Mediaboss Marketing

NEW YORK -- Three high-ranking executives are expected to leave JPMorgan Chase JPM this week, according to a report. The expected departures come in the wake of the bank's disclosure last week that it lost $2 billion because of trades that went awry. The Wall Street Journal reported that Ina Drew, the bank's chief investment officer; Achilles Macris, who headed the London desk that placed the trades; and trader Javier Martin-Artajo, a managing director on that desk, will leave the bank. There are also reports that Bruno Michel Iksil, known as the "London Whale" for big positions he took in credit markets, may leave JPMorgan, which is the biggest bank in the United States by assets. Shares of JPMorgan fell 29 cents, or 0.78%, to $36.67 in premarket trading Monday. Jamie Dimon's $2 Billion Hangover Yahoo! YHOO CEO Scott Thompson has stepped down and the company has reached a settlement with activist hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb's Third Point LLC. The Internet company said Sunday it appointed Ross Levinsohn, Yahoo!'s global head of media, to serve as interim CEO. A press release from Yahoo! didn't mention the reasons for Thompson's departure, but the changes come amid controversy over his biography. The CEO had said he had received a computer science degree from Stonehill College, but activist shareholder Loeb recently attacked that claim as incorrect. Reports Monday say before he resigned at CEO of Yahoo!, Thompson disclosed to the company's board that he has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. The decision to step down was in part influenced by Thompson's cancer diagnosis, a person familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal. Yahoo! shares rose 1.38% in premarket trading Monday to $15.41. Is Apple's Golden Goose About to Be Cooked? Chesapeake CHK said Friday it received a $3 billion loan from Goldman Sachs and Jefferies Group, giving the company more time to sell assets and lower its debt. Earlier in the day, Chesapeake said it might have to delay some planned asset sales because of debt agreements it had. Over the weekend, reports said Chesapeake expects Carl Icahn to disclose he has taken a significant stake in the oil and gas company. Shares of Chesapeake jumped 7.43% in premarket trading Monday to $15.91. Groupon GRPN , the daily deal site, is expected to post quarterly results after markets close Monday, and analysts forecast a loss of 5 cents a share on revenue of $530 million. Green Mountain Margin Call Latest Sign Market Is Stuck in 1929 The board of Avon Products AVP is considering a buyout offer from Coty that it previously rejected after Coty lifted the terms of the deal, Avon said Sunday. Coty said last week that it would increase its bid for Avon to $24.75 a share, or almost $10.7 billion, from its previous offer of $23.25, or $10 billion. Shares of Avon rose 3.37% in premarket trading Monday to $20.87. -- Written by Joseph Woelfel >To contact the writer of this article, click here: Joseph Woelfel >To submit a news tip, send an email to: tips@thestreet.com.

Read more here:
Stocks to Watch: JPMorgan, Yahoo! (Update 1)

The term mixed might best describe the financial performance of e-commerce retailers and technology providers last week.

Of the 25 stocks in the Internet Retailer Online Retail Index only online jeweler and auctioneer Bidz.com Inc.s stock increased by double digits last week. It posted an 11.1% increase over the prior week. That is despite Bidz.coms release last week of first quarter earnings that were down year over year.

Its first quarter revenue of $16.8 million was 27.3% less than the $23.1 million in revenue in the first quarter of 2011. Bidz.com, No. 205 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, had a net loss of $1.5 million in the 2012 first quarter compared with a $382,000 loss for the same quarter a year ago.

Bidz.com is one of 10 e-commerce companies in the index whose stocks gained last week. Fourteen posted decreases and one, U.S. Auto Parts Network, was flat.

Overall, the Online Retail Index decreased 0.81% last week, a shallower decline than the broader market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 1.67% and the Standard & Poors 500 fell 1.15% last week.

Following are the best-performing stocks last week in the Online Retail Index and the percentage change in stock price for each:

Bidz.com, 11.1%

LivePerson, 6.2%

Netflix, 5.8%

Coastal Contacts, 5.1%

Read more here:
E-commerce stocks best the broader market

By Leon Lazaroff - Tue May 15 16:52:56 GMT 2012

Chinese equities rose for the first time in nine days in New York, led by Internet stocks, on prospects Facebook Inc. (FB)s increased offering price will spur demand for industry assets.

The Bloomberg China-US Equity Index (CH55BN) of the most-traded Chinese shares in the U.S. added 0.7 percent to 96.10 by 12:48 p.m. in New York, halting a 9 percent slump in the eight days through May 14. Renren, a social networking website, surged the most in a month, while Internet bookstore E-Commerce Dangdang Inc. (DANG) climbed the most in three months.

Facebook increased the price range on its IPO to as much as $38 a share from $35, a regulatory filing yesterday showed, implying a market value of as much as $104.2 billion. That would make Facebook worth more than Citigroup Inc. (C) and McDonalds Corp. Beijing-based Renren reported yesterday a first-quarter loss of 3 cents a share, below the median forecast for a 4 cents a share by eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

All the talk on the street about Facebook is driving retail investors in particular to look for stocks that might gain on social media in China, Echo He, a New York-based analyst who covers Chinese Internet stocks for Maxim Group LLC, said in a phone interview. Renrens second-quarter outlook is weak because advertising is weak, but investors are hoping it can do as well as Facebook.

The iShares FTSE China 25 Index Fund, the biggest Chinese exchange-traded fund in the U.S., gained 0.6 percent to $34.93 while the Standard & Poors 500 Index added 0.4 percent to 1,343.86. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.2 percent yesterday to 2,374.84 while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of Chinese companies traded in Hong Kong also broke a string of eight consecutive declines, gaining 1 percent to 10,084.59.

Germanys economy expanded more than forecast in the first quarter, offsetting contractions elsewhere in Europe and helping the region, Chinas largest trading partner, avoid a second recession in three years.

U.S. auto sales running at the fastest pace in four years helped boost manufacturing in the New York region in May more than forecast while strengthening the outlook for a U.S. economic recovery.

Investors do remain very nervous but a better outlook for the U.S. economy is certainly helping to calm matters, Charlie Awdry, portfolio manager of Henderson Global Investors 500 million pound ($801 million) China Opportunities Fund, said in a phone interview from London. We still think Chinese earnings are going to grow, though at a slow pace.

To contact the reporter on this story: Leon Lazaroff in New York at llazaroff@bloomberg.net

Read more from the original source:
Renren Leads ADRs Rebound on Facebook IPO Price: China Overnight

BEIJING--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

SouFun Holdings Limited (NYSE: SFUN - News) (SouFun or the Company), the leading real estate and home furnishing Internet portal in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2012.

First Quarter 2012 Highlights

Revenues grew 43.4% to US$58.5 million compared to the first quarter of 2011.

Operating income was US$13.7 million, an increase of 131.3% compared to the first quarter of 2011. Non-GAAP operating income was US$15.0 million, an increase of 89.0% compared to the first quarter of 2011.

Net income attributable to shareholders was US$14.5 million, an increase of 152.9% compared to the first quarter of 2011. Non-GAAP net income attributable to shareholders was US$14.2 million, an increase of 83.3% compared to the first quarter of 2011.

We are happy to deliver the 6th consecutive better than guidance results after IPO, said Vincent Mo, Executive Chairman of SouFun. SouFuns strong market leadership and sound fundamental plus its creative innovations made its great performance, even though Chinas real estate and home furnishing markets were very dynamic. In addition, we are pleased that SouFun successfully passed its first year SOX 404 audit after IPO and the company will continue its efforts to implement tight internal control.

Financial Results for First Quarter 2012

Revenues

For the first quarter of 2012, SouFun had total revenues of US$58.5 million, an increase of 43.4% compared to US$40.8 million for the same period of 2011. The increase primarily came from the New Home business line.

Here is the original post:
SouFun Announces Unaudited First Quarter 2012 Results

This post has been updated.

OMAHA, Neb. Late last Thursday, hours after Mitt Romney had wrapped up a large rally and one of the most successful fundraisers in Nebraska history, Gary Wilwerding was camped out with about a dozen others inside a small office in a strip mall here that was buzzing with activity.

(Mandel Ngan - AFP/Getty Images)

As he has done for six to eight hours most weeks, Wilwerding, a 64-year-old retiree, was working to train other volunteers and help piece together data gathered from neighborhood canvassing and phonebanking.

His objective: To defend the dot.

The dot would be the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District, an area that then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) narrowly won four years ago despite losing Nebraskas statewide vote to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) by a 15-percentage-point margin.

That win wasnt for naught: Nebraska, along with Maine, is one of only two states in the country that award a portion of their electoral college votes by congressional district, meaning that Obama came away from deep-red Nebraska with one of the states five electoral college votes.

Six months out from November 2012, the Obama camp believes that in a close race, Omahas single vote could make all the difference. And volunteers like Wilwerding a self-described independent who has supported Republicans in the past are working to keep their hold on what has come to be known as Obamaha.

I think nationally, if this one little area has that one electoral vote again, it says something about the people of Nebraska ... that there are people in the Midwest here that are very committed to the ideals of the Democratic Party, Wilwerding said late last week in an interview at the Obama campaigns Omaha headquarters. I would hate people to think that thats not the way it is. Nebraskas got an opportunity, and last time, they came through with shining colors.

The 2008 election marked the first time in history that the Cornhusker State had split its electoral votes since a 1991 law made it one of only two states in the country able to do so.

Link:
In Omaha, Obama campaign works to ‘defend the dot’