Tracking202 Acquisition

Boosting its global reach as well as its position in the affiliate marketing arena, multichannel marketing service Bloosky Interactive has acquired PPC analytics firm Tracking202 and its subsidiaries in an all-cash transaction.

Tracking202’s technology and 22,000-plus member base will be integrated with Bloosky’s agency functions. Tracking202’s executive team will stay on to build the company’s services with the added resources of Bloosky, and the company will continue to operate from San Francisco.

“Bloosky’s vendors and partners are the ones who will reap the greatest reward from this acquisition,” said Bloosky CEO Matt Cook. “Our relationships and broad-based reach will translate into high-volume response rates, sustainable revenue and high-quality customer transactions.”

This is Bloosky’s fifth acquisition in the last two years.

“The three-year sentence sends a loud and crystal-clear message to any would-be tax defier that if you engage in this illegal conduct, you can and will go to prison,” said Nathan Hochman, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s tax division.

The lead prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Robert O’Neill, repeated “The courts sent a really clear message that Americans must file and pay taxes,” he said. “If you have a legitimate dispute with the IRS, contact the IRS and dispute what you believe you’re due and owe. You can’t just totally fail to satisfy your legal obligation like Mr. Snipes did.”

Mr.Snipes went on trial in January for failing to file income taxes returns between 1999 and 2004, which he made an estimated $38 million starring in popular movies  (Passenger 57 ,White Men Can’t Jump,as well as the Blade Vampire Trilogy “. Prosecutors said that Snipes also fraudulently filed for $11 million in refunds on income taxes paid in 1996 and 1997.
Mr Snipes’ attorneys have argued that their client innocently fell victim to poor tax advice provided by his two co-defendants, Eddie Ray Kahn and Douglas Rosile.
Kahn and Rosile were both convicted in February on felony charges of tax fraud and conspiracy.

Kahn received 10 years ,while Rosile only 54 months, both were sentenced yesterday.

Mr.Snipes was convicted on three misdemeanor counts but was acquitted of serious felony charges, a verdict that was seen as a victory in the eyes of some tax protestors.
In his statement to the court, Snipes apologized for his “mistakes” but steered clear of acknowledging any intentional wrongdoing, according to observers.
“[Snipes] said he was sorry for his actions but he never used the word ‘crimes’ and he never used the word ‘tax,’” said Hochman, who was present when U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges announced the sentence in Ocala, Fla. “I think it’s an indication that Mr. Snipes, to this day, has not fully accepted responsibility for his actions.”In addition to the jail time, Snipes, 45, is being charged millions by the IRS for back taxes, penalties and interest. Defense attorney Linda Moreno declined to comment about her client’s sentence, but said that a notice of appeal will be filed within the next few days.Prosecutor O’Neill said he’s confident the ruling will stand.

“In my opinion that was an error-free trial,” he said. “In order to succeed in an appeal, you have to point to something that occurred in the trial that denied the individual due process of law. I
don’t see that happening.

Chief executive Eric Schmidt said that Google was “concerned” about a deal and said it could have implications for the “openness” of the internet.

Last month Microsoft proposed a buyout of Yahoo for $44.6bn deal that was rejected by Yahoo’s board.
experts said that the buyout was an attempt by Microsoft to challenge Google’s dominance.

“We would be concerned by any kind of acquisition of Yahoo by Microsoft,” Mr Schmidt said at a conference in Beijing.

“We would hope that anything they did would be consistent with the openness of the internet, but I doubt it would be.”

He highlighted the software firm’s past history and “the things that it has done that have been so difficult for everyone”.

In 2004 the European Commission fined Microsoft 497m euros for abusing its market dominance, a ruling the US company finally lost on appeal in September last year.

Yahoo has tried to fend off the bid from Microsoftand The Commission has since launched two new competition inquiries against Microsoft.

“We are concerned that there are things Microsoft could do that would be bad for the internet,” said Schmidt.

His comments echo those of David Drummond, Google’s chief legal officer, who has previously said that any deal could exert an “inappropriate… influence” over the internet.

“This is about more than simply a financial transaction, one company taking over another. It’s about preserving the underlying principles of the internet: openness and innovation,” he said in a company blog earlier this month.

Earlier this month, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said the company would gain market share against Google in search and advertising, even if led to his “last breath” at the firm.

Last week a contingent of Microsoft executives met up with their Yahoo counterparts in California.

No investments bankers attended Monday’s meeting, nor was there any discussion about whether Microsoft was willing to raise its offer, according to reports.

Yahoo has been exploring different ways to fend off Microsoft since the bid was first launched six weeks ago. Possible alliances include with social networking site MySpace, web portal AOL or even Google.

Rupert Murdoch, the chief executive of News Corp, which owns MySpace, has downplayed interest in Yahoo whilst AOL has outlined plans to buy social network Bebo, making a deal more complicated..

Any deal between Google and Yahoo, could fall foul of antitrust regulations, according to analysts.

However, reports suggest that Yahoo is in no rush to make any decision.

The firm had been given a deadline of 14 March by shareholders to nominate candidates to supplant its current board. Last week, Yahoo postponed the deadline from Friday to 10 days after it announces its annual meeting.

The meeting will not be announced before April and may not be confirmed until after the firm’s first quarter results are released, according to reports.Microsoft has threatened an attempt to oust Yahoo’s 10 directors if it can’t broker an amicable takeover.

Cubans will be allowed for the first time to own DVD players and computers, according to an internal government memo leaked to Reuters news agency.

Curbs may also be lifted on video machines, electric pressure and rice cookers, microwaves and car alarms, as well as 19-inch and 24-inch TV sets.

A top government official confirmed to the BBC such plans were being adopted.

But it is thought air conditioners will not be available until 2009 and toasters until the year after due to limited power supplies.

“Based on the improved availability of electricity, the government at the highest level has approved the sale of some equipment which was prohibited,” said the memo, Reuters reported.

President Raul Castro (above) sitting in the National Assembly

Until now, only foreigners and companies have been able to buy computers in Cuba, while DVD players were seized at the airport until last year, when customs rules were eased.

The sale of many electric appliances was banned in the 1990s, when the collapse of the Soviet Union led to a severe energy crisis.

Power cuts in 2006 forced Cuba imported hundreds of electricity generators that rely on fuel supplied by Venezuela, its new anti-American and oil rich ally.

In his inaugural speech, after being formally chosen as president last month, Raul Castro promised to ease some of the restrictions on daily life in the next few weeks.

Older brother, Fidel Castro, provisionally handed over power after intestinal surgery from which he has not fully recovered.

This appears there will be improved access to imported consumer goods, while there is no word on easing curbs on internet access or legalizing communications equipment or mobile phones.

Bebo has 40 million members worldwide

Time Warner’s AOL internet division is buying the social networking site Bebo for $850m (£417m) in cash. Bebo is the third-biggest social networking site in the US, behind MySpace and Facebook.

AOL says that Bebo has more than 40 million members worldwide who view an average of 78 pages per day each.

The price-tag is tiny when compared with the valuations of similar websites. Microsoft bought 1.6% of Facebook last year for $240m.

Online advertising

News Corp bought MySpace for $580m in 2005 but now estimates that it is worth more than $15bn.

TOP NETWORKING SITES   MySpace Facebook Flickr Hi5 Friendster Perfspot Orkut Dada Bebo Skyrock Network Source: ComScore

Social networking sites are seen as a valuable location for online advertising, because members post information about themselves and can then be targeted with products and services likely to appeal to them.

The transaction comes at a time when Time Warner is considering splitting its business to part company with its AOL unit.

Bebo was the world’s ninth most popular social networking site in January, according to the internet statistics provider ComScore, which also ranked it as the second most visited in the UK.

It was founded in California by Michael Birch, a British entrepreneur, who still owns a big stake in the business and so will make a great deal from the sale.

While Facebook made all the media noise last year, Bebo was in some ways more innovative

Alex Burmaster, European Internet Analyst for Nielsen Online, said: “It comes as no great surprise to see another traditional publisher buying in to the power of the social networking phenomenon.

“Microsoft did it with Facebook, News Corp did it with MySpace so Bebo was the next logical target.”

He added: “Bebo has an incredibly strong brand identity, particularly with the teenage and young adult market, so it will be very interesting to see how AOL makes best use of their new youthful Trojan horse.”

]]> http://www.hypeline.com/n/2008/03/14/aol-acquires-3rd-largest-social-network-bebo/feed/ 2 http://www.hypeline.com/n/2008/03/05/projects-and-the-future-of-irvine-california/ http://www.hypeline.com/n/2008/03/05/projects-and-the-future-of-irvine-california/#comments Thu, 06 Mar 2008 04:30:23 +0000 hypeline http://hypeline.com/n/2008/03/05/projects-and-the-future-of-irvine-california/

This is Irvine’s Future!

Irvine Says No Fair! Wah!
The state says more than 21,000 low-income units must be built in the city in the next seven years.
Thursday, July 26, 2007

By ERIKA CHAVEZ

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

IRVINE – A mandate to add 35,660 housing units in the next seven years has left city officials reeling, even as they start work on plans to accommodate those numbers.

Irvine housing planners are crying foul about the sheer number of units and object to the fact that 21,282 of them must be deemed “affordable” for moderate, low-income and very low-income households.

“It is unreasonable, inequitable and unfeasible,” said Mark Asturias, housing manager for the city. “We don’t have the land to do something like that.”

The requirements are part of the state-mandated Regional Housing Needs Assessment, a periodic process meant to ensure that areas throughout the state provide their fair share of housing needs as the population grows.

After a nearly yearlong process, the Southern California Association of Governments earlier this month decreed that Irvine must zone for and build 35,660 units – almost 44 percent of the total number of homes mandated across Orange County.

The city has 64,500 total housing units, built since its inception 35 years ago.

Irvine has exhausted the appeals process and must incorporate these numbers into its next housing plan, due in July 2008, “whether or not we agree with them,” Asturias said.

In the meantime, the city will ask for guidance from the state Department of Housing and Community Development, which must certify each city’s housing plan before construction can begin.

A legal challenge to SCAG’s recommendations is another option that city officials will likely consider, Asturias said.

State law says housing numbers must be distributed in an equitable manner, Asturias said, and Irvine officials believe the city has been burdened more than any other in the county.

Under the recommendations in the assessment, Santa Ana needs to add 3,393 units by 2014, Anaheim 9,498 units and Huntington Beach 2,092 new homes.

While those three cities are larger, Irvine is the only major Orange County city that has and will continue to see significant growth, said Victoria Basolo, a professor of planning, policy and design at UC Irvine.

“When they go to assign those housing units, they do it formulaically,” Basolo said. “Irvine has grown, and so it has been hit with the large numbers based on those projections.”

Jeff Lustgarten, a spokesman for SCAG, said that Irvine’s job growth and available space were also factors in the agency’s decision to allocate 35,660 units to the city. He said SCAG officials had no comment on Irvine’s objections, and stood by their recommendations.

Housing manager Asturias said that while Irvine does have remaining open space, most vacant land is already locked into development agreements.

He said that 1,180 acres – or almost 2 square miles – would be necessary to accommodate the recommended residential development.

Mayor Beth Krom said she found the recommendations frustrating.

“I feel we already do far more than any other city in the county to ensure we have a better balance of housing opportunities for all income levels,” Krom said.

Basolo of UC Irvine agreed, saying the city has a good reputation when it comes to providing affordable housing.

“Irvine ranked No. 1 in the Orange County Business Council’s recent Workforce Housing Scorecard,” which graded how cities have balanced job and housing growth, Basolo said. “Now these numbers from the RHNA are essentially telling the city, ‘Do more.’ It’s an interesting problem.”

Irvine’s housing ordinance requires 15 percent of new housing units be deemed affordable; under SCAG’s projections, about 60 percent of new housing units will have to be affordable.

SCAG spokesman Lustgarten said cities have sued the agency in the past if they disagree with recommendations; the state and affordable housing advocates, in turn, can sue cities if they don’t comply.

]]> http://www.hypeline.com/n/2008/03/05/projects-and-the-future-of-irvine-california/feed/ 2 http://www.hypeline.com/n/2008/03/02/test/ http://www.hypeline.com/n/2008/03/02/test/#comments Mon, 03 Mar 2008 06:44:50 +0000 hypeline http://hypeline.com/n/2008/03/02/test/

]]> http://www.hypeline.com/n/2008/03/02/test/feed/ 3 http://www.hypeline.com/n/2008/02/12/yahoo-rejects-microsofts-attempted-takeover-bid/ http://www.hypeline.com/n/2008/02/12/yahoo-rejects-microsofts-attempted-takeover-bid/#comments Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:15:51 +0000 hypeline http://hypeline.com/n/2008/02/12/yahoo-rejects-microsofts-attempted-takeover-bid/ Yahoo’s board unanimously decided to spurn Microsoft after concluding the offer as expected, worth $44.6 billion or $31 per share — “substantially undervalues” one of the Internet’s prized franchises. The cash-and stock deal is now valued at about $40 billion, or $28.91 per share, which a reflects a drop in Microsoft’s market value.

But Yahoo didn’t raise antitrust concerns about the proposed deal and added language that seemed to invite a higher offer from Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker. Analysts are convinced Microsoft will raise its bid because it needs Yahoo to close Google’s widening lead in the lucrative online search and advertising markets that are rapidly reshaping the technology and media industries.Meanwhile, Yahoo finds itself in a bind because its stock was near a four-year low before the Microsoft bid surfaced and its management already has said things are unlikely to get significantly better until 2009.

Just two days before Microsoft made its bid, Yang warned Yahoo faced “headwinds” in 2008 and laid out plans to eliminate 1,000 jobs, or about 7 percent of the company’s work force, to boost profits.

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