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British Telecom says it's 'highly likely' to write off OnLive stake
British Telecom has reported that it is "highly likely" to simply write off the 2.6 percent stake it invested in the recently rebooted cloud computing service, OnLive. The issue isn't yet settled, but a BT spokesperson told TechRadar that "the 2.6 percent shareholding in OnLive does not represent a significant investment for BT as a whole. We consider it highly likely that we'll have to write off our investment."HTC also made a $40 million investment in OnLive, and it has already reported to the Taiwanese Stock Exchange that it considers the money written off. With all of OnLive's assets being transferred to form a new company, getting compensated for their investments may be more trouble than it's worth for both HTC and BT.But the book isn't closed just yet – BT says it will "keep a close eye on developments" with OnLive, and that current customers who are able to access the service can continue to do so for the time being.
Report: Activision stock may rise 50 percent with Pandaria, CoD Online
Activision Blizzard may see its share price increase as much as 50 percent as it prepares to launch the Mists of Pandaria expansion for World of Warcraft and Call of Duty Online in China, financial newsweekly Barron's reports. Activision Blizzard is currently trading at $11.25, after reporting Q2 earnings above expectations but below the previous year, bringing in $1.08 billion.Investors expect shares could reach a high of $17 due to Mists of Pandaria's launch in September and Activision's partnership with Chinese Internet provider Tencent Holdings to launch the free-to-play game Call of Duty Online, potentially in "mid-2013," Barron's says. The Chinese gaming market generated $7 billion and included 160 million gamers in 2011, and is expected to grow by 20 percent this year to cash in more than $9 million in 2014.Activision Blizzard's shares have fallen 10 percent this year, while the broad market has gained 11 percent. Parent company Vivendi was looking to sell its 61 percent stake in Activision Blizzard earlier this year, but it appears those efforts have shifted focus.
Zynga hit with insider trading lawsuit as execs cash out before crash
Zynga has been hit with the first of five expected lawsuits alleging a handful of top executives and investors engaged in insider trading – including CEO Marc Pincus and Google. Following Zynga's IPO in December, employees and investors were "locked up," unable to sell their shares until May 28. Technically. A group of top executives and shareholders hired underwriters to manage the sale of their shares, creating a loophole that allowed them to sell their stock at $12.By May 28, when initial investors were legally allowed to sell their shares, Zynga stock had fallen to $6. Yesterday, it struck $3. Locked up investors had no opportunity to sell their shares at the same price as the top brass, and the insiders that did "cashed out at exactly the right time," Business Insider's Henry Blodget writes.
Twitter quietly adds clickable stock symbols
It might not pack the same thrill as the rumors of in-feed video, but Twitter has added clickable stock symbols on tweets. This now throws up search results for both the stock and the company, using a new 'cash' tag, like $FB, to differentiate from typical links and tags. As noted by TNW, it's bad news for the founder of StockTwits, a service that offered similar functionality to gather tweet-based financial nuggets. The new feature is live across Twitter's web client -- though it hasn't hit TweetDeck just yet -- and should make discovering exactly how many millions companies have made (or lost) all a bit faster.
THQ retains NASDAQ listing as board approves reverse stock split
THQ will keep its NASDAQ listing following the approval of a reverse stock split by its controlling board. Last week, stockholders met and approved a 10-to-one reverse stock split, effectively consolidating THQ's nearly 70 million stock units to around 7 million, and bringing their value from around $0.62 to $6.20 apiece. THQ risked delisting from NASDAQ due to shares trading below $1 for nearly 30 days, the cutoff for retaining NASDAQ listing status.The reverse split is set to go into effect on July 9 (next Monday). Initially, it will increase THQ's stock price well above the minimum $1 required, but it's unknown if that stock price will stay above $1 per share for 10 consecutive days – if it doesn't, THQ once again faces delisting.The next game THQ plans to launch is Darksiders 2 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on August 14.
Nexon invests $687M in NCsoft, becomes largest shareholder
MMO competitors and countrymen-in-arms Nexon and NCsoft are closer than ever today, as Nexon has acquired a minority interest in its fellow company. The move makes Nexon NCsoft's largest shareholder. Nexon announced that it had invested in NCsoft by snapping up 3,218,091 shares in a private transaction. The deal cost Nexon 804,522,750,000 South Korean Won, or $687 million US. This puts Nexon's share ownership of NCsoft at 14.7%. It will certainly be interesting to see how this investment affects the future of both Nexon and NCsoft. Nexon said that it "forms the basis of a long-term partnership" between the two companies. Nexon has been making aggressive moves of late, particularly with acquiring Taiwanese publisher Gamania last month.
Lesser known features in iOS's built-in apps
iOS ships with a few core apps such as a calculator and a weather app, which are there for your convenience. Yes, you might have found third-party replacements for them, but they're still nice to have when you are in a pinch. And if you spend some time with these apps like Lex Friedman of Macworld did, you will discover they have a few hidden functions that'll surprise you with their utility. An excellent example is the Calculator app which is a simple calculator in portrait mode, and a scientific calculator in landscape. Similar features exist in the Clock, Weather, Stocks and Voice Memo apps. You can check out all these lesser-known functions in Friedman's Macworld article.
THQ planning reverse stock split to avoid NASDAQ delisting
THQ filed plans with the SEC Friday for a June 29 stockholders meeting, where the company will propose a reverse stock split to avoid delisting from NASDAQ.In the filing, the company describes the need for the stock split to maintain the $1 per share minimum that NASDAQ requires for listing. THQ outlined three options in the process: 1:3, 1:5, and 1:10 reverse stock split ratios. Exercising any of these options results in fewer outstanding shares with an increased apparent value per share. For instance, should THQ perform a 1:3 reverse stock split, each stockholder would own one stock for every three owned prior to the split, even though the total value of the company's stock would not change.The company's stock is currently trading at 61 cents per share.THQ first received a delisting warning from Nasdaq on January 31, noting that the company's stock was trading below $1 per share. It has until July 23 to meet-and-maintain that closing standard for ten consecutive business days in order to be eligible for continued listing. THQ recently reported a net loss of $239.9 million for the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2012.
Tim Cook declines dividends being paid to Apple employees
Apple's Board of Directors approved a dividend equivalent payment to employees holding restricted stock units, but this won't apply to Tim Cook, says a report in MacRumors. These RSUs vest after a period of time and are usually given to employees to entice them to stay with the company for a length of time. Tim Cook, for example, was awarded 1.125 million RSUs when he stepped into the CEO position last year. At the current dividend payment of US$2.65 per share, Cook would receive a payment of approximately $75 million. Keeping with his character as a kind and gentle leader of Apple, Cook is refusing to accept this dividend, says a recent SEC filing. [Via MacRumors]
Sony shares drop to 31-year low in Japan, 19-year low in US
Shares of Sony stock have dipped to their lowest number in 31 years in Japan and to a 19-year low in the US, following a dismal earnings report for the previous fiscal year. Sony shares dropped 7 percent in Japan, to 1,135 Yen ($14), and 2 percent in the US, closing at $15.37.Sony CEO Kaz Hirai plans to lose 10,000 employees in a company-wide reorganization effort. Sony reported a net revenue loss of 9.6 percent for fiscal year 2012, dropping from $89 billion to $79.1 billion year-over-year.
Apple VP of iOS Scott Forstall cashes in $38.7 million of Apple shares
Tim Cook's salary came up in the news last month when he was awarded a million shares of Apple stock, and cashed out a few, in addition to his many other forms of compensation. And here's another Apple manager who's taking advantage of Apple's soaring stock price when he can. Vice President of iOS Scott Forstall reportedly cashed out over 64,000 Apple shares last week, earning US$38.7 million from the sale. Forstall picked up those shares in 2008. He got 120,000 shares back then as part of a bonus, and as those just vested (minus about half for taxes), he went ahead and cashed them out. But this doesn't leave Forstall without an investment in the company. He's still got 250,000 shares set to vest at different times in the next few years, in addition to 2,988 shares currently held, and that's in addition to an annual salary of $700,000. What did Forstall do to earn all this money? Oh, just run the iOS division, which picked up $29 billion for Apple in just the last quarter. Just that.
Zynga executives unloading 20 million shares in secondary offering
Zynga is prepping for its upcoming secondary stock offering, which will put 43 million shares of the company up for sale -- 20.2 million of which are "Class B" shares that currently belong to the high ranking Zynga executives.In descending order of shares being sold, cofounder Mark Pincus is unloading the most at 16.5 million shares, roughly 15 percent of his ownership of the company. Directors Reid Hoffman and Owen Van Natta come in second and third, selling 687,626 shares and 505,627 shares respectively. CFO David Wehner is selling more than 50 percent of his ownership in the company by offering 386,865 shares, followed closely by COO John Schappert whose 322,350 buyable shares make up nearly 45 percent of his total stake.It's easy to read into things like this and infer all kinds of assumptions, both positive and negative, about what it means for the company. So instead of doing that, let's all forget the stock market even exists and watch cat videos.
Apple announces dividend and share repurchase program for 2012, expects to spend $45 billion over three years
Surprise, surprise -- Apple just let the cat out of its own bag. In right around a half-hour, the company will officially unwrap plans to initiate a dividend and share repurchase program commencing later this year. 'Course, analysts have been clamoring for such an announcement for quite some time, and with a stock price near $600 and some $100 billion in the bank, the outfit can clearly afford it. More specifically, Apple plans to "initiate a quarterly dividend of $2.65 per share sometime in the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2012, which begins on July 1, 2012." Granted, that's all subject to the Board of Directors giving the ole a-okay, but we highly doubt the company would issue such knowledge without a practical guarantee that everyone is on board. Additionally, the Company's Board of Directors has authorized a $10 billion share repurchase program commencing in the Apple's fiscal 2013, which begins on September 30, 2012; we're told that said program will be executed over three years, with the main goal being to "neutralize the impact of dilution from future employee equity grants and employee stock purchase programs."As for CEO Tim Cook's thoughts on the matter? "We have used some of our cash to make great investments in our business through increased research and development, acquisitions, new retail store openings, strategic prepayments and capital expenditures in our supply chain, and building out our infrastructure. You'll see more of all of these in the future. Even with these investments, we can maintain a war chest for strategic opportunities and have plenty of cash to run our business. So we are going to initiate a dividend and share repurchase program."Naturally, this all shows that Apple is supremely confident in its future, but it doesn't shed any light into potential acquisitions from a technology standpoint. Strangely enough, it was just a few days ago that Mr. Cook ended his new iPad keynote with a promise that 2012 would be chock full of unbelievable things from his company, but it sounds like the only folks celebrating this particular announcement are those with a hand in the stockpile. We don't expect to glean much more than what's given in the presser just past the break, but we'll be liveblogging the actual conference call starting at 9AM ET.
Universal ticker hack takes a look back at a time before NASDAQ (video)
Know what takes the sting out of your crashing stock portfolio? Arduino fun, silly geeks. Alright, so in this case it's an FTDI Basic board, but the spirit of this hack remains the same. A Swarthmore student by the name of Ames Bielenberg picked up where his hobbyist Pops left off and cooked up a Spring Break scheme to reanimate a late 19th century Universal Ticker. What's that, you ask? Only an old timey way of printing out pulses of what those monthly dividends were going to look like. So, while other youngins were going six shots deep, our enterprising tinkerer blacked out the windows, forgot about the bikinis and gently transformed this rare relic (of which there are only 6,000) into a Mac accessory. Using that above mentioned circuitry, lightly modified to accommodate RTS output and sufficient power demands, and the addition of a simple python script to translate that fluctuating index into real-time ticks, Ames was able to breath new life into an antiquated piece of Americana. Hop on past the break for a video demo of this tech walk down memory lane.
Funcom stock price could 'double or triple' depending on success of The Secret World
Funcom has a lot riding on The Secret World, and a new piece at MCV outlines stock prospects for the company as the horror-conspiracy MMORPG's June 19th launch date draws nearer. Funcom stock has risen dramatically on the Norwegian Stock Exchange since last summer, and analysts expect further growth leading up to The Secret World's release. After that, though, the predictions aren't as clear given the significant fluctuations in Funcom's stock price since its 2005 introduction. MCV notes that shares peaked with 2008's Age of Conan release, but prices dropped significantly soon after as the game "didn't make the expected sales impact." Nonetheless, analysts are enthusiastic about prospects for post-Secret World performance. "Funcom is one of the stocks that could double or triple in value. If Funcom's next game is a success, they will definitely end up as the stock of the year," Carnegie's Espen Torgersen says.
Zynga stock jumps after announcing a platform separate from Facebook
One of investors' main concerns when it comes to Zynga is the fact that it piggybacks on Facebook -- very successfully, mind you, but still, its entire multi-million dollar existence relies on a social networking platform that has a mind and billions of dollars of its own. Yesterday, when Zynga announced it will be launching its own gaming/social platform at zynga.com, investors perked up, and Zynga's stock rose 10 percent.Zynga's stock had been trading at $13.43 and it rose to $14.49 by the end of the day yesterday. For once we agree with the stock market, at least in principle. Anything that puts Zynga in its own bubble that can only be reached by choice is a very, very good thing.
Adafruit's Internet of Things Printer combines your love of information, receipts
Love staying connected and using excess paper? Adafruit's got your back with its latest project. The Internet of Things (IoT) printer goes online via an Ethernet jack, printing up data on 2.5 inch wide receipt paper. You can print things like Twitter feeds, news briefs or sports scores using its open source software. Putting the box together requires some soldering and an Arduino, but once you're done, you'll finally be able to live out your fantasies of becoming an old timey stock broker. Video of the printer with a slightly grating Twitter song soundtrack after the break.
Subscriber numbers lead to a new hope for Electronic Arts stock
It's official: As of yesterday, Star Wars: The Old Republic has 1.7 million active subscribers and has sold 2 million copies. That's good news for fans of the game, but it's also good news for both BioWare and Electronic Arts. Apparently, it's seen as very good news for Electronic Arts, as the company's stock has gone up by 6.1% in the announcement's wake. The stock closed on Wednesday at $18.44 a share and closed today at $19.56, an appreciable gain for the company and a sign of good health. This is sharp contrast to some of the early analyst responses before subscriber numbers were released, as well as some suspicions that the game was falling after a few first-patch fumbles. Whether the game will rise further or stabilize where it is remains to be seen, but it's certainly making a strong showing out of the gate, and the financial sector is taking note. [Thanks to Robert for the tip!]
Belfry brings Stocks and Weather, other native iPhone apps to jailbroken iPads
Rounding out the honeymoon period with that freshly jailbroken iPad 2? Well now we have some new apps for you to play with, and you may already be acquainted. iOS hacker Ryan Petrich's most recent project, dubbed Belfry, lets you install stock iPhone apps that are otherwise absent from both versions of Apple's tablet including Clock, Voice Memos, Stocks, Calculator, Compass and Weather. As to why these aren't included already is beyond our knowledge, but at least there's an alternative. Users can install Belfry directly within Cydia for free from the BigBoss repository. If you're looking for proof to seal the deal, you can catch the bashful Belfry and his silent film antics after the break.
Electronic Arts stock drops because of SWTOR fumbles
Electronic Arts' stock appears to be in a bit of trouble following Star Wars: The Old Republic's launch. The company's shares fell by almost 3% to $17.75 US this morning after a stock analyst working with Brean Murray Carret & Co. "cut his price target on the stock to $22 [US] from $28 [US]." In a note to his clients, analyst Todd Mitchell wrote that he felt some "creeping concerns" regarding The Old Republic's performance so far; he added that "initial sales appear to be below expectations, and casual observation of early play is causing us to rethink our churn assumptions." Now we just get to sit back with some popcorn and see whether BioWare can get its business together in time to make a recovery, so take a seat. [Thanks to Chum for the tip!]
