Verizon EV-DO:Pay-as-you-go

A friend of mine in Charlotte,NC who works with VZ wireless pointed me to their latest announcement.Basically theyr offering daily rates ($15/24 hrs) along the lines of pay-as-you-go to laptops that have EVDO (Evolution-Data Optimized) embedded capabilities. [link]

This concept may not be new, but its certainly interesting.Firstly, a service like this can be a initiated without having to run to the local friendly(?) Verizon wireless store. Secondly the service can be a litmus test for a customer who may then consider switching to a monthly plan( I personally think no one loses here). Thirdly for a person like me who travels infrequently(atleast these days thank you very much), this is more like a prayer answered.The sheer dynamic nature (read as taking it on the road) of the service is in itself appealing , not to mention the secure and better alternative that it is to Wi-fi (which would anyways cost me around the same).Finally Verizon seems to be doing something right. Now if they would only do something about them deadzones in the City....

Text Messaging- Commercial Mantra

While the idea of using SMS text to send promotional mobile marketing messages direct to consumers is garnering growing interest among a wide range of marketers - due to the always-on, always-at-hand, ubiquitious nature of the one-to-one medium - successful, large scale implementations of this type of customer acquisition activity have been few and far between to date (both in Europe and the US).
Most brand marketers, beyond mobile operators, handset manufacturers and retailers, mobile content providers and a few radio stations, have had limited success in persuading consumers to opt-in, by offering up their mobile numbers and permission, in exchange for the occasional offer or promo delivered to their handset. Jupiter estimates spend on SMS mobile marketing to reach a total of €111 million by the end of 2006 across Europe. Small fry in comparison to the explosion in paid search, for example, which will total €1.6 billion by the end of this year!
This might soon change however with an interesting new development from Miva in the UK. The pay-per-performance contextual ad network has just launched a new pay-per-text service in collaboration with The Number's 118 118. At present when a consumer dials up the directory enquiry service to find out the details of a company or service provider they are delivered the details back as a text message. With this new advertising platform relevant and related marketers will be able to add a couple of lines of additional text promoting their complimentary service. So taxi services could be promoted alongside restaurant details. Or car hire services alongside airline details. Or home insurance against emergency plumbers. This sounds like a win / win for both advertisers and consumers. The advertiser gets directly in front of interested consumers, when actively searching a related business, while the consumer gets added value information, non-intrusively incorporated into their text message, that they are happy to receive.
This new type of co-branding / sponsorship advertising model could help drive investment in the SMS channel. It could also help boost the revenues of directory enquiry businesses - 118 118 texts tens of millions of directory callers with their details every year!

GM Buyout

The major business topic this week was the GM & Delphi early retirement buyout. GM will offer anywhere between $35K to $140K for employees to accept early retirement. Up to 30,000 workers are said to be affected by this action. Employees will receive pension and healthcare, but not at the same generous levels as they once were.
In my opinion, this move is necessary. The US auto industry is currently struggling to keep up with the challeneges of globalism. GM and Ford operated on a labor system that was invented before the dawn of globalism. Working at GM was once a road to the middle class. Through firm union control and leadership, GM passed profits down to its workers. However, with the advent of Toyota, Hyundai and other foreign car companies, GM is facing two problems. A 1960s style labor model and products that are simply out of touch with demand. Shutting down plants and cutting costs due to lower demand is necessary therefore. However, the long term success of GM will lie in the design of their cars and whether they anticipate customer preferences.

Situational Leadership

Situational Leadership happens to be one the most common topics in an interview.I was speaking to a colleague of mine recently, who said that one the interview that he had for this job had some of this involved.He was asked how he would react to a situation of disagreementwith a co-worker over a project.He probably had a good answer(thats why hes got the office with a view i might add). Some people are fine if you just directly oppose them. Other people don't deal well with that, and you need to ask questions that get them to realize on their own why they are wrong.Most of my answers were this way, and towards the end of the interview someone in the room asked if I had received "situational leadership" training, because that is the approach I seemed to take. I have not. But I think he is right - I am a situational leader.New management fads come out every year. I always read up on them, but disagree with much of what they say. Many of these books always make management and leadership seem so simple, and imply that if you just focus on one thing (the fad) then you will be a great manager. I don't think that is true. Management and leadership are complex because people are complex. Rather than stick to one style or form, leaders should be able to analyze a situation and determine what type of response is best given the parties involved.I bring this up because I often get tired of seeing these fad books every year, and sometimes I think I should just quit reading all that crap. But now I see it in a little bit different light. Each fad, each style, each book, has some truths in it, and I try to go through it with an open mind and take away what is important. I'm building my own management and leadership philosophies that are difficult to put into words, but will (I hope) serve me well one day.

Google Finance: First Review

Ok Ok..so now we have a competitor to Yahoo! Finance. Is there an uproar? Google claims(and its probably true) that people have been asking for a finance portal since its early days but were trying to perfect it.What has been the effect so far?

From a consumer perspective,this has not been an earth-shattering event. True, Google Finance has a slicker interface. For one, searching a stock is easier than it is with Yahoo as you are not required to specify whether it’s a company name or a stock ticker that you are entering. In addition, you can drag the stock’s graph thereby changing the time-period that you are looking at. However, Google’s offering is currently limited to stock research, whereas Yahoo’s offering is much more extensive and includes rich financial education and advice. In addition, Yahoo offers some original content, which Google doesn’t.
In summary, it will be interesting to see how this service evolves. For now, it’s just another place where consumers can research stocks.

IPTV stuff

Some people expressed interest in the IPTV segment.

- Frost & Sullivan says that "IPTV may not be an immediate success throughout Europe." Given that IPTV launched in Italy in 2001 and has been available in Germany, France, and the UK for several years now, and still less than a million European households used it in 2005, I'd say it already *wasn't* an immediate success. But we still expect it to become a significant part of the DTV market over the next several years.
- Deutsche Telekom has chosen Microsoft to power its T-Online multichannel IPTV offering, launching this summer. I noticed last week at CeBITthat the T-Online demo was running un-branded MSFT software, even though Deutsche Telekom refused to confirm it for me at the time. (See, that's why I should keep up to date on my blog, so I can break cool news.) Today, MSFT spilled the beans.

Note that in the press release, Steve Ballmer is quoted talking about how this service will exist in both Germany and France. Think MSFT is annoyed that the big French IPTV players don't use their technology?

Finally- An Energy Bourse for the Mideast

Qatar has taken the giant step towards the establishment of an energy stock exchange- the first of its kind in the middle east.The deal was sealed with a MoU between the Qatar Financial Center Regulatory Authority and Gulf energy which is a global consortium of investors and consultants.

Gulf Energy "aims at raising the global stakes of Middle East's energy sector, reshaping the dynamics of its oil and gas business and expanding its role in the management of resources."

So far so good... Im wondering when certain governments (*choke*whitehouse)will intervene. If you think about it, a bourse of this magnitude will only encourage the rest of the oil nations to start their own and eliminate the middle man from the game (and theyr not bound to like it).

Slingbox- 'Place-Shifting' is here..

My previous post on Mobile TVs led me to something I had seen last month.

So you got cable at home. Why not watch Your cable TV SOMEWHER ELSE? Ridiculous?? HELL No...Enter Slingbox [link]

Sling Media has created a device that sends a stream from your house to your computer over the internet. This isn’t your normal stream. Most streams are a one way open loop system that dumps content to you with very minimal control as a user. The Slingbox is a controlled stream. You have the ability to change your television channel or program your DVR remotely. Sling Media’s new toy is just getting started so buckle up and enjoy the ride.

All you need is high speed internet connection for ur laptop/PC. Sling Media has it for $249 a piece on their website.I found used ones (already!) for $197. I happened to see a demo box for the slingbox last month at Best Buy.While the design seemed ehh ok.. their capability simply amazed me.Theres even a user community on the web. [link]

The company also announced support for Ultra-Mobile PCs recently.

Mobile TVs...

It seems like everyone wants a piece of the mobile phone/TV convergence world these days. Nokia Middle East is now introducing these in the Arabian countries.Testing market are Qatar and Kuwait.The first phones are expected in the middle of this year.

Mobile phone companies’ research indicates that subscribers would be prepared to pay around US$20 per month for access to digital broadcasts. Britain and France already offer a number of on-demand broadcasts to consumers, including high-profile channels such as CNN and Bloomberg.

Theres no doubt that the Middle East is an excellent target for such services, however I would like to see what the respective governments of each of the countries deploying them would do in order to prevent an increase in traffic accidents/deaths (which is already at alarming rates) from watching TV whilst driving.

What's Happening in Paris?

For the second time in less than a year, France is experiencing another wave of riots. This one similar to the riots last December, involve youths protesting, at times violently, to make a point. Now I understand the reasons the December riots occurred - discrimination towards coloured youths, lack of employment opportunities, failure to integrate to mainstream society - but the reasons as to why the current riots are happening is perplexing. The students are protesting a law which, in my opinion, facilitates their chances of receiving employment. Students believe this law, which makes it easier to hire and fire workers under the age of 26, will destroy their future because they will be fired anytime an employer wants. While this may be true, France needs labor regulation changes to help it compete with the global market. With globalism, the French must realize that Socialism is a diminishing force that cannot both sustain itself and operate efficient markets. In addition, the students should realize that firing employees is the employer's last resort. It is not easy finding replacement workers, training them, and having them start from square one. Furthermore, since the law makes it easier to fire workers, it also therefore, makes it easier to hire people. With additional positions available, an educated, well-skilled student should not have much trouble obtaining a job. In the end, I think the core of this issue is Socialism. It defines French society and now is in the forefront more than ever as the future generations try desperately to preserve its values.

Takeover Season

Boy this does seem to be the season of accquisitions- mergers take the back seat. Two more on the way.

Suzlon Energy- the wind power people from India have taken over Belgium based Hansen, the world's largest maker of wind turbine gearboxes, for US$565 mn in an all cash transaction.Barclays, Deutsche and ICICI bank acted on behalf of Suzlon while UBS acted on behalf of the sellers.Tulsi R. Tanti (Chairman- Suzlon) seems to be eyeing to get up there on the Forbes list alongside fellow Indian Lakshmi Mittal (ok-maybe not just yet)..but nevertheless, good going!

Meanwhile, after a speculation of takeover by various firms, Softbank is in the drivers seat in the take over of VodaFone's struggling japanese unit for a reported US$15bn - taking 15 mn customers in the process. Masayoshi Son, the brain child behind the successful internet service company is using this strategy to enter the mobile market without having to build infrastructure from scratch. KDDI and NTT DoCoMo better watch out !!

March of the Investment banks...

On the occasion of its 150th anniversary, Credit Suisse announced its plan to enter the Saudi Arabia.CS will be collaborating with Olayan group and a few other investors to provide securities brokerage services.Interestingly enough, Saudi seems to be the first country where they intend to establish footprint. CS will be carrying out its services in accordance with Sharia regulations.

Middle east is going through a change, particularly in the conservative states; the open door policy to foreign investment banks is slowly but certainly happening. Countries like Kuwait have signed MoUs that would allow mid and top tier i-banks such as HSBC , Citigroup etc to establish portfolio management/asset management services.Local banks arent taking this lightly and have approached the government to provide them with guarantee of not being robbed of their monopoly.

Who does this really affect? Local companies ofcourse. They probably get the wider choice of world experience.For these companies, its a question of choosing between trusted(out of no choice) local banks versus the ones that might offer them incentives never thought of(or applied) before.On the individual level however, Me thinks the private investors are ALREADY working with the Goldman Sachs & the Morgan Stanleys of the world.

Body Shop -L'Oreal Deal closed for $1.14bn

UK based Body Shop Intl. is being bought in an all cash deal based on L'Oreal's bid.
The Offer:300 pence ($5.25) per share for Body Shop-a premium of 34.2 percent over the Body Shop's current share price. [Link]

Kingdom Holdings to float 30% shares...

The Saudi celebrity-prince AlWaleed Bin Talal, has announced yesterday that his company would float 30 percent of its shares on the Saudi bourse for public subscription this year.Kingdom Holdings will be investing SR10billion ($2.6 billion) in the Saudi stock market.

I cant wait to have my own stake in the Four Seasons Hotel .hehehe

Update: I just read this: "....However, since foreigners are not allowed to own individual Saudi stocks, only certain Saudi mutual funds, Kingdom Holdings will be off-limits to most international investors".BLAAASSTTT !!!

Playstation 3 out in November

After months of speculation, Sony announced that the launch of its PlayStation 3 will be delayed until November. Since last summer, Sony has said the PS3 would launch in the spring. This seemed increasingly unlikely as the months went by and manufacturing hadn't started and game developers hadn't received final hardware. Sony revealed that the delay was necessary to finalize its new Blu-ray format's copy protection scheme.

With the hype surrounding it as well as the rumoured $900 tag price, you might be tempted to go for the Xbox 360- I like to call it Xbox with SP2. We wont know much about the playstation till E3 Conference in May where gaming industries honchos get-together.

I ll stick to PC games till then .

The Arabic iPod....

The arab version of the ipod is slated to hit market in the next month.[Link]. The arab version of OS10 (codename: Tiger) is in the offing as well.

Im waiting for the sales report on the ipods.

Merck's 18bn USD bid on Schering

The Offer: All cash bid @ 77 euros a share- 15% premium over Schering's current stock price. Not to sound bashy, but me thinks schering's just might wait a bit longer to get the market price up to renegotiate the deal -it already has started going up! [Link]

Update: Schering's board reject's bid.Apparently the price wasn't right!

McAfee Woes...

Being in the technology sector by profession has forced me to deviate to this posting. A recent update to a number of McAfees' products went terribly awry, causing them to flag hundreds of legitimate third-party programs as hostile and prompting users to delete or quarantine them. The files identified by McAfee as malicious included excel.exe (Microsoft Excel) and gtb2k1033.exe (Google Toolbar installer), as well as programs that run Macromedia Flash Player, Sun's Java application and Adobe update manager.
The wrong flags even apply to updaterui.exe, McAfee's own auto-update program.(Kicking myself....is that the new polciy mcafee?) The full list of programs wrongly marked as bad is here in PDF format. (Only file names, not the product names)

The SANS Internet Storm Center has a decent writeup on the problem.

McAfee's solution for customers is interesting: "Users who have moved detected files to quarantine should restore them to their original location. Windows users who have had files deleted should restore files from backup or use System Restore."

How many got fired from Mcafee? How many of you Mcafee employees got a red signal reading their access badges next day morning?


..... ok this should be a pacifier for now ...till the next time I return with more tech woes.

KSE on a Free Fall......

Case in point- the wrath of the stock market cannot be curbed even by one of the strongest economy's in the world [ LINK ]

First Post!

Whats up everyone! I am currently in strategic analysis in NYC and am starting this blog with streetjabber to chat about what's going on in the corporate world. This'll be interesting because we will have the opportunity to compare developments from Middle Eastern / Asian organizations to the developments occuring here (US). Most of all, we'll learn how businesses operate and follow their strategies from a multitude of perspectives.

All Good things have a begininning...

Ok! So here we go ..The very first blog for StreetJab. Sunny will be blogging out of downtown Manhattan , New York and urs truly the StreetJabber will be working out of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Will someone break a glass or something ... ? Thank you very much !!!