Here's a roundup of the latest financial news and its impact on the tech sector.
9 min read
Think the credit crisis doesn't have anything to do with the tech industry? Think again. Credit troubles affect everything from large Silicon Valley stalwarts down to scrappy Web 2.0 start-ups. Here's a roundup of the latest financial news and its impact on the tech sector.
The long list of companies planning staff cuts ranges from Pandora to Tesla Motors, leaving a slew of highly trained workers looking for new opportunities.
(Posted in Webware by Don Reisinger) October 17, 2008 8:31 AM PDT
Because the numbers on solar energy investments are looking better and comparatively safer, the business predicts rapid growth despite the economic crisis.
(Posted in Green Tech by Martin LaMonica) October 17, 2008 4:00 AM PDT
CEO Jim Whitehurst says companies consolidating their tech infrastructure and reducing spending will consider open-source software. But will it help enterprise-level providers?
(Posted in Business Tech by Alex Serpo) October 16, 2008 7:09 AM PDT
Venture capital and media investments in 12 virtual worlds have reached $493 million this year, according to a market specialist. Maybe funding isn't as low as we think.
(Posted in Webware by Don Reisinger) October 16, 2008 6:47 AM PDT
Web auctioneer says fourth-quarter profit could be as low as 25 cents per share. The company earned 39 cents per share during the same quarter last year.
(Posted in Digital Media by Greg Sandoval) October 15, 2008 1:51 PM PDT
Online-advertising budgets are likely to be flat or decreasing, and companies such as Google and InterActiveCorp that on it can expect to feel the pain, financial analysts say.
(Posted in Digital Media by Stephen Shankland) October 15, 2008 7:29 AM PDT
Amazon shares falls nearly 10 percent, while Apple gets no love despite MacBook announcements, in a day that saw investors selling off stocks across the board.
(Posted in Business Tech by Dawn Kawamoto) October 14, 2008 2:04 PM PDT
Are there any IT companies too big to fail? Don't bet on it--and that's the message coming out of Intel's earnings.
(Posted in Coop's Corner by Charles Cooper)
October 14, 2008 12:25 PM PDT
Overconfidence remains strong among start-up CEOs, a quick survey shows. A little more fear might help more young companies survive the tanking economy.
(Posted in Webware by Rafe Needleman) October 13, 2008 10:00 AM PDT
If you bought shares in most tech companies in October 1999 and sold them today, you would have lost money. And then there's inflation.
(Posted in Business Tech by Declan McCullagh)
October 13, 2008 4:00 AM PDT
A very long week of losses
What with one stock sell-off followed by another, the tech sector's biggest names have all taken their lumps. Ditto for the start-up crowd.
The last time Silicon Valley got hit by this kind of a financial storm, it remade itself and emerged stronger. Will Darwin apply this time around as well?
(Posted in Coop's Corner by Charles Cooper)
October 10, 2008 12:33 PM PDT
Far from Wall Street, attendees of London's Future of Web Apps confab aren't panicking. Is it entrepreneur's pluck or old-fashioned naivete?
• AOL to developers: Put passion over profit (Posted in The Social by Caroline McCarthy) October 10, 2008 12:00 PM PDT
Video: Web 2.0 casualties?
Fans of Twitter, Pandora, Skype, Zillow, and seven other Web
companies had better hope these start-ups find creative business plans to weather the financial downturn.
Some popular Web companies may be vulnerable to the economic slowdown. Do they face an ill fate similar to that of the beloved delivery service of the last bubble?
(Posted in Webware by Rafe Needleman) October 10, 2008 7:30 AM PDT
Microsoft Business Division President Stephen Elop says the software giant is trying to get the message out that it can help its customers save money in tough times.
(Posted in Beyond Binary by Ina Fried)
October 10, 2008 11:47 AM PDT
Industry outlook quickly getting downgraded as the economy falters.
(Posted in Nanotech: The Circuits Blog by Brooke Crothers) October 10, 2008 10:20 AM PDT
From Sequoia Capital to angel investor Ron Conway, the message is clear and persistent: prepare for the worst.
(Posted in Digital Media by Dawn Kawamoto) October 10, 2008 7:07 AM PDT
Early-stage tech companies, please chime in: are you losing sleep over the current economic crisis, or are you feeling confident? And how long will your cash last?
(Posted in Webware by Rafe Needleman) October 9, 2008 8:36 AM PDT
Big Blue releases preliminary earnings, saying earnings per share and net income for the third quarter were up about 20 percent over the previous year.
• Does IBM signal strength for tech spending? (Posted in Business Tech by Jennifer Guevin) October 9, 2008 4:00 AM PDT
Making smart cuts is part of winning in downturns. But no one ever cost-cut there way to greatness. Now is the time to go on the attack. It just takes courage, cash, and conviction.
(Posted in Outside the Lines by Christopher Lochhead) October 8, 2008 9:34 AM PDT
The Internet company also sets a new 52-week low as its battered stock falls to a level it has not seen since May 2003.
(Posted in Digital Media by Dawn Kawamoto) October 8, 2008 8:12 AM PDT
After this perfect storm, brewed out of years of habit and taken down by mortgages for the masses, consumers and businesses will be far more conservative in their spending habits.
• Video: Talking with Newt Gingrich on tech, bailout (Posted in Outside the Lines by Dan Farber) October 7, 2008 5:29 PM PDT
Tech stocks plummet with the rest
As the Dow drops below 10,000, CNET's Kara Tsuboi and Ina Fried
discuss which stocks have been hit particularly hard and why the
financial crisis has hit both enterprise and consumer companies.
Why did typically stable SAP lead the way into the cellar? The normal rules of the high-tech industry's economics may not apply as the overall economy seems to unravel.
• Podcast: Catching our breath, post-tech selloff (Posted in Business Tech by Jim Kerstetter) October 6, 2008 4:00 PM PDT
Amid troubled economic climate, public companies like SAP and Netflix are retooling Wall Street's expectations before they even report results of their third quarter.
(Posted in Digital Media by Dawn Kawamoto) October 6, 2008 5:34 PM PDT
Bailout or not, the tumble begins
The House of Representatives stuns economy watchers by failing to pass a bailout bill. Days later, a revised bailout bill passes the Senate, but the markets remain spooked and frantic.
Politicians are turning cartwheels to connect the meltdown on Wall Street to Main Street. But the companies along Hwy. 101 are just as vulnerable to a crummy economy.
(Posted in Business Tech by Jim Kerstetter) October 2, 2008 4:35 PM PDT
A shaky overall economy inevitably spells trouble for the tech industry. Here's a breakdown of how it could play out.
(Posted in Business Tech by Jim Kerstetter) October 2, 2008 4:34 PM PDT
Originally a three-page $700 billion bill, House-approved bailout package now includes surveillance provisions and tax credits for green tech, SunKist tuna, and wooden arrows.
• New phishing attempt targets bank customers (Posted in Politics and Law by Declan McCullagh) October 3, 2008 10:07 AM PDT
Money is getting tight, but that doesn't mean start-ups should give up, say investors at the Startonomics conference in San Francisco.
(Posted in Webware by Rafe Needleman) October 2, 2008 12:35 PM PDT
Tech mergers and acquisitions fell by a third compared to a year ago. Decline fueled by credit tightening and havoc on Wall Street, says a new report by The 451 Group.
• Yahoo to cut its workforce? (Posted in Business Tech by Dawn Kawamoto) October 2, 2008 8:32 AM PDT
The Senate passes a revised bill that adds tax cuts and other add-ons, in addition to the $700 billion financial rescue.
(Posted in Business Tech by Ina Fried) October 1, 2008 7:20 PM PDT
A lack of credit affects businesses from tech giants to mom-and-pop stores to all manner of consumers.
(Posted in Business Tech by Ina Fried) September 29, 2008 2:49 PM PDT
Stocks, including those of technology companies, took a beating after the House of Representatives fails to pass the government bailout of the financial sector.
• Apple shares drop 17.5 percent (Posted in Business Tech by Ina Fried) September 29, 2008 11:29 AM PDT
At the Web 2.0 Expo in New York, just a stone's throw from the turmoil on Wall Street, it was hard not to notice the financial-industry meltdown.
(Posted in The Social by Caroline McCarthy)
September 19, 2008 12:00 PM PDT
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