LOS ANGELES (AP) --�Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG ) new music service offers a lot of eye candy to go with the tunes. The song selection of around 18 million tracks is comparable to popular services such as Spotify and Rhapsody, and a myriad of playlists curated along different genres provides a big playground for music lovers.
The All Access service represents Google's attempt to grab a bigger piece of the digital music market as more people stream songs over mobile phones. Such services are also meant to further wed smartphone users to Google's Android operating system, where the search leader makes money from advertising and transactions on its digital content store, Google Play.
For a monthly fee, All Access lets you listen to as much music as you want over an Internet connection. You can also download songs onto mobile devices for smooth playback later when you don't have cell phone or Wi-Fi access.
It's worth a try for the discounted monthly rate of $8 if you sign up by the end of June. Those who sign up later will pay $10 a month, the same amount charged by the main competitors, Spotify and Rhapsody. Either way, you get the first month free and can cancel at any time. All Access works on the free Google Play Music app for Android devices and over Web browsers on computers -- but not on the iPhone. (Spotify and Rhapsody work on both Android and the iPhone).
Best Internet Companies To Invest In Right Now: Google Inc.(GOOG)
Google Inc. maintains an index of Web sites and other online content for users, advertisers, and Google network members and other content providers. It offers AdWords, an auction-based advertising program; AdSense program, which enables Web sites that are part of the Google Network to deliver ads from its AdWords advertisers; Google Display, a display advertising network that comprises the videos, text, images, and other interactive ads; DoubleClick Ad Exchange, a real-time auction marketplace for the trading of display ad space; and YouTube that provides video, interactive, and other ad formats for advertisers. The company also provides Google Mobile that optimizes Google?s applications for mobile devices in browser and downloadable form; and enables advertisers to run search ad campaigns on mobile devices, as well as Google Local that provides local information on the Web; and Google Boost for small businesses to participate in the ads auction. In addition, it offers And roid, an open source mobile software platform; Google Chrome OS, an open source operating system; Google Chrome, a Web browser; Google TV, a platform for the consumers to use the television and the Internet on a single screen; and Google Books platform to discover, search, and consume content from printed books online. Further, the company provides Google Apps, a cloud computing suite of message and collaboration tools, which includes Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, and Google Sites; Google Search Appliance that offers real-time search of business and intranet applications, and public Web sites; Google Site Search, a custom search engine; Google Commerce Search for online retail enterprises; Google Checkout to make online shopping and payments streamlined and secure; Google Maps Application Programming Interface; and Google Earth Enterprise, a firewall software solution for imagery and data visualization. Google Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Chris Neiger]
A new hope
Right now,�Google's� (NASDAQ: GOOG ) �Android and Apple's iOS take a whopping 85% of the global smartphone mobile OS market share. BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY ) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) currently spar over the third place position, but according to the latest calculations from Gartner, Microsoft's platform is expected to far outpace the Canadian company's OS by 2017 --�and leave BlackBerry in a realm of potential mobile insignificance. - [By Sean Williams]
Barnes & Noble found a temporary solution to this problem with its digital e-readers, but even they haven't sold as well as the company would have anticipated. The problem is that a slew of new competitors -- including Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) with its Internet-capable iPad, Google� (NASDAQ: GOOG ) �with its Nexus tablet, and Amazon with the Kindle Fire -- have hit the e-reader market and are significantly more hip than B&N and have a lot more cash to throw at marketing, as well as research and development. Seriously, what did you think was going to happen with Apple, Google, and Amazon boasting $137 billion, $50 billion, and $8 billion in cash compared to B&N with its paltry $160 million in cash as of last quarter? Not to mention that Apple, Google, and Amazon are predominantly digital companies while B&N is almost entirely brick-and-mortar-based.
- [By Chris Hill]
Notes from the most recent meeting of the Federal Reserve were released early. The�Fed is thinking about ending its quantitative-easing policy this summer. The meeting was held before the release of weaker-than-expected jobs numbers. In this installment of MarketFoolery, our analysts discuss the investing�implications�for Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) , Google (NASDAQ: GOOG ) , and Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN ) .
- [By Reuters]
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesMicrosoft has named Satya Nadella, executive vice president of its cloud and enterprise group, as its new CEO. SEATTLE -- Microsoft named 22-year company veteran Satya Nadella as its next chief executive officer Tuesday and said co-founder Bill Gates would step down as chairman and advise the new CEO on technology, marking an epochal change of control at the company that drove the PC revolution. Nadella, a 46-year old born in India who led the creation of Microsoft's (MSFT) Internet-based, or "cloud" computing services, is only Microsoft's third CEO in 39 years, taking over from Steve Ballmer, who inherited the job from Gates in 2000. The move ends a five-month search process at the Redmond, Wash.-based company, triggered by the August announcement of Ballmer's decision to retire. That was longer than many investors had expected. "It's a relief this process is over," said Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets. "Many investors view it as the 'safe pick' as Mr. Nadella is a born-and-bred Redmond insider. But the uphill battle continues for Microsoft on its path to growth." Microsoft's new chairman John Thompson, who led the search for a CEO, said the process went as planned. "We aimed to complete the process within four to six months, and we met that goal," Thompson said in a video statement on Microsoft's website. "After reviewing all of the candidates, Satya was our first and unanimous choice." Gates said Nadella's experience in cloud computing made him the right man to lead Microsoft, as the company struggles to find its feet in the new arena of mobile computing. "Satya's got the right background to lead the company during this era," said Gates. "There's a challenge in mobile computing. There's an opportunity in the cloud." Thompson didn't mention other candidates, although sources close to the company have told Reuters that at one time Ford Motor (F) CEO Alan Mulally was a leading contender. PC
Best Internet Companies To Invest In Right Now: Symantec Corporation(SYMC)
Symantec Corporation provides security, storage, and systems management solutions internationally. The company?s Consumer segment delivers Internet security, PC tune-up, and online backup solutions and services to individual users and home offices. Its Security and Compliance segment provides solutions for endpoint security and management, compliance, messaging management, data loss prevention, encryption, and authentication services to large, medium, and small-sized businesses, as well as offers solutions through its software-as-a-service (SaaS) security offerings. This segment?s products enable customers to secure, provision, and remotely manage their laptops, PCs, mobile devices, and servers. The company?s Storage and Server Management segment provides storage and server management, backup, archiving, and data protection solutions across heterogeneous storage and server platforms, as well as solutions delivered through its SaaS offerings to large, medium, and small-s ized businesses. Symantec?s Services segment offers implementation services and solutions, including consulting, business critical services, education, and managed security services. The company also provides various enterprise support offerings, such as annual maintenance support contracts, including content, upgrades, and technical support. It sells its products through its eCommerce platform, as well as through distributors, direct marketers, Internet-based resellers, system builders, ISPs, and retail locations worldwide. Symantec markets and sells its products through distributors, retailers, direct marketers, Internet-based resellers, original equipment manufacturers, system builders, and Internet service providers; and its e-commerce channels, as well as direct sales force, value-added and large account resellers, and system integrators. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Wallace Witkowski]
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) �shares dropped 7% to $19.44 on heavy volume, after a brief halted at the closing bell, as the security software company fired Chief Executive Steve Bennett.
- [By Vanina Egea] and earnings growth (which came in better than expected on the last reported quarter), profit margins and other profitability ratios.
Additionally, I will evaluate which institutional investors bought the stock in the recent quarters (institutional backup can tell a lot about a stock), and the initiatives that the company is putting in motion in order to ameliorate its sales and margins.
Earnings
The first step is analyzing Symantec Corp�� earnings growth. I am looking for companies that are able to expand both their quarterly and annual earnings by more than 15% a year. Last quarter the company generated 13% quarterly EPS growth when compared to the same quarter last year. Thus, I am not encouraged by SYMC�� numbers. Past growth winners (Apple, Baidu, etc.) generated consistent quarterly EPS growth above 15% and I am certainly looking for that level before investing.
In addition, SYMC generated three-year average annual EPS growth of 10%. This is an important metric to follow in growth stocks because it highlights how well the stock grew in the past years. I like to invest in companies that are growing consistently.
Revenue
Let's take a look at SYMC麓s revenue growth. This is a key metric that needs to be analyzed before investing in a company, as it is one of the scarce figures that cannot be modified through accounting tricks and similar dodges.
The company reported a 5% quarterly revenue drop year over year. On the contrary, I look for companies that generate more than 15% in quarterly growth.
When betting on a company, an investor wants to see sales grow or improve over time ���nd not just in the last reported quarter. Looking at the company�� financials in comparison to previous years will give participants a much better idea of how well a company is doing. Symantec Corp generated a three-year average annual sales growth rate of 4%.
A New Strategic Plan
Accepting the problems in its
Top Sliver Stocks To Buy For 2014: Amazon.com Inc.(AMZN)
Amazon.com, Inc. operates as an online retailer in North America and internationally. It operates retail Web sites, including amazon.com and amazon.ca. The company serves consumers through its retail Web sites and focuses on selection, price, and convenience. It also offers programs that enable sellers to sell their products on its Web sites, and their own branded Web sites. In addition, the company serves developer customers through Amazon Web Services, which provides access to technology infrastructure that developers can use to enable virtually various type of business. Further, it manufactures and sells the Kindle e-reader. Additionally, the company provides fulfillment; miscellaneous marketing and promotional agreements, such as online advertising; and co-branded credit cards. Amazon.com, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Adam Levine-Weinberg]
While Target has a strong brand and a potentially significant international expansion opportunity, it faces pressure from two directions. Competition from online merchants like Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN ) will lead to pricing pressure in electronics and other hard goods, while other discounters like TJX (NYSE: TJX ) are beating Target at its own "cheap chic" game. At this point, I believe that Target stock is due for a correction, because the stock price has run well ahead of the company's fundamentals.
- [By Tim Beyers]
All Hemlock Grove has to do is get close to these numbers with hardcore horror fans. Presuming the buzz that follows is enthusiastic enough to keep viewers engaged, Netflix could have a niche hit on its hands in the same way that True Blood has grown into a win for HBO. At the very least, you can bet Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN ) is paying close attention as it prepares to launch its own slate of self-produced programs.
Best Internet Companies To Invest In Right Now: IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI)
IAC/InterActiveCorp engages in the Internet business in the United States and internationally. The company�s Search segment develops, markets, and distributes various downloadable toolbars; provides search, reference, and content services through its destination search and other Websites, including Ask.com and Dictionary.com; and aggregates and integrates local advertising and content for distribution to publishers on Web and mobile platforms, as well as markets and distributes mobile applications through which it provides search and additional services. Its Match segment offers subscription-based and advertiser-supported online personals services through its Websites comprising Match.com, Chemistry.com, OurTime.com, BlackPeopleMeet.com, and OkCupid.com, as well as through mobile applications and Meetic-branded Websites. The company�s ServiceMagic segment offers Market Match service that matches consumers with service professionals; Exact Match service, which enables con sumers to review service professional profiles and select the service professional that meets their specific needs; and 1800Contractor.com, an online directory of service professionals. This segment also offers Website design and hosting services. Its Media and Other segment operates CollegeHumor.com, an online entertainment Website that targets young males; Vimeo, a Website on which users can upload, share, and view video; and Pronto.com, a comparison search engine. This segment also engages in the creation of video content for various distribution platforms; and operates as an Internet retailer of footwear and related apparel and accessories, as well as focuses on multimedia business. The company was formerly known as InterActiveCorp and changed its name to IAC/InterActiveCorp in July 2004. IAC/InterActiveCorp was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Eric Volkman]
AP/Jim Mone Is Bitcoin a slam-dunk as the currency of the future? The Sacramento Kings seem to think so. The NBA team recently became the first pro sports franchise to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment. Basketball fans will be able not only to purchase tickets and merchandise online with the digital cryptocurrency, but also to use it to buy souvenirs at the arena come game time. The team is the latest in a growing number of commercial entities finding a slot in their virtual cash registers for Bitcoin. Little by little, momentum is building for a widespread acceptance of the upstart currency. Overstocking The Kings' drive towards the Bitcoin basket comes a week after the big online retailer Overstock.com (OSTK) announced it would start accepting payments in the currency. The move was an instant hit -- the first day the company had the nifty Bitcoin button as an option in its shopping cart, its customers used it to make more than 800 transactions for total sales of around $130,000. Overstock.com was by no means the first online marketplace to accept the currency. Numerous web retailers have been doing so for some time. It's a natural fit, %VIRTUAL-article-sponsoredlinks in a way, since Bitcoin exists solely in the digital realm. Customers booking flights on discount travel operator CheapAir.com, for example, can use Bitcoin to buy their tickets, as can love seekers on dating site OkCupid, owned by IAC/InteractiveCorp (IACI). These digital players are going to have plenty of company. Earlier this month, online games purveyor Zynga (ZNGA) started to dip its toes in the water, announcing that it was testing Bitcoin payments for some of its titles in conjunction with specialist transaction facilitator BitPay. But if Overstock.com didn't get there first, it's still the largest and most prominent e-retailer to take the Bitcoin plunge thus far. This is a big win for the currency and its advocates, and Overstock.com will surely be followed by more well-known comp
- [By Chris Isidore]
Newsweek, the news magazine whose print version was abandoned late last year, was sold in August by IAC (IACI) to another all-digital news company, IBT Media.
- [By Monica Gerson]
IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) shares fell 14.51% to $49.50 in the pre-market trading after the company reported downbeat Q3 revenue.
Posted-In: PreMarket LosersNews Movers & Shakers Pre-Market Outlook Markets
Best Internet Companies To Invest In Right Now: Yahoo! Inc.(YHOO)
Yahoo! Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital media company that delivers personalized digital content and experiences through various devices worldwide. It offers online properties and services to users; and a range of marketing services to businesses. The company?s communications and communities offerings include Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Messenger, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, Flickr, and Connected TV, which provide a range of communication and social services to users and small businesses enabling users to organize into groups and share knowledge, common interests, and photos. Its search products comprise Yahoo! Search and Yahoo! Local, available free to users to navigate the Internet and discover content. The company?s marketplaces offerings and services include Yahoo! Shopping, Yahoo! Travel, Yahoo! Real Estate, Yahoo! Autos, and Yahoo! Small Business, which allow users to research specific topics, products, services, or areas of interest by review ing and exchanging information, obtaining contact details, or considering offers from providers of goods, services, or parties with similar interests. Its media offerings comprise Yahoo! Homepage, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Sports, Yahoo! Finance, My Yahoo!, Yahoo! Toolbar, Yahoo! Entertainment & Lifestyles, Yahoo! Contributor Network, and Yahoo! Pulse, which are designed to engage users with online content and services on the Web. The company also offers marketing services, such as display and search advertising, listing-based services, and commerce-based transactions to advertisers. In addition, it provides software and platform offerings for third-party developers, advertisers, and publishers, such as Yahoo! Developer Network, Yahoo! Open Strategy, Yahoo! Application Platform, Yahoo! Updates, Yahoo! Query Language, and Yahoo! Search BOSS. The company has strategic alliances with Nokia and ABC News, Inc. Yahoo! Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Californi a.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Chris Hill]
Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO ) made it official this week when it announced that it had acquired Tumblr for $1.1 billion. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer promised "not to screw it up." What will the acquisition mean for Yahoo!? What will the deal mean for Tumblr? And what will the deal mean for investors? In this installment of Motley Fool Money, our analysts tackle those questions.
- [By James Brumley]
If the idea of splitting up eBay and PayPal rings a bell, there are a couple of possible reasons. One is the fact that eBay has considered doing so before. Several times, in fact. It came up in 2009 when both Skype and PayPal were on the chopping block, again in early 2012 when then-PayPal president Scott Thompson left his post for a position at the helm of Yahoo (YHOO), and it’s an idea that’s been floated to lesser degrees several times since eBay acquired PayPal back in 2002. Each time the issue has been pressed, eBay decided to hold into the payment-making division.
Best Internet Companies To Invest In Right Now: eBay Inc.(EBAY)
eBay Inc. provides online platforms, services, and tools to help individuals and merchants in online and mobile commerce and payments in the United States and internationally. Its Marketplaces segment operates ecommerce platform eBay.com; vertical shopping sites, such as StubHub, Fashion, Motors, and Half.com; and classifieds Websites, including Den Bl�Avis, BilBasen, Gumtree, Kijiji, LoQUo, Marktplaats.nl, mobile.de, Alamaula, Rent.com, eBay Anuncios, eBay Kleinanzeigen, and eBay Annunci, as well as provides advertising services. The company?s Payments segment offers payment and settlement services for consumers and merchants on and off eBay Websites and other merchant Websites. This segment operates PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to send and receive payments online and through mobile devices; Bill Me Later that enables the United States merchants to offer, the United States consumers to obtain, credit at the point of sale for ecommerce and mobile tra nsactions; Zong, which allows users with mobile phones to purchase digital goods and have the transactions charged to their phone bill; and BillSAFE that enables customers pay for purchases upon receipt of an invoice. Its GSI segment offers an ecommerce services suite for enterprise clients that operate in general merchandise categories, including apparel, sporting goods, toys and baby, health and beauty, and home; and marketing services comprising full-service digital agency, enterprise email marketing, mobile advertising, affiliate marketing, advertisement retargeting, and in-depth analytics services. The company also offers X.commerce platform that provides software developers access to the company?s applications programming interfaces to develop functionality for various merchants; and Magento Connect, which allows developers to market and sell add-on functionality and solutions to merchants that use a Magento storefront. eBay Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquarter ed in San Jose, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]
Ebay is an established company that has made a name for itself pioneering internet commerce. Reported in Sunday’s New York Times magazine story “Buy It Now,” eBay is no longer the online auction house of old. The stock has moved higher in recent years and is currently surging higher. Over the last four quarters, earnings have been mixed while revenues have been rising which has left investors pleased. Relative to its peers and sector, eBay has been a weak year-to-date performer. Look for Ebay to OUTPERFORM.
- [By Kevin Chen]
After launching iOS developer tools in March, eBay's (NASDAQ: EBAY ) PayPal has unveiled more tools to help Android developers accept both PayPal and credit card payments on mobile.
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