Afghan and coalition forces killed more than 15 insurgents and captured five while searching for militants who escaped in a daring jail-break last week, the U.S. military said Sunday.
Militants used explosive-laden trucks to destroy the walls of the Afghan prison.
Officials have not yet confirmed whether the insurgents who were killed or captured in the Saturday raid in Kandahar province were part of the nearly 400 Taliban militants who escaped from a Kandahar prison on Friday.
A U.S. military statement said the insurgents, who were holed up in a farming compound west of Rawonay, fired at troops who then retaliated with an air strike.
Authorities continued to search for the escaped prisoners Sunday. Afghan security forces have said looking for them will be tough in some areas, if not impossible in others. The Taliban is entrenched in the region, which is replete with militants' hideouts. The militants may have gone to two regions of Kandahar province with a large Taliban presence -- Maiwand and Zherai districts.
The incident, President Hamid Karzai told reporters Sunday, "is indicative of the challenges we still have, indicative of the weakness that we still have.
"Therefore it's all the more reason for us to work harder and to keep building Afghan institutions and Afghan intelligence and be a lot more steadfast in our resolve in confronting terrorism."
The Taliban militants escaped from the prison Friday during a planned commando-style attack. Militants used suicide truck bombs loaded with about two tons of explosives to blast holes in the mud brick walls of the Soviet-era prison, a Taliban spokesman said. Watch how Afghan prisoners escaped from prison »
A gun and rocket battle between the militants and prison guards lasted several hours and ended with dozens of militants rushing inside on motorcycles to free all prisoners inside -- including the nearly 400 Taliban fighters, the Taliban spokesman said.
The prison, one of the most notorious in Afghanistan, held a number of arrested Taliban leaders. Several had recently embarked on a hunger strike.
Police sources say the strike freed a combination of suicide bombers and cell leaders who had been captured over the past six years in various combat operations targeting the Taliban.
There were 1,059 prisoners in the prison at the time of the attack and 167 of them remain in the prison, the second largest in the country and controlled by the Afghan government.
Analysts -- who say the effort amounts to a huge psychological victory for the Taliban in southern Afghanistan -- note that this was the latest of three commando-style attacks in the country in recent months. The attacks reflect the sophistication of the militants and efforts to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan citizenry.
They include the attempted assassination in April of Karzai at a military ceremony and the strike on the five-star Serena Hotel in Kabul. Both are suspected as al Qaeda jobs as well.
The al Qaeda terror network attacked the United States Sept. 11, 2001, while during the Taliban's rule over Afghanistan. A U.S.-led invasion toppled the Taliban government, but the militant group developed into a potent insurgency.
The incident comes during as violence rages in Afghanistan's southern provinces, a major front in the fight between NATO-led troops and the Taliban
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Mukesh accused of sabotaging MTN deal
The war between the Ambani brothers erupted again tonight with younger Anil's group charging Mukesh-led Reliance Industries with attempting to “sabotage” its potential multi-billion dollar deal with South African telecom giant MTN.
Mukesh's group, however, declined to comment on allegations from Anil's group that RIL had communicated to MTN about its claim to right of first refusal to buy controlling stake in RCom and it was “legally and factually untenable, baseless and misconceived.”
An RIL spokesperson said “no comments” when asked about the issues raised by Anil Ambani group.
Asserting that the new combined entity would have operating profits of Rs 50,000 crore, much higher than the Mukesh Ambani group, an RCom official alleged that “RIL is seeking to disrupt the creation of one of the world's most valuable telecoms combinations.”
Claiming that RIL's communication to MTN was based on a 'unilateral' agreement of 12 January 2006 signed by RIL officials, ADAG said that the agreement for effecting the family settlement was held “unfair and unjust” by the Bombay High Court later that year.
RCom officials, however, exuded confidence that RIL's attempt would not delay the negotiations on the deal, that is believed to be in the region of over $70 billion where Mr Anil Ambani could be chairman of the combined entity with single largest shareholding.
He, however, did not take questions on the present status of the negotiations for which RCom had entered into exclusive negotiations with the MTN group on 26 May for a period of 45 days.
Meanwhile, reports from Johannesburg quoted an MTN spokesperson as saying “as far as we are concerned nothing has changed... we (RCom and MTN) are continuing talks.”
Mukesh's group, however, declined to comment on allegations from Anil's group that RIL had communicated to MTN about its claim to right of first refusal to buy controlling stake in RCom and it was “legally and factually untenable, baseless and misconceived.”
An RIL spokesperson said “no comments” when asked about the issues raised by Anil Ambani group.
Asserting that the new combined entity would have operating profits of Rs 50,000 crore, much higher than the Mukesh Ambani group, an RCom official alleged that “RIL is seeking to disrupt the creation of one of the world's most valuable telecoms combinations.”
Claiming that RIL's communication to MTN was based on a 'unilateral' agreement of 12 January 2006 signed by RIL officials, ADAG said that the agreement for effecting the family settlement was held “unfair and unjust” by the Bombay High Court later that year.
RCom officials, however, exuded confidence that RIL's attempt would not delay the negotiations on the deal, that is believed to be in the region of over $70 billion where Mr Anil Ambani could be chairman of the combined entity with single largest shareholding.
He, however, did not take questions on the present status of the negotiations for which RCom had entered into exclusive negotiations with the MTN group on 26 May for a period of 45 days.
Meanwhile, reports from Johannesburg quoted an MTN spokesperson as saying “as far as we are concerned nothing has changed... we (RCom and MTN) are continuing talks.”
Iowa's raging Cedar River forces 20,000 from homes
Days after it rose out of its banks on its way to record flooding in Cedar Rapids, the Cedar River has forced at least 20,000 people from their homes, officials said Saturday.
Officials guess it will be four days before the Cedar River drops enough for workers to even begin pumping out water that has submerged more than 400 blocks, threatened the city's drinking supply and forced the evacuation of a downtown hospital.
"We're estimating at least a couple of weeks before the flood levels get down right around flood stage and below," said Dustin Hinrichs of the Linn County emergency operations center.
The Cedar River crested Friday night at nearly 32 feet, 12 feet higher than the old record set in 1929.
County Supervisor Linda Langston estimated the number forced from their homes at 20,000 and said that figure could rise as officials got a better grasp of how many neighborhoods were flooded. Cedar Rapids has a population of about 120,000.
Residents have moved to shelters and hotels and many have moved in with friends and relatives. Driving in the area has been difficult for days but got even worse late Friday when the state patrol closed Interstate 380, which links Cedar Rapids to Iowa City. Earlier, officials also closed Interstate 80 at Iowa City, blocking a major east-west route through the state.
About 100 miles to the west, Des Moines was dealing with its first major flooding Saturday as water poured out of the Des Moines River and into a small neighborhood north of downtown.
Even as the river slowly recedes, officials in Cedar Rapids worried that the city's supply of fresh drinking water would run out. Only one of the city's half-dozen wells was working, and it was protected by sandbags and pumps powered by generators.
Preliminary damages estimates in Cedar Rapids reached $737 million, and officials foresee a long recovery.
"It's a bit overwhelming ... " said the city's mayor pro-tem, Brian Fagan. "This is an endurance competition. We have to be patient. We have to be cooperative."
In Des Moines, a levee ruptured early Saturday and allowed the Des Moines River to pour into an area near downtown, and a mandatory evacuation was ordered for 270 homes, authorities said. Many residents of the area already had left after a voluntary evacuation request was issued Friday.
Des Moines city crews and National Guard used dump trucks and front-end loaders to build a temporary berm in a bid to stop the water, but by midmorning they had been ordered to abandon the work because officials expected the berm to also fail. That would leave hundreds of homes unprotected from flooding that had already surrounded the city's North High School.
"Things happened really fast," said Toby Hunvemuller of the Army Corps of Engineers. "We tried to figure out how high the level would go. Not enough time. We lost ground. We didn't want to risk life or harm anyone, and the decision was made to stop."
Bill Stowe, Des Moines' public works director, said he expected extensive damage to about 200 homes in the Birdland neighborhood. "There's not anything else we can do," Stowe said.
Elsewhere, Illinois emergency authorities said a levee along the Mississippi River in far western Illinois burst Saturday morning and voluntary evacuations were under way in Keithsburg, a town of about 700 residents.
"The levee broke in two places," Keithsburg Alderman George Askew, 76, said of the town some 35 miles southwest of Moline. "We're getting under water."
Just south of Cedar Rapids, in Iowa City, Gov. Chet Culver warned that more dramatic flooding could be on the way as the Iowa River rises.
"A real wave of water is on the way as we speak," he said.
At least 438 city blocks were under water in Cedar Rapids, hospital patients in wheelchairs and stretchers were evacuated in the middle of the night, and officials said as many as 10,000 townspeople had been driven from their homes in this city of 120,000.
The flooding was blamed for at least two deaths in Iowa.
Since June 6, Iowa has gotten at least 8 inches of rain. That came after a wet spring that left the ground saturated. As of Friday, nine rivers were at or above historic flood levels. More thunderstorms are possible in the Cedar Rapids area over the weekend, but next week is expected to be sunny and dry.
Gov. Chet Culver declared 83 of the state's 99 counties disaster areas, a designation that helps speed aid and opens the way for loans and grants.
The drenching has also severely damaged the corn crop in America's No. 1 corn state and other parts of the Midwest at a time when corn prices are soaring. Dave Miller, a grain farmer and director of research for the Iowa Farm Bureau, estimated that up to 1.3 million acres of corn and 2 million acres of soy beans — about 20 percent of the state's overall grain crop — had been lost to flooding.
"Farmers have already put a lot of resources into a crop that is now underwater," Miller said.
At Cedar Rapids' Prairie High School, where 150 evacuees waited, people could be seen crying in the cafeteria while others watched flood coverage on TVs set up in the gym. Tables were lined with shampoo, toothpaste, contact lens solution and other items, and piles of clothes were separated by size.
At the school, Lisa Armstrong wept as she watched TV news footage of her own rescue. She saw herself climbing into a boat, and watched rescuers trying to coax her dog out of the house. They finally grabbed the animal and pulled it out.
"I didn't think it was going to be as bad as it was, and we should have got out when we were told to leave," she said. "I didn't think or imagine anything like that."
The city's newspaper, The Gazette, continued to cover the story with the help of emergency generators. But the flood was just outside the front door, and the place had no running water. Portable bathrooms were set up outside for the staff.
"We're putting the paper out through heroic, historic effort by the staff companywide," said Steve Buttry, who started as editor of the newspaper on Tuesday — just one day before the disaster struck.
Des Moines fire officials had no immediate estimate of the number of people urged to evacuate there.
Officials guess it will be four days before the Cedar River drops enough for workers to even begin pumping out water that has submerged more than 400 blocks, threatened the city's drinking supply and forced the evacuation of a downtown hospital.
"We're estimating at least a couple of weeks before the flood levels get down right around flood stage and below," said Dustin Hinrichs of the Linn County emergency operations center.
The Cedar River crested Friday night at nearly 32 feet, 12 feet higher than the old record set in 1929.
County Supervisor Linda Langston estimated the number forced from their homes at 20,000 and said that figure could rise as officials got a better grasp of how many neighborhoods were flooded. Cedar Rapids has a population of about 120,000.
Residents have moved to shelters and hotels and many have moved in with friends and relatives. Driving in the area has been difficult for days but got even worse late Friday when the state patrol closed Interstate 380, which links Cedar Rapids to Iowa City. Earlier, officials also closed Interstate 80 at Iowa City, blocking a major east-west route through the state.
About 100 miles to the west, Des Moines was dealing with its first major flooding Saturday as water poured out of the Des Moines River and into a small neighborhood north of downtown.
Even as the river slowly recedes, officials in Cedar Rapids worried that the city's supply of fresh drinking water would run out. Only one of the city's half-dozen wells was working, and it was protected by sandbags and pumps powered by generators.
Preliminary damages estimates in Cedar Rapids reached $737 million, and officials foresee a long recovery.
"It's a bit overwhelming ... " said the city's mayor pro-tem, Brian Fagan. "This is an endurance competition. We have to be patient. We have to be cooperative."
In Des Moines, a levee ruptured early Saturday and allowed the Des Moines River to pour into an area near downtown, and a mandatory evacuation was ordered for 270 homes, authorities said. Many residents of the area already had left after a voluntary evacuation request was issued Friday.
Des Moines city crews and National Guard used dump trucks and front-end loaders to build a temporary berm in a bid to stop the water, but by midmorning they had been ordered to abandon the work because officials expected the berm to also fail. That would leave hundreds of homes unprotected from flooding that had already surrounded the city's North High School.
"Things happened really fast," said Toby Hunvemuller of the Army Corps of Engineers. "We tried to figure out how high the level would go. Not enough time. We lost ground. We didn't want to risk life or harm anyone, and the decision was made to stop."
Bill Stowe, Des Moines' public works director, said he expected extensive damage to about 200 homes in the Birdland neighborhood. "There's not anything else we can do," Stowe said.
Elsewhere, Illinois emergency authorities said a levee along the Mississippi River in far western Illinois burst Saturday morning and voluntary evacuations were under way in Keithsburg, a town of about 700 residents.
"The levee broke in two places," Keithsburg Alderman George Askew, 76, said of the town some 35 miles southwest of Moline. "We're getting under water."
Just south of Cedar Rapids, in Iowa City, Gov. Chet Culver warned that more dramatic flooding could be on the way as the Iowa River rises.
"A real wave of water is on the way as we speak," he said.
At least 438 city blocks were under water in Cedar Rapids, hospital patients in wheelchairs and stretchers were evacuated in the middle of the night, and officials said as many as 10,000 townspeople had been driven from their homes in this city of 120,000.
The flooding was blamed for at least two deaths in Iowa.
Since June 6, Iowa has gotten at least 8 inches of rain. That came after a wet spring that left the ground saturated. As of Friday, nine rivers were at or above historic flood levels. More thunderstorms are possible in the Cedar Rapids area over the weekend, but next week is expected to be sunny and dry.
Gov. Chet Culver declared 83 of the state's 99 counties disaster areas, a designation that helps speed aid and opens the way for loans and grants.
The drenching has also severely damaged the corn crop in America's No. 1 corn state and other parts of the Midwest at a time when corn prices are soaring. Dave Miller, a grain farmer and director of research for the Iowa Farm Bureau, estimated that up to 1.3 million acres of corn and 2 million acres of soy beans — about 20 percent of the state's overall grain crop — had been lost to flooding.
"Farmers have already put a lot of resources into a crop that is now underwater," Miller said.
At Cedar Rapids' Prairie High School, where 150 evacuees waited, people could be seen crying in the cafeteria while others watched flood coverage on TVs set up in the gym. Tables were lined with shampoo, toothpaste, contact lens solution and other items, and piles of clothes were separated by size.
At the school, Lisa Armstrong wept as she watched TV news footage of her own rescue. She saw herself climbing into a boat, and watched rescuers trying to coax her dog out of the house. They finally grabbed the animal and pulled it out.
"I didn't think it was going to be as bad as it was, and we should have got out when we were told to leave," she said. "I didn't think or imagine anything like that."
The city's newspaper, The Gazette, continued to cover the story with the help of emergency generators. But the flood was just outside the front door, and the place had no running water. Portable bathrooms were set up outside for the staff.
"We're putting the paper out through heroic, historic effort by the staff companywide," said Steve Buttry, who started as editor of the newspaper on Tuesday — just one day before the disaster struck.
Des Moines fire officials had no immediate estimate of the number of people urged to evacuate there.
App Store may be boon or bust for Apple bottom line
AppleInsider has a curious pair of analyst reports contrasting profits and pitfalls from the iPhone App Store—curious because it's the same analyst. Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray issued a research note suggesting the App Store could generate more than a billion dollars for Apple by the end of 2009. While it's a guessing game on everything from iPhones sold to active users, Munster makes the case that iPhone users are more likely to become App Store shoppers.
"Mobile service adoption rates show that iPhone owners are more sophisticated mobile users, likely a result of both the user profile and the device itself," the analyst told clients. "The bottom line is that we expect similar adoption of the App Store to other advanced services."
As the chart shows, it all comes down to how many iPhone and iPod touch owners buy applications, but even neutral projections show impressive numbers. By the end of 2009, Munster assumes nearly 80 million handheld users will buy one $10 application and download one free application. This would create a market of more than three-quarter of a billion dollars and generate a little less than a quarter of a billion dollars for Apple. It sounds great—unless, of course, a lot of scruffy hippies spoil it by releasing free applications.
Walking around at WWDC, Munster spoke with an admittedly small number of developers, 20, but what they had to say was a little startling. Munster "found the average cost of iPhone apps on the App Store to be $2.29, with 71 percent being free." Obviously, projections and chit-chat from WWDC are hardly indicative of anything. However, this does offer an explanation regarding the alleged pressuring of developers to monetize their software. Apple gets 30 percent of every sale, but even a CEO who dropped out of college can do the math on the percentage back on "free." It wouldn't be at all surprising if Apple moved away from applications that want to be free after the App Store inevitably succeeds.
"Mobile service adoption rates show that iPhone owners are more sophisticated mobile users, likely a result of both the user profile and the device itself," the analyst told clients. "The bottom line is that we expect similar adoption of the App Store to other advanced services."
As the chart shows, it all comes down to how many iPhone and iPod touch owners buy applications, but even neutral projections show impressive numbers. By the end of 2009, Munster assumes nearly 80 million handheld users will buy one $10 application and download one free application. This would create a market of more than three-quarter of a billion dollars and generate a little less than a quarter of a billion dollars for Apple. It sounds great—unless, of course, a lot of scruffy hippies spoil it by releasing free applications.
Walking around at WWDC, Munster spoke with an admittedly small number of developers, 20, but what they had to say was a little startling. Munster "found the average cost of iPhone apps on the App Store to be $2.29, with 71 percent being free." Obviously, projections and chit-chat from WWDC are hardly indicative of anything. However, this does offer an explanation regarding the alleged pressuring of developers to monetize their software. Apple gets 30 percent of every sale, but even a CEO who dropped out of college can do the math on the percentage back on "free." It wouldn't be at all surprising if Apple moved away from applications that want to be free after the App Store inevitably succeeds.
yahoo hires google to handle some of its advertising sales
Yahoo!'s efforts to revive takeover talks with Microsoft Corp. have reached a dead end, prompting the Internet pioneer to hire online search leader Google Inc. to handle some of its advertising sales.
A Yahoo! sign is seen in New York's Times Square on April 22.
The news disclosed Thursday caused Yahoo! shares to plunge 10 percent as investors abandoned hope that Microsoft would renew a nearly five-month quest to buy the Sunnyvale, California-based company.
Although a stock sell-off is never welcome news for any company, Wall Street's disenchantment comes at a particularly bad time for Yahoo! and its board of directors.
Yahoo! is trying to fend off a shareholder mutiny led by activist investor Carl Icahn, who has vowed to replace the company's board because of the way the directors handled the Microsoft negotiations.
But Icahn has been hoping to engineer a sale to Microsoft, so some shareholders may be reluctant to support his attempted coup unless he can demonstrate that his slate of directors has a better turnaround plan than the current board.
Icahn did not return phone calls seeking comment Thursday.
The fate of Yahoo's board is to be determined at the company's August 1 annual meeting.
Don't Miss
Icahn seeks to oust Yahoo board
"If you are a Yahoo shareholder, you just have to be scratching your head right now," Standard and Poor's equity analyst Scott Kessler said.
With Microsoft apparently out of the picture, Yahoo! is turning to Google to help its chief executive, Jerry Yang, prove that he made the right decision last month when he turned down Microsoft's takeover bid of $47.5 billion, or $33 per share. Yang asked for $37 per share, prompting Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to withdraw the oral offer.
If the Google partnership passes what's likely to be a rigorous review by U.S. antitrust regulators and lawmakers, Yahoo! intends to use its rival's superior search technology to display ads on its own Web site as well as those of its partners' in the United States and Canada.
Yahoo estimated that the arrangement could boost its revenue by as much as $800 million during the first 12 months of the partnership.
The deal shapes up as a major victory for Mountain View-based Google, which didn't want Yahoo! to fall into Microsoft's clutches.
"I am happy to be helping them to stay independent," Google co-founder Sergey Brin said Thursday.
Yahoo!'s advertising partnership with Google won't start until late September at the earliest because the two companies voluntarily agreed to wait at least 3½ months to allow the government to review a deal involving the two leading players in search advertising.
Google already holds about 75 percent of the $11 billion search advertising market in the United States, with Yahoo! in a distant second at 9 percent, according to the research firm eMarketer Inc.
Microsoft had hoped to use Yahoo! as a weapon in its efforts to slow Google's growth, but they couldn't agree to terms.
"Clearly, it's time to move on," Yang said during a Thursday conference call with analysts.
Before signing the Google deal, Yahoo made a last-ditch effort to persuade Microsoft to revive its last takeover offer of $47.5 billion.
But after withdrawing that bid last month, Ballmer began to focus his efforts on persuading Yahoo! to sell its search operations instead.
Yahoo! concluded that its search engine was too important to sell piecemeal.
Without explaining its logic, Microsoft said it believed that a deal involving Yahoo's search engine would have been more valuable to Yahoo! than if it had bought the entire company at $33 per share. The Redmond, Washington-based software maker said it remains open to buying Yahoo!'s search operations.
Yahoo!'s deal with Google includes an escape hatch should Microsoft or another suitor buy the company. If Yahoo! is sold, Google would receive a termination fee of up to $250 million.
That clause could still raise hope that Icahn might be able to renew the Microsoft talks if he can win control of Yahoo!'s board.
Investors clearly favor a sale of Yahoo in its entirety. Yahoo! shares dropped $2.63, or 10.1 percent, to finish at Thursday at $23.52 and then shed another 7 cents in after-hours trading.
The Google partnership expands upon a two-week trial conducted in April, while Yahoo! was trying to pressure Microsoft into raising its bid. The tests confirmed that Google's technology would generate more revenue for Yahoo! than its own system, which cost more than $2 billion to acquire and improve.
Nevertheless, Yahoo! still intends to use its own search engine to distribute some ads and process all search requests. Working with Google will give Yahoo "the best of both worlds," Yahoo! President Sue Decker said in Thursday's conference call.
But Microsoft and a variety of consumer interest groups have signaled that they will turn up the political heat in an attempt to prevent Google from working with Yahoo.
The outcry already has drawn the attention of U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, who chairs an antitrust committee.
"The consequences for advertisers and consumers could be far-reaching and warrant careful review, and we plan to investigate the competitive and privacy implications of this deal further," said Kohl, a Wisconsin Democrat.
Google and Yahoo! have hope they can overcome the antitrust concerns by convincing lawmakers and regulators that their deal is similar to business arrangements between rivals in other industries.
Brin and his co-founder, Larry Page, both think the partnership could even help foster more competition by providing Yahoo with more money to improve its own search technology.
"Having more money is a good thing," Page said.
If it isn't blocked, Yahoo!'s advertising partnership could last for the next decade.
Although a Google deal could help boost Yahoo!'s short-term profits, some analysts think Yahoo could be hurting itself by ceding any ground to an already powerful rival.
But Yang was under intense pressure to do something bold after Yahoo repeatedly spurned Microsoft attempts to buy the company or arrange some kind of joint venture to challenge Google.
The talks date to 2006 and included a 2007 merger proposal that Yahoo rejected, according to a January 31 letter that Ballmer sent to Yahoo to announce his initial bid of $44.6 billion, or $31 per share.
A Yahoo! sign is seen in New York's Times Square on April 22.
The news disclosed Thursday caused Yahoo! shares to plunge 10 percent as investors abandoned hope that Microsoft would renew a nearly five-month quest to buy the Sunnyvale, California-based company.
Although a stock sell-off is never welcome news for any company, Wall Street's disenchantment comes at a particularly bad time for Yahoo! and its board of directors.
Yahoo! is trying to fend off a shareholder mutiny led by activist investor Carl Icahn, who has vowed to replace the company's board because of the way the directors handled the Microsoft negotiations.
But Icahn has been hoping to engineer a sale to Microsoft, so some shareholders may be reluctant to support his attempted coup unless he can demonstrate that his slate of directors has a better turnaround plan than the current board.
Icahn did not return phone calls seeking comment Thursday.
The fate of Yahoo's board is to be determined at the company's August 1 annual meeting.
Don't Miss
Icahn seeks to oust Yahoo board
"If you are a Yahoo shareholder, you just have to be scratching your head right now," Standard and Poor's equity analyst Scott Kessler said.
With Microsoft apparently out of the picture, Yahoo! is turning to Google to help its chief executive, Jerry Yang, prove that he made the right decision last month when he turned down Microsoft's takeover bid of $47.5 billion, or $33 per share. Yang asked for $37 per share, prompting Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to withdraw the oral offer.
If the Google partnership passes what's likely to be a rigorous review by U.S. antitrust regulators and lawmakers, Yahoo! intends to use its rival's superior search technology to display ads on its own Web site as well as those of its partners' in the United States and Canada.
Yahoo estimated that the arrangement could boost its revenue by as much as $800 million during the first 12 months of the partnership.
The deal shapes up as a major victory for Mountain View-based Google, which didn't want Yahoo! to fall into Microsoft's clutches.
"I am happy to be helping them to stay independent," Google co-founder Sergey Brin said Thursday.
Yahoo!'s advertising partnership with Google won't start until late September at the earliest because the two companies voluntarily agreed to wait at least 3½ months to allow the government to review a deal involving the two leading players in search advertising.
Google already holds about 75 percent of the $11 billion search advertising market in the United States, with Yahoo! in a distant second at 9 percent, according to the research firm eMarketer Inc.
Microsoft had hoped to use Yahoo! as a weapon in its efforts to slow Google's growth, but they couldn't agree to terms.
"Clearly, it's time to move on," Yang said during a Thursday conference call with analysts.
Before signing the Google deal, Yahoo made a last-ditch effort to persuade Microsoft to revive its last takeover offer of $47.5 billion.
But after withdrawing that bid last month, Ballmer began to focus his efforts on persuading Yahoo! to sell its search operations instead.
Yahoo! concluded that its search engine was too important to sell piecemeal.
Without explaining its logic, Microsoft said it believed that a deal involving Yahoo's search engine would have been more valuable to Yahoo! than if it had bought the entire company at $33 per share. The Redmond, Washington-based software maker said it remains open to buying Yahoo!'s search operations.
Yahoo!'s deal with Google includes an escape hatch should Microsoft or another suitor buy the company. If Yahoo! is sold, Google would receive a termination fee of up to $250 million.
That clause could still raise hope that Icahn might be able to renew the Microsoft talks if he can win control of Yahoo!'s board.
Investors clearly favor a sale of Yahoo in its entirety. Yahoo! shares dropped $2.63, or 10.1 percent, to finish at Thursday at $23.52 and then shed another 7 cents in after-hours trading.
The Google partnership expands upon a two-week trial conducted in April, while Yahoo! was trying to pressure Microsoft into raising its bid. The tests confirmed that Google's technology would generate more revenue for Yahoo! than its own system, which cost more than $2 billion to acquire and improve.
Nevertheless, Yahoo! still intends to use its own search engine to distribute some ads and process all search requests. Working with Google will give Yahoo "the best of both worlds," Yahoo! President Sue Decker said in Thursday's conference call.
But Microsoft and a variety of consumer interest groups have signaled that they will turn up the political heat in an attempt to prevent Google from working with Yahoo.
The outcry already has drawn the attention of U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, who chairs an antitrust committee.
"The consequences for advertisers and consumers could be far-reaching and warrant careful review, and we plan to investigate the competitive and privacy implications of this deal further," said Kohl, a Wisconsin Democrat.
Google and Yahoo! have hope they can overcome the antitrust concerns by convincing lawmakers and regulators that their deal is similar to business arrangements between rivals in other industries.
Brin and his co-founder, Larry Page, both think the partnership could even help foster more competition by providing Yahoo with more money to improve its own search technology.
"Having more money is a good thing," Page said.
If it isn't blocked, Yahoo!'s advertising partnership could last for the next decade.
Although a Google deal could help boost Yahoo!'s short-term profits, some analysts think Yahoo could be hurting itself by ceding any ground to an already powerful rival.
But Yang was under intense pressure to do something bold after Yahoo repeatedly spurned Microsoft attempts to buy the company or arrange some kind of joint venture to challenge Google.
The talks date to 2006 and included a 2007 merger proposal that Yahoo rejected, according to a January 31 letter that Ballmer sent to Yahoo to announce his initial bid of $44.6 billion, or $31 per share.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Indian shares hit 2008 low, end down 1.2 pct
Wobbly Indian shares fell to
their lowest in 2008 on Tuesday, rattled by concerns interest
rates may be raised to cool inflation, but pared some losses
toward the close on late buying by domestic funds. The 30-share main share index .BSESN ended down 1.17
percent at 14,889.25 points, its lowest close since mid-March,
with 21 components in the red. It hit a trough of 14,645.31, below the previous 2008 low
of 14,677.24 in March, and the lowest since Aug. 29, 2007. Traders said domestic funds scooped up bargains, helping
the market to pull off the lows. "They have started cherry picking long-term outperformers,"
said Amitabh Chakraborty, president of equities at Religare
Securities. Software stocks such as bellwether Infosys Technology Ltd
(INFY.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) that get more than half their revenue from the United
States led the losses amid worries the U.S. economy was heading
for stagflation. Financials like ICICI Bank (ICBK.BO: Quote, Profile, Research), India's No. 2 lender
fell 2.5 percent to 731.60 rupees, its lowest since October, on
worries higher interest rates would slow down loans growth. Smaller rival HDFC Bank (HDBK.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) dropped 4.5 percent to
1,130.95 rupees, the lowest close since August. The sector
index fell 2.4 percent. Traders said the outlook remains shaky with foreign
portfolio investors dumping Indian stocks, which have fallen
26.6 percent this year and making them among the worst
performers in Asia. Data on Tuesday showed foreign funds pulled out $332.6
million the previous day, taking the total outflow in 2008 to
more than $5 billion. "The market is likely to remain subdued in the coming days,
as global equity market sentiment remains weak due to high
crude oil prices," local brokerage Anand Rathi Securities said. Top listed firm Reliance Industries (RELI.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 1.7
percent to 2,199.40 rupees, ahead of its annual shareholders
meet on Thursday where it is expected to announce a slew of
business initiatives, traders said. Infosys fell 2.9 percent to 1,849.10 rupees, its lowest
close in more than two weeks, while leader Tata Consultancy
Services (TCS.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) lost 3.9 percent to 880.05 rupees and smaller
rival Satyam Computer Services (SATY.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) shed 2.8 percent to
477.90 rupees. In the broader market, losers overwhelmed gainers 1,663 to
958 on volume of 272.5 million shares. The 50-share NSE index fell 1.14 percent to
4,469.80 points. Elsewhere in the region, Karachi's 100-Share index
shed 0.23 percent to 12,878.04 and Colombo's All-Share index
.CSE eased 0.14 percent lower at 2,489.25. STOCKS THAT MOVED * Spice Communications (SPCM.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 4.1 percent to 55.40
rupees after the Economic Times reported that Idea Cellular
(IDEA.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) was set to buy the founders' stake of 40.8 percent in
Spice for 77-78 rupees a share. * Auto parts maker L G Balakrishnan & Bros (LGB.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) jumped
10.9 percent to 16.30 rupees after British industrial chain
maker Renold Plc (RNO.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said it plans to buy a 75 percent
stake in the Indian firm's industrial chains division.
[ID:nBOM129869]. * Shares in pharmaceutical firms Ranbaxy (RANB.BO: Quote, Profile, Research),
Aurobindo Pharma (ARBN.BO: Quote, Profile, Research), Divi's Laboratories (DIVI.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) and
Cipla (CIPL.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) rose between 3.9 percent and 6.5 percent as
they were seen as defensive buys, traders said. MAIN TOP 3 BY VOLUME* IFCI Ltd (IFCI.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) on 18.5 million shares.* Reliance Petroleum (RPET.BO: Quote, Profile, Research)> on 13.6 million shares* Ispat Industries (ISPT.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) 13.5 million shares FACTORS TO WATCH
* Indian rupee off early lows on cbank move
[INR/]
* Indian bond yields steady as inflation weighs
[IN/]
* FOREX-Dollar jumps,Bernanke stokes Fed rate hike
outlook[FRX/]
* Oil rebounds as supply worry offsets demand falls
[O/R]
* GLOBAL MARKETS-Bonds slide, dollar rises on Bernanke warning
[MARKETS/AS]
* US STOCKS-U.S. Futures drop after Bernanke inflation warning
[.N]
* For closing rates of Indian ADRs
their lowest in 2008 on Tuesday, rattled by concerns interest
rates may be raised to cool inflation, but pared some losses
toward the close on late buying by domestic funds. The 30-share main share index .BSESN ended down 1.17
percent at 14,889.25 points, its lowest close since mid-March,
with 21 components in the red. It hit a trough of 14,645.31, below the previous 2008 low
of 14,677.24 in March, and the lowest since Aug. 29, 2007. Traders said domestic funds scooped up bargains, helping
the market to pull off the lows. "They have started cherry picking long-term outperformers,"
said Amitabh Chakraborty, president of equities at Religare
Securities. Software stocks such as bellwether Infosys Technology Ltd
(INFY.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) that get more than half their revenue from the United
States led the losses amid worries the U.S. economy was heading
for stagflation. Financials like ICICI Bank (ICBK.BO: Quote, Profile, Research), India's No. 2 lender
fell 2.5 percent to 731.60 rupees, its lowest since October, on
worries higher interest rates would slow down loans growth. Smaller rival HDFC Bank (HDBK.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) dropped 4.5 percent to
1,130.95 rupees, the lowest close since August. The sector
index fell 2.4 percent. Traders said the outlook remains shaky with foreign
portfolio investors dumping Indian stocks, which have fallen
26.6 percent this year and making them among the worst
performers in Asia. Data on Tuesday showed foreign funds pulled out $332.6
million the previous day, taking the total outflow in 2008 to
more than $5 billion. "The market is likely to remain subdued in the coming days,
as global equity market sentiment remains weak due to high
crude oil prices," local brokerage Anand Rathi Securities said. Top listed firm Reliance Industries (RELI.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 1.7
percent to 2,199.40 rupees, ahead of its annual shareholders
meet on Thursday where it is expected to announce a slew of
business initiatives, traders said. Infosys fell 2.9 percent to 1,849.10 rupees, its lowest
close in more than two weeks, while leader Tata Consultancy
Services (TCS.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) lost 3.9 percent to 880.05 rupees and smaller
rival Satyam Computer Services (SATY.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) shed 2.8 percent to
477.90 rupees. In the broader market, losers overwhelmed gainers 1,663 to
958 on volume of 272.5 million shares. The 50-share NSE index fell 1.14 percent to
4,469.80 points. Elsewhere in the region, Karachi's 100-Share index
shed 0.23 percent to 12,878.04 and Colombo's All-Share index
.CSE eased 0.14 percent lower at 2,489.25. STOCKS THAT MOVED * Spice Communications (SPCM.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 4.1 percent to 55.40
rupees after the Economic Times reported that Idea Cellular
(IDEA.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) was set to buy the founders' stake of 40.8 percent in
Spice for 77-78 rupees a share. * Auto parts maker L G Balakrishnan & Bros (LGB.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) jumped
10.9 percent to 16.30 rupees after British industrial chain
maker Renold Plc (RNO.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said it plans to buy a 75 percent
stake in the Indian firm's industrial chains division.
[ID:nBOM129869]. * Shares in pharmaceutical firms Ranbaxy (RANB.BO: Quote, Profile, Research),
Aurobindo Pharma (ARBN.BO: Quote, Profile, Research), Divi's Laboratories (DIVI.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) and
Cipla (CIPL.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) rose between 3.9 percent and 6.5 percent as
they were seen as defensive buys, traders said. MAIN TOP 3 BY VOLUME* IFCI Ltd (IFCI.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) on 18.5 million shares.* Reliance Petroleum (RPET.BO: Quote, Profile, Research)> on 13.6 million shares* Ispat Industries (ISPT.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) 13.5 million shares FACTORS TO WATCH
* Indian rupee off early lows on cbank move
[INR/]
* Indian bond yields steady as inflation weighs
[IN/]
* FOREX-Dollar jumps,Bernanke stokes Fed rate hike
outlook[FRX/]
* Oil rebounds as supply worry offsets demand falls
[O/R]
* GLOBAL MARKETS-Bonds slide, dollar rises on Bernanke warning
[MARKETS/AS]
* US STOCKS-U.S. Futures drop after Bernanke inflation warning
[.N]
* For closing rates of Indian ADRs
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