the right stuff at the right time. It was a real hassle,” he said. “So I came up with the idea to centralize mail so it could be sent to a single address.”
The New York location comes after store openings in San Francisco and Los Angeles earlier this month. The company closed a $5.1 million round of financing in late October, and is in the process of raising a Series B round of between $15 million and $30 million. It has already raised more than $20 million total and is backed primarily by Ignition Partners and a group of more than 130 angel investors.
Earth Class Mail recently signed a deal with the Swiss Post, Switzerland’s postal service, to begin offering its mail-digitizing services to Swiss customers for a fee. Mr. Wiener said the company was in negotiations for a partnership with a “major player” in the delivery business in the United States."
The company’s Manhattan storefront will offer shipping services and will also take packages, which is useful for city dwellers who lack doormen, said Ron Weiner, the company’s chief executive. And the Park Avenue address (near Union Square) is ideal for anyone who “works in an industry where your address means something,” he said.
A native New Yorker, Mr. Weiner started the company about five years ago after he found himself constantly shuttling among residences and offices to pick up his mail. “I never had the right stuff at the right time. It was a real hassle,” he said. “So I came up with the idea to centralize mail so it could be sent to a single address.”
The New York location comes after store openings in San Francisco and Los Angeles earlier this month. The company closed a $5.1 million round of financing in late October, and is in the process of raising a Series B round of between $15 million and $30 million. It has already raised more than $20 million total and is backed primarily by Ignition Partners and a group of more than 130 angel investors.
Earth Class Mail recently signed a deal with the Swiss Post, Switzerland’s postal service, to begin offering its mail-digitizing services to Swiss customers for a fee. Mr. Wiener said the company was in negotiations for a partnership with a “major player” in the delivery business in the United States."
Monday, December 22, 2008
Few big deals shape M&A adviser rankings in 2008 | Reuters
"A particularly tough year for mergers and acquisitions upset investment bank rankings as the top M&A advisers chased just a handful of megadeals.
Morgan Stanley (MS.N), which had held the No. 2 spot behind Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) since 2005, slipped to No. 5 in worldwide M&A advisory work in terms of the dollar volume of deals, according to preliminary Thomson Reuters data.
It was a tumultuous year for the last surviving Wall Street investment banks after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEHMQ.PK) went bankrupt and JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) acquired Bear Stearns Cos in a government-assisted fire sale.
Both Goldman and Morgan Stanley converted into bank holding companies, allowing them to make use of various forms of U.S. government support.
Goldman retained its top spot globally, while JPMorgan along with Citigroup Inc (C.N) climbed one place each from a year ago to No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. UBS AG (UBSN.VX) came fourth, up two spots from last year.
Goldman also topped the U.S. rankings. But JPMorgan grabbed the top spot in Europe for the first time, taking over from Morgan Stanley, which ended at No. 7 there, the data showed.
While league tables do not tell the whole story, the shake-up points to the upheaval wreaked by the global credit crisis. It also showed how large deals can make a big difference in a tough year and bring strategy and brand into focus.
Morgan Stanley missed out on the year's largest transaction -- the $113 billion spinoff of Philip Morris International (PM.N). It also did not get league table credit for the second-largest -- Belgian brewer InBev's $60.4 billion purchase of Anheuser-Busch Cos -- although it represented Anheuser-Busch's partner Grupo Modelo (GMODELOC.MX). Both deals hurt the bank's standing in the league tables, experts said.
The bank hit a nadir in the first quarter, when the Philip Morris deal was announced, slipping to No. 9 globally with a market share of just 10.8 percent.
Goldman, JPMorgan and Citi advised on both those deals, while UBS was an adviser on the Anheuser-Busch deal."
Morgan Stanley (MS.N), which had held the No. 2 spot behind Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) since 2005, slipped to No. 5 in worldwide M&A advisory work in terms of the dollar volume of deals, according to preliminary Thomson Reuters data.
It was a tumultuous year for the last surviving Wall Street investment banks after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEHMQ.PK) went bankrupt and JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) acquired Bear Stearns Cos in a government-assisted fire sale.
Both Goldman and Morgan Stanley converted into bank holding companies, allowing them to make use of various forms of U.S. government support.
Goldman retained its top spot globally, while JPMorgan along with Citigroup Inc (C.N) climbed one place each from a year ago to No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. UBS AG (UBSN.VX) came fourth, up two spots from last year.
Goldman also topped the U.S. rankings. But JPMorgan grabbed the top spot in Europe for the first time, taking over from Morgan Stanley, which ended at No. 7 there, the data showed.
While league tables do not tell the whole story, the shake-up points to the upheaval wreaked by the global credit crisis. It also showed how large deals can make a big difference in a tough year and bring strategy and brand into focus.
Morgan Stanley missed out on the year's largest transaction -- the $113 billion spinoff of Philip Morris International (PM.N). It also did not get league table credit for the second-largest -- Belgian brewer InBev's $60.4 billion purchase of Anheuser-Busch Cos -- although it represented Anheuser-Busch's partner Grupo Modelo (GMODELOC.MX). Both deals hurt the bank's standing in the league tables, experts said.
The bank hit a nadir in the first quarter, when the Philip Morris deal was announced, slipping to No. 9 globally with a market share of just 10.8 percent.
Goldman, JPMorgan and Citi advised on both those deals, while UBS was an adviser on the Anheuser-Busch deal."
SFGate: IRS: Fry's exec stole $65M for gambling debts
"A Ferrari-driving vice president of Fry's Electronics Inc. who was allegedly such a heavyweight gambler that casinos chartered private planes to fly him to Las Vegas has been arrested on charges he embezzled more than $65 million from the retailer to fuel his lavish lifestyle and pay off debts."
"Ausaf Umar Siddiqui is accused by the IRS of concocting an incredibly profitable scheme in which he cut side deals with some of Fry's suppliers, buying their goods at higher prices than they would normally get, and buying more of them than he normally would, in exchange for kickbacks of up to 31 percent of the total sales price.
The IRS alleges in a criminal complaint filed against Siddiqui that he set up a shell company that hid $65.6 million in kickback payments from five Fry's vendors from January 2005 to November 2008. Of that amount, $17.9 million was paid to subsidiaries of Las Vegas Sands Corp., which operates the Venetian Casino Resort, according to the criminal complaint and regulatory filings. Authorities confirmed the payments went to the casino.
Siddiqui, who lives in Palo Alto, was ordered held on $300,000 bond Monday at a hearing in U.S. District Court in San Jose. He has been in custody since Friday, when agents arrested him at Fry's headquarters in San Jose in front of stunned co-workers. The details about his Ferrari and the private jets came out during the hearing Monday.
His home phone number is unlisted, and it wasn't immediately clear whether Siddiqui had a defense lawyer. A criminal complaint is one of the preliminary investigative steps for arresting someone and securing an indictment.
A Fry's spokesman did not return a phone call from The Associated Press left after-hours.
Siddiqui has not been formally charged yet with the wire-fraud allegations laid out in the criminal complaint. Arlette Lee, spokeswoman for the IRS' Criminal Investigation division, said the judge in the case has given the government 20 days to file formal charges, which she said prosecutors intend to do."
"Ausaf Umar Siddiqui is accused by the IRS of concocting an incredibly profitable scheme in which he cut side deals with some of Fry's suppliers, buying their goods at higher prices than they would normally get, and buying more of them than he normally would, in exchange for kickbacks of up to 31 percent of the total sales price.
The IRS alleges in a criminal complaint filed against Siddiqui that he set up a shell company that hid $65.6 million in kickback payments from five Fry's vendors from January 2005 to November 2008. Of that amount, $17.9 million was paid to subsidiaries of Las Vegas Sands Corp., which operates the Venetian Casino Resort, according to the criminal complaint and regulatory filings. Authorities confirmed the payments went to the casino.
Siddiqui, who lives in Palo Alto, was ordered held on $300,000 bond Monday at a hearing in U.S. District Court in San Jose. He has been in custody since Friday, when agents arrested him at Fry's headquarters in San Jose in front of stunned co-workers. The details about his Ferrari and the private jets came out during the hearing Monday.
His home phone number is unlisted, and it wasn't immediately clear whether Siddiqui had a defense lawyer. A criminal complaint is one of the preliminary investigative steps for arresting someone and securing an indictment.
A Fry's spokesman did not return a phone call from The Associated Press left after-hours.
Siddiqui has not been formally charged yet with the wire-fraud allegations laid out in the criminal complaint. Arlette Lee, spokeswoman for the IRS' Criminal Investigation division, said the judge in the case has given the government 20 days to file formal charges, which she said prosecutors intend to do."
TechCrunch: Digg is a dog
From Techcrunch:
"Business Week gets their hands on Digg’s financials and reports that the company had 2007 revenues of $4.8 million and losses of $2.8 million. The first three quarters of 2008 Digg had revenues of $6.4 million and losses of $4 million. That implies total 2008 revenue of $8.5 million, with $5.3 million in losses.
First of all, ouch. People close to Digg once suggested to me that the Microsoft search deal, which was announced in July 2007, would bring in well over $100 million in revenue to Digg over the three year agreement (something we’ve never reported). That suggestion seems to be completely false. The deal is bringing in less than $10 million/year.
Second, Digg shouldn’t be losing money. They have over 70 employees, the company recently confirmed, and plan to grow to 150 by the end of next year. That’s an awful lot of people for a company that outsources sales and content creation, and has little to do besides focus on keeping the servers humming.
Granted, Digg has a number of people on staff that moderate content and focus on the community. But even so, experts I polled this evening who’ve run large..."
"Business Week gets their hands on Digg’s financials and reports that the company had 2007 revenues of $4.8 million and losses of $2.8 million. The first three quarters of 2008 Digg had revenues of $6.4 million and losses of $4 million. That implies total 2008 revenue of $8.5 million, with $5.3 million in losses.
First of all, ouch. People close to Digg once suggested to me that the Microsoft search deal, which was announced in July 2007, would bring in well over $100 million in revenue to Digg over the three year agreement (something we’ve never reported). That suggestion seems to be completely false. The deal is bringing in less than $10 million/year.
Second, Digg shouldn’t be losing money. They have over 70 employees, the company recently confirmed, and plan to grow to 150 by the end of next year. That’s an awful lot of people for a company that outsources sales and content creation, and has little to do besides focus on keeping the servers humming.
Granted, Digg has a number of people on staff that moderate content and focus on the community. But even so, experts I polled this evening who’ve run large..."
Technet: Tech Annual Review
"Smartphones got smarter, Web browsers battled as only Web browsers can, more movies moved to online distribution, and tiny notebooks made a big impact. Here’s Edward C. Baig’s take on the year that was, tech-wise
There was no landslide winner as the most important tech product of 2008. But amidst the most challenging economic storm in decades, you could make a case for viable candidates.
Smartphones, especially Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) Consolidate Mac Servers. Run Windows Server on your Mac. Watch a Demo or Download a Trial. Latest News about Apple iPhone 3G Latest News about 3G, got smarter, buoyed by the brand-new iTunes App Store.
Portable and inexpensive laptops, dubbed "netbooks," got smaller, cheaper and more ubiquitous.
There were innovative, if imperfect, new Web browsers from Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Latest News about Microsoft (Internet Explorer 8), Mozilla Latest News about Mozilla Foundation (Firefox) and, most notably, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Latest News about Google (Chrome).
And Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) Latest News about Netflix, the company that built a business shipping DVDs by mail, began letting you instantly stream movies on a whole bunch of hardware components — from a clever US$100 box from Roku to certain Blu-ray players.
Blu-ray itself was something of a story, if only because 2008 began with Hollywood choosing it as the preferred format for next-generation high-definition DVDs. For all the predictions about digital distribution of entertainment winning out long term — Netflix being one example — physical media will stick around for a while. By the end of the year, Blu-ray players were heavily discounted. I found one for less than $200 on Black Friday and would like to see prices drop even further.
Looking Back, Looking Ahead.."
There was no landslide winner as the most important tech product of 2008. But amidst the most challenging economic storm in decades, you could make a case for viable candidates.
Smartphones, especially Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) Consolidate Mac Servers. Run Windows Server on your Mac. Watch a Demo or Download a Trial. Latest News about Apple iPhone 3G Latest News about 3G, got smarter, buoyed by the brand-new iTunes App Store.
Portable and inexpensive laptops, dubbed "netbooks," got smaller, cheaper and more ubiquitous.
There were innovative, if imperfect, new Web browsers from Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Latest News about Microsoft (Internet Explorer 8), Mozilla Latest News about Mozilla Foundation (Firefox) and, most notably, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Latest News about Google (Chrome).
And Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) Latest News about Netflix, the company that built a business shipping DVDs by mail, began letting you instantly stream movies on a whole bunch of hardware components — from a clever US$100 box from Roku to certain Blu-ray players.
Blu-ray itself was something of a story, if only because 2008 began with Hollywood choosing it as the preferred format for next-generation high-definition DVDs. For all the predictions about digital distribution of entertainment winning out long term — Netflix being one example — physical media will stick around for a while. By the end of the year, Blu-ray players were heavily discounted. I found one for less than $200 on Black Friday and would like to see prices drop even further.
Looking Back, Looking Ahead.."
SF Biz Times: Saints Capital goes marching in, buys startups
"When venture capitalists get desperate, they may appeal to Saints.
Founded with $11 million just before the Internet bubble exploded at the beginning of the millennium, Saints Capital has become a $1.3 billion colossus by snapping up the assets of strapped venture funds, limited partners and other investors in alternative assets, often at pennies on the dollar.
Now, with the nation in recession, history is repeating itself, and Saints is buying baskets full of startup companies from investors seeking liquidity and freedom from ongoing cash-call commitments.
“I feel like a mosquito at a nudist colony,” said Ken Sawyer, founder and managing director of the San Francisco-based firm. “There are so many assets up for sale, it’s a really good investment opportunity for us.”
Saints is not alone.
Around the world, secondary investors have been busy acquiring assets from distressed investors of all kinds, including Wall Street investment banks."
"Saints last year was one of the most active venture investors in the United States, placing 149 investments, Sawyer said. The firm also enjoyed major exits, with seven companies in which Saints invested having initial public offerings — 20 percent of all Nasdaq information technology IPOs, he said. Other portfolio companies were sold for hefty profits, including TellMe Networks, which Microsoft bought for roughly $800 million.
This year has also been busy on the acquisition front.
In March, Saints said it had bought six companies from Safeguard Scientifics Inc. of Pennsylvania for $100 million and $31.5 million in assumed debt guaranties.
In June, Saints said it would buy interests in 54 companies from the Boston Scientific Corp. of Massachusetts for about $100 million.
In September, Saints bought interests in 10 companies from Innovacom Gestion, a Parisian venture capital firm, for an undisclosed sum.
And this month, Sawyer said Saints is spending roughly $100 million to buy portions of positions held in 27 companies — including LoopNet, the San Francisco-based commercial real estate firm — from the Chandler Family Trust. The trust is the only limited partner in Rustic Canyon Partners, the largest Southern California-based venture capita-l firm with $800 million in assets under management. The general partner of Rustic Canyon was a co-investor with Saints in that deal. The Chandler Family Trust is the former controlling owner of the Times Mirror Co., which previously ran the Los Angeles Times and other properties.
Sawyer expects to continue buying assets at a rapid clip into 2009.
“We are finding opportunities much like we found in the time period after the 2000 crash,” he said."
So Saints started buying other people’s assets, and did very well, posting an overall internal rate of return above 50 percent for all exits, according to Sawyer.
Founded with $11 million just before the Internet bubble exploded at the beginning of the millennium, Saints Capital has become a $1.3 billion colossus by snapping up the assets of strapped venture funds, limited partners and other investors in alternative assets, often at pennies on the dollar.
Now, with the nation in recession, history is repeating itself, and Saints is buying baskets full of startup companies from investors seeking liquidity and freedom from ongoing cash-call commitments.
“I feel like a mosquito at a nudist colony,” said Ken Sawyer, founder and managing director of the San Francisco-based firm. “There are so many assets up for sale, it’s a really good investment opportunity for us.”
Saints is not alone.
Around the world, secondary investors have been busy acquiring assets from distressed investors of all kinds, including Wall Street investment banks."
"Saints last year was one of the most active venture investors in the United States, placing 149 investments, Sawyer said. The firm also enjoyed major exits, with seven companies in which Saints invested having initial public offerings — 20 percent of all Nasdaq information technology IPOs, he said. Other portfolio companies were sold for hefty profits, including TellMe Networks, which Microsoft bought for roughly $800 million.
This year has also been busy on the acquisition front.
In March, Saints said it had bought six companies from Safeguard Scientifics Inc. of Pennsylvania for $100 million and $31.5 million in assumed debt guaranties.
In June, Saints said it would buy interests in 54 companies from the Boston Scientific Corp. of Massachusetts for about $100 million.
In September, Saints bought interests in 10 companies from Innovacom Gestion, a Parisian venture capital firm, for an undisclosed sum.
And this month, Sawyer said Saints is spending roughly $100 million to buy portions of positions held in 27 companies — including LoopNet, the San Francisco-based commercial real estate firm — from the Chandler Family Trust. The trust is the only limited partner in Rustic Canyon Partners, the largest Southern California-based venture capita-l firm with $800 million in assets under management. The general partner of Rustic Canyon was a co-investor with Saints in that deal. The Chandler Family Trust is the former controlling owner of the Times Mirror Co., which previously ran the Los Angeles Times and other properties.
Sawyer expects to continue buying assets at a rapid clip into 2009.
“We are finding opportunities much like we found in the time period after the 2000 crash,” he said."
So Saints started buying other people’s assets, and did very well, posting an overall internal rate of return above 50 percent for all exits, according to Sawyer.
Bits: Top Personal Finance Sites
"Here is a roundup of several of the dozens of new personal finance sites:
Mint: Give Mint the log-in information for your bank, credit card and brokerage accounts, and each night it pulls in your data and arranges it in charts to show you how much you are worth and where you spend your money. Users can text “Balance” to MYMINT to get their account balances on their cell phones, or download the brand new iPhone application. Mint says it will never add a social networking component. You get a lot of bad personal finance advice from random other people,” said its founder, Aaron Patzer.
Wesabe: Like Mint, Wesabe aggregates your financial accounts and enlightens you about your spending patterns. But it also offers a social network, where people can chat with others online, anonymously, about how much they have lost in their retirement accounts or how to cut spending, for example. Users can add transactions to their Wesabe accounts on the go by using Twitter, with a message like “Wesabe $2.95 Starbucks.”
Quicken Online: Sites like Mint and Wesabe originally sprang up as alternatives to Quicken, the bookkeeping software for PCs from Intuit. Quicken responded with its own Web-based version. Quicken also offers mobile applications, like Quicken Beam, which allows people to view their last five transactions from their phones.
Cake Financial: Cake aggregates all of your brokerage accounts and makes recommendations based on high-performing portfolios on the site. People can talk about questions like, “Are we all better off in cash right now?” Unlike other stock message boards, Cake shows whether people own the stocks they are talking about and how their portfolios have performed. The new Investor Quick Check benchmarks your portfolio against the market and other investors.
PearBudget: This simple tool guides you through a budgeting spreadsheet. You can use it free for 30 days and then pay $3 a month (in exchange, it doesn’t show ads for financial services and products, as many of the other sites do). It does not pull your account balances in from the Web – you have to enter them. “If the program is doing all of the work for you, it doesn’t help you know where your finances stand,” said Charlie Park, its founder.
Credit Karma: Unlike other credit score sites that charge users or limit the number of times per year they can check their credit score, Credit Karma lets people check their scores as much as they want, free. Users can track their scores over time and talk with others about how to improve them.
SmartyPig: At this virtual piggy bank, users set savings goals, and the site withdraws money from their checking accounts each month and holds it in an account that currently earns 3.9 percent a year. Users share their accounts with family and friends, to solicit donations or moral support, and add widgets to their social network profiles or blogs. When it’s time to cash in, they have the option of getting retailer gift cards worth a few percentage points more than they saved. "
Mint: Give Mint the log-in information for your bank, credit card and brokerage accounts, and each night it pulls in your data and arranges it in charts to show you how much you are worth and where you spend your money. Users can text “Balance” to MYMINT to get their account balances on their cell phones, or download the brand new iPhone application. Mint says it will never add a social networking component. You get a lot of bad personal finance advice from random other people,” said its founder, Aaron Patzer.
Wesabe: Like Mint, Wesabe aggregates your financial accounts and enlightens you about your spending patterns. But it also offers a social network, where people can chat with others online, anonymously, about how much they have lost in their retirement accounts or how to cut spending, for example. Users can add transactions to their Wesabe accounts on the go by using Twitter, with a message like “Wesabe $2.95 Starbucks.”
Quicken Online: Sites like Mint and Wesabe originally sprang up as alternatives to Quicken, the bookkeeping software for PCs from Intuit. Quicken responded with its own Web-based version. Quicken also offers mobile applications, like Quicken Beam, which allows people to view their last five transactions from their phones.
Cake Financial: Cake aggregates all of your brokerage accounts and makes recommendations based on high-performing portfolios on the site. People can talk about questions like, “Are we all better off in cash right now?” Unlike other stock message boards, Cake shows whether people own the stocks they are talking about and how their portfolios have performed. The new Investor Quick Check benchmarks your portfolio against the market and other investors.
PearBudget: This simple tool guides you through a budgeting spreadsheet. You can use it free for 30 days and then pay $3 a month (in exchange, it doesn’t show ads for financial services and products, as many of the other sites do). It does not pull your account balances in from the Web – you have to enter them. “If the program is doing all of the work for you, it doesn’t help you know where your finances stand,” said Charlie Park, its founder.
Credit Karma: Unlike other credit score sites that charge users or limit the number of times per year they can check their credit score, Credit Karma lets people check their scores as much as they want, free. Users can track their scores over time and talk with others about how to improve them.
SmartyPig: At this virtual piggy bank, users set savings goals, and the site withdraws money from their checking accounts each month and holds it in an account that currently earns 3.9 percent a year. Users share their accounts with family and friends, to solicit donations or moral support, and add widgets to their social network profiles or blogs. When it’s time to cash in, they have the option of getting retailer gift cards worth a few percentage points more than they saved. "
SFGate: Good times are gone until 2010
""We've always invested through thick and thin. In fact, we prefer to invest in thin," he said of the company that has invested in, among others, Apple, Yahoo, Google, Oracle and YouTube."
Sunday, December 21, 2008
GLG 07 revs: $230M
"The Company Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG) provides systems to manage expert networks. Our services and web-based software help the world's leading financial services firms, consultancies, corporations and not-for-profit institutions find, engage, build and manage their proprietary expert networks. GLG's extensive reservoir of expert consultants includes more than 175,000 subject-matter experts whose knowledge enables decision-makers to better understand the products, services, companies, issues, and industries on which they focus. The subject-matter experts of the GLG Councils deepen clients’ understanding of critical issues through a wide range of consulting methods, including telephone consultations, expert surveys, and educational meetings. GLG has grown quickly since inception in 1998 and currently employs more than 625 people. Our diverse, energetic staff and innovative technologies enable us to successfully compete with much larger organizations. Our offices are in New York, Boston, Washington, DC, Chicago, Austin, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Sydney, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Gurgaon, India. We are a privately held company with 2007 revenue in excess of $230 million. "
Manu Kumar
“K9 Ventures is a true “early stage” venture fund that provides funding and support for concept-stage and seed-stage technology companies. We work with entrepreneurs, sometimes even before a company has been formed, to help evaluate, evolve and fund a company in its nascent stages. We focus on startups in the San Francisco Bay Area that have a strong entrepreneur/team with an idea that has a clear path to revenue, can be capital efficient and where we can add value.”
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2 active investments: Triggit, Refocus Imaging.
1 advisory: Guru
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2 active investments: Triggit, Refocus Imaging.
1 advisory: Guru
Seeking Alpha: Search Engine Activity Remains Robust, Google Leads Pack
"comScore reported that U.S. industry search queries accelerated to 22% YoY in November compared to 19% YoY in October, in a sign that online search remains healthy in the U.S.
Google (GOOG) continued to outshine the group and continued to take share with growth of 32% YoY in November. According to the numbers, Google’s search share increased to 64%, while Yahoo (YHOO) and MSN’s (MSFT) share stayed flat at 21% and 8%, respectively.
Yahoo’s query growth was up 8% sequentially and up 11% YoY, compared 8% YoY in October, so this is a modest positive for Yahoo.
MSN’s query volume declined 6% sequentially and was up 2% YoY, down from 3% in October, a negative that shows Microsoft continues to face difficulties in attracting volume (in prior write-ups, we viewed this as Microsoft’s chief concern).
Ask.com feared worse with query volume declining 7% sequentially and was flat YoY. Its share of searches fell 20bps to 3.8%."
Google (GOOG) continued to outshine the group and continued to take share with growth of 32% YoY in November. According to the numbers, Google’s search share increased to 64%, while Yahoo (YHOO) and MSN’s (MSFT) share stayed flat at 21% and 8%, respectively.
Yahoo’s query growth was up 8% sequentially and up 11% YoY, compared 8% YoY in October, so this is a modest positive for Yahoo.
MSN’s query volume declined 6% sequentially and was up 2% YoY, down from 3% in October, a negative that shows Microsoft continues to face difficulties in attracting volume (in prior write-ups, we viewed this as Microsoft’s chief concern).
Ask.com feared worse with query volume declining 7% sequentially and was flat YoY. Its share of searches fell 20bps to 3.8%."
Yahoo! News: My Network TV
"For the past three weeks, the upstart My Network TV has accomplished something that would have been considered unthinkable just two years ago.
The network, quickly cobbled together by a group of Fox-owned local stations after the 2006 merger of the WB and UPN into the new CW left abandoned stations with nothing to put on the air, has averaged more prime-time viewers than the CW.
My Network TV is the only one of the six English-speaking broadcast networks to grow this season. Its average of 1.76 million viewers each night is up 750,000 from last season, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Given an opportunity to gloat, My Network TV President Greg Meidel plays it cool.
'Do we get excited about beating the CW three weeks in a row? Sure,' said Meidel. 'I'd rather win than have a tie.'
Professional wrestling is the turnaround's chief driver. The CW used to air World Wrestling Entertainment matches, but let them go because wrestling clashed with its strategy of appealing primarily to the young women who obsess over 'Gossip Girl.' My Network picked it up and the Friday night package is the network's most popular program of the week."
The network, quickly cobbled together by a group of Fox-owned local stations after the 2006 merger of the WB and UPN into the new CW left abandoned stations with nothing to put on the air, has averaged more prime-time viewers than the CW.
My Network TV is the only one of the six English-speaking broadcast networks to grow this season. Its average of 1.76 million viewers each night is up 750,000 from last season, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Given an opportunity to gloat, My Network TV President Greg Meidel plays it cool.
'Do we get excited about beating the CW three weeks in a row? Sure,' said Meidel. 'I'd rather win than have a tie.'
Professional wrestling is the turnaround's chief driver. The CW used to air World Wrestling Entertainment matches, but let them go because wrestling clashed with its strategy of appealing primarily to the young women who obsess over 'Gossip Girl.' My Network picked it up and the Friday night package is the network's most popular program of the week."
Sci-Tech Today | LinkedIn Replaces CEO as Business Networking Changes
"LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman has replaced CEO Dan Nye as the company moves to compete with social networks, including leaders Facebook and Google. Jeff Weiner, formerly of Yahoo, was named 'interim president.' Hoffman has said LinkedIn is working to let its 32 million members use their LinkedIn identities on other sites."
FT: Christmas shut-down in Silicon Valley
"Workers at some of Silicon Valley’s biggest companies will find themselves spending an uncommonly long time with their families this Christmas as the technology industry responds to the downturn with office and factory closures and enforced holidays.
Usually limited to traditional manufacturing industries such as the ailing carmakers, the year-end shut-down is this year sweeping through the office suites and research and development labs of information-age companies."
Usually limited to traditional manufacturing industries such as the ailing carmakers, the year-end shut-down is this year sweeping through the office suites and research and development labs of information-age companies."
Washington Post: More on Obama Venture Capitalist pick Gordon Mills
"President-elect Barack Obama this afternoon nominated venture capital expert Karen Gordon Mills to head the Small Business Administration.
"We must strengthen the small businesses that are the backbone" of the American economy, Obama said at a Chicago press conference. "With Karen Mills as administrator, America's small businesses will have a partner in Washington" who will help them create jobs and understand the challenges they face.
Mills, who has been part of the president-elect's SBA transition team, is president of MMP Group, a private equity investor and adviser since 1993. From 1999 to 2007 she was founding partner and managing director of Solera Capital, a New York based venture capital firm. She is also lead director of Scotts Miracle-Gro. Her husband is president of Bowdoin College in Maine. "
"We must strengthen the small businesses that are the backbone" of the American economy, Obama said at a Chicago press conference. "With Karen Mills as administrator, America's small businesses will have a partner in Washington" who will help them create jobs and understand the challenges they face.
Mills, who has been part of the president-elect's SBA transition team, is president of MMP Group, a private equity investor and adviser since 1993. From 1999 to 2007 she was founding partner and managing director of Solera Capital, a New York based venture capital firm. She is also lead director of Scotts Miracle-Gro. Her husband is president of Bowdoin College in Maine. "
WSJ: Venture Capital Gloom
Venture capitalists, who invest in private companies with the aim of profiting later when their startups go public or get sold, are typically optimistic investors–you have to be to deal with such risky and illiquid assets. But according to a new survey Wednesday by the National Venture Capital Association, 92% of venture capitalists predict a slowing of venture investments in 2009 compared with this year, when total investment is expected to reach $29 billion to $30 billion.
New companies–those that haven’t yet found funding–are in for a particularly rough ride. Ninety six percent of survey respondents said it will be more difficult for new companies to get money in 2009. What’s more, 93% of respondents said it will be harder to sustain investments in existing companies next year.
Some sectors may see investment growth, including cleantech and and life sciences, according to the NVCA survey. But other sectors will lose out, with 79% of respondents forecasting a decline in investment in the semiconductor industry. In addition, 71% of respondents predict a slowdown in investnent in the media and entertainment sector and 60% figure there will be a dropoff in wireless communications investments.
New companies–those that haven’t yet found funding–are in for a particularly rough ride. Ninety six percent of survey respondents said it will be more difficult for new companies to get money in 2009. What’s more, 93% of respondents said it will be harder to sustain investments in existing companies next year.
Some sectors may see investment growth, including cleantech and and life sciences, according to the NVCA survey. But other sectors will lose out, with 79% of respondents forecasting a decline in investment in the semiconductor industry. In addition, 71% of respondents predict a slowdown in investnent in the media and entertainment sector and 60% figure there will be a dropoff in wireless communications investments.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Berg: D.E. Shaw, Farallon Restrict Withdrawals as Fund Freeze Deepens
"D.E. Shaw & Co. LP, the investment firm run by David Shaw, and Farallon Capital Management LLC limited withdrawals by clients, joining more than 80 hedge-fund managers to impose restrictions in the past two months.
D.E. Shaw, which oversees $36 billion, capped redemptions from its Composite and Oculus funds, said two people familiar with the New York-based company. Farallon, a $30 billion firm based in San Francisco, did the same with its biggest fund after investors asked to get back more than 25 percent of their money.
D.E. Shaw, which oversees $36 billion, capped redemptions from its Composite and Oculus funds, said two people familiar with the New York-based company. Farallon, a $30 billion firm based in San Francisco, did the same with its biggest fund after investors asked to get back more than 25 percent of their money.
Dealbreaker.com: Faralllon letter to LPs
"Dear Limited Partner:
The year-end withdrawal notification deadline passed on November 17, 2008 for Farallon Capital Institutional Partners, L.P. (the "Partnership"). Like many funds, the Partnership has received an unusually high volume of withdrawal requests for the upcoming withdrawal date of December 31, 2008 (the "Withdrawal Date").
The Partnership currently has significant cash holdings. A portion of this cash will be distributed to a trust and used to meet withdrawals as described below, but the Partnership also requires cash for its investment program, including to purchase new securities and instruments, meet outstanding investment commitments and meet potential additional collateral obligations to financial counterparties. Distributing substantially all of this cash to the withdrawing Partners would limit the liquidity of the Partnership and its flexibility to take advantage of new investments at a time when we believe there are severe market dislocations and excellent investment opportunities.
Furthermore, approximately 31% of the Partnership's capital, excluding investments in Special Situation Accounts currently is attributable to debt instruments, such as bank loans, held outside of Special Situation Accounts. Credit markets have become substantially less liquid, and there are relatively few transactions in many types of debt instruments at this time. The spread between quoted bid and ask prices has widened considerably for many of these instruments.
Distributing cash only to withdrawing Partners would have the effect of concentrating the Partnership's investment portfolio, and the interests of its non-withdrawing Partners, in these assets. Pursuant to the Partnership's valuation policies, such concentration generally would take place at the average of the bid and ask prices on December 31, 2008, which could result in less favorable terms for the Partnership than might be obtained in open market transactions. The liquidity characteristics of the resulting portfolio would not be in line with furthering the Partnership's investment program. Addressing these concerns by selling substantial quantities of these assets before year-end may not be feasible and could result in "fire-sale" pricing.
Section 5.5(b) of the Sixth Amended and Restated Limited Partnership Agreement of the Partnership, effective as of April 1, 2004 (as amended, the "Partnership Agreement") provides that if Limited Partners elect to withdraw more than 25% of the Partnership's capital (exclusive of capital in Special Situation Accounts) on any withdrawal date, Farallon Partners, L.L.C. (the "General Partner") may, in its sole discretion, elect to make such distribution by distributing to a liquidating trust (the "Trust"), administered by the General Partner as trustee (in such capacity, the "Trustee"), assets and liabilities equal in net value as of the Withdrawal Date to the Partnership's capital being withdrawn. Securities and instruments held in Special Situation Accounts and Remaining Obligations will not be assigned to the Trust and any reserves will reduce amounts assigned to the Trust. The Trust is to be administered for the sole benefit of the withdrawing Partners, who will be the beneficiaries of the Trust (the "Beneficiaries"). Capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined herein, are used as defined in the Partnership Agreement.
The purpose of this letter is to notify you that the withdrawal requests received by the Partnership for the Withdrawal Date exceed 25% of the Partnership's capital (exclusive of capital in Special Situation Accounts), and that the General Partner has elected to establish and make distributions with respect to the withdrawing Partners to the Trust. The General Partner's decision is made in an effort to balance the interests of the withdrawing Partners with the interests of the remaining Partners.
If a Limited Partner has requested a full withdrawal from the Partnership, as a Beneficiary it will have an undivided proportionate interest in the Trust's capital based on its Capital Account value on the Withdrawal Date excluding Special Situation Accounts, Remaining Obligations and reserves divided by the aggregate value of the capital contributed to the Trust. If a Limited Partner has requested a partial withdrawal of its Capital Account, as a Beneficiary it will have an undivided proportionate interest in the Trust's capital based on its requested withdrawal amount on the Withdrawal Date divided by the aggregate value of the capital contributed to the Trust; provided, that if such withdrawal amount exceeds such Limited Partner's Capital Account value on the Withdrawal Date, excluding Special Situation Accounts, Remaining Obligations and reserves, such Limited Partner will be required to withdraw from the Partnership and its interest in the Trust will be calculated as provided in the previous sentence.
In accordance with the provisions of Section 5.5(b) of the Partnership Agreement, the Trustee will use all reasonable efforts to reduce the assets transferred to the Trust to cash and to promptly distribute such cash to the Beneficiaries, with the objective of completing such liquidation within one year of the Withdrawal Date. However, there can be no assurance that the liquidation of the Trust's assets will be completed within such one-year period, and the Trustee will probably find it prudent to retain some cash in the Trust as reserves for future liabilities beyond such one-year period. In addition to distributions in cash, the Trust may also make distributions in kind, in the sole discretion of the Trustee.
The Trustee intends to make an initial cash distribution to the Beneficiaries during the month of January 2009 from the Trust. Preliminary estimates of this initial cash distribution available to each Beneficiary will be made available upon request.
No management fees or incentive fees are payable to the Trustee or the Management Company with respect to the assets held in the Trust, although the Trust will pay for its costs and expenses, including the costs of legal advisors, accountants, consultants, investment bankers, experts, other advisors, brokers and other agents.
Your interests as Beneficiary in the Trust will not be represented by trust certificates. You may not transfer or pledge your interests in the Trust (or any portion thereof) without the prior written consent of the Trustee, which may be withheld in its sole discretion. In addition, you will have no right to withdraw from the Trust.
A copy of the trust agreement for the Trust will be made available upon request made to the General Partner. If you have submitted a withdrawal request for the Withdrawal Date and now wish to revoke your withdrawal request, in whole or in part, in light of these developments, you should notify the General Partner promptly and in any case by December 15, 2008. Revocations of withdrawal requests may be honored by the Partnership, in whole or in part, at the sole discretion of the General Partner. The General Partner will inform you whether or not your revocation has been accepted in writing reasonably promptly following December 15, 2008.
We recognize that utilization of the Trust may be inconvenient for many of you. Please be assured that we are taking these steps only after carefully considering the alternatives and concluding that this is the best way to balance the interests of the withdrawing Partners with the interests of the remaining Partners. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding during these unprecedented times."
The year-end withdrawal notification deadline passed on November 17, 2008 for Farallon Capital Institutional Partners, L.P. (the "Partnership"). Like many funds, the Partnership has received an unusually high volume of withdrawal requests for the upcoming withdrawal date of December 31, 2008 (the "Withdrawal Date").
The Partnership currently has significant cash holdings. A portion of this cash will be distributed to a trust and used to meet withdrawals as described below, but the Partnership also requires cash for its investment program, including to purchase new securities and instruments, meet outstanding investment commitments and meet potential additional collateral obligations to financial counterparties. Distributing substantially all of this cash to the withdrawing Partners would limit the liquidity of the Partnership and its flexibility to take advantage of new investments at a time when we believe there are severe market dislocations and excellent investment opportunities.
Furthermore, approximately 31% of the Partnership's capital, excluding investments in Special Situation Accounts currently is attributable to debt instruments, such as bank loans, held outside of Special Situation Accounts. Credit markets have become substantially less liquid, and there are relatively few transactions in many types of debt instruments at this time. The spread between quoted bid and ask prices has widened considerably for many of these instruments.
Distributing cash only to withdrawing Partners would have the effect of concentrating the Partnership's investment portfolio, and the interests of its non-withdrawing Partners, in these assets. Pursuant to the Partnership's valuation policies, such concentration generally would take place at the average of the bid and ask prices on December 31, 2008, which could result in less favorable terms for the Partnership than might be obtained in open market transactions. The liquidity characteristics of the resulting portfolio would not be in line with furthering the Partnership's investment program. Addressing these concerns by selling substantial quantities of these assets before year-end may not be feasible and could result in "fire-sale" pricing.
Section 5.5(b) of the Sixth Amended and Restated Limited Partnership Agreement of the Partnership, effective as of April 1, 2004 (as amended, the "Partnership Agreement") provides that if Limited Partners elect to withdraw more than 25% of the Partnership's capital (exclusive of capital in Special Situation Accounts) on any withdrawal date, Farallon Partners, L.L.C. (the "General Partner") may, in its sole discretion, elect to make such distribution by distributing to a liquidating trust (the "Trust"), administered by the General Partner as trustee (in such capacity, the "Trustee"), assets and liabilities equal in net value as of the Withdrawal Date to the Partnership's capital being withdrawn. Securities and instruments held in Special Situation Accounts and Remaining Obligations will not be assigned to the Trust and any reserves will reduce amounts assigned to the Trust. The Trust is to be administered for the sole benefit of the withdrawing Partners, who will be the beneficiaries of the Trust (the "Beneficiaries"). Capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined herein, are used as defined in the Partnership Agreement.
The purpose of this letter is to notify you that the withdrawal requests received by the Partnership for the Withdrawal Date exceed 25% of the Partnership's capital (exclusive of capital in Special Situation Accounts), and that the General Partner has elected to establish and make distributions with respect to the withdrawing Partners to the Trust. The General Partner's decision is made in an effort to balance the interests of the withdrawing Partners with the interests of the remaining Partners.
If a Limited Partner has requested a full withdrawal from the Partnership, as a Beneficiary it will have an undivided proportionate interest in the Trust's capital based on its Capital Account value on the Withdrawal Date excluding Special Situation Accounts, Remaining Obligations and reserves divided by the aggregate value of the capital contributed to the Trust. If a Limited Partner has requested a partial withdrawal of its Capital Account, as a Beneficiary it will have an undivided proportionate interest in the Trust's capital based on its requested withdrawal amount on the Withdrawal Date divided by the aggregate value of the capital contributed to the Trust; provided, that if such withdrawal amount exceeds such Limited Partner's Capital Account value on the Withdrawal Date, excluding Special Situation Accounts, Remaining Obligations and reserves, such Limited Partner will be required to withdraw from the Partnership and its interest in the Trust will be calculated as provided in the previous sentence.
In accordance with the provisions of Section 5.5(b) of the Partnership Agreement, the Trustee will use all reasonable efforts to reduce the assets transferred to the Trust to cash and to promptly distribute such cash to the Beneficiaries, with the objective of completing such liquidation within one year of the Withdrawal Date. However, there can be no assurance that the liquidation of the Trust's assets will be completed within such one-year period, and the Trustee will probably find it prudent to retain some cash in the Trust as reserves for future liabilities beyond such one-year period. In addition to distributions in cash, the Trust may also make distributions in kind, in the sole discretion of the Trustee.
The Trustee intends to make an initial cash distribution to the Beneficiaries during the month of January 2009 from the Trust. Preliminary estimates of this initial cash distribution available to each Beneficiary will be made available upon request.
No management fees or incentive fees are payable to the Trustee or the Management Company with respect to the assets held in the Trust, although the Trust will pay for its costs and expenses, including the costs of legal advisors, accountants, consultants, investment bankers, experts, other advisors, brokers and other agents.
Your interests as Beneficiary in the Trust will not be represented by trust certificates. You may not transfer or pledge your interests in the Trust (or any portion thereof) without the prior written consent of the Trustee, which may be withheld in its sole discretion. In addition, you will have no right to withdraw from the Trust.
A copy of the trust agreement for the Trust will be made available upon request made to the General Partner. If you have submitted a withdrawal request for the Withdrawal Date and now wish to revoke your withdrawal request, in whole or in part, in light of these developments, you should notify the General Partner promptly and in any case by December 15, 2008. Revocations of withdrawal requests may be honored by the Partnership, in whole or in part, at the sole discretion of the General Partner. The General Partner will inform you whether or not your revocation has been accepted in writing reasonably promptly following December 15, 2008.
We recognize that utilization of the Trust may be inconvenient for many of you. Please be assured that we are taking these steps only after carefully considering the alternatives and concluding that this is the best way to balance the interests of the withdrawing Partners with the interests of the remaining Partners. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding during these unprecedented times."
1440WallStreet: Clarium LP Drops 5.4% in November, Down 8.1% YTD
"Clarium Capital Management is one of the best houses in a lousy land called Hedgistan, and while Peter Thiel can continue to put bread on the table, you can get a little lean while charging 0/25 in the middle of a giant global shitshow.And while Peter is no doubt racking that considerable brain of his, he is 0 - fer on the back nine in 2008, losing money five months a row. He is in a foot race with Paul Tudor Jones' BVI fund year-to-date, and hanging tough in the Global Macro sweepstakes. Unlike Tudor Jones, he has not yet gated investors, preventing them from redeeming funds."
Blodget: Blodget Scapegoat Reinvents Himself as Financial Reporter
"Henry Blodget has never gotten used to the chorus of hate that follows his every move. He's merely learned to live with it. When he started his personal blog in 2005, the comments dripped with disgust. "You are a boldface liar," a reader wrote. "Give me one reason why I should believe what you are writing," said another. And that was just in response to Blodget's innocuous first entry.
During his years as a star Wall Street analyst, his pronouncements were welcomed and celebrated; now he couldn't say hello without getting savaged. Just last August, TechCrunch mentioned that Blodget would be one of more than two dozen tech celebrities judging a contest for startups. Blodget knew what was coming, even if his hosts didn't. "Blodget is scum.... He is no longer the arrogant prick we saw in the '90s, but he's still scum," someone wrote. "A lot of people lost money listening to this dirtbag." "Blodget is a Web 1.0, bubble-creating has-been." "He is unethical." "He's as crooked as they come.""
During his years as a star Wall Street analyst, his pronouncements were welcomed and celebrated; now he couldn't say hello without getting savaged. Just last August, TechCrunch mentioned that Blodget would be one of more than two dozen tech celebrities judging a contest for startups. Blodget knew what was coming, even if his hosts didn't. "Blodget is scum.... He is no longer the arrogant prick we saw in the '90s, but he's still scum," someone wrote. "A lot of people lost money listening to this dirtbag." "Blodget is a Web 1.0, bubble-creating has-been." "He is unethical." "He's as crooked as they come.""
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Why Twitter Turned Down Facebook
"For now, a marriage between Twitter and Facebook is not meant to be — but the courtship between the two Web 2.0 companies could be rekindled in the future. That was one message from Evan Williams, the chief executive and co-founder of Twitter, in a talk at the Churchill Club in San Francisco Tuesday night. "
"Serious talks between the Facebook social network and the Twitter microblogging service started soon after Mr. Williams took over as chief executive on Oct. 16. Twitter reportedly rejected Facebook’s $500 million, mostly stock offer several weeks ago.
“We explored it, as we should. We took it seriously,” Mr. Williams said. “It definitely made sense — the strategy we talked about with them — but it wasn’t the right time.” Ultimately, he said, Twitter decided that it had too much left to do, beginning with figuring out how to make money.
“Maybe we’ll see each other in the marketplace,” Mr. Williams said.
Twitter, which lets users broadcast messages of up to 140 characters via cell phone or the Web, began to take off in March 2007. Until this fall, though, it struggled with technical difficulties and frequent service failures. It now has some 6 million registered users, though the number who use it regularly is much smaller. (One of them — perhaps Twitter’s most extreme user — was at the speech. He said he follows 17,800 people and 6,000 people follow him. “Do you do anything else?” asked Mr. Williams, who said he can barely keep up with the 947 people he follows.)
Twitter has raised $20 million from venture capitalists, but has brought in virtually no revenue, choosing growth over everything else. Indeed, Mr. Williams said he had planned to raise more capital in mid-2009 and wait to worry about revenue until 2010. "
"Serious talks between the Facebook social network and the Twitter microblogging service started soon after Mr. Williams took over as chief executive on Oct. 16. Twitter reportedly rejected Facebook’s $500 million, mostly stock offer several weeks ago.
“We explored it, as we should. We took it seriously,” Mr. Williams said. “It definitely made sense — the strategy we talked about with them — but it wasn’t the right time.” Ultimately, he said, Twitter decided that it had too much left to do, beginning with figuring out how to make money.
“Maybe we’ll see each other in the marketplace,” Mr. Williams said.
Twitter, which lets users broadcast messages of up to 140 characters via cell phone or the Web, began to take off in March 2007. Until this fall, though, it struggled with technical difficulties and frequent service failures. It now has some 6 million registered users, though the number who use it regularly is much smaller. (One of them — perhaps Twitter’s most extreme user — was at the speech. He said he follows 17,800 people and 6,000 people follow him. “Do you do anything else?” asked Mr. Williams, who said he can barely keep up with the 947 people he follows.)
Twitter has raised $20 million from venture capitalists, but has brought in virtually no revenue, choosing growth over everything else. Indeed, Mr. Williams said he had planned to raise more capital in mid-2009 and wait to worry about revenue until 2010. "
AllThings D: Congratulations Google, You’re the New Microsoft
Google abandoned [its deal with Yahoo] not because pressing ahead with it “risked” a protracted legal battle, but because it guaranteed one.
BW: The financial crisis makes it harder to get funding, but those that prove themselves during this period will be better positioned to thrive
"Landing venture capital is tough for startups (BusinessWeek, 2/1/08), even in a good economy. But given the ongoing financial crisis, how hard is it for early-stage companies to get funded right now? Venture capitalists say entrepreneurs face a much higher bar than in recent years. They liken the downturn to a period of natural selection, when weak businesses will fail but strong ones will prosper. New companies that prove themselves now, they say, are better positioned to thrive when the economy recovers.
Ouch Harvard Endowment down 22%+
Harvard's endowment takes 22 percent hit
Wednesday December 3, 10:04 am ET
Harvard's endowment takes 22 percent hit, and is expected to lose more
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) -- Harvard officials say the university's largest-in-the-nation endowment lost about 22 percent of its value, or $8 billion, in the four months since the end of the last fiscal year.
The endowment was worth $36.9 billion as of June 30.
Harvard will have to take a "hard look at hiring, staffing levels, and compensation," university President Drew Faust and Executive Vice President Edward Forst wrote in a letter informing deans of the losses.
They say the university should plan for a 30 percent drop in endowment value by the end of next June.
Forst tells The Harvard Crimson student newspaper that the 22 percent estimate may be conservative because some university money is handled by external managers that have yet to report figures.
Wednesday December 3, 10:04 am ET
Harvard's endowment takes 22 percent hit, and is expected to lose more
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) -- Harvard officials say the university's largest-in-the-nation endowment lost about 22 percent of its value, or $8 billion, in the four months since the end of the last fiscal year.
The endowment was worth $36.9 billion as of June 30.
Harvard will have to take a "hard look at hiring, staffing levels, and compensation," university President Drew Faust and Executive Vice President Edward Forst wrote in a letter informing deans of the losses.
They say the university should plan for a 30 percent drop in endowment value by the end of next June.
Forst tells The Harvard Crimson student newspaper that the 22 percent estimate may be conservative because some university money is handled by external managers that have yet to report figures.
Believe him or not? Stocks to Surge in 2009, UBS Says; S&P 500 May Climb 53 Percent
"Stocks in the U.S. and Europe will withstand a “full-blown” global recession to surge in 2009, UBS AG said.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may jump to 1,300 by the end of 2009, a 53 percent rally from its current level, New York-based strategist David Bianco wrote in a report dated yesterday.
“The consensus outlook for 2009 is a full year of gloom,” Bianco wrote. “We believe 2009 will bring signs of a dawn in confidence with the first faint light appearing earlier than most investors expect.”
European per-share earnings will tumble 25 percent as the euro-zone economy contracts 0.9 percent, according to UBS strategists in London led by Nick Nelson. Still, price-earnings valuations may climb to lift the FTSEurofirst 300 Index 25 percent from current levels, Nelson’s team forecast.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index may advance 41 percent to 5,800, UBS said in a separate note.
“The macroeconomic and corporate profit outlook for 2009 is horrible,” Nelson’s team wrote. “But share prices have moved well ahead of this and are now pricing in a multi year recession/depression.”
The brokerage also forecast gains for Latin American markets, and recommended Brazilian equities."
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may jump to 1,300 by the end of 2009, a 53 percent rally from its current level, New York-based strategist David Bianco wrote in a report dated yesterday.
“The consensus outlook for 2009 is a full year of gloom,” Bianco wrote. “We believe 2009 will bring signs of a dawn in confidence with the first faint light appearing earlier than most investors expect.”
European per-share earnings will tumble 25 percent as the euro-zone economy contracts 0.9 percent, according to UBS strategists in London led by Nick Nelson. Still, price-earnings valuations may climb to lift the FTSEurofirst 300 Index 25 percent from current levels, Nelson’s team forecast.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index may advance 41 percent to 5,800, UBS said in a separate note.
“The macroeconomic and corporate profit outlook for 2009 is horrible,” Nelson’s team wrote. “But share prices have moved well ahead of this and are now pricing in a multi year recession/depression.”
The brokerage also forecast gains for Latin American markets, and recommended Brazilian equities."
WSJ: Funny pushy cart people at your local mall
"But in the past decade, Israeli vendors have become the dominant players in the cart world. At the annual trade show for the retail cart and kiosk industry, nearly a third of the attendees are now Israeli, say wholesalers and industry trackers. In a first, next year's show in Las Vegas will host a cart-operating workshop entirely in Hebrew.
Most Israeli-run carts are manned by two to four people. Typically, the mall stints are a fast way to amass cash to finance a globe-trotting trip, a rite of passage for many Israelis after they complete their mandatory military service. Some hear about the jobs on Hebrew-language Web sites, such as "The Jackpot," where cart operators advertise. Operators often offer a kind of package deal, where they subsidize housing and transportation for their temporary workers."
Most Israeli-run carts are manned by two to four people. Typically, the mall stints are a fast way to amass cash to finance a globe-trotting trip, a rite of passage for many Israelis after they complete their mandatory military service. Some hear about the jobs on Hebrew-language Web sites, such as "The Jackpot," where cart operators advertise. Operators often offer a kind of package deal, where they subsidize housing and transportation for their temporary workers."
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
WSJ: downturn finally hits The Goog
"Google's years of rapid growth were fueled almost entirely by a single business: sales of search ads, the small text ads that appear next to search results cranked out by its Internet search engine. The company realized that the torrid growth couldn't continue forever. So far, it hasn't come up with any big new revenue streams.
"Letting a thousand flowers bloom and letting many of them stall and go nowhere has worked well to this point," says Thomas Eisenmann, a professor at Harvard Business School. "But if you want to be the dominant advertising network across every medium, you need more top-down management."
Google executives say they started preparing for slower growth more than a year ago. But the economic crisis is forcing them to step up their efforts.
In recent weeks, Mr. Schmidt has held meetings with top executives to determine where to focus investment more narrowly. Top priorities include display ads, which use graphics and appear on Web pages; advertising on mobile phones; and the company's online business software."
"Letting a thousand flowers bloom and letting many of them stall and go nowhere has worked well to this point," says Thomas Eisenmann, a professor at Harvard Business School. "But if you want to be the dominant advertising network across every medium, you need more top-down management."
Google executives say they started preparing for slower growth more than a year ago. But the economic crisis is forcing them to step up their efforts.
In recent weeks, Mr. Schmidt has held meetings with top executives to determine where to focus investment more narrowly. Top priorities include display ads, which use graphics and appear on Web pages; advertising on mobile phones; and the company's online business software."
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