There are write downs — and then there are write downs. Microsoft is wiping the books clean of almost all of the $6.3 billion it paid for interactive ad company aQuantive in 2007.
Technology & Media
How Google’s Chief Innovator Sergey Brin Is Making Science Fiction Real
Who says innovation is dead in Silicon Valley? At a time when some pundits are questioning whether the region’s innovation engine is tapped out, Web-search titan Google offered a powerful display last week of why that’s not the …
How Forces That Drive the Mobile Industry’s Growth Also Threaten Its Future
The mobile industry is enjoying a remarkable moment in business history, one that ought to make executives from other industries look on it with envy. Thanks to the burgeoning popularity of smartphones, demand for mobile …
How Louis C.K. Is Changing the Way We Pay for Entertainment
Comedic everyman Louis C.K. is a bigger star than ever — the new season of his acclaimed FX show Louie debuts today — but a ticket to his upcoming tour won’t set you back quite as far as you might expect. Why? Like an
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News Corp. Split Signals Twilight for Mega-Mogul Rupert Murdoch
News Corp.’s plan to split itself into two companies marks the end of an era for Rupert Murdoch‘s decades-long, largely successful quest to build the most powerful media company in the world. Company shareholders have already …
Made for Digital: Believe Entertainment Group Is Bypassing Television
A new breed of media companies are trying to convince people to get their sitcom and drama fix directly from online original programming instead of television.
Google Maps: Now Helping Your Boss Track Your Every Move
The next time you try to disguise an extended lunch break as a business meeting, your boss might know about it, thanks to a new Google Maps app that lets your employer track your every move.
Coming Soon: A Softer Approach to Online Piracy
The entertainment industry’s ongoing battle with digital pirates (also known as average Americans) will enter a new chapter this fall as music and movie companies take a more sweeping–but less litigious–approach to dealing …
Is Apple Underpaying Its Retail Employees?
If there is any company that can be said to be on the cutting edge of retail, it’s Apple. Yes, the Most Profitable Company in the World has come to be one of the most admired names in business not only because of its …
After Facebook Debacle, Can Investors Trust the IPO Process?
It’s been over a month since Facebook’s troubled initial public offering, and the fallout continues to reverberate from Wall Street to Capitol Hill. Angry shareholders have filed over 40 lawsuits against Facebook, its …
Blackberry Bankers: RIM Edges Closer to a Sale
Ahead of Thursday’s closely-watched earnings report, Blackberry-maker Research in Motion brushed aside a weekend story saying the company would separate its handset division and messaging network. The report came from the Sunday …
Renouncing Your Citizenship to Stick It to the Tax Man? Not as Easy as it Looks
To hear some tell it, we’ve got the beginning of an Ayn-Randian capitalist strike on our hands – at least amongst American expatriates fed up with writing checks to the IRS despite living abroad. Indeed, as tax attorney Jim …