Google paid clicks data are generating debate

SAN FRANCISCO - New data confirming slowing growth in Google Inc.'s paid clicks renewed debate Thursday on Wall Street over whether the Internet search company's revenue can quickly adjust to changes it made in how it generates clicks.

Citing data that comScore Inc. released after the market closed on Wednesday, analysts said growth in Google's click-through rate has nearly ground to a halt.

Google's stock dropped $16.09, more than 3.5 percent, to $442.10 in afternoon trading.

The click-through rate grew 3 percent in February compared to a year earlier, and January saw no increase compared to January 2007. Several months earlier, the rate was growing 25 percent to 40 percent compared to a year earlier. The new data is in line with click-through declines Google reported last quarter.

Google, which gets paid when users click on a sponsored ad that comes up as the result of a Google search, has reported steadily rising per-click revenue.

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Because of how vastly used Google is, advertisers paid large bucks to have there high motion, eye popping or just plain regular ads on Google webs sites, such as blogs, You-tube, etc. Everytime a web site visitor clicks on an ad Google rating go up and more advertisers will pay more to place there ads on Google sites. Google will also pay site and blog owners if there site generates clocks galore. The click rate has recently level off and Google are saying that they are going to lower it themselves in order to generate more meaningful clicks. This encourages better ads which consumers will investigate further and possibly buy from; Google wants to discourage the ads which lead to more ads, which get in the way of web viewers desired content. Basically Google wants to sift out the ads and self-clickers that corrupt the click and pay system.

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Rising rice prices spark concerns across Asia

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine activists warn about possible riots. Aid agencies across Asia worry how they will feed the hungry. Governments dig deeper every day to fund subsidies.

A sharp rise in the price of rice is hitting consumer pocketbooks and raising fears of public turmoil in the many parts of Asia where rice is a staple.

Part of a surge in global food costs, rice prices on world markets have jumped 50 percent in the past two months and at least doubled since 2004. Experts blame rising fuel and fertilizer expenses as well as crops curtailed by disease, pests and climate change. There are concerns prices could rise a further 40 percent in coming months.

The higher prices have already sparked protests in the Philippines, where a government official has asked the public to save leftover rice. In Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered a ban on rice exports Wednesday to curb rising prices at home. Vietnamese exporters and farmers are stockpiling rice in expectation of further price increases.

Prestoline Suyat of the May One Labor Movement, a left-wing workers group, warned that "hunger and poverty may eventually lead to riots."

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The current situation in Asia is a dangerous and volitale one. With rising gasoline prices and the falling U.S. dollar (which directly affects various Asian currencies), the over priced rice is greatly affecting the Asian area. Rice cash crop countries are put under heavy stress because disease and overall rising global prices have crippled there normal supply of rice. Because rice is the main food in Asia, many are starving and threatening to riot. The demand for rice has remained the same but the sharp decrease in supply has left Asia in a deadly shortage.

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The 10 biggest blunders ever in business

A wise man once said that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Entrepreneurs will need every drop of hard-earned wisdom to navigate the coming year — by all accounts, a challenging one, with a deepening credit crisis and potential recession.

With those dangers and the above adage in mind, we canvassed the last four centuries for the biggest business blunders of all time, in terms of wealth destroyed and opportunity lost.

The stories span industries from technology to real estate. Market miscalculations, short-term thinking and rotten ethics are the broad themes. Taken together, the collective devastation of these miscues in current dollar value creeps into the trillions.

To be fair, some of these blunders were more unforeseen — and the blunderers more naturally disadvantaged — than others.

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It is interesting that this article has emerged during this point in time. With the market down and oil prices only increasing, entrepreneurs are certainly not emerging from every street corner. Even with the recent interest cut by the Fed, many are reluctant to take that risk due to inflation and the general aggregate surplus after the past expansion. Hopefully, the author will not have another business blunder come from this volitale market.

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A revolution at the Federal Reserve

Bernanke reinvents central bank to avoid catastrophe

The current financial crisis—perhaps the biggest since the Great Depression—has turned Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke into a reluctant revolutionary. The quiet academic who wanted to make the post of Fed chairman less heroic is leading a dramatic expansion of the central bank's role. In the process, he is setting the stage for the next big boom—or bubble.

In the short run, Bernanke is waging a war to keep the financial markets from collapsing. The biggest move so far: On Sunday, Mar. 16, the Fed brokered the fire sale of troubled investment bank Bear Stearns to JPMorgan Chase and announced that it would be willing to lend directly to major Wall Street brokers, which have never before had access to loans from the central bank.

The two moves represented a new level of direct Fed involvement in the financial markets and made it clear that Bernanke would take any step needed to prevent a financial catastrophe. These maneuvers should work, says Julian Jessop, chief international economist of London-based research firm Capital Economics. "At the end of the day, the Fed can provide a lot of support," he says. "It certainly won't prevent a sharp downturn, but it should prevent a debt deflation spiral."

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Are Bernanke's actions actually helping the economy? By helping the Bear Stearns financial corporation, he is just keeping the weak afloat. The mass surge of money he is pumping into the economy is simply increasing inflation; therefore, consumers and bankers are slow to release their own money because they know that they are paying more for things than they normally would. The picture is best displaying Bernanke in front of red because his actions

destroying the U.S. dollar like any foreign communist would do. His actions are far too extreme to render a stable economy immediately after this "R" word is over.

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As oil powers upward, stocks end day lower

Market update
Index Dow NASDAQ S+P 500
Last 11740.15 2169.34 1273.37
Change -153.54 -43.15 -20.00
% change -1.29% -1.95% -1.55%

NEW YORK - Wall Street sank Monday as oil’s surge above $108 a barrel and more worrisome signs for the financial sector led investors to extend last week’s losses. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 150 points, bringing its three-day loss to nearly 515, while broader indexes showed steeper percentage losses.

Wall Street had no bleak economic data to contend with Monday, but instead faced a steady drumbeat of negative news on companies exposed to mortgages.

Mortgage lenders dropped after Thornburg Mortgage Inc. was downgraded by a Jefferies & Co. analyst and Countrywide Financial Corp. was reported to be under investigation by the government for securities fraud.

Then, Bear Stearns Cos. dropped as Moody’s Investors Service downgraded a batch of Bear securities backed by Alt-A mortgages, which are home loans given to people lacking proof of income or with minor credit problems.

The slew of downbeat financial news overshadowed a strong February sales report from McDonald’s Corp., and led restless investors to proceed cautiously ahead of big economic reports later in the week: Thursday’s report on retail sales and Friday’s report on consumer prices. Those two readings will give Wall Street a better idea of how much the average American is struggling with falling home values and rising costs, and how aggressively the Federal Reserve will need to act when it meets next week.

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Is the rising price of oil truly the common denominator for the lack of success in the stock market? Companies costs of production are jumping as the the prices of oil rises and consumers have less money to spend if a larger portion of it is going to gasoline. The rising prises of oil are hitting both sides of supply and demand - the lessening of a supply of goods as well as a decrease in demand. Lets take a company like McDonalds for example. McDonalds, for say, has to rise the price of everything on the menu $0.05 to accomodate for a rise in oil prices. On the other side, consumers are wondering where there $1.05 (after oil) went for a double cheesebuger. Much, if not all, went to their tanks. Companies, like McDonalds, are taking hits from the rising oil prices and the stocks are showing it.

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Economic woes lead to retail retrenchment

The signs that smaller retailers are struggling are unavoidable at malls across America: “Going out of business” sales at many Wilsons Leather stores. “Up to 70 percent off” at KB Toys.

At the once-sizzling Paradise Valley Mall in Phoenix, the space formerly occupied by Bombay Co., the furniture chain that went bankrupt last year, is empty. Wilsons just finished liquidating its inventory. KB Toys, Ann Taylor and American Eagle feature bold posters advertising steep discounts.

“I don’t think it brings much business when all these stores are closed,” said Michelle Green, a sales clerk at Fred Meyer Jewelers.

Around the country, mall centers are starting to feel the recoil from a rapid expansion in recent years that allowed retailers to aim stores at almost every niche, from shoppers who wanted Talbots clothes for their children to those who craved Bombay’s little wood tables.

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Because of the expansionary period in the last few years, chain stores have become ubiquitous. Now that we are in a contractionary period, the over supply of these chain stores are becoming more and more apparent. Along with the peak in gas prices, aggregate demand has decrease and consumers will only buy the products that they need most right now. One figure in the article noted that we are undergoing "economic Darwinism." Stores can only slash prices so much and some have closed down temporarily because of the lack of business. Currently, the malls and their stores are taking a large hit due to the current lack of demand.

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Pizza and beer now cost an arm and a leg

If you’re looking for a sure sign the U.S. economy is headed in the wrong direction, all you need to do is look at the skyrocketing price of “recession-proof” foods: pizza, hot dogs, bagels and beer.

For many Americans, the credit crunch and the mortgage mess have left their pocketbooks – and their cupboards – bare. These same consumers, many living paycheck to paycheck, have relied on these cheaper foods to keep their expenditures down. Not anymore.

In the past few months, the news has gone from bad to worse:

Pizza makers have seen their cheese costs soar this year from $1.30 a pound to $1.76 a pound. Even worse, the flour used to make the dough has gone from $3-$7 dollars a bushel to $25 a bushel in less than a year.

Beer makers have been forced to raise their prices because of the skyrocketing price of hops – one of the principle ingredients. The price of hops has gone from about $4 a pound in September to $40 a pound. The price of barley, beer’s other main ingredient, has nearly doubled.

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This article is especially true anywhere you go you can hardly find a good meal that won't empty your wallet. This inflation is largely due to rising oil prices since the trucks deliver the cheese, flour, sauce, and beer not to mention the custom napkins. The increased prices will cause a decrease in demand which will cause owners to stopping buying as much cheese and such, then causing truckers to deliver less and finally have cheese makers to make less. All owners, truckers, and cheese makers will then need to cut their costs of production. The situation is an example of wage price spiral largely due to oil as an increasing factor in costs of production.

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Independent truckers may be run off the road

Trucker Robert Griffith is on the road three weeks out of four, pulling oversize loads like crane booms, railroad ties and air conditioning ducts. One of his biggest worries: How he'll find the money to buy his daughter a prom dress.

As the cost of diesel doubled over the last four years, his take-home pay has plummeted, from $50,000 to $11,000 last year. He's literally burning money; he spent $64,000 on diesel in the last eight months. Since he canceled his satellite radio, he's on citizens band radio constantly (handle: Instigator) talking about what needs to change so truckers like him can survive.

"I had to learn to live totally different," said Griffith, 41, of Lebanon, Tenn. No more $150 family outings to Shogun sushi. No more weekly washes for his Western Star 4900 EX truck. No more health insurance for him and his family.

"It hurts," he said. "I'm a man who's trying to make a living for my family and I'm not succeeding."

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Due to many outside influences, such as rising diesel prises and decreasing aggregate demand, the truckers are taking a huge hit. They're like dentists trying to make a living in an area where everyone has perfect teeth. Thousands of products are transported via who? truckers. Since there is less of a need for products to be transported, a surplus of truckers exists. Along with rising diesel prices, the lessening need for truckers has created a population that are part of structural unemployment and they will now have the chance to go and become more educated: hopefully researching methods to reduce our dependence on oil.

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Starbucks slashing 600 office jobs

SEATTLE - Starbucks Corp. said Thursday it has laid off about 220 support staff who worked at the coffee retailer's headquarters and in field operations, and will leave about 380 open jobs unfilled.

Chairman and Chief Executive Howard Schultz announced the 600 job cuts in an e-mail to Starbucks' more than 170,000 employees, calling it a difficult decision aimed at sharpening the company's focus on customers.

"We realize that we are operating in an intensely challenging environment, one in which our customers and (employees) have extremely high expectations of Starbucks," Schultz wrote. "And we have to step up to the challenge of being strategic as well as nimble as our business evolves. Unfortunately, we have not been organized in a manner that allowed us to have a laser focus on the customer."

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Cutting jobs is definitely an indicator of decreased demand and therfore decreased sales in a market. Competitors in the coffee industry are doing consumers a service by challenging the $5 cup of coffee that Starbucks sells on a regular basis which is hardly a variant of the competitors. Now Starbucks must take necessary action in order to regain another edge, besides the ubiquitous Starbucks logo. Howard Schultz, the CEO, iniated the cutting of jobs: reducing the costs of production. If demand goes back to normal or better, then the managerial step was a success even at the expense of people's jobs. Hopefully because of the increased competition, consumers will see Starbucks lower their prices but probably increase adverstising, a nonprice form of competition, will occur.

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Spring training grows up into big business

VERO BEACH, Fla. - On a February morning, where the sky and the “Welcome to Dodgertown” sign are both etched in blue, more than 100 fans congregate behind a rope off Vin Scully Way. Their eyes stare at the wide hill, where five pitchers hurl balls at fully equipped catchers, over and over again. Nearby, other pitchers and catchers lie on their bellies and stretch on grass as finely cut as a putting green.

The languid atmosphere belies the fact that this time next year, the Los Angeles Dodgers — who have trained at Vero Beach since 1948, the year after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier — will get in shape at a new facility costing more than $80 million in Glendale, Ariz., one they’ll share with the Chicago White Sox.

Once a six-week haven where little thought was given to maximizing revenue, spring training, more and more, is becoming a big business. Exhibition homes of the Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals are among those boasting luxury suites (air-conditioned ones at the Cardinals’ Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla.). State-of-the-art merchandise stores attract shoppers in no rush except to load up on their favorite teams’ souvenirs. Video scoreboards at places like Bright House Networks Field, home of the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater, Fla., are becoming the norm rather than the exception.

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There is no doubt that Major League Baseball teams bring a multitude of economic stimuli, but spring practice as well. Obviously, the demand to see these athletes is high enough to create tickets sales that are beginning to mirror regular season games. Speaking of economic impact, the article notes the $300 million economic spark from the Super Bowl in Glendale; hardly equal, preseason sales from the White Sox and Dodgers could produce a potential $19 million contribution to Glendale. The demand of the entertainment of professional sports continues to produce fans willing to spend money and stimulate the economy in spite of the"harshness" of the current "receesion."

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