Philippine Stock Market Starts the Year High
The Philippine Stock Market starts the year 2012 on a high note compared to what it had been the previous months. As of the start of trading day on January 20, 2012, 9:34am. The index is at 4,725.79
This is very good considering it has been hovering mostly in the 4,000-4,300 area for most of 2011. Its also good because this sets the investment tone and mood for 2012.
Morgan Stanley has also raised PLDT price expectations to Php3,600 because of their merger from DGTL. As with overall improvements in our index, expect the blue chips and index stocks to be the first to rise but look at the 2nd liners also as there are opportunities to be made there.
As this is the year of the Dragon. Here’s to hoping to a more prosperous 2012 for everyone! For people that had been wanting to try the stock market but never had, maybe now is the time.
As always, be careful and remember this is investing. Not gambling. Align your trading activities with that in mind.
My 2012 Reading List
Ah, thanks to Amazon for quick delivery of my orders. Reading list for 2012 is ready.
VIDEO: US Debt Crisis Explained
Credits to akashvedi as this was seen in his YouTube Channel. It’s a very simplified way to understand about the US Debt Crisis and all its fuss is about. Learn and enjoy!
Here’s a little US Debt Clock I found.
Twitter Story, an interview with Jack Dorsey
The true story of how Twitter started.
Angry Birds Story
See the story behind Angry Birds and experience as its head designer takes us through the process of a level construction. Credits to mailchimp.com for the video.
Getting Started on the Philippine Stock Exchange
So, you are good boy or girl and has been diligently saving up part of your salary for your future. The problem is, a typical savings account in the bank gives you 0.50% interest rate per annum. (That means you get Php 50 interest if you left a deposit of Php 10,000 in the bank for a whole year! That’s not even taxed yet.) So, with annual inflation rate in the Philippines estimated at 3.80% annually, you can obviously see just keeping money in the bank is not a very good investment decision.
While keeping cash in the bank is a solid part of financial management, those are more for monthly living expenses and for emergency needs. There are also many options of investments to explore and there is no correct answer to that. It’s largely a risk-versus-rewards thing and it varies from each person’s investment goals and risk tolerance.
To understand more on my point of view on this, you may want to refer to an old article of mine about Modern Financial Planning.
However, in this one, I will talk about to get started on the Philippine Stock Market. First, some background information. The stock market here in the Philippines is called the “Philippines Stock Exchange“(PSE). Trading hours are from Monday to Friday at 9:30am to 12:10pm except during legal and special holidays. A good number of questions are answered in their FAQ section.
The general idea of the stock market is to buy shares of a company while it is priced low, and sell when it gets high for profit. There are many approaches you can take, like are your investments short-term or long-term? Do you go for fundamental analysis which base your stock decisions on the business performance of a company or do you go for technical analysis which base stock decisions on price action and charts. There is no right or wrong here again and money can be both made and lost either way.
So, how do you get stated?
1. Ask yourself, Is this for me?
You have to understand you can lose money on the stock market. While this is not gambling, it can be very similar if you do not know what you are doing. The key difference is that risk in gambling is never in your favor and you are taking risk for luck. The stock market on the other hand can reduce risk with proper investing research and strategy.
Never invest something you cannot afford to lose. Its one of the old adage I have heard from seasoned veterans and I agree. When you hear of people losing their fortune or savings on the stock market, it is because they become emotional and turned investing into gambling.
If you can can say ‘Yes’ to these, then you can continue considering the stock market.
a. I understand that I can earn from my investments as well as lose. I will not profit from every transaction but my goal is to turn a positive profit from my investments over a period of time.
b. I will invest only a portion of my money.
c. I will spend time to read and research about stock market investing so I will not turn into a gambler.
2. Open an account with a stock broker.
With the advent of technology, I advise going for an online stock broker so its easier for you to manage your buying and selling. I personally use and suggest CitisecOnline as I find their service mostly reliable.
Requirements for opening an account:
- Fill up the forms
- Submit photocopy of valid government issued ID
- Submit photocopy of any recent billing statement
- Deposit initial fund of Php 25,000 for a regular account. This will be your fund to trade with.
- Your CitisecOnline (COL) account offers market information and investment research for its clients. You may take advantage of that and do some of your reading.
- Explore the website of PSE and check out stock information
- Join a forum or two and read up on what people are saying. Be mindful not everything is true and some people “hype” because they could have personal agendas. Most typical is when someone already have a position in a stock, they might “hype” it to entice buyers so the price will go up so they can sell. While these activities are frowned upon by forum mods and can get them banned, it still happens so be careful. The benefit is good though since you tend to pick up more information than you might not otherwise. Suggested forums are Traders Pizza or Finance Manila. A good blog by Gus Cosio is also an advised read.
- Join a seminar or two to broaden your knowledge. There are seminars by “gurus” and you can learn a thing or two. The seminar fee is worth it and is very cheap if you consider its like taking a class and its better to pay for knowledge rather than lose money in the market because you are unfamiliar.
4. Start Trading
Experience is really the best teacher. So get out there and try it out if this is something you have been meaning to try. Just go conservative at first and don’t invest in something you will stress over. If you cannot eat, sleep or concentrate on your work then you know this is not for you or either you have invested more than you are comfortable with.
The ideal scenario I think is you have a portion of your savings invested but you are ok to follow it once in a while as your schedule permits. Investing in the stock market done properly should not distract you from your day job or your career. Remember, unless you plan to become a full-time stock market investor, protect your day job and career first.
Wow, that is a lengthy article and if this helps at least one person, it is worth my time and effort in writing it. Please do let me know if you are that one person by posting a comment in the blog. Thank you for reading!
Social Marketing, Why You Should Do It
It is no secret that at least half of the people you know are users of one social network or more. In the last 2 years, there has never been a more profound development in technology in bridging people together. People are social animals by nature and the need to interact is what it is all about. Deep down, no one likes to be always alone.
Social media now lets people connect and share their lives. The beauty and power of this is control and exclusivity. You have the power to be as open or as private as you want to be. You choose what content you want to share and who you want to share it to. You also control who you want to know more about.
For marketers, it has long been the norm that advertising and communication is targeted at a demographic or social profile but never has it be as easy as to interact on a personal level. The social media opens up possibilities that is not available before. So before I go further, I would like to share a chart to you made by FredCavazza.net
If you realize, social networking is not just Facebook. Sure most people are on-board the social networking wagon today because of Facebook and Twitter. Mind you they are indeed at the forefront but the scope is much more than that. Games have their own online ecosystem in MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) games. Blogs has their own niche and readers, YouTube channels has made instant amateur celebrities, the list goes on.
So definitely, as a marketer, you cannot afford to not be involved as you competitors will be. The question is, where and how? Its all too many, its all too new. That is what I often hear from my friends and my clients.
So, to keep my article at reasonable length, I will just tell you ‘why you should do it’ and save the ‘how’ for another article.
1. Its not just about friends. This is one of the common misconceptions marketers make. They think social media is just about connecting with friends, sharing photos and making comments about each other. Yes, it is about that, but it is so much more.
Research has shown that people will like and follow a brand on social media for several reasons:
- To show their support for a brand
- To find out about the latest promotions
- To get exclusivity
- To get customer service (though this is mostly bottom of the list since most will use email, then the phone, and save social media for last resort)
Given that people will be willing to follow your brand, shouldn’t it be your duty as a good marketer to give them something worthy of their attention?
2. To get found, to get viewed, and to get heard. Since it has been established that almost everyone interacts online in one social media or another, it is where people are when they are online. Not exactly all the time but very likely, a person will check his Facebook, Twitter, Forum, Blog, or others at least once a week. Probably more than that. If they are there, you should be there as well. Its the perfect opportunity to let them know you exist, and that you have something they could be interested in.
The key though is content. Social Marketing is not about SPAM. It is not about unsolicited messages. Remember, people have control and they can just as easily kick you out. It is very important to always give good content. Ask yourself this, is my content going to be interesting? Is my content going to be of value? Your content should be something you would be willing and wanting to get yourself at the minimum.
3. Build relationships. Foster brand loyalty. When customers voluntarily like your brand on a social media platform, they are already giving you a chance to build a relationship. If you take care of that relationship, you have a genuine opportunity to become a ‘friend’ of that customer and not just a cold-hearted corporation. You can interact with them on a conversational level, share content that will be valued. Do all this, and in return, you will gain brand loyalty.
Simply put, Social Marketing is here to stay, its a great tool to build your brand. If you do not start getting on it, your competitors will. Can you afford not to?
Modern Financial Planning
Out with the old and in with the new. That’s something we often hear and that is true I believe with financial planning these days. Traditional ways of thinking and financial planning seems to have its limitations and societies these days are a bit different already. While basic financial intelligence and practices are still solid, things like cutting debt, living below your means, etc, these are still foundations and not really a financial plan.
Why things are different? Here are some things to ponder about:
1. Living Your Life. Traditional financial planning advice would tell you to work hard, don’t go on vacations, don’t eat out, save everything so you can enjoy it all when you retire. Considering you start working at 20 and retire at 60 years old, its basically saying sacrifice 40 years of your life so you can stop working and enjoy the same stuff when you get to 60.
2. Age. When we get older, we cannot do things as we could have when we were younger. So some of the things you may want to do or experience when you were younger may not be possible at a later time. For example, if you want to go exotic places and climb mountains, go skiing, do sky diving, these are things you cannot put off until you’re 60. Let’s face it, some things in your bucket list could be done later, some can’t.
3. Late Start. Traditional financial planning is all about saving up. This could be true when you are in your early twenties and even feasible when in your early thirties. But when you are nearing retirement age or already in the wrong track in your fifties. This is no longer an option for you. Harsh as it is, time really is money.
4. Financial Advice. Traditional long-term financial planning often involves saving up for life events like a wedding, a vacation, a car, kids, and ultimately retirement. It is also very often that financial planners will tell you or rather scare you into thinking that you need to save up and prepare for these things. While that is true, they often then offer you investment products related to insurance and/or bank investment options. The thing is, they are likely to offer you a product from a company they represent. So unless you get your advice from an independent financial planner that has your interest at heart and has the proper experience and knowledge, be careful.
5. Inflation and Cost of Living. Often the end objective of financial planning is to prepare you for retirement and education expenses for your children. But the old adage of working hard and saving money in the bank is no longer feasible. Interest rates today are a fraction of what they used to be. The bank is only a place where you can safekeep your money but not really earn it. Whatever you save today would have horribly depreciated 40 years from now.
The Modern Day
Today, most people are either working several jobs at the same time or having on-the-side jobs. This is how most people cope up with increasing demands for income. Most couples work simultaneously too. While this grind stresses a person out, it does make ends meet.
However, there is another way and many other options that most working professionals ignore. That is Investing. I believe that hard earned money should be properly invested and that is true financial planning. Make your money work for you. Passive Income. –These are all buzwords most of us has heard at some point in time. Yet, many people shy away because they are afraid that its complicated, afraid that they will lose their hard-earned money, afraid of being scammed, etc.
Truth is, while any investments carry a certain amount of risk, the only sure bet is that by just keeping your money in the savings account of a bank, it will deteriorate horribly in 40 years.
Here are some of the financial grounds I think everyone has to cover in their financial plans.
1. Life Insurance. Everyone will die. That’s one fact about life we can’t avoid but we can prepare for. Having a life insurance is not for yourself but being considerate to your loved ones. Having a life insurance policy would ensure that there would be funds to cover any funeral expenses, debt that you could have left with mortgages, credit cards, business loans, etc. It would also ensure that your family would have a startup capital for either a new business or to whether the months where your spouse looks for a job.
Note that Life Insurance premium cost is based on your age. The earlier you get one, the cheaper it is.
2. High-Yield Deposit Account. These are your regular saving accounts on steroids. While the interest rates are still low, they are often higher than your normal savings but would also require a higher minimum maintaining balance. They usually also have a limit on the number of withdrawals per month. My suggestion is to create this fund to keep your emergency fund. A fund you need quick access to in case of emergencies. You need a fairly reasonable amount set aside, you need to be able to withdraw quickly anytime but do not really expect to touch it often. So instead of regular savings, put it in a high yield account for that extra interest at no cost anyway.
You will still need to keep your normal accounts for ATM and Checking needs but just don’t waste too much balance on them.
3. Credit Cards. Always pay your dues in full. Credit cards often offer you a minimum payment option which can seem ridiculously low but you will end up paying alot more in the long-term because of the interest they carry. Interest expenses you could have saved from spending by not going into debt. This is also often a way credit card companies lull you into a fall sense of security and letting you spend above your means. By paying promptly and in full, you can be sure you are not spending over what you can afford and you save on any unnecessary interest expenses. It usually also is prudent to limit your credit cards to 2-3 cards as you can get savings from debt consolidation.
4. Broaden your Financial Intelligence. Read up and learn on what are your options and what seems to fit your needs and personality the most. There are alot of options and while I cannot cover them all or each one in this article, my objective is to point you in the right direction. Things to look at would be:
- Stocks and Bonds
- Foreign Currency Trading or even simply diversifying your assets to include foreign currency
- Mutual Funds
- Real Estate
- Businesses
That was one of my longest articles I think, while I certainly have alot more I’d like to share, I hope this article has helped you realize your options and expanded your way of thinking about financial planning. At the end of the day, I simply believe that working hard and saving money in the bank is no longer viable. The world has grown more competitive and more complex. This is not to say that proper financial planning cannot be done but there are certainly alot more factors to consider, alot more options to explore, and alot more foresight to be had.
DISCLAIMER: This article is an expression of the author’s opinion. It is not meant as professional financial advice. You are liable for your own decisions. Please research details for yourself or consult a licensed professional. (though be careful who you talk to).
Video Magazine and Digital Publishing on the iPad
With Apple’s latest upcoming product, the iPad, there is now a whole new world of possibilities in the publishing business. The iPad will have an online bookstore much like the appstore built-in. You will be able to purchase novels, subscribe to your favorite newspaper and magazines.
The promise of this new medium is that with a larger high quality display, it is the best browsing and reading experience ever. It also opens up new possibilities to traditional print where options were never possible before. You can now incorporate video right into the content. For example, instead of reading the great sports play made by your football team, why not see that clip right there? Instead of reading the captions of a speech, why not see the video of the speech itself?
I for one is definitely excited on the possibilities this can bring. Leading the pack already is VIV Publishing. They are a publishing company that is all digital. Here is a preview of their work and how they plan to change the game in publishing.
VIV Mag Interactive Feature Spread on the iPad
VIV Mag Digital Motion Cover for the iPad
New York Times Demo on the iPad
With the iPad priced at $499 on the entry level model, it becomes quite possible to get this device on the hands of many people. Exciting times ahead boys and girls!
The Sincerity In Selling
Image Credits to Morris
Most salesmen today forget what it is like to be sincere. I am talking about genuine care for the need of the customer. Not that fake enthusiasm or that nice smile, pleasant comments just to get your business.
I believe that sincerity is one of the most important factors when doing any business transaction. The sincere salesman will take the time to understand your need, identify your problem, and present you with options best suited to your interest. Sometimes, the solution does not involve the product the salesman is selling at all. When this happens, don’t you just so appreciate the sincerity and honesty that you will likely purchase from that same person next time you need something he is selling?
Call me old school but I prefer this way of doing business. While this may not land you the most sales in the short-term, it will most likely build customer loyalty in the long-term.
Just to share a recent experience, the fitness club I go to is heavy on selling their “personal training sessions”. The personal trainers in the gym often fake sincerity by coming up to you to helping you with your workout. After a while, they will try to “sell” you on getting their services for personal training. Once they realize you will not sign up. they’ll drop you like a hot potato and would much rather spend time by the water cooler than provide the assistance they were so eager to just minutes ago.
Regardless of the product you are selling, be sincere. Think of it as helping another human being if customer loyalty is not yet enough motivation. The world needs more sincere salesmen.
Courier: Microsoft’s New Tablet
Hmm.. It certainly does seem to be like a Microsoft week. Here is yet another post related to them. Make no mistake, while Microsoft is a great company, I am no fanboy. I like Apple’s products as well as Microsoft’s. I just share what I find interesting as it happens. So here you go..
image courtesy of gizmodo
While people have been waiting and excited about Apple’s rumored tablet, the fruity company has yet to disclose anything official. Microsoft in the meantime has announced their working development. The Courier is a dual 7-inch screen multi-touch. The screen interface can be controlled by finger swipes and can be written into with a stylus pen. The full story can be found on gizmodo which were given the exclusive. Watch this video:
Windows 7 Philippine Launch at SM North Edsa Cyberzone on Nov 7, 2009
Microsoft Philippines is officially launching Windows 7 this Saturday (Nov. 7, 2009) at Cyberzone SM North Edsa. This is located in the newest building SM built which used to be the old SM Annex. It starts at 10am and runs for two days until Nov. 8, 2009.
There is no specific activities disclosed but it is guaranteed there will be alot of games, prizes, and marketing gimmicks for this weekend. Part of Windows 7 launch strategy is to offer alot of discount and promos related to the release. One such promo is that you can get the Windows Home Basic Full Product for only Php 7,777. It is said to be at Php 8,000 post event. I still find this item to be pricey to be honest. It would be better to just get the Windows Home Premium version for a bit more.
Alot of other marketing was done via Facebook and Twitter and I must say its a stroke of genius and well played by the marketing team. The facebook was able to get over 12,000 fans and its wall has just been crazy with activity and buzz. Alot of prizes were also given out via these social networking sites and the marketing promotions milked the social network perfectly. One of the longer term contest was the Hunt for Points. People just have to click on special banners across the Microsoft site and partner website to earn points. These points can then be redeemed during the event. Giveaways include pens, buttons, stickers, shirts, hoodies, and even Windows 7 Home Basic software products.
All in all, I think this was the best marketing launch Microsoft Philippines has pulled off to date. It remains to be seen at the even itself but they hype they were able to build up is impressive. Too bad not everyone could walk away a winner of some prize since you had to compete with 12,000 other fans. =)
Windows 7 For Sale! Special Time Limited Offer!
For a time-limited offer, I can sell you Microsoft’s latest new operating system at discount. Through my company, i4 Asia, I was able to get from our supplier a pre-launch special for the Full Packaged Product (FPP) versions of Windows 7.
FPP means they are not OEM and they are not upgrades. These are new original and transferable licenses. This is a good investment actually. This means when your PC gets obsolete, your license can be transferred to your new computer. (OEM licenses can’t). Also, this is the only option I believe that you can buy if you are using a Mac and wants to install a licensed version of Windows 7. You can compare the editions here.
Home Basic – Php 5,500
Home Premium – Php 7,500 (Regular SRP of $199)
Professional – Php 12,500 (Regular SRP of $299)
Ultimate – Php 13,500 (Regular SRP of $319.99)
PRICES VALID UNTIL OCT 29, 2009 (as a special tie-up promotion to my blog, I will give P500 starbucks gift certificate for readers of my blog that buys. Just tell me you saw this)
SAVINGS!! I can get you discounts for volume orders. Just call me at 09178124062 for faster discussions. Hurry as this is a limited offer only. I am not sure what the new price will be after Oct 30. Don’t miss out! Order Now!
This version is said to be better than Windows XP or Vista by all reviewers. Since there has been tons of review out there, I will not waste time writing what has been written already. Here is an Engadget review if you want to know more.
Official launch in Philippines is on Nov. 7, 2009 at SM North Edsa Cyberzone
Honda Unveils New Unicycle: U3-X
Honda recently unveils its new personal mobility gadget–The U3-X. Its the smallest compact personal mobility device Honda has ever shown. Its still in development stages and Honda still has no plans on putting it on the market.
The device is small enough to be carried and is battery operated. It operates much like a segway device but is much much smaller. The device is steered by leaning towards the direction you want and no hands are required in its operation. While it can useful to anyone, it opens up new possibilities elderly and the handicapped.
Honda visions that this can be the smallest personal transport for the future. Check this video:
Harry Potter Theme Park
Well.. officially, its called “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter”.
Universal Orlando Resort in Florida, US has revealed plans of developing the Harry Potter inspired theme park aptly named “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter”. (I still think something shorter would be nice). The project is a joint effort between Warner Bros. and Universal after gaining the rights to create a theme park based on J.K. Rowling’s novels. The park will be part of Universal’s “Island of Adventure” but expect the size and build of this park to be world-class quality.
The park is set to open in 2010 will be bringing all of the Harry Potter universe into real life as much as possible. The park will draw from both film and books across the whole storyline. Some of the announced attractions are:
- Hogwarts Castle
- Hogsmeade Station/Hogwarts Express
- The Owlery
- The Owl Post
- Ollivanders
- Dervish and Banges
- Zonko’s
- Honeydukes
- Three Broomsticks
- Hog’s Head
- Filch’s Emporium of Confiscated Goods
- Dragon Challenge
- Flight of the Hippogriph
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
Here is a great walkthrough video:
Official Website: http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/‘
Warner Bros. restructures DC Comics into DC Entertainment
This week, huge fuss broke out as Warner Bros announced major restructuring of DC Comics. It has essentially folded up DC Comics and created DC Entertainment (really original guys). What this really means is that the new DC Entertainment will be integrating the DC Comics brand more tightly with the studio.
What is alarming to fans is that Paul Levitz, president of DC Comics since 2002 will no longer be the president. He is staying on as a writer and consultant. How committed and how much influence he would still have worries alot of people. Paul had been the driving force for DC in the past and had made sure of the success it enjoyed. This seems to be in sharp contrast to last week’s news on the Disney-Marvel buyout in which Marvel’s president was kept and promised autonomy.
The new president for DC Entertainment would be Diane Nelson, former president of Warner Premier. Dianne reports to Jeff Robinov, president of Warner Bros. Picture Group.
Disney buys Marvel Entertainment for $4 Billion
Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy will be getting superhero friends quite soon. Disney has announced that it will be purchasing Marvel Entertainment (comics, movies, yes..the whole company) for $4 Billion in a combination of cash and stock purchase. Pending paperwork and other details, the deal is expected to be fully done within the year.
In official statements, according to Disney:
“This transaction combines Marvel’s strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney’s creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories,” said Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. “Ike Perlmutter and his team have done an impressive job of nurturing these properties and have created significant value. We are pleased to bring this talent and these great assets to Disney.”
according to Marvel:
“Disney is the perfect home for Marvel’s fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses,” said Ike Perlmutter, Marvel’s Chief Executive Officer. “This is an unparalleled opportunity for Marvel to build upon its vibrant brand and character properties by accessing Disney’s tremendous global organization and infrastructure around the world.”
On a related note, most of Marvel’s blockbuster franchise movies are still tied up with studios so Disney won’t be making any superhero films just yet. Marvel’s CEO Ike Perlmutter will still get to run Marvel.
The fanbase on the other hand is mostly outraged as people are worried about seeing baby versions of their superheroes and maybe seeing Donald Duck VS The Hulk.
Here are some fan-made videos and mashups. Enjoy!
by
by Matt Brooks
by Matt Ochuizo
by 
by Via
by Matt Moylan
Yahoo gives up search engine business. Sells to Microsoft
Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz (left) and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer (right) signs the deal with a giant pen
This is one of those news that already happened before I even put my blog up but its interesting enough that I wanted to post it out there for those that haven’t heard yet. Yes folks, Yahoo! has officially sold their search engine business to Microsoft.
So what does this really mean?
What this really means is that Yahoo! will still have a search function on their site. What just happens when you search something is that it will be Microsoft’s technology working its magic and not Yahoo!’s. The site will be powered by Microsoft’s own search engine–Bing. If you search on Bing and on Yahoo!, you will get the same results. Yahoo’s will just have a “powered by Bing”.
So where will be the future of Yahoo! and Microsoft on this matter?
Yahoo will concentrate on it being a portal and being the site everyone wants to go to for all the other services like mail, groups, special interests. It just needs to have a search function but does not want to handle that side of the business anymore.
Microsoft will be focusing on promoting Bing and its ad-serving technologies to compete with Google. Having this deal adds value to advertising on Bing as it gets both customers searching on Bing and Yahoo!
Why did they do this?
From Yahoo!’s point of view, they feel that people go to their site to do other things like check email, horoscopes, rather than the search engine as a primary purpose. As such, by selling it, Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz feel that the deal enables them to have a healthy revenue stream to invest on critical areas to their future while Microsoft can focus on search.
From Microsoft’s point of view, they wanted to have a stronger competitive platform to compete with Google. By buying Yahoo! they would now have an estimated 30% of the market compared to Google’s 70%. This gives them a much better footing.
How much did it cost?
Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero. What happens is that Microsoft will be paying Yahoo! 88% of the ad revenues coming from ads on Yahoo! for the next 5 years. Microsoft further guarantees Yahoo that it will earn equal or more than it currently does for the next one and a half years. Not a bad deal considering Microsoft originally wanted to buy it for $45 billion back in 2008. Today, it doesn’t have to pay anything outright and as they pay Yahoo! with revenue generated from Yahoo’s own site.
And oh, Microsoft gets exclusive rights for 10 years to Yahoo!’s search engine technology. After that its pretty much unclear. But given it has Bing, its really just to be sure Microsoft will have control.
So when is this going to happen?
The deal has already been confirmed and is expected to complete by early 2010. There is still alot of paperwork and signatures to get in order. The implementation is expected to take another 3-6 months so we should be seeing Yahoo search powered by Microsoft in mid 2010. The ads listings will take another 2 years so everything fully integrated should be by year 2012. Just right on time for the end of the world according to the Mayan calendar predictions.
Hello,
