Mobile Expansion Effort...Yahoo!!!!!!!!!!

Yahoo CEO Mayer Buying Summly in Mobile Expansion Effort

By Douglas MacMillan - Mar 26, 2013 2:56 PM GMT+0530

(Corrects spelling of D’Aloisio’s name in 10th paragraph.)

Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO), the largest U.S. Web portal, is paying about $30 million to buy Summly, a mobile startup run by a 17-year-old, according to a person familiar with the transaction.

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Nick D'Aloisio, founder of Summly, speaks during the Digital Life Design conference at HVB Forum in Munich on Jan. 23, 2012. Photographer: Nadine Rupp/Getty Images

3:17

March 25 (Bloomberg) -- Yahoo announced the acquisition of mobile-product company Summly on Monday, March 25. Bloomberg's Stephanie Ruhle profiles Summly Founder Nick D'Aloisio. (Source: Bloomberg)

12:44

March 26 (Bloomberg) -- Nick D'Aloisio, the 17-year-old whose mobile startup Summly has been bought by Yahoo! Inc. for about $30 million, talks about developing applications and his plans for the future. He speaks with Mark Barton on Bloomberg Television's "Countdown." (Source: Bloomberg)

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Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer is focusing Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo on providing Web services that are customized for individual users, and aims to add engineers by buying small technology startups, she said on a conference call last year. Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg

Yahoo announced the deal yesterday on its blog without disclosing terms. Summly, founded by Nick D’Aloisio at his London home when he was 15 years old, is a mobile application that summarizes news articles for small-screen devices. He’ll join Yahoo along with some members of his team, according to the statement.Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer is focusing Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo on providing Web services that are customized for individual users, and aims to add engineers by buying small technology startups, she said on a conference call last year. Yahoo has acquired at least six such teams -- including Jybe Inc., Stamped Inc., OntheAir, Snip.it and Alike - - since Mayer took over in July.

“Yahoo in my mind is one of these classic Internet companies and there is so much opportunity now that they have new leadership with Marissa Mayer,” D’Aloisio said in an interview. “There’s a massive opportunity in what they’re doing, which is taking technologies like Summly and allowing them to become used by hundreds of millions of people.”Sara Gorman, a spokeswoman for Yahoo, declined to comment on the price.“Most articles and Web pages were formatted for browsing with mouse clicks,” Yahoo said on the blog. “The ability to skim them on a phone or a tablet can be a real challenge. We want easier ways to identify what’s important to us.”

Personal, Mobile

Mayer has said she sees the company building sites and technologies for daily activities such as checking e-mail and stock tickers. In January, she said she’s focused on technology that will personalize content from the Web and deliver it to people on their handheld devices.

“We think about how do we take the Internet and order it for you,” Mayer said.Yahoo gained less than 1 percent to $23.38 at yesterday’s close in New York, leaving the shares up 17 percent this year. In German trading today, the stock climbed 0.5 percent to the equivalent of $23.49 at 9:32 a.m. in Frankfurt.D’Aloisio has been building applications for mobile phones since he was 12, creating “gimmicky games” like a program that turned a phone into a treadmill for your fingers, he said in an interview today on Bloomberg Television.He made 79 pounds ($120) from sales of his first game, “and that did motivate me a lot,” D’Aloisio said. His parents will keep the money from the Yahoo deal in a trust fund for him, he said, declining to comment on how much he was paid.“I was very agnostic in terms of talking to these companies,” he said. “I wanted to do what’s right for the technology. Yahoo is going to offer us the scale.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Douglas MacMillan in San Francisco atdmacmillan3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-25/yahoo-buying-summly-to-boost-searches-on-mobile-devices.html

Mobile value-added services market will touch $9.5 b in 2 years

OUR BUREAU

NEW DELHI, MARCH 25:  

Wipro Technologies and the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) in a joint research report said the mobile value added services (MVAS) market will reach $9.5 billion in 2015, from $4.9 billion in 2012. The report titled -- Future Thought of Business: MVAS -- predicts that the Indian MVAS market will grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 25 per cent between 2012 and 2015. It said there are opportunities for different participants in the Indian MVAS market, including domestic mobile operators who could focus on providing better network and connectivity, and global operators who can increase their base by testing new VAS offerings in the Indian market.  Also, content and VAS technology providers can focus on developing personalised content based on consumer experience, and original equipment manufacturers who can innovate with low-cost smartphones and mobile devices to drive penetration, the report said. "Basic informational mobile services are set to decline in India. We have found that India’s consumers will increasingly purchase enriched and transformational education, health, finance and entertainment services," Ayan Mukerji, Senior Vice-President, Global Head - Media and Telecom, Wipro Technologies said.

The research found that mEntertainment is the largest contributor to operator MVAS revenues and provides key opportunities in localised vernacular content, on-demand music and video content and live TV shows and events. On the other hand, mEducation can play a key role in expanding the reach and quality of education in India through interactive English language learning services, competitive examination preparation solutions, tutor-on-call and vocational training. mHealth has the potential to improve healthcare access and affordability in India, especially through remote diagnostics, chronic disease management and maternal care, it said. Mobile phones will also play a key role in extending financial services to 40 per cent of India’s population who are unbanked. mFinance through mobile wallet services, mobile remittance services and business correspondence model-based services will contribute to MVAS revenues.

"By forging mutually agreeable partnerships, we can improve customisation and localisation of content and create services with a compelling consumer value proposition,” Subho Ray, President, IAMAI said. The research involved over 450 consumers and providers of MVAS in India to identify the major drivers and barriers of the Indian MVAS market and provide insights that will help to grow this market.

ronendrasingh.s@thehindu.co.in http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/info-tech/mobile-valueadded-services-market-will-touch-95-b-in-2-years/article4546790.ece?homepage=true&ref=wl_home

NO MATTER WHO HOLDS...EVEN Rakesh Jhunjhunwala--FALL PUSHES FURTHER FALL

26 MAR, 2013, 06.46AM IST, RAJESH MASCARENHAS,ET BUREAU 

Midcap crash leaves Rs 1,000 crore hole in big bull Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s portfolio

21 of the 29 Jhunjhunwala stocks lose between 20% and 70% in 2013 versus a 3.5% fall in benchmark Sensex and a 15% fall in the BSE Mid-cap.
MUMBAI: Following the leader may not always be in people's best interests, especially when it comes to stock selection.

Many small investors, who fashioned their portfolios after that of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, the so-called Warren Buffet of India, discovered this painful lesson with the recent mid-cap crash eroding his portfolio value by Rs 1,000 crore. Stocks owned by Jhunjhunwala — BilcareBSE -1.51 %, A2Z MaintenanceBSE 4.82 % and DB Realty, Autoline IndustriesBSE -0.53 %, Hindustan Oil ExplorationBSE 1.96 % and Delta CorpBSE -9.25 % — which quoted at high multiples despite poor results, were hammered down as negative sentiment originating from stocks used in margin funding spread towards other fundamentally weak stocks.

Many small investors purchased these stocks not for their sound fundamentals or prospects but merely because they were part of billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's portfolio.This is borne out by 21 of the 29 listed stocks held by Jhunjhunwala that have declined between 20% and 70% so far this year compared with a 3.5% fall in benchmark Sensex and a 15% fall in the BSE Mid-cap index. Nearly 10 companies he invested in, includingAptechBSE -0.23 %, McNally BharatBSE -3.45 %and Delta Corp, reported adecline in revenues for FY12 from a year ago. The likes of Hindustan Oil Exploration, Prime FocusBSE 0.49 %, A2Z Maintenance, Sterling HolidayBSE -8.00 %, Viceroy HotelsBSE -3.16 % and Alphageo reported net losses for the nine months ending December 2012 (FY13). Further, more than half of promoters' holdings in eight companies including DB Realty, Viceroy Hotels,Pantaloon RetailBSE 0.21 % and NCCBSE -4.15 % have been pledged as on December 2012.
Even Jhunjhunwala's favourite stock picks such as Titan IndustriesBSE 1.17 %, CrisilBSE -0.51 % andRallisBSE -3.33 % Industries underperformed the broader market. The only five stocks to have outperformed the indices are LupinBSE 0.21 %, GeometricBSE -1.03 %, Prime Focus, Agro Tech FoodsBSE -3.89 % and Adinath EximBSE -4.69 %. So has Jhunjhunwala's strategy to 'Buy Right Hold Tight' gone wrong? Some market experts think so.
"Rakesh is known for investing in concept-based stocks for the long term, when nobody usually touches them," said Kush Katakia, founder of Beanstalk Advisory. "However, this strategy seems to have backfired as investors dumped these stocks during the recent midcap crash, and opted instead for companies with sound financials."
An e-mail query to Jhunjhunwala on the subject went unanswered. Call it negative sentiment or coincidence, stocks in Jhunjhunwala's portfolio have been hammered one after the other by Dalal Street over the past few weeks. The latest in the line is Bilcare.
The stock plunged 48% in the past four trading sessions through Friday. Jhunjhunwala, the second biggest public investor in the company after Deutsche Bank, held 8.51% in the company.
The billionaire investor entered this counter in June 2006, buying about 11.6% stake at an average price of Rs 360. The stock, which hit a record ofRs 1,830 in January 2008, currently trades at Rs 72.
A2Z Maintenance, in which Jhunjhunwala held 19.92% stake, has plunged 70% so far this year and 94% since its listing in December 2010. The Jhunjhunwala-backed diversified infrastructure company declined 20% on the listing day, after which he bought an additional 16 lakh shares.
The recent pick of DB Realty, in which Jhunjhunwala bought nearly 12.5 lakh shares in October last year at Rs 90 per share, 83% lower from its record high of Rs 540 in March 2010, further declined 63% this year and currently trades at Rs 57.65.
"The overall sentiment, especially in the midcap segment, has affected stocks owned by Rakesh," said another analyst who declined to be named. "A slowdown in business, pledging by promoters, over-leveraging, failure to service debt and ratings downgrades were the prime reasons for the recent carnage in midcap stocks, and Rakesh's portfolio was no exception.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/market-news/midcap-crash-leaves-rs-1000-crore-hole-in-big-bull-rakesh-jhunjhunwalas-portfolio/articleshow/19204971.cms