Google wary of behavioral targeting in online ads

(Reuters) - Susan Wojcicki, Google vice president of product management
for advertising, said on Tuesday Google was shying away from
the industry race to deliver tools for advertisers that stitch
together a user's various online actions into one profile.




The world's Web search leader has built its business around
ads tied to words typed into its search box, which are expected
to earn it upward of $16 billion in revenue this year.


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Earnings misses, subprime woes punish Wall Street

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks tumbled on Friday, battered by disappointing results from such bellwethers as Caterpillar and Google, and more signals that fallout from the risky subprime mortgage market may spread.

The day's losses were big enough to drag the major indexes into negative territory for the week, snapping a three week streak of gains for the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.


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"No guidance" policy jolts Google investors again

(Reuters) - Once again, analysts say, the culprit was Google's irascible stance of keeping Wall Street in the dark over its outlook -- resisting short-term profit pressures, but creating unnecessary volatility for investors, analysts complained.




On Thursday, Google reported a 58 percent jump in second-quarter revenue, matching the average analyst forecast. But profit fell short of expectations after a 13 percent spike in new hires over the last three months drove up payroll and operating expenses and ate into Google's margins.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Google, Microsoft Retreat; SanDisk Advances: U.S. After-Hours Trading

(Bloomberg) -- Google Inc. fell in extended U.S.
trading after the owner of the world's most-popular Internet
search engine said second-quarter profit rose 28 percent, less
than analysts estimated, on slower sales growth.

Shares of Mountain View, California-based Google dropped
$38.57, or 7 percent, to $510.02 at 6:03 p.m. New York time.
Excluding stock-based compensation costs, profit was $3.56 a
share, missing the average estimate of $3.57 in a Bloomberg
survey of analysts.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

PRESS DIGEST - New York Times business news - June 27

(Reuters) - * Negotiators reached an agreement in principle on
protecting the editorial independence of The Wall Street
Journal, an important step toward a purchase by the News Corp.
of the Journal's owner, Dow Jones and Co. Inc. ,
people briefed on the talks said.




* In a move to challenge Google Inc.'s YouTube,
News Corp.'s MySpace plans to rename and refurbish its
video-sharing service on the popular social network. The new
service, called MySpace TV, will be set up as an independent
Web site that people can visit to share and
watch videos.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Advance; Apple, Google Shares Climb in Europe

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures advanced
after brokerages recommended buying shares of Apple Inc., the
maker of the iPod music and video player, and Google Inc., owner
of the world's most popular Internet search engine.

Oracle Corp., the world's third-largest software maker,
gained before reporting fourth-quarter earnings.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Yahoo in search deal with Asian mobile operators

(Reuters) - Yahoo's oneSearch service lets users download e-mails, search the Internet, view Web pictures and check weather conditions.




Internet companies Yahoo, Google and Microsoft see offering its products on cell phones as one of the most important sources of future growth as subscribers climb globally.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Rise; Home Depot, Google, Yahoo Gain in Europe

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures advanced as
Treasury yields declined for a fourth day.

Home Depot Inc. rose after the world's largest home-
improvement retailer agreed to sell a unit and announced a share
buyback. Google Inc., owner of the world's most-used Internet
search engine, gained after Microsoft Corp. agreed to modify its
Vista operating system to address Google's complaints.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Salesforce up on speculation of Google deal

(Reuters) - Analysts said the announcement could be an expansion of a relationship between Salesforce and No. 1 Web search provider Google. Salesforce declined to give more details.




The two companies provide software over the Web through what is known as an on-demand model. Salesforce sells software to help companies manage sales and marketing. Google's business software include products for searching corporate databases, as well as recently launched programs that big companies can use for word processing, presentations and spreadsheets.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Google's Storage of Personal Data May Break EU Law, Privacy Watchdog Says

(Bloomberg) -- Google Inc., owner of the world's most
popular search engine, may be violating the European Union's
privacy laws by storing information on customer queries for as
long as two years, advisers to EU regulators told the company.

Google's privacy counsel in Paris, Peter Fleischer, said the
company received a letter this month from the EU's data-protection
advisory agency asking it to explain why records of user searches
are retained.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Google, Salesforce in talks to form alliance: report

(Reuters) - The paper said one outcome could be a Web-based offering that integrates some of Google's online services such as e-mail and instant-messaging with those of Salesforce.com, whose customer-relationship management tools help salespeople track their accounts.




Salesforce.com shares rose by around $2.14 to $47.94 in pre-market trading while Google shares were flat at around $470.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Google, H&R Block, Nokia, Palm, Pfizer, Robert Half: U.S. Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies whose shares may have unusual price changes in U.S. exchanges today. This preview includes news that broke after exchanges closed yesterday. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names. Share prices are as of 7:30 a.m. New York time.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD US) rose 12 cents to $14.40 in trading before the open of U.S. exchanges. There is speculation the second-largest maker of personal-computer processors may receive an investment from a private equity company.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.S. stocks poised to rise after Google earnings

(Reuters) - The Dow Jones industrial average hit a record high on Thursday as robust earnings from major drug companies like Schering-Plough and Merck & Co. offset some of the pessimism growing over the potential for declining Chinese demand for U.S. imports.

U.S. stock futures suggested the major indexes could post a slight rise, underpinned in part by Google, which reported earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations and drove its share price up by over 3 percent after the closing bell.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Google, American Express Advance on Earnings Reports: U.S. After-Hours

(Bloomberg) -- Google Inc. gained in extended trading after the owner of the most popular Internet search engine said first-quarter profit rose 69 percent as the company boosted advertising sales and took market share away from Yahoo! Inc.

Shares of Mountain View, California-based Google added $14.35 to $486 at 5:39 p.m. in New York. The company said net income increased to $3.18 a share from $1.95 a year earlier. Profit excluding costs for stock options was $3.68 a share, exceeding the average estimate of 27 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Sales excluding revenue passed on to partners rose to $2.53 billion, exceeding analysts' estimates.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Rise; Google and Amazon Shares Advance in Europe

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures rose on speculation mergers and acquisitions will continue after the Wall Street Journal reported SLM Corp., the education lender known as Sallie Mae, accepted an offer.

``A major takeover almost everyday now gives investors confidence that there is a lot of money out there,'' said Andreas Nigg, a fund manager at Vontobel Asset Management in Zurich, which manages $32 billion. ``The liquidity available will support the market.''


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Google bets on Africa

Google has signed deals to supply software to students and government workers in two East African nations, in a bid to put them on the technical footing of more developed countries.

The web search leader said on Monday it had agreed to separate partnerships with the Rwandan Ministry of Infrastructure and the Kenya Education Network (KENET), which represents students and staff at 32 universities in Kenya.

Read more at FIN24.co.za

Microsoft rewards search users

Microsoft on Friday began offering large businesses rewards if they have employees scout the Internet with the software giant's Live Search service.

In a move intended to wrest users from rival search engines such as market-dominating Google, Microsoft will give business customers service or training credits based on how much employees use Live Search.

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Google's YouTube in $1bn lawsuit

MTV owner Viacom said on Tuesday it has sued YouTube and its corporate parent Google in federal court for alleged copyright infringement and is seeking more than $1bn in damages.
Viacom claims that the more than 160 000 unauthorised video clips from its cable networks, which also include Comedy Central, VH1 and Nickelodeon, have been available on the popular video-sharing website.

The lawsuit marks a sharp escalation of long-simmering tensions between Viacom and YouTube. Last month Viacom demanded that YouTube remove more than 100 000 unauthorised clips after several months of talks between the companies broke down.

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Google's Schmidt Says Media Companies Need YouTube

Google Inc. Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt says media companies will someday see the light. To attract viewers, they have no choice but to put their TV shows and movies on video sites such as his company's YouTube.

Read more at Bloomberg.com

Google wins Earth tech battle

Google has won a key court ruling in a patent dispute over Google Earth, its popular three-dimensional mapping software.

In a summary judgment issued on Wednesday, a US district judge decided Google Earth does not infringe on a patent issued to Skyline Software Systems in 2002.

Read more at FIN24.co.za