Fund argues for Yahoo job cuts, ouster of Mayer

An investment fund with a stake in Yahoo called on Monday for the struggling Internet firm to slash more than 80 per cent of its workforce and replace chief executive Marissa Mayer. 

PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

DEC 15, 20156:52 AM

[SAN FRANCISCO] An investment fund with a stake in Yahoo called on Monday for the struggling Internet firm to slash more than 80 per cent of its workforce and replace chief executive Marissa Mayer.

The call by investment fund SpringOwl, which did not disclose the size of its Yahoo stake, came amid unease among shareholders after the tech firm retreated from its plan to spin off its multibillion-dollar stake in Chinese online colossus Alibaba.

SpingOwl distributed a presentation arguing that the company should replace Ms Mayer and slash costs by eliminating some 9,000 positions.

Job cuts of that magnitude would represent a huge hit based on employee numbers given by the California-based Internet pioneer at the end of September, when it reported having 10,700 full-time workers and nearly 800 contractors.

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SpringOwl told AFP that it sent a copy of the 99-page presentation to Yahoo before making it public.

Getting rid of 9,000 employees along with "free food and other expensive sponsorships" such as parties could save the company at least US$2 billion annually, the presentation said.

Yahoo management should be "re-cast," according to SpringOwl.

The investment fund also argued that Yahoo has frittered away billions of dollars during Ms Mayer's tenure on research or acquisitions that have not paid off.

SpringOwl lobbied for Yahoo to draw on cash reserves, sell real estate, and even borrow money to buy back shares and push up the stock price.

The presentation recommended replacing some members of Yahoo's board, along with Ms Mayer, and included a list of traits to seek in a new chief executive.

It also rejected the latest spinoff plan, endorsed by another investment fund, as "unattractive" to shareholders.

Yahoo flipped its reorganisation plan last week, announcing it would keep its stake in China's Alibaba but spin off its core Internet business - creating new uncertainties for the struggling tech giant.

The decision marked a U-turn on a previous plan to spin off Yahoo's vast holdings in e-commerce giant Alibaba, which could have exposed it to a huge tax bill.

But the tech firm stuck by its intention to separate out its activities under the new structure, a move that could open the door to a sale of Yahoo's core online operations.

AFP

    
 

Oil recovers a bit from steep falls

DEC 15, 20156:54 AM

[NEW YORK] Oil recovered a bit on Monday from a series of declines that drove prices to near seven-year lows as investors worried about copious global supplies.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in January rose 69 cents to finish at US$36.31 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude futures for January, the global benchmark, fell just one cent to US$37.92 a barrel in London.

Ted Sloup of iiTrader.com called the market moves on Monday "a healthy correction" in a technically oversold market.

But, he said, "overall the market is still very bearish" as investors continued to worry about global oversupplies.

After falling for six consecutive sessions, oil prices ended on Friday with WTI at its lowest point since February 2009 and Brent down to a level last seen amid the 2008 global financial crisis.

Mr Sloup said that investors also were showing caution ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision due on Wednesday, expected to raise the benchmark federal funds rate for the first time in nearly a decade and possibly strengthen the dollar. Crude oil is priced in the US currency.

Tim Evans of Citi Futures pointed out that the landmark climate agreement reached over the weekend in Paris by 195 countries was expected to weigh over the market on a long-term basis.

"More detailed assessments will follow in the weeks and months to come, but the net impact, we think, would be a further gradual dampening of global petroleum demand growth over the decades to some, rather than an immediate downward revision to 2016 consumption," Mr Evans said.

AFP

    
 

The Unending War (Video)

The Unending War

2012 ,

This documentary recounts the story of the veterans who withdrew from the US army after realizing the truth to the made-up excuses of the US for Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The US invasions and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan after the September 11th incidents, under the name of war against terrorism, were the most costly wars in the history of the US which took a heavy tool of human lives and properties for the US, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Ten years ago, the Bush administration managed to convince the American public that invading Iraq was the only way to prevent another terrorist attack similar to 9/11.

Finding and destroying weapons of mass destruction and toppling Saddam Hussein’s regime were held up as legitimate reasons for the invasion.

President Bush and his advisers even naively believed that after Iraq had been 'liberated', it could become a shining example of democracy to inspire other Arab nations.

China's Baidu says to develop self-driving buses within 3 years

DEC 14, 20155:23 PM

[BEIJING] China's top online search firm Baidu said it aims to put self-driving buses on the road in three years and mass produce them within five years, after it set up a business unit to oversee all its efforts related to automobiles.

The unit will also include its initiative in partnership with BMW AG to develop an autonomous passenger vehicle, which may also be put into mass production within five years, a spokesman told Reuters on Monday.

Self-driving cars have emerged as a new battlefront for tech majors globally. Alibaba Group Holding says it will launch its first car in a partnership with China's SAIC Motor Corp, while US tech heavyweights Google and Apple are also developing autonomous cars.

The Baidu spokesman declined to give details on potential auto manufacturer partners for the bus project or investment amounts for the unit.

Baidu Senior Vice President Wang Jing will lead the new unit as general manager.

REUTERS

Korea's Yello Mobile raises funds at about US$4b valuation

DEC 14, 20155:20 PM

[SEOUL] Yello Mobile, a South Korean startup that has acquired more than 80 app and service providers since it was launched three years ago, raised capital in a funding round that it expects will bring its valuation to about US$4 billion.

The Seoul-based company said it has raised US$47.2 million from new and existing investors through convertible debt and expects to raise more in the coming weeks to fund its continued expansion into other parts of Asia. If completed, it will become one of the country's most valuable startups after Coupang, an online retailer that was valued at US$5 billion when SoftBank Group Corp. invested US$1 billion in June.

In November 2014, Yello Mobile was valued at US$1 billion when it raised US$100 million from the venture capital firm Formation 8, a backer of the virtual reality firm Oculus VR Inc later sold to Facebook Inc for US$2 billion. Formation 8 led the latest funding for Yello.

Yello Mobile, whose structure resembles a mobile app version of the Korean industrial conglomerates known as chaebols, takes equity stakes in promising startups. It works with apps in everything from shopping to advertising, as well as the companies that provide support services such as billing. Its apps include Coocha, a coupon clipper for mobile phones that suggests deals from online retailers, and Pikicast, a video broadcaster of news and entertainment optimized for phones.

The company has to make some financial filings in Korea because its business model of giving startups equity in the parent company has pushed it past the threshold of certain public disclosures. The company said it had earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of 2.8 billion won (S$3.3 million) in the third quarter on revenue that rose more than fourfold from a year earlier to about 97.5 billion won, according to company filings.

The company has a combined user base of more than 18 million monthly active users in South Korea, it said.

BLOOMBERG

    
 

PepsiCo revamping vending machines after backlash

PepsiCo Inc, facing an anti-soda backlash and health concerns about snack foods, is looking to make a comeback in an especially hard-hit part of the industry: vending machines. 

PHOTO: REUTERS

DEC 14, 20159:31 PM

[NEW YORK] PepsiCo Inc, facing an anti-soda backlash and health concerns about snack foods, is looking to make a comeback in an especially hard-hit part of the industry: vending machines.

The company is rolling out several thousand dual- temperature machines that offer both food and drinks under the new Hello Goodness brand, according to a statement. The units will include healthier products from PepsiCo's beverage and Frito-Lay divisions, including Naked Juice, Lays Oven Baked chips and Sabra hummus cups.

The idea is to put a fresh face on an invention long associated with junk food, cigarettes and other vices. Though vending machines are still widespread, they've been jettisoned from many US schools and other locations over health concerns. US vending sales declined by 1 per cent to US$4.5 billion in 2014, according to Euromonitor International.

PepsiCo's new machines will have a digital interface, letting customers make purchases with credit cards or Apple Pay, said Kirk Tanner, chief operating officer of beverages in North America."This is the vending machine of the future," he said in an interview. "There's an opportunity for us to be a leader in better-for-you vending, and we have a long-term commitment to making that happen."

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The move is part of a broader push by Chief Executive Officer Indra Nooyi to offer healthier snacks. Consumers are increasingly shunning sugary drinks and candy, plaguing soda sales for PepsiCo and competitor Coca-Cola.

Schools have been a key battleground for the industry. The federal government has imposed standards on foods sold in school vending machines, limiting the amount of sugar, sodium and calories. The change has hurt vending operators, reducing sales in some cases by 30 per cent to 40 per cent, according to Vending Market Watch, a trade publication. Though new technology and snacks are helping the industry rebound, total sales are still below where they were before the last US recession.

PepsiCo is betting healthier choices will help change that. Its machines will be located in places like hospitals, universities, offices and transportation hubs, the company said."We see it as a great way to grow our business - to reach consumers in places that we can't reach them other than vending," Mr Tanner said.

BLOOMBERG

    
 

Swedish home prices fell 0.6% in Nov

DEC 14, 20154:13 PM

[STOCKHOLM] Swedish home prices fell by 0.6 per cent in November from October but were up 15.0 per cent from a year earlier, the Nasdaq OMX Valueguard-KTH Housing Index (HOX) showed on Monday.

Prices for apartments increased 17.8 per cent while single-family house prices rose 13.4 per cent on the year.

Both apartment and house prices fell on the month, the first decline since June.

The HOX index is based on a statistical model that compensates for different types of homes sold during various periods to give a better picture of underlying price trends.

A boom in Swedish home prices since the late 1990s has driven up household debt to some of the highest levels in Europe.

REUTERS