The Intolerable Revenue Lightness of Tumblr
So Yahoo paid $1.1 billion for a company that made $14 million in revenue last year. It took Tumblr five years to generate as much annual revenue as a moderately well-managed New York deli. You know - the sort that offers more than six cheese varieties. Foursquare was also speculated to generate about $2 million in annual revenue in 2012. Not surprisingly, it has also been rumored to be a Yahoo acquisition target over the past months. That's the old playbook; build a service that is free, create buzz and wait for a sugar mamma to fork over a billion dollars. But there is a new generation of software companies out there who do not spend half a decade to generate a few million bucks - they spend a few months to generate tens of millions of dollars.
China Still Hurting Caterpillar As Sales In Asia Fall Hard; Latin America Thrives
Despite an improvement in the U.S., the global economy is still trying to get off the ground, as Caterpillar?s sales numbers revealed on Monday. The world?s largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment saw retail sales of machines fall across the globe over the past three months, with only Latin America delivering growth. Industrial demand fell and so did purchases from the oil sector, with transportation being the only sector to see higher sales. The slowdown is consistent with Caterpillar?s marked first quarter earnings decline, which suggests China?s weakness is hurting the global economy.
MLPs: High After-Tax Income... But Avoid A Common Mistake
MLPs-- Master Limited Partnerships-- are back in style. Born in the 80s to incent investment in domestic energy infrastructure, Congress showered them with impressive tax benefits. Like their contemporaries, acid washed jeans and Swatches, they were forgotten for a while, but are du jour again.
FOCUS: CFTC: Large Specs Trim Gold, Silver Net Longs But Increase For PGMs
(Kitco News) - Large speculators continued to pare their net bullish positioning for gold and silver futures and options but increased it for platinum and palladium during the most recent reporting period for data compiled by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
What Not To Buy In Bulk
From toilet paper to potato chips, why warehouse buys aren?t always a steal.
Finance News
MLPs: High After-Tax Income... But Avoid A Common Mistake
MLPs-- Master Limited Partnerships-- are back in style. Born in the 80s to incent investment in domestic energy infrastructure, Congress showered them with impressive tax benefits. Like their contemporaries, acid washed jeans and Swatches, they were forgotten for a while, but are du jour again.
A Credit Card Built Community-Strong
At the annual Lithium Technologies LiNC conference in April, I heard about an innovative approach to credit cards in the Banking industry that is built on the core ideas of social business: a community-driven credit card from Barclaycard USA. This is a solid business product that makes sense to customers, supports the business, and combines financial responsibility with the engagement of its customer community.
Bank Cannot Issue 1099-C And Subsequently Try To Collect
Banks are required to notify taxpayers and the IRS about debt discharges by filing Form 1099-C. It is less than crystal clear as to exactly when the banks are supposed to file 1099-C. A recent bankruptcy decision in the case of William and Elaine Reed has made the issue even more challenging for the banks. Tentatively, I'm looking at this as a win for the little guys.
