Mediaboss Marketing

Germany's Internet community, gathered at the world's biggest high-tech fair, was up in arms Thursday at a draft law forcing Google and other similar sites to pay media firms for content.

"This draft is completely backward," fumed Bernhard Rohleder, director general of Bitkom, the German federation representing high-tech industries.

"We understand that media firms are looking for new ways to make money" when pitted against the Internet and free press, but a new tax "cannot be a substitute for developing genuine strategies for the digital era," he added.

The draft legislation, dubbed the "lex Google" as it targets mainly the Internet giant's "Google News" service, has recently been drawn up by Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right coalition.

Demanded for many years by powerful media groups such as Axel Springer and Bertelsmann, the government will put before parliament a law forcing Google and certain blogs and other sites to remunerate the papers providing the content.

The media groups argue that a user of "Google News" can simply read the short summaries offered on the front page to get his or her fix of the daily news, rather than clicking through to the paper concerned.

The US Internet giant, so the argument goes, therefore benefits via advertising without paying a penny for the actual content.

On the other side of the fence is an unusual coalition bringing together Google and campaigners for Internet freedom, who say the papers receive more clicks from the service and also gain more visibility.

Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google, who opened the CeBIT high-tech fair along with the leaders of Germany and Brazil, said the tax "could slow the development of the Internet," according to local news agency DPA.

"It's a bit like the Yellow Pages paying companies for showing consumers their names and addresses," said the blogger Stefan Niggemaier, who believes the tax is akin to a government hand-out to the rich and powerful media lobby.

See the article here:
German Internet community cries foul over Google news law

From Groupon

The trick, the Mad Money host explained, is to forget about anything that seems the slightest bit sexy. He would avoid the red hot dotcoms, especially the Internet initial public offerings that generate a lot of hype.

When you've got an Internet IPO that's got tons of hype, yet not much in the way of earnings, the only way to profit is by getting in on the actual deal, and then selling into the initial spike, Cramer said. I know I've said this before, but I'll keep repeating it either until I'm blue in the face or people stop making the rookie mistake of paying up for these names after they've begun trading.

Investors should, however, look for overlooked and undervalued dot-coms that have been around a while, he continued. Take IAC/InterActiveCorp

The recent Internet IPOs are still trying to figure out their business models, but IACs formative years passed long ago. Since founded in 1986 by billionaire Barry Diller, the company has been through numerous incarnations. It was one of the hottest growth stocks of the 1990s. The company made a number of acquisitions and became so large and complex that few people could wrap their heads around it, Cramer said. In 2008, the company broke itself up into five separate public companies: a home shopping network, a travel and leisure business, Ticketmaster and Lending Tree. IAC kept its core and high-growth Internet business, though.

Perhaps became of tis contused legacy, Cramer said IAC has largely been dismissed or ignored by most investors. Even so, the stock is up 248 percent since the generational low in March 2009. It rallied 49 percent in 2011 and has posted a 10 percent gain year-to-date.

Cramer thinks IACs stock has more room to run because the company has a proven ability to turn a profit. Match.com, for example, is a subscription-based business model that attracted 1.7 million core subscribers last quarter. In turn, Match.coms revenues were up 46 percent year-over-year last quarter.

(RELATED: 12 Unique Dating Sites)

Meanwhile, the company also has a strong search market, where search revenues increased by 35 percent year-over-year last quarter.

So IAC might not be as exciting as some of the red hot dotcom names out there, but Cramer thinks it will likely produce solid profits for your portfolio something every investor can get excited about.

Continued here:
Cramer: IAC/InterActiveCorp Is a Buy

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire -03/08/12)- China's internet stocks have taken a beating of late. On Tuesday alone, TickerSpy's China Internet Stocks Index (CHDOT) collapsed more than 4 percent after Chinese officials cut the country's 2012 target growth rate to 7.5 percent -- the lowest year-on-year growth projection in eight years. The Paragon Report examines investing opportunities in China's Internet Sector and provides equity research on Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU - News) and Ctrip.com International Ltd. (NASDAQ: CTRP - News). Access to the full company reports can be found at:

http://www.paragonreport.com/SOHU

http://www.paragonreport.com/CTRP

China's Premier called "expanding consumer demand" one of his priorities for the upcoming year. The move comes after a decade in which building vast infrastructure projects and boosting the country's exports took center stage in the Chinese economy, Reuters reports. Last year, China's gross domestic product (GDP), or annual economic output, grew by 9.2%. In 2010 gross domestic product grew 10.4%.

"I wish to stress that in setting a slightly lower GDP growth rate, we hope... to guide people in all sectors to focus their work on accelerating the transformation of the pattern of economic development and making economic development more sustainable and efficient," Premier Wen Jiabao explained.

The Paragon Report provides investors with an excellent first step in their due diligence by providing daily trading ideas, and consolidating the public information available on them. For more investment research on China's Internet Sector register with at http://www.paragonreport.com and get exclusive access to our numerous stock reports and industry newsletters.

In the internet sector, the number of people online in China stood at 513 million by the end of 2011, according to a recent report from eMarketer. Although the report predicts growth to slow, with the internet reaching a majority of people only by 2015, China still has the world's largest population exposed to online ads.

Despite a lack of Facebook, China's social networking population reached nearly 257 million in 2011. Meanwhile half of internet users have been attracted by local weibo and other domestic social networking sites, with the proportion expected to rise to nearly two-thirds by 2014.

The Paragon Report has not been compensated by any of the above-mentioned publicly traded companies. Paragon Report is compensated by other third party organizations for advertising services. We act as an independent research portal and are aware that all investment entails inherent risks. Please view the full disclaimer at http://www.paragonreport.com/disclaimer

Read more:
China's Growth Targets Slide -- Shares of Sohu and Ctrip Fall

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire -03/08/12)- China's internet stocks have taken a beating of late. On Tuesday alone, TickerSpy's China Internet Stocks Index (CHDOT) collapsed more than 4 percent after Chinese officials cut the country's 2012 target growth rate to 7.5 percent -- the lowest year-on-year growth projection in eight years. Five Star Equities examines investing opportunities in China's Internet Sector and provides Stock research on Sina Corporation (NASDAQ: SINA - News) and Renren Inc. (NYSE: RENN - News). Access to the full company reports can be found at:

http://www.fivestarequities.com/SINA

http://www.fivestarequities.com/RENN

China's premier called "expanding consumer demand" one of his priorities for the upcoming year. The move comes after a decade in which building vast infrastructure projects and boosting the country's exports took center stage in the Chinese economy, Reuters reports. Last year, China's gross domestic product (GDP), or annual economic output, grew by 9.2%. In 2010 gross domestic product grew 10.4%.

"I wish to stress that in setting a slightly lower GDP growth rate, we hope... to guide people in all sectors to focus their work on accelerating the transformation of the pattern of economic development and making economic development more sustainable and efficient," Premier Wen Jiabao explained.

Five Star Equities releases regular market updates on China's Internet Sector so investors can stay ahead of the crowd and make the best investment decisions to maximize their returns. Take a few minutes to register with us free at http://www.fivestarequities.com and get exclusive access to our numerous stock reports and industry newsletters.

In the internet sector, the number of people online in China stood at 513 million by the end of 2011, according to a recent report from eMarketer. Although the report predicts growth to slow, with the internet reaching a majority of people only by 2015, China still has the world's largest population exposed to online ads.

Despite a lack of Facebook, China's social networking population reached nearly 257 million in 2011. Meanwhile half of internet users have been attracted by local weibo and other domestic social networking sites, with the proportion expected to rise to nearly two-thirds by 2014.

Five Star Equities provides Market Research focused on equities that offer growth opportunities, value, and strong potential return. We strive to provide the most up-to-date market activities. We constantly create research reports and newsletters for our members. Five Star Equities has not been compensated by any of the above-mentioned companies. We act as an independent research portal and are aware that all investment entails inherent risks. Please view the full disclaimer at:

http://www.fivestarequities.com/disclaimer

More here:
China Cuts Growth Rate -- Shares of Sina and Renren Retreat

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire -03/08/12)- China's internet stocks have taken a beating of late. On Tuesday alone, TickerSpy's China Internet Stocks Index (CHDOT) collapsed more than 4 percent after Chinese officials cut the country's 2012 target growth rate to 7.5 percent -- the lowest year-on-year growth projection in eight years. Five Star Equities examines investing opportunities in China's Internet Sector and provides Stock research on Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU - News) and E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc. (NYSE: DANG - News). Access to the full company reports can be found at:

http://www.fivestarequities.com/BIDU

http://www.fivestarequities.com/DANG

China's premier called "expanding consumer demand" one of his priorities for the upcoming year. The move comes after a decade in which building vast infrastructure projects and boosting the country's exports took center stage in the Chinese economy, Reuters reports. Last year, China's gross domestic product (GDP), or annual economic output, grew by 9.2%. In 2010 gross domestic product grew 10.4%.

"I wish to stress that in setting a slightly lower GDP growth rate, we hope... to guide people in all sectors to focus their work on accelerating the transformation of the pattern of economic development and making economic development more sustainable and efficient," Premier Wen Jiabao explained.

Five Star Equities releases regular market updates on China's Internet Sector so investors can stay ahead of the crowd and make the best investment decisions to maximize their returns. Take a few minutes to register with us free at http://www.fivestarequities.com and get exclusive access to our numerous stock reports and industry newsletters.

In the internet sector, the number of people online in China stood at 513 million by the end of 2011, according to a recent report from eMarketer. Although the report predicts growth to slow, with the internet reaching a majority of people only by 2015, China still has the world's largest population exposed to online ads.

Despite a lack of Facebook, China's social networking population reached nearly 257 million in 2011. Meanwhile half of internet users have been attracted by local weibo and other domestic social networking sites, with the proportion expected to rise to nearly two-thirds by 2014.

Five Star Equities provides Market Research focused on equities that offer growth opportunities, value, and strong potential return. We strive to provide the most up-to-date market activities. We constantly create research reports and newsletters for our members. Five Star Equities has not been compensated by any of the above-mentioned companies. We act as an independent research portal and are aware that all investment entails inherent risks. Please view the full disclaimer at:

http://www.fivestarequities.com/disclaimer

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Shares of Baidu and Dangdang Slide as China's Growth Prospects Slow