The last time federal regulators changed media ownership rules, a slew of deals altered the local television landscape.
Now regulators are looking into further changes that affect both TV and newspapers. Those proposals face opposition from such strange bedfellows as lobbyist groups the National Rifle Association and the National Organization for Women.
In the cross hairs is a Federal Communications Commission meeting June 2, at which commissioners will decide whether
Media ownership proposals stir controversy
No recovery seen in PC market during 2003
Despite higher sales forecasts, both corporate and analyst opinion is that a recovery in the desktop personal computer market may not happen this year or any time in the foreseeable future.
Gartner, a research firm, predicts worldwide PC sales in 2003 will grow 6.6 percent over 2002, keeping slightly ahead of global inflation rates.
And according to research firm ARS Inc., when businesses are buying, they are buying on the
VC rebound hopes stagnate
Hopes of a major turnaround this year in the Bay Area’s once-thriving venture capital industry are not looking good.
A new report by Ernst & Young LLC’s venture capital advisory group shows last year both VC investments and valuations of startup companies fell to levels not seen since the mid-1990s.
But that doesn’t mean the VC industry is the same as it was back then.
Bill Reichert, president of Menlo Park-based
Ask Jeeves sells off software unit for $4.25M
Ask Jeeves Inc. (Nasdaq: ASKJ) of Emeryville inked a deal May 28 to sell its search software unit, Jeeves Solutions, to privately held Kanisa Inc. of Cupertino.
Under terms of the deal, Kanisa will pay Ask Jeeves $3.5 million in cash and a promissory note worth $750,000.
Ask Jeeves says this move will allow it to spend more money on marketing and to focus on its core business, enterprise search, which made
Color of money
For the past three decades Opportunity Capital Partners in Fremont has quietly been tearing down financial barriers and recently received top honors from Black Enterprise magazine.
In its annual report, New York-based Black Enterprise magazine recently recognized Opportunity Partners as one of the top 10 private equity firms headed by an African American partner.
“The reason for this list is to give an indicator
No deposit, no return
You would think that with venture capital funding falling precipitously during the past two years, banks would be giddy about the opportunity to jump in and fill the void. But truth be told, banks have been hurt from the parched flow of cash trickling into their deposit accounts.
A new study to be released after Memorial
Wells Fargo beefs up northwest territory
Sometimes small steps are the best way to get you where you want to go.
Making good on its promise to grow through small acquisitions in existing markets (see Biz Ink, April 18) San Fransico-based Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) says it will buy Pacific Northwest Bancorp (NASD:PNWB).
The all-stock deal, worth $590 million, will add 53 branches and $3 billion in assets to Wells Fargo, making it the
Despite funding shortfall, banks still make profits
Even though the valley’s startups are getting less money, some banks are still profiting from those uninvested funds.
Although venture capital funds continue to be flush with money, startup funding nationwide in 2002 was less than $20 billion dollars, down from $34.6 billion in 2001.
Analysts say no matter how money is spent or not spent, some bank out there is either holding it as a deposit or earning money from it.
“A
Pent-up demand boosts spending
After years of red ink, technology hardware is showing signs of recovery.
A new report by Emeryville-based information technology researcher Techtel Corp. says server sales improved in the first quarter of 2003, while sales of personal computers are still sluggish.
“The good news is that the IT sector managed to get through a challenging quarter intact,” says Michael Kelly, CEO of Techtel.
According to Techtel’s research index, the first quarter of
Accidental capitalist
When Paul Wythes was an engineering student at Princeton University in the 1950s, he had no idea what venture capital was.
Little did he know that a few years later, a fateful telephone call would change his life and make him one of the pioneers of venture capital and Silicon Valley’s startup heritage.
With a stroke of a pen
