Facebook shares fall as valuation doubts rise

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of Facebook fell again at the open on Tuesday as doubts about the company's valuation increased after Reuters reported that underwriters cut their revenue forecasts for the social networking site shortly before the IPO. Facebook's shares hit a low of $31.73, 7.4 percent below Monday's close, and are now trading down 17.1 percent down from their $38 IPO price. The shares are down 30 percent from a high of $45 hit shortly after they started trading on Friday. (Reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by James Dalgleish)

Google closes Motorola deal, names new Motorola CEO

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Google Inc completed its $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility, and the Web search leader named a new management team for the cellphone maker. Google said on Tuesday that Motorola Chief Executive Sanjay Jha has stepped and has been succeeded by Dennis Woodside, former president of Google's Americas region. Woodside oversaw planning for the Motorola integration, according to Google. The deal close comes just days after the companies gained approval for the acquisition from the Chinese government. European and U.S. regulators approved the deal in February. ...

Zynga launches prepaid debit card with American Express

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Zynga Inc., the social games publisher, has reached a partnership agreement with American Express to issue a prepaid debit card that could be used to redeem virtual credits, the two companies said. The partnership will help increase use of American Express' digital payments platform Serve as the credit card issuer competes with online gateway Paypal, a unit of eBay Inc, which is pushing to process transactions by mobile phones. ...

Sportingbet settles Spain tax bill, eyes license

After Yahoo deal, challenges abound for Alibaba

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's Alibaba Group could command a Facebook-rivalling valuation of $100 billion when it comes to list its shares, possibly by 2015 - but its more immediate challenge is to hang on to top spot in the country's $36 billion e-commerce market. Founded and led by Internet entrepreneur Jack Ma, Alibaba faces increasingly tough competition in its e-commerce stronghold from well-funded rivals 360buy, which is backed by Digital Sky Technologies, Dangdang Inc and Amazon.com Inc. ...

Webby Award winners' five-word speeches

At the 16th Annual Webby Awards ceremony held in New York's Hammerstein Ballroom on May 21, the winners kept to the signature five-word acceptance speeches with some amusing, clever and memorable thanks.

Google+ trends: SpaceX launch livestream, Google Chrome world’s most used browser

Google+ users are counting down the minutes until SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies) launches its Dragon spaceship into space.

Twitter index: fans urge Lady Gaga to cancel Jakarta show

Indonesian fans are urging Lady Gaga to cancel her upcoming show in Jakarta over to fears it’s not safe for her to perform in the country.

Nasdaq seen struggling with aftermath of Facebook IPO

Facebook shares sink 11 percent as reality overtakes hype

(Reuters) - Facebook shares sank 11 percent in the first day of trading without the full support of the company's underwriters, leaving some investors down almost 25 percent from where they were Friday and driving others to switch back to more established stocks. Facebook's debut was beset by problems, so much so that Nasdaq said on Monday it was changing its IPO procedures. That may comfort companies considering a listing, but does it little for Facebook, whose lead underwriter, Morgan Stanley, had to step in and defend the $38 offering price on the open market. ...

After Yahoo deal, challenges abound for Alibaba

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's Alibaba Group could command a Facebook-rivalling valuation of $100 billion when it comes to list its shares, possibly by 2015 - but its more immediate challenge is to hang on to top spot in the country's $36 billion e-commerce market. Founded and led by Internet entrepreneur Jack Ma, Alibaba faces increasingly tough competition in its e-commerce stronghold from well-funded rivals 360buy, which is backed by Digital Sky Technologies, Dangdang Inc and Amazon.com Inc. ...

Insight: Morgan Stanley cut Facebook estimates just before IPO

(Reuters) - In the run-up to Facebook's $16 billion IPO, Morgan Stanley, the lead underwriter on the deal, unexpectedly delivered some negative news to major clients: The bank's consumer Internet analyst, Scott Devitt, was reducing his revenue forecasts for the company. The sudden caution very close to the huge initial public offering, and while an investor roadshow was underway, was a big shock to some, said two investors who were advised of the revised forecast. ...

Alibaba repurchases half of Yahoo’s stake for $7.1 billion

As Yahoo’s struggles continue, the company is looking to cut costs and dig up cash wherever it can. Yahoo announced plans last month to lay off 2,000 workers, or nearly 15% of its staff, and before that it filed a “puzzling” patent lawsuit against long-time partner Facebook. Now, Yahoo will sell half of its 40% stake in China-based retail giant Alibaba. Led by Chinese Internet entrepreneur Jack Ma, Alibaba will repurchase part of Yahoo’s holdings in the e-commerce firm for $7.1 billion as it prepares to take the company public. The deal, which was announced in a joint statement on Monday, will see Yahoo sell half its stake in Alibaba for $6.3 billion in cash and as much as $800 million in new preferred

Chrome passes Internet Explorer to become world’s most popular browser

Google’s Chrome Web browser has continued to gain market share since its introduction in 2008. Despite surpassing Internet Explorer in select regions and on weekends, Google’s browser has never been able to dethrone Microsoft in global usage share. According to new numbers from StatCounter, however, Google’s browser has finally averaged higher traffic than Internet Explorer for the first time over a full seven-day stretch. From May 14th through May 20th, the Internet giant’s Web browser garnered a 32.76% share, ahead of Microsoft’s 31.94% and Mozilla Firefox’s 25.47% share. At the start of this week, however, Chrome’s share began to slide, falling to 31.88%, just ahead of Internet Explorer’s 31.47% share. Read

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Court won't reduce student's music download fine

A former Boston University student who was ordered to pay $675,000 for illegally downloading and sharing 30 songs on the Internet says he will continue fighting the penalty, despite the Supreme Court's refusal Monday to hear his appeal.

EU offers Google last chance in antitrust case

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's antitrust chief on Monday ratcheted up the pressure on Google, giving it a matter of weeks to settle an investigation into allegations of anti-competitive behavior and avoid formal charges and a possible fine. Even if Google, the world's most popular search engine, offers concessions to resolve the issue, it will still be under the EU spotlight after fresh complaints about its Android mobile software, the top operating system for Internet-enabled smartphones. ...

CableWiFi to offer more than 50,000 free access points to cable subscribers

Five major U.S. cable companies have teamed up to offer more than 50,000 free Wi-Fi hotspots to subscribers. The service will be known as “CableWiFi,” and will be offered to customers of Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable. The service initially launched in New York City and central Florida earlier May, and is set to expand to other markets in the coming months. “This effort adds great value to our high speed Internet customers by providing free wireless Internet access on all of their WiFi enabled devices in our markets and additional areas across the country,” said Nomi Bergman, President of Bright House Networks. The joint press release follows below. Major U.S. Cable Companies Join

In Cuba, mystery shrouds fate of Internet cable

It was all sunshine, smiles and celebratory speeches as officials marked the arrival of an undersea fiber-optic cable they promised would end Cuba's Internet isolation and boost web capacity 3,000-fold. Even a retired Fidel Castro had hailed the dawn of a new cyber-age on the island.

Europe gives Google one last chance to end antitrust investigation

European Union antitrust regulators launched an investigation into Google’s search practices in November 2010 after rivals accused the company of promoting its own services ahead of theirs. EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia on Monday said regulators and Google were not looking at a lengthy proceeding, and if the Internet giant could meet certain demands, the antitrust investigation could be brought to a close, Reuters reported. “Google has repeatedly expressed to me its willingness to discuss any concerns that the Commission might have without having to engage in adversarial proceedings, this is why today I’m giving Google an opportunity to offer remedies to address concerns that we have identified,” Almunia said, adding that he wanted a proposal from Google “in a matter of

There Was a lot of Internet at the Ultra-Orthodox Rally Against the Internet

That ultra-Orthodox rally in New York this weekend all about the evils of the Internet used the Internet in so many ways. At the gathering of 40,000 Jewish men in CitiField, a rabbi warned about all the horrible things the Web is doing to the chosen people. "This is reprogramming our way of life! It’s changing who we are!" said Rabbi Rav Ephraim Wachsman, according to BetaBeat's Adrienne Jeffries, a woman who went undercover to the event on Sunday. "Children are being turned into click-vegetables!" he continued.

‘Copyright cop’ system for U.S. ISPs delayed

The new “six strikes” anti-piracy policy soon to be implemented by a number of major Internet service providers in the United States will reportedly stumble out of the gate. The policy, which is set to be adopted by Comcast, Cablevision, Verizon, Time Warner Cable and other ISPs, will see action taken against users caught downloading pirated files in six steps, ultimately resulting in bandwidth throttling or even service suspensions. The system responsible for managing the new policy may not be ready on schedule, however, and the targeted launch date of July 12th may slip back as a result. According to a recent report from TorrentFreak, the newly formed Center for Copyright Information and major U.S. ISPs will not implement the new system on