Evan Williams the new CEO of Twitter as of October has really hit the ground running in his newly acquired position.
First his site Twitter made huge headlines thanks to the way their site was able to disseminate information about last week's terrorist attacks in India.
Now, they have been offered a dream buyout by Facebook for $500 million. Not bad for a platform many in the industry said "lacked a sound monetization strategy."
Not so dreamy! Twitter, which reportedly has brought in virtually no revenue since it's inception and raised $20 million in venture funding, is saying "no-go" to the behemoth. Evan Williams said the courtship between the two Web 2.0 companies could be rekindled in the future.
Williams also said in a statement, "Twitter decided that it had too much left to do, beginning with figuring out how to make money."
Well I have a great strategy for how to make money...sell your company for $500 million to Facebook!!
I guess this is why i'm blogging in my tity whities and not running a top social media company.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Juicy Day on Wall Street for Del Monte
I apologize for the title, I honestly couldn't help myself.
San Francisco based Del Monte Foods Co. released fiscal-year sales forecast, which states sales will be up 8% to 10%. This is up from their prior forecast in April that has sales gaining 6% to 8%. News of the optimistic forecast drove shares of Del Monte up 18%. Del Mote shares rose to $6.53 in early morning trading.
For the fiscal second quarter Del Monte reported a profit of $50 Million, or 25 cents a share. Last year Del Monte was reporting just $26 Million, or 13 cents per share.
Many had predicted a less sunny (there i go again) quarter after their sale of their Starkist Tuna business.
One reason many are attributing the sales growth is the recent $20 million online/print campaign called "Fruit Undressed." Del Monte has made major strides with the current campaign to boost their refrigerated fruit market share.
San Francisco based Del Monte Foods Co. released fiscal-year sales forecast, which states sales will be up 8% to 10%. This is up from their prior forecast in April that has sales gaining 6% to 8%. News of the optimistic forecast drove shares of Del Monte up 18%. Del Mote shares rose to $6.53 in early morning trading.
For the fiscal second quarter Del Monte reported a profit of $50 Million, or 25 cents a share. Last year Del Monte was reporting just $26 Million, or 13 cents per share.
Many had predicted a less sunny (there i go again) quarter after their sale of their Starkist Tuna business.
One reason many are attributing the sales growth is the recent $20 million online/print campaign called "Fruit Undressed." Del Monte has made major strides with the current campaign to boost their refrigerated fruit market share.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Ford and Toyota Post Large Sales Declines
Toyota Motor Corp (TM) posted a huge decline in sales for the month of November, down 33.9%. Ford Motor Corp also posted a very substantial drop of 30.6%.
This may help US automakers make their case for the current brutal sales climate as they return to Capital Hill in hopes of gaining the $25 billion loan the are seeking.
Ford was the first of the US automakers to enter a second pitch for a federal lifeline. This morning they laid out plans to Congress to return to profitability by 2011. GM and Chrysler are scheduled to turn in their plans later today as well.
To put the Ford loss into hard numbers, November U.S. sales fell to 123,222 cars and trucks from 177,485 a year ago as the fragile economy made it difficult for consumers' to purchase new vehicles.
In a statement released by Jim Farley, head of Ford's marketing and communications team,"We believe the economy will continue to weaken in 2009, Our near-term production plan reflects this view, as we continue to align capacity with customer demand."
This may help US automakers make their case for the current brutal sales climate as they return to Capital Hill in hopes of gaining the $25 billion loan the are seeking.
Ford was the first of the US automakers to enter a second pitch for a federal lifeline. This morning they laid out plans to Congress to return to profitability by 2011. GM and Chrysler are scheduled to turn in their plans later today as well.
To put the Ford loss into hard numbers, November U.S. sales fell to 123,222 cars and trucks from 177,485 a year ago as the fragile economy made it difficult for consumers' to purchase new vehicles.
In a statement released by Jim Farley, head of Ford's marketing and communications team,"We believe the economy will continue to weaken in 2009, Our near-term production plan reflects this view, as we continue to align capacity with customer demand."
Monday, December 1, 2008
David Gregory Will Take Over "Meet The Press"
NBC has just announced that David Gregory will be taking over as the host of "Meet The Press." Gregory has been one of the front-runners for the post along with Chuck Todd (NBC), Gwen Ifill (PBS) and Andrea Mitchell (NBC).
Tom Brokaw who has been in the seat since Tim Russert died in June, will step aside after his interview with President-elect Barack Obama.
"Meet the Press" has been on the air for 61 years and is the longest running television show ever.
Tim Russert had served as moderator since 1991. Russert passed away at age 58 after suffering a heart attack at NBC's D.C. bureau.
Tom Brokaw who has been in the seat since Tim Russert died in June, will step aside after his interview with President-elect Barack Obama.
"Meet the Press" has been on the air for 61 years and is the longest running television show ever.
Tim Russert had served as moderator since 1991. Russert passed away at age 58 after suffering a heart attack at NBC's D.C. bureau.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Trouble Again for Donald Trump and Trump Entertainment
Citing competition and the recent economic meltdown, Trump Entertainment will miss it's $53.1 million scheduled payment on it's 8.5% senior secured notes scheduled due 2015 in order to maintain required liquidity.
Donald Trump is the non-executive chairman and the largest shareholder of Trump Entertainment. Trump Entertainment owns and operates three Atlantic Casinos, The Trump Marina, Trump Taj Mahal and the Trump Plaza on the Boardwalk.
The company has about $1.25 billion in notes currently outstanding. In a statement Friday, Trump Entertainment said, "that it has a 30-day grace period to pay up and will meanwhile seek talks with its lenders to revamp its capital structure and improve its liquidity."
If they fail to make the payment in within the 30 day grace period, holders of a quarter of the notes and lenders could accelerate the maturities of those obligations.
If things looked like they couldn't get worse for the Donald, he is being sued by Deutsche Bank in a New York court for a $40-million personal guarantee he made to help get financing for the 92-story Chicago high-rise that is currently in development.
Deutsche filed the suit Friday, charging that Trump defaulted on the loan earlier this month by not paying off $334.2 million due to Deutsche Bank.
This after Trump filed suit accusing Deutsche Bank of denying extension of a Nov. 7 maturity date for a $640-million loan.
Trump is claiming the lenders are harming condo-hotel unit sales and that a "force majeure" clause in the loan agreement applies, since the world financial crisis is an extraordinary event that permits a loan extension.
Oh boy...
Donald Trump is the non-executive chairman and the largest shareholder of Trump Entertainment. Trump Entertainment owns and operates three Atlantic Casinos, The Trump Marina, Trump Taj Mahal and the Trump Plaza on the Boardwalk.
The company has about $1.25 billion in notes currently outstanding. In a statement Friday, Trump Entertainment said, "that it has a 30-day grace period to pay up and will meanwhile seek talks with its lenders to revamp its capital structure and improve its liquidity."
If they fail to make the payment in within the 30 day grace period, holders of a quarter of the notes and lenders could accelerate the maturities of those obligations.
If things looked like they couldn't get worse for the Donald, he is being sued by Deutsche Bank in a New York court for a $40-million personal guarantee he made to help get financing for the 92-story Chicago high-rise that is currently in development.
Deutsche filed the suit Friday, charging that Trump defaulted on the loan earlier this month by not paying off $334.2 million due to Deutsche Bank.
This after Trump filed suit accusing Deutsche Bank of denying extension of a Nov. 7 maturity date for a $640-million loan.
Trump is claiming the lenders are harming condo-hotel unit sales and that a "force majeure" clause in the loan agreement applies, since the world financial crisis is an extraordinary event that permits a loan extension.
Oh boy...
Friday, November 28, 2008
Airlines Have Nice Day on Wall Street as Crude Oil Drops 5%
It was a good day for the airline industry on Wall Street as crude oil dropped 5% due to speculation the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries could wait until December before slowing down production.
The AMEX Airline Index climbed up 3.2% to 20.54 points. 12 of the 13 companies listed in the AMEX Airline Index were up on the day.
The big winners were Brazil's Gol Linhas up 11% to $3.92, and Delta Air up 4.6% to $8.81.
The Markets closed early today at 1 p.m. E.T.
The AMEX Airline Index climbed up 3.2% to 20.54 points. 12 of the 13 companies listed in the AMEX Airline Index were up on the day.
The big winners were Brazil's Gol Linhas up 11% to $3.92, and Delta Air up 4.6% to $8.81.
The Markets closed early today at 1 p.m. E.T.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
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