By Hal M. Bundrick
NEW YORK (MainStreet) It may be time to make a bet on bitcoin. At least one Wall Street hedge fund manager thinks so. Michael Novogratz, co-chief investment officer of the Fortress Investment Group, made the surprising call at a UBS investor forum in New York this week, according to the Financial Times. He is perhaps the highest-profile Wall Street investor to endorse the crypto currency as an investment.
Bitcoin is an open-source method of payment that uses peer-to-peer technology to complete transactions. It has been called "cash for the Internet."
When asked to offer his best investment idea for the coming year, Novogratz said, "Put a little money in bitcoin. Come back in a few years, and it's going to be worth a lot." In fact, Bitcoin has doubled in value in just the last few weeks, following the raid by the U.S. Department of Justice on Silk Road earlier this month, and online black market that was a major global player in bitcoin merchant transactions. Novogratz said that he and a colleague took positions in bitcoins three months ago, but wouldn't say how much he has invested in the digital currency, though he did admit it was "Enough that I am smiling that it has doubled." Fortress has not made an investment in the currency for its portfolios, deciding it was too speculative. A division of the Chinese Internet service Baidu began accepting bitcoin payments October 14th, which spurred increased trading in the currency. A Chinese bitcoin exchange, BTC China, is now the third largest trading platform, based on 30-day volume, according to Bitcoinity.org. Online exchange Mt.Gox reports bitcoin has been trading at highs well over $200 this week. It is the second time this year that the currency has traded at such a level. Jason Williams, founder of BitPOS, a bitcoin exchange, told ZDNet this week that as the bitcoin price soars, investors are beginning to be concerned with a possible market bubble. --Written by Hal M. Bundrick for MainStreet
Hot Communications Equipment Companies To Watch For 2015: Yahoo! Inc.(YHOO)
Yahoo! Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital media company that delivers personalized digital content and experiences through various devices worldwide. It offers online properties and services to users; and a range of marketing services to businesses. The company?s communications and communities offerings include Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Messenger, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, Flickr, and Connected TV, which provide a range of communication and social services to users and small businesses enabling users to organize into groups and share knowledge, common interests, and photos. Its search products comprise Yahoo! Search and Yahoo! Local, available free to users to navigate the Internet and discover content. The company?s marketplaces offerings and services include Yahoo! Shopping, Yahoo! Travel, Yahoo! Real Estate, Yahoo! Autos, and Yahoo! Small Business, which allow users to research specific topics, products, services, or areas of interest by review ing and exchanging information, obtaining contact details, or considering offers from providers of goods, services, or parties with similar interests. Its media offerings comprise Yahoo! Homepage, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Sports, Yahoo! Finance, My Yahoo!, Yahoo! Toolbar, Yahoo! Entertainment & Lifestyles, Yahoo! Contributor Network, and Yahoo! Pulse, which are designed to engage users with online content and services on the Web. The company also offers marketing services, such as display and search advertising, listing-based services, and commerce-based transactions to advertisers. In addition, it provides software and platform offerings for third-party developers, advertisers, and publishers, such as Yahoo! Developer Network, Yahoo! Open Strategy, Yahoo! Application Platform, Yahoo! Updates, Yahoo! Query Language, and Yahoo! Search BOSS. The company has strategic alliances with Nokia and ABC News, Inc. Yahoo! Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Californi a.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]
Alamy Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is heading for the exit. Should Microsoft (MSFT) shareholders follow suit? Shares of the software giant soared 7 percent on Friday on news that it would be replacing Ballmer as CEO within the next 12 months. The market's opinion of the news must sting Ballmer (though it also made him a few hundred million dollars richer), but investors expecting that Microsoft's next leader will be able to return the company to its former glory may be in for a rude awakening. Why would consumers and businesses want to return to a time when they were dependent on a stodgy operating system that was expensive and slow to adapt? What if Microsoft doesn't find the right CEO? What if there is no such thing as the CEO? Those are just a few of the heavy questions that Microsoft's stockholders face in light of Ballmer's pending departure, and they may not like the answers. You Can't Go Home Again First, let's talk fundamentals. Does Microsoft's business make it a good buy for forward-thinking investors? Well, in the past dozen years, Microsoft has gone from being the world's most valuable company to one that is worth less than two-thirds of what current leader Apple (AAPL) is today. Microsoft and Google (GOOG) commanded nearly identical $290 billion market caps at the kick off of this trading week, and the search engine giant wasn't even publicly traded when Ballmer was tapped to be Microsoft's CEO in 2000. In fact, Google had only been founded 16 months earlier. Tech babies grow so fast these days. And that, at least in part, is the root of Microsoft's problems. Computing hasn't merely evolved -- it has metamorphosed. Consumers aren't buying PCs like they used to. Desktop and laptop sales have fallen sharply for five consecutive quarters, which has never happened before. That's not a lull. That's not a bad stretch. That's a trend. And it isn't just a Windows woe. Apple's Mac sales have also been sliding in recent quarters. Most PC buyers never
Top 5 Internet Stocks To Watch For 2014: eBay Inc.(EBAY)
eBay Inc. provides online platforms, services, and tools to help individuals and merchants in online and mobile commerce and payments in the United States and internationally. Its Marketplaces segment operates ecommerce platform eBay.com; vertical shopping sites, such as StubHub, Fashion, Motors, and Half.com; and classifieds Websites, including Den Bl�Avis, BilBasen, Gumtree, Kijiji, LoQUo, Marktplaats.nl, mobile.de, Alamaula, Rent.com, eBay Anuncios, eBay Kleinanzeigen, and eBay Annunci, as well as provides advertising services. The company?s Payments segment offers payment and settlement services for consumers and merchants on and off eBay Websites and other merchant Websites. This segment operates PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to send and receive payments online and through mobile devices; Bill Me Later that enables the United States merchants to offer, the United States consumers to obtain, credit at the point of sale for ecommerce and mobile tra nsactions; Zong, which allows users with mobile phones to purchase digital goods and have the transactions charged to their phone bill; and BillSAFE that enables customers pay for purchases upon receipt of an invoice. Its GSI segment offers an ecommerce services suite for enterprise clients that operate in general merchandise categories, including apparel, sporting goods, toys and baby, health and beauty, and home; and marketing services comprising full-service digital agency, enterprise email marketing, mobile advertising, affiliate marketing, advertisement retargeting, and in-depth analytics services. The company also offers X.commerce platform that provides software developers access to the company?s applications programming interfaces to develop functionality for various merchants; and Magento Connect, which allows developers to market and sell add-on functionality and solutions to merchants that use a Magento storefront. eBay Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquarter ed in San Jose, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Rosevear]
I'm not sure that's the best idea for many people, but eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY ) has discovered that quite a few folks are indeed planning to do just that.
- [By Jake Mann]
The data tells the story
As I pointed out in my piece on Derrick Rose and Chicago Bulls ticket prices, StubHub, a subsidiary of eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY ) , is a great source for ticket information. By analyzing cached versions of the site, it's possible to obtain historical prices rather easily.
Top 5 Internet Stocks To Watch For 2014: Symantec Corporation(SYMC)
Symantec Corporation provides security, storage, and systems management solutions internationally. The company?s Consumer segment delivers Internet security, PC tune-up, and online backup solutions and services to individual users and home offices. Its Security and Compliance segment provides solutions for endpoint security and management, compliance, messaging management, data loss prevention, encryption, and authentication services to large, medium, and small-sized businesses, as well as offers solutions through its software-as-a-service (SaaS) security offerings. This segment?s products enable customers to secure, provision, and remotely manage their laptops, PCs, mobile devices, and servers. The company?s Storage and Server Management segment provides storage and server management, backup, archiving, and data protection solutions across heterogeneous storage and server platforms, as well as solutions delivered through its SaaS offerings to large, medium, and small-s ized businesses. Symantec?s Services segment offers implementation services and solutions, including consulting, business critical services, education, and managed security services. The company also provides various enterprise support offerings, such as annual maintenance support contracts, including content, upgrades, and technical support. It sells its products through its eCommerce platform, as well as through distributors, direct marketers, Internet-based resellers, system builders, ISPs, and retail locations worldwide. Symantec markets and sells its products through distributors, retailers, direct marketers, Internet-based resellers, original equipment manufacturers, system builders, and Internet service providers; and its e-commerce channels, as well as direct sales force, value-added and large account resellers, and system integrators. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Tom Taulli]
In a sudden move, Symantec (SYMC) has terminated its CEO, Steve Bennett. And Wall Street is definitely concerned, as SYMC stock is off about 12% in today�� trading.
Top 5 Internet Stocks To Watch For 2014: IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI)
IAC/InterActiveCorp engages in the Internet business in the United States and internationally. The company�s Search segment develops, markets, and distributes various downloadable toolbars; provides search, reference, and content services through its destination search and other Websites, including Ask.com and Dictionary.com; and aggregates and integrates local advertising and content for distribution to publishers on Web and mobile platforms, as well as markets and distributes mobile applications through which it provides search and additional services. Its Match segment offers subscription-based and advertiser-supported online personals services through its Websites comprising Match.com, Chemistry.com, OurTime.com, BlackPeopleMeet.com, and OkCupid.com, as well as through mobile applications and Meetic-branded Websites. The company�s ServiceMagic segment offers Market Match service that matches consumers with service professionals; Exact Match service, which enables con sumers to review service professional profiles and select the service professional that meets their specific needs; and 1800Contractor.com, an online directory of service professionals. This segment also offers Website design and hosting services. Its Media and Other segment operates CollegeHumor.com, an online entertainment Website that targets young males; Vimeo, a Website on which users can upload, share, and view video; and Pronto.com, a comparison search engine. This segment also engages in the creation of video content for various distribution platforms; and operates as an Internet retailer of footwear and related apparel and accessories, as well as focuses on multimedia business. The company was formerly known as InterActiveCorp and changed its name to IAC/InterActiveCorp in July 2004. IAC/InterActiveCorp was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jayson Derrick]
InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) announced that its CEO is stepping down from his current position to become chairman of a new operating unit. Investors cheered the management shakeup which is potentially hinting at a spinoff. Shares hit new 52 week highs of $70.44 before closing at $68.49, up 13.98 percent.
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