Facebook’s financial performance is stronger than previously believed, as the Internet social network’s explosive growth in users and advertisers boosted 2009 revenue to as much as $800 million, according to two sources familiar with the situation. The company also earned a solid net profit, in the tens of millions of dollars last year, one of the sources said. That growth in profit and revenue underscores how facebook is increasingly making money off its 6-year-old service, which ranks as the world’s largest Web social network with nearly half a billion users. That sort of performance is likely to whet the appetites of investors keen for a public share float, despite the company’s insistence that an IPO is not a near-term priority. Palo Alto, California-based

Facebook, the booming social networking site dreamed up by Mark Zuckerberg and his buddies in a Harvard dorm room in 2004, is privately held and has released only very limited nuggets of financial information. The 2009 results are significantly higher than some of the figures that Facebook had suggested earlier in 2009, as well as analysts’ estimates that have appeared in various media reports. Last July, Facebook board member Marc Andreessen told Reuters the company was on track to surpass $500 million in annual revenue for 2009. And in September, Facebook said that it had become free cash flow positive, meaning that the company was generating enough cash to cover its operating expenses as well as its capital spending needs. Estimates in various media reports had previously pegged the company’s 2009 revenue at $550 million to $700 million. The two sources said revenue in 2009 was in fact $700 million to $800 million. “They are downplaying their performance,” one source said, adding that 2009 revenue was more than double the previous year’s total. “There’s no upside in getting people’s expectations high, it’s always better to go low.” If Facebook eventually seeks to go public, unveiling financial figures above expectations could help bolster investor interest. Facebook declined to comment. RATCHETING UP Since its inception, Facebook has emerged as one of the Internet’s most popular destinations.

The social network is increasingly challenging more established Internet players such as Yahoo Inc and Google Inc for consumers’ online time and for ad dollars, even as it tries to strike a delicate balance between protecting privacy and promoting social sharing by its users. In May, Facebook said it would introduce new tools to give users more control to limit how much of their profile information is publicly accessible, following criticism by privacy advocates about certain new Facebook features. Facebook’s backers include Digital Sky Technologies, Microsoft Corp , Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing and venture capital firms Accel Partners, Greylock Partners and Meritech Capital Partners. As investors wait for signs of a Facebook IPO, a vibrant market has developed for private shares of Facebook in specialized exchanges like Sharespost and SecondMarket. Combining a large audience of Web surfers with innovative online advertising has become a recipe for super-charged revenue growth in the Internet business. In 2002, after Google overhauled its AdWords search advertising system and introduced its cost-per-click pricing model, annual revenue quadrupled to $347.8 million. The following year, revenue surged to roughly $962 million. Google finished 2009 with nearly $24 billion in annual revenue. Facebook’s revenue growth has come as the number of users on its website has exploded. The company started 2009 with the January announcement that it had reached 150 million users. By December, that number had swelled to 350 million. “We can provide really good, relevant advertising to people because they tell us exactly what they are interested in, and who they know, and those people tell us what they’re interested in,” Facebook Chief Executive Zuckerberg said at the All Things Digital conference this month. He cited statements by other Facebook executives that the number of advertisers on Facebook had increased by a factor of four during the past year-and-a-half. “Just having all those different ads in the system makes it so there’s more to draw from and people get more relevant ads,” he said. Big brands such as AT&T Inc, Ford Motor Co and Blackberry-maker Research in Motion all advertised on Facebook during the first four months of 2010, according to Internet analytics firm comScore. In addition to courting household names, Facebook also allows smaller companies to craft their own targeted pitches on its site, using a Web-based self-service advertising system.

facebook revenue $800 Million - Originally Published at KnolIndia (RSS)

Michael Jackson died after suffering a cardiac arrest, sending shockwaves sweeping across the world and tributes pouring in for the tortured music icon revered as the “King of Pop.”

Jackson, 50, collapsed at his rented mansion in the exclusive Los Angeles neighborhood of Holmby Hills and was rushed to hospital by paramedics before being pronounced dead at 2:26 pm (2126 GMT Thursday).

One of the most influential figures in pop history whose four-decade career included the highest-selling album of all-time, “Thriller,” Jackson had been preparing for a concert comeback in London next month he had dubbed “the final curtain.”

News of the death triggered an outpouring of grief as shocked celebrities, foreign governments and devoted fans paid tribute to the troubled star who struggled to rebuild his career after a 2005 acquittal for child abuse.

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Pop Star Michael Jackson died - Originally Published at KnolIndia (RSS)

Today 59 new ministers are included in the council and this makes Team Manmohan’s total count to 79, just two less of the upper ceiling of 81. The swearing-in takes place at 1130 hrs IST. In the first round of swearing-in 19 ministers along with Manmohan Singh had been sworn in on May 22.

15th Lok Sabha: Council of Ministers

No of Ministers by Party

No of Ministers by States

Interestingly, those states which are going to polls this year have been awarded more space in the Council of Ministers. Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra has bagged 9 ministerial berths. Former chief minister of Maharashtra Vilasrao Deshmukh, the man who had to give up his job after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, has been included at the Centre. Another former chief minister Virbhadra Singh of Himachal pradesh, also inducted into the Cabinet.

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15th Lok Sabha now have 79 ministers - Originally Published at KnolIndia (RSS)

Terror struck Lahore for the third time in two months when an explosives-laden vehicle apparently targeting the ISI headquarters went off in crowded Civil Lines area, killing at least 30 people and leaving nearly 150 injured. ( Watch )

At least four men with rifles stepped from the car and opened fire on the intelligence agency building, then set off a massive blast when security guards returned fire, officials said. Interior minister Rehman Malik suggested the attack could be retaliation for the government’s military offensive to rout Taliban militants from the northwestern Swat Valley.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the latest bombing. Police said one suspect was detained. Reports said some suspects picked up in connection with the March 3 terror attack on the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team here, were inside the ISI office when the blast took place.

The blast could be an attempt to free Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, Pak media reported. The blast took place on a day when Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed was to be presented in the Lahore high court close by.

Source: Times of India

Blast near ISI headquarters in Lahore - Originally Published at KnolIndia (RSS)

Germany’s main competition agency, the Federal Cartel Office, slapped a fine of 9 million euros ($12 million) on US software company Microsoft for imposing a retail price for its Office Home and Student 2007 software.

Microsoft said it would pay the fine to avoid a lengthy legal dispute and was reviewing its internal processes in Germany to ensure they complied with German law in future.

The Bonn-based agency said Microsoft had harmed free competition by exerting improper influence on the selling price of the software through a major chain, which was not identified in the announcement.

Microsoft fined in Germany - Originally Published at KnolIndia (RSS)

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has decided to layoff around 1,300 employees or 1 per cent of its global workforce this year. About 100 employees have already been fired in Chennai alone in the last two weeks.

This comes in the wake of recent announcements by the company’s MD S Ramadorai 10 days back that variable pay of employees is being reviewed this year, to counter the tough economic situations across the globe.

The IT major has also increased working hours to 45 hours per week from 40 hours effective April 1. The TCS sources said in the last two weeks alone the company has sacked about 100 people after they were found wanting in their performance appraisal.

Read More
1. Layoff in IT industry
2. HP cutting 24,600 jobs
3. Poll – Recent Layoff in IT

TCS going to layoff 1300 - Originally Published at KnolIndia (RSS)

Five years after a sex clip made and circulated by a Delhi school student made news, a similar incident has been reported from a business school in Noida.

A student has sent out a video of his 23-year old girlfriend doing a striptease for him, to some fellow students at the management school. This reportedly happened after the woman refused to marry him. The woman studies at the same institution.

The story was first reported by Mid Day. It said the two students were probably classmates. The man, who apparently knew the password of the woman’s email ID, logged in to her mail and sent the video to some people on her contact list.

The Noida Police are yet to take any action in the matter because they have not received any complaint. The video shows the woman stripping to music; the man apparently captured it on a cellphone camera. In 2004, a student of a south Delhi school had found herself at the centre of a similar scandal.

Update:
The brother of the 23-year-old MBA student is learnt to have complained to the National Commission for Women (NCW) after an MMS clip reportedly showing his sister doing a striptease. On Thursday, the girl’s family alleged in the complaint that the father of the boy had threatened her with dire consequences if she dared approach the police.

According to a television channel which claimed it spoke to the girl, the boy then hacked into the girl’s mail account and sent off the video clips, making it appear that she was sending them.

The girl told to the channel that the two families had been friends for long, to the point that the boy’s family wanted the girl’s hand in marriage when she was much younger. “My father did not say yes but insisted that we complete our studies first. Later, the boy became increasingly insecure about me. Then he insisted I marry him. She added that she turned him down as he had shown scant regard for her when her father was seriously ill for two months.

The channel aired what was purportedly a telephonic conversation between the boy’s father and the victim, in which the former apparently used “extremely abusive language.”

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Noida MMS Scandal - Originally Published at KnolIndia (RSS)

The Indian stock exchanges, BSE, NSE will remain closed today on account of terror attack in Mumbai. It is learned that normal trade will resume tomorrow. The capital market regulator, SEBI confirmed no trading on BSE, NSE today. November expiry is also postponed till Friday. This decision comes in the wake of terror attack in Mumbai since last night, in which 80 people were killed and over 250 are injured.

On Wednesday evening, terrorists seized five-star hotels of the city- Taj and Oberoi Grand and also took over CST and three hospitals in the vicinity. Groups of terrorists launched coordinated attacks on at least 10 landmarks in Mumbai. The terrorists started firing indiscriminately and blasted their way through Taj and Oberoi hotels, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Cama Hospital.

A night long terror attack took place in several places in Mumbai. Death toll has reached 87 and almost 200 people are reported injured. First instance of shooting took place near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Station and near Cafe Leopold in Colaba

Attacks also took place at three five-stars hotels, namely the Taj Mahal Hotel, The Oberoi and at Ramada Hotel in Juhu. There was also a bomb blast at a petrol pump in Colaba. Terrorists also opened fire at the VT station and the Cama hospital. Boat with explosives was also found near the Gateway of India.

In the shootouts, two terrorists were killed in the Taj Hotel and two suspected terrorists were killed in Girgaum. Whereas, almost eleven police officers are reported dead in the attacks. Additional Commissioner Ashok Kamte was shot dead in the shootout. ATS Chief Hemant Karkare died in shooting near VT station. Mumbai police’s encounter specialist Vijay Saluskar was also shot dead.

The attacks began at about 9.30 pm with firing at Cafe Leopold, a popular restaurant in the Colaba area of South Mumbai. This is a place frequented by foreigners. Shortly after, at least two men armed with AK-47 opened fire in the passenger hall of CST railway station.

Meanwhile, at least 4-5 people are killed at Cama hospital, situated close to CST. Some patients are also taken hostage. The hospital continues to be under seige. A major gunbattle also broke out near the Metro Cinema, near CST just down the road. Terrorists hijacked a police van and fired indiscriminately, injuring several people. Several hotels also came under the attack. Armed men entered the Taj Mahal hotel and took hostages. A series of loud explosions were also heard. Three members of Parliament and at least 100 tourists are also stranded inside.

Latest Report:

• COPS CLEAR CAMA HOSPITAL, TAJ BURNS
• TERROR NON-STOP: 101 killed in Mumbai attacks
• COMMANDOS ENTER TAJ, OBEROI HOTELS
• Army storms Hotel Oberoi to flush out terrorists
• 2 gunmen in Taj Hotel, 7 foreigners among 15 hostages

Terror attack in Mumbai: NSE, BSE closed today - Originally Published at KnolIndia (RSS)

Citigroup Inc., the US bank with the most employees, plans to layoff 53,000 employees and cut expenses by 20%. This is the biggest cut so far by a financial institution since the economic crisis began and the biggest layoffs in the US since the automobile industry laid off almost 80,000 workers in 1980.

CEO Vikram Pandit intends to reduce headcount by about 14% to 300,000 in the ‘‘near term’’, a presentation on the firm’s website said on Monday. Pandit has already cut 23,000 jobs, leaving the New York-based bank with 352,000 employees as of September 30.

About 100,000 jobs have already been lost at the largest banks and brokerages. In the last month, Goldman Sachs Group Inc began cutting 3,200 jobs, while Morgan Stanley said it would cut 10% of the jobs in the unit housing its investment banking operations.

Also Read:

1. Layoff in IT industry, Who is next?
2. Poll – Recent Layoff in IT
3. HP cutting 24,600 jobs
4. Jet Airways layoff 800 employees Kingfisher may follow

Citibank plans to layoff 53000 employee - Originally Published at KnolIndia (RSS)

Economic crisis seems to continue and its face is now becoming worse. The benchmark indices Nifty and BSE crashes below 10% today. The pressure in the market are coming in from the European funds. Some large Europe based funds are facing serious redemption pressure. The panic sell by the local funds are increasing the pressure in the market.

Bank, Oil, Metal, Realty slip over 10%. Among the frontliners, Suzlon Energy went down over 35%. Unitech lost 28% and Nalco crashed 24%.

Hindalco, ABB, Power Grid, PNB, Cairn India, Ranbaxy Labs, ONGC, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Sterlite Industries, DLF, Maruti Suzuki, M&M, Reliance Industries, Reliance Infrastructure, SBI, Reliance Communication, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Tata Power plunged 10-20% on the Sensex. 458 shares have advanced while 2541 shares have declined. Nearly 191 shares are unchanged.

The Dow and Nasdaq Futures fell over 6% each. SGX Nifty tumbled over 12%. European markets are down 6-8%.

Current BSE Graph:

Source: NSE & BSE

NIFTY and BSE Sensex down by more than 10% - Originally Published at KnolIndia (RSS)