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DealBook: Alibaba Buys Stake in Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter

April 30, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Jack Ma, the Alibaba chairman, said two platforms would make the mobile Internet a core part of Alibaba's strategy.Vincent Yu/Associated PressJack Ma, the Alibaba chairman, said two platforms would make the mobile Internet a core part of Alibaba’s strategy.

5:32 p.m. | Updated

The Internet giant Alibaba was once known as China’s answer to eBay. Now it is forging closer ties to the country’s counterpart to Twitter.

Alibaba agreed on Monday to buy an 18 percent stake in the Sina Corporation’s Weibo, the most popular of China’s microblogging services, for $586 million. It has the right to raise its stake to 30 percent in the future.

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The deal values Weibo at about $3.3 billion — equivalent to Sina’s entire market value as of Friday.

Alibaba and Sina also agreed to cooperate in improving ways to marry social networking with e-commerce, as microblogging services like Sina’s continue to grow in popularity. Sina Weibo said that last year it had more than 46 million daily active users, an increase of 82 percent from the period a year earlier.

That remains a fraction of Twitter’s user base, however. And a recent study of about 30,000 Sina Weibo users found that about 57 percent of the sampled accounts had no measurable activity or posts.

Alibaba continues to grow, most recently being valued by analysts at more than $55 billion. It has reshuffled its management ranks ahead of a much-anticipated initial public offering that could come as soon as this year.

The growth of social networking and its close ties to the continuing boom in mobile Internet usage have prompted a natural response: how to make money from the phenomenon. Sina and Alibaba expect their efforts to yield about $380 million in advertising and commercial revenue for the Weibo service over the next three years.

“We believe that the cooperation of our two robust platforms will bring unique and valuable services to Weibo users, as well as making the mobile Internet a core part of Alibaba’s strategy,” Jack Ma, the Alibaba chairman, said in a statement.

Article source: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/04/29/alibaba-buys-stake-in-sina-weibo-a-chinese-answer-to-twitter/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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DealBook: Alibaba Buys Stake in Sina Weibo, a Chinese Answer to Twitter

April 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Alibaba is taking an 18 percent stake in Sina Corporation's Weibo, the most popular of China's microblogging services.Carlos Barria/ReutersAlibaba is taking an 18 percent stake in Sina Corporation‘s Weibo, the most popular of China’s microblogging services.

5:32 p.m. | Updated

The Internet giant Alibaba was once known as China’s answer to eBay. Now it is forging closer ties to the country’s counterpart to Twitter.

Alibaba agreed on Monday to buy an 18 percent stake in the Sina Corporation’s Weibo, the most popular of China’s microblogging services, for $586 million. It has the right to raise its stake to 30 percent in the future.

The deal values Weibo at about $3.3 billion — equivalent to Sina’s entire market value as of Friday.

Alibaba and Sina also agreed to cooperate in improving ways to marry social networking with e-commerce, as microblogging services like Sina’s continue to grow in popularity. Sina Weibo said that last year it had more than 46 million daily active users, an increase of 82 percent from the period a year earlier.

That remains a fraction of Twitter’s user base, however. And a recent study of about 30,000 Sina Weibo users found that about 57 percent of the sampled accounts had no measurable activity or posts.

Alibaba continues to grow, most recently being valued by analysts at more than $55 billion. It has reshuffled its management ranks ahead of a much-anticipated initial public offering that could come as soon as this year.

The growth of social networking and its close ties to the continuing boom in mobile Internet usage have prompted a natural response: how to make money from the phenomenon. Sina and Alibaba expect their efforts to yield about $380 million in advertising and commercial revenue for the Weibo service over the next three years.

“We believe that the cooperation of our two robust platforms will bring unique and valuable services to Weibo users, as well as making the mobile Internet a core part of Alibaba’s strategy,” Jack Ma, the Alibaba chairman, said in a statement.

Article source: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/04/29/alibaba-buys-stake-in-sina-weibo-a-chinese-answer-to-twitter/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Bucks Blog: Friday Reading: Cremations Boom in Tough Economic Times

December 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment

December 09

Friday Reading: Cremations Boom in Tough Economic Times

Cremations boom in tough times, senate blocks head of new consumer agency, twitter tries to simplify its service and other consumer focused news from The New York Times.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=659a854ebaaca5ebf8a9772f3b986b60

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Off the Charts: For Home Prices, It’s Back to at Least 2004

July 2, 2011 by Leave a Comment

What is most impressive about the decline in home prices is the ubiquity of the fall and how many years of gains were wiped out. Real estate agents, using some dubious statistics, used to claim that national home prices had never fallen for an entire year, even if there sometimes were regional markets that suffered for a year or two.

The most-followed index of home prices, the Standard Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city composite, managed a small rise in April, the first gain after seven months of declines, but it remained at a level first reached in May 2003.

None of the 20 regions — each “city” is actually a collection of metropolitan areas that include suburbs — have prices now that are as high as they were in 2005, as can be seen in the accompanying graphic. Only four of them, New York, Washington, Seattle and Portland, Ore., have prices as high as they were in 2004.

The return of prices to levels seen many years ago has occurred in areas where prices soared during the boom as well as in regions where there seemed to be no bubble in home prices. From the end of 2001 through the end of 2006, prices in the San Francisco region rose 69 percent, far more than the modest 13 percent increase in the Denver area. But prices in both regions are back to where they were in 2001.

The effects of the decline are all the greater because banks made it easy to withdraw equity from homes when prices were rising, meaning that many more homeowners had mortgages that reflected peak values than would have been the case in earlier housing cycles.

The fact that so many homes are worth less than owners paid for them makes it much harder for those people to move, even if job prospects are better elsewhere, and has contributed to a slowdown in housing sales.

The indexes are based on comparisons of the price received for the same home at different times. During the first four months of this year, S. P. counted 238,408 sales of homes for which it had a previous sale in its database. That was down 14 percent from the same period in 2010, when a temporary tax credit for some home buyers caused a modest recovery in prices that has since evaporated.

Only two of the 20 regions — San Francisco and Washington — now have prices that are up more than 10 percent from the bottom level reached during the downturn. The two other California regions — Los Angeles and San Diego — are the only ones up at least 5 percent from the lows.

It is possible that the indexes now are overstating housing weakness because sales of foreclosed homes, which may be in poor condition and which the sellers may be desperate to unload, make up a larger part of the available data. But there is no indication that the number of distressed sales is likely to decline anytime soon.

Floyd Norris comments on finance and the economy on his blog at nytimes.com/norris.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=9306f09e668edd473cbfba566153fc90

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Square Feet | The 30-Minute Interview: Stephen M. Ross

June 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Mr. Ross, 71, is the chairman, chief executive and founder of the Related Companies in New York, which is best known for the Time Warner Center. Among the company’s latest projects is the development of the 26-acre Hudson Yards.

Mr. Ross is also the chairman of the fitness-club operator Equinox Holdings and the majority owner of the Miami Dolphins National Football League franchise.

Q Are we embarking on another building boom in the city?

A There isn’t going to be a huge boom, because real estate is really a function of jobs. Now I think we’re gaining back a lot of the jobs we might have lost. And I think people are optimistic, especially developers, but I don’t think you’re going to find as much financing available.

Going forward, you’re going to see a lot of consolidation of corporate offices and demand for new space. I think there’s going to be a fair amount of construction in the city, particularly downtown and in Hudson Yards. And more specifically — Hudson Yards!

Q O.K., so let’s talk about the Hudson Yards development. Any tenants locked in yet?

A We’re speaking to nine tenants — for office space — each of whom is looking at over a million square feet. I’d really rather not say who they are. In our first phase, which is roughly four and a half million square feet of office space, I think we’ll be able to announce signed deals for three million square feet by the end of the year, and start construction next year. There will also be 750,000 to a million square feet of retail, and the balance will be residential and a small hotel.

Q Have you secured financing?

A We haven’t set up who are going to be the construction lenders yet. You can’t really talk to them until you have something to propose to them. In today’s market you have to really prelease. You’re not going to be able to finance a lot of “spec” space.

Q You do have a partner, the Ontario employees pension plan. How much is it investing?

A They’ve made a commitment for $475 million. They have a lot of experience through the subsidiary Oxford Properties. But we’re taking the lead and we have the majority of the project; we’re over 60 percent.

Q Any concerns about Brookfield Office Properties’ proposed office tower a few blocks from Hudson Yards ?

A I don’t think it’ll have a major impact. They’re on Ninth Avenue, where there’s virtually no development around it. We’re creating our own environment. We have a large mixed-use project and we’re looking to create a critical mass. We’re also offering a better value, from the standpoint that we have a 20-year real estate tax abatement.

The tenants could own or lease. We’re prepared to sell very close to cost, because we have all this residential square footage that we’ll look to make most of our money from.

Q You’re basically creating a neighborhood.

A Yes. I think every good developer, in the back of their minds, wants to transform and leave a legacy. Time Warner Centers certainly transformed the whole West Side. As a developer, it’s a great feeling knowing you have made an impact. There’s also a lot of responsibility that goes with that: you have to really put the city’s needs first. It’s not all about making money. And that’s why the city — knowing what creating a neighborhood means for its growth — has offered a tax abatement to tenants taking the first five million square feet. 

Q Let’s talk about MiMA, your new mixed-use building.

A We’ve rented close to 200 of the 500 market-rate units at over $75 a square foot. The rentals were built under the 80/20 program, so there are also affordable units. We’ll start selling the condos next month. We haven’t priced them yet. The project has been well received because of the amenity package that includes a private Equinox club, an outdoor movie theater and a dog run.

Q What’s the status of the Hunters Point South middle-income housing project in Queens?

A The city now is really doing the work, putting it in a position where we could start it next year. It’s really the first project that’s going to be addressing the work-force-housing needs of the city. I started out in affordable housing.

Q And you started out professionally as a tax lawyer.

A I did some restructuring of deals for real estate clients. I enjoyed what they were doing more than what I was doing.

Q Do you still live at the Time Warner Center?

A I’m the president of the condo board.

Q What do you hope to be known for years from now?

A How we made cities better, transformed neighborhoods, and built a great company that’s known for doing quality work.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=7c9e765b4ead9ae1a18b17fb5df84130

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Bits: Mobile Shopping Set to Spike, Says Forrester

June 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The retail industry is itching to sell products on mobile phones; it’s just waiting for consumers to start buying. Already, 25 of the 30 top online retailers have iPhone apps, even though less than 15 percent of online consumers report having used their mobile phones to buy something.

But Forrester Research predicts that a boom will come. Mobile commerce is expected to reach $31 billion by 2016, up from $3 billion in 2010, according to a forecast the firm published Friday. But even with such rapid growth, mobile shopping is expected to make up only about 7 percent of e-commerce by 2016. That amounts to about 1 percent of total retail sales.

Several things are holding people back from using their phones to shop, according to Forrester. At the top on the list are concerns about security. These concerns may fade in the same way that they stopped being a barrier to online shopping. But there are also technical barriers — mobile sites are often slow and unwieldy –  and confusion among retailers about how best to pursue their mobile strategies.

Over 90 percent of online retailers have mobile strategies, according to a recent survey conducted by Shop.org for Forrester, but the report characterizes the vision of many retailers as “immature.” For now, companies are using mobile primarily to offer information about the products they sell or to give basic information about their stores. But there are more ambitious plans in the works.

Among those most often cited by retailers are enabling customers to use their phones to pay at check out, share ratings and reviews, and receive notices about sales and other offers.

Putting the focus on consumers may be misguided, said Sucharita Mulpuru, the author of the report. Rather than hope that shoppers will use their phones to buy things, she said retailers should focus on training store employees to use mobile devices in ways that would make them more helpful. Several retailers, like Home Depot and Urban Outfitters, have already indicated that they will do so, but they are a relatively small minority, the report says.

“While the opportunity to arm store associates with instantaneous information and richer payment acceptance capabilities may be the most compelling reason for retailers to invest in mobile, most companies view mobile as a channel that is primarily about completing sales through a mobile site,” Ms. Mulpuru writes.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=1fc84017edd23a35c839d6f22f0fa12a

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