Facebook’s primary engine nears burnout
By Robert Cyran
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
Facebook has added 150 million members over the past six months, bringing its total to 750 million. The end of the social network’s rocket ride may, however, be in sight. The company’s growth rate has been slowing. It took less than eight months to go from 100 million to 200 million users. The latest doubling took about a year and a half.
CEO’s pay package hits brazen new high — and low
By Robert Cyran
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
The real estate industry somehow just pushed the limits of executive pay. Simon Property Group is giving Chairman and Chief Executive David Simon shares worth $120 million to stick around until 2019. America’s biggest mall owner, co-founded by Simon’s father and uncle, has rebounded well from the recession. But Simon already has a fat compensation deal. Top brass don’t deserve extra bonuses just for showing up.
Zynga brings much-needed cash crop to IPOville
By Robert Cyran
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
Tech firms have gone to market this year by the bushel with little earnings in tow. Zynga arrives with income aplenty from online games like FarmVille. And Zynga’s profitability is even more bountiful than first appears.
Pricey Nortel IP shows fear of Google’s Android
By Robert Cyran
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
Android paranoia can now be valued. A consortium of Apple, Ericsson, Microsoft, Research In Motion and Sony has agreed to pay an eye-watering $4.5 billion for wireless patents and applications held by bankrupt Nortel. That’s about three times the expected price, and blows Google’s early $900 million bid out of the water. It’s partly an effort to hold back the search giant’s phone platform, but Android looks strong enough to shrug it off.
Google probe may resemble Microsoft’s in end alone
By Robert Cyran
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
The antitrust probe into Google invites comparisons to the case against Microsoft. But however easy the links are to make, many are also facile. The most significant resemblance between the two situations may be their outcomes.
History suggests Big Tech discount could linger
By Robert Cyran
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
Microsoft, Apple and Google — together worth over $650 billion — seem to have plenty of growth left in the tank, but it’s not evident in their stock valuations. The shares of all three tech giants, after accounting for their cash hoards, trade at a discount to the market. This phenomenon isn’t new. Investors shunned the sector for long stretches twice over the last 40 years, worrying that obsolescence might pre-empt expansion.
Plan to ease U.S. disclosure rules only half right
By Robert Cyran
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
A new plan to ease a U.S. disclosure rule that can be burdensome for private companies like Facebook gets it only half right. Tweaking, rather than gutting, the current requirements would be a better way to balance companies accessing capital with investor protection.
Apple’s reality distortion field envelops JCPenney
By Robert Cyran
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
Apple’s reality distortion field has enveloped J.C. Penney. The U.S department store chain poached Ron Johnson, the man behind Apple’s iconic shops, to be its eventual chief executive. The hire helped lift J.C. Penney’s market value by nearly a fifth, or $1.2 billion, before edging back a bit at the end of the trading day. It’s true, Johnson also spent 15 years at retailer Target, but the circumference of Apple’s halo looks too wide.
Nokia’s innovative past clings to Apple’s future
By Robert Cyran
NEW YORK (Reuters Breakingviews) – Nokia’s(NOK1V.HE: Quote, Profile, Research) innovative past has hitched a ride on Apple’s(AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) future.
The iPhone maker will pay an undisclosed — though substantial-sounding — sum to Nokia for rights to its technology. But settling the two-year dispute won’t reverse the Finnish company’s waning fortunes. It’s the latest example of how patent portfolios can prolong the lives of tired tech firms.
Hackers’ successes will force security costs up
By Robert Cyran
NEW YORK (Reuters Breakingviews) – This may go down as the year of the hack, with Sony and Amazon among the targets. But the compromising of information on almost 40 million RSA security tokens, which protect sensitive military and financial networks, may be the most serious instance. Cybersecurity efforts — and spending — suddenly look inadequate.
RSA’s devices are familiar in the worlds of banking and government. The keychain-like gadgets generate a six-digit number every minute or so. Users must enter the number along with a user name and password to access a network. Unfortunately, a sophisticated attack on RSA, the security division of EMC (EMC.N: Quote, Profile, Research), suggests that a group of hackers found a way around the first part of the process.
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