Facebook IPO reveals information

845 million monthly active users,

483 million daily active users,

Over 425 million monthly active users using Facebook’s mobile products.

In its filing Facebook appears to consider growth in mobile use among the key risks to the company.

You can view the filing in its entirety, as well as a letter from Mark Zuckerberg here.

Via: Cutencomfy

People are increasingly using their smartphones (and tablets) to access the web which should Increase mobile Facebook use and  Facebook isn’t currently monetizing this use (with ads), but that is likely to change soon.

In fact with timeline facebook’s new planned FrontPage format, many users are already saying its probably going to make another MySpace of  Facebook, as not many users like the new look of Facebook the once loved. Google G+ and twitter at the same time  are getting better day by day  adding new features to their own websites

some of the Tech ipos from  last year

ZYNGA - Zynga went public in December at $10, but closed down 5 percent to $9.50.Zynga now trades at around $10.50 and remains a gaming force to be reckoned with

GROUPON - Daily deals giant Groupon went public last Nov. 4. Its stock debuted at $20 per share and hit a high of $31.14 before closing at $26.11 by the market close.

LINKED IN – LINKEDIN (NYSE:LNKD)

Professional social network LinkedIn probably had the biggest IPO in terms of hype this year because it was one of the first big social media companies to go public. The ipo was prices at  $45 per share on the New York Stock Exchange, LinkedIn began trading at $83.00 per share on May 19.

Previous B IG TECH IPO Debut’s

Google: 2004
Google filed for its IPO in April 2004, with Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. and Credit Suisse First Boston LLC.The search giant raised $1.2 billion for a market value of $23 billion and Shares were offered at $85, but opened to $100.

Microsoft: 1986
Microsoft went public in March 1986 at $21 per share, closing at $27.75 a share its first day. Microsoft is currently valued at $248.45 billion.

Amazon: 1997
Amazon went public in May 1997 with 3 million shares of common stock for $18 per share.

Amazon is currently valued at $87.38 billion

Apple: 1980 IPO
Apple went public in December 1980 at $22 per share. It was one of the  the largest IPO of its times. Apple is currently valued at $422.37 billion.

Yahoo: 1996
Yahoo’s April 1996 IPO were priced at $13, opened at $24.50, and closed at $33. The ipo created a frenzy at the market with many  investors looking to cash in on the dot-com boom. Yahoo is currently valued at $19.3 billion.

China and India Oil imports with Iran

A leading state-run Chinese daily warned on Monday that Moscow and Beijing were seriously concerned over US attempts to go to war with Iran, IANS reported from Beijing.

The EU and the United States are pushing major importers of Iranian oil such as China, Japan, South Korea, India and Turkey to join the economic embargo. The US has been trying to pursue India and china to lessen their reliance on oil exports from Iran  and putting pressure on Iran. China and INDIA have major oil imports agreements from Iran and India recently had payment routing problems to Iran  for payments for oil  that was routed through US based firms.

Some 65 percent of Iranian exports go to Asia.  This step joins Russia and Iran’s announcement to begin trading in their own domestic currencies rather than use the US dollar – a reserve currency. China has rebuffed Western entreaties to reduce oil imports from Iran. When one Chinese oil firm, Zuhai Zhenrong, was recently placed on the financial sanctions list for trading with Iran, Beijing reacted furiously and conveyed "strong dissatisfaction and adamant opposition".

India has decided not to heed the West on abandoning Iranian oil imports, and it is proceeding to negotiate alternative payment processing mechanisms to continue trading with Tehran. Currently, India depends on the volatile Middle East for 70% of its oil and gas imports.

A senior member of Iran’s parliament said on Monday the Islamic Republic would close the entry point to the Gulf (  Strait of Hormuz ) if new sanctions block its oil exports. This news has been reported widely in online and News media  with the affect of it creating a atmosphere  of distrust towards Iran and creating  a scenario of justifying an attack on Iran.

Any bid by Iran to block the Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Gulf, through which 20 per cent of the world’s oil exports pass could result in a big oil price spike  and ensuing chaos and distrust between countries.

What are these sanctions imposed by the EU ?

EU nations have formally adopted an unprecedented set of sanctions against Tehran – which include a bloc-wide embargo on Iranian oil

Iran’s blocking threat of the strait of Hormuz was a reaction to the European Union decision to impose sanctions on the Iranian central bank.But with no defined central power figure in Iran , it cannot be confirmed  whether this threat is legitimate  and backed by the powers that run Iran or as specified just  a comment made by a member of the parliament which has been blown out of proportion , for the selfish propaganda needs of some western countries that are safeguarding their interests.

The EU embargo or sanctions on Iranian oil exports, amounts to the most significant package of sanctions yet agreed. They are also likely to impose a partial freeze on assets held by the Iranian Central Bank in the EU. The reasons for these sanctions is aid to arise from concern that Iran is developing nuclear weapons under the guise of a nuclear energy programme.

The strait of hormuz and its importance !

On an average day in 2011, about 14 tankers carrying 17 million barrels (2,700,000 m3) of crude oil passed out of the Persian Gulf through the Strait of hormuz. This represents 35% of the world’s seaborne oil shipments, and 20% of oil traded worldwide. More than 85 percent of these crude oil exports went to Asian markets, with Japan, India, South Korea, and China representing the largest destination

The strait at its narrowest is 54 kilometres (34 mi) wide. It is the only sea passage to the open ocean for large areas of the petroleum-exporting Persian Gulf and is one of the world’s most strategically important passageways  through which major part of the oil exports to the world passes through.

Tensions near strait of hormuz

US Miliatary carrier Abraham Lincoln’s entry into the Gulf came in defiance of an explicit warning from Iran. Earlier this month, General Ataollah Salehi, commander of the country’s armed forces, threatened to respond with "full force" if any US carrier ventured into the region’s waters. "We don’t have the intention of repeating our warning, and we warn only once," he said.

USS Abraham Lincoln, a nuclear-powered carrier capable of embarking 90 aircraft, passed through this channel and entered the Gulf without incident on Sunday. HMS Argyll, a Type 23 frigate from the Royal Navy, was one of the escort vessels making up the carrier battle-group. A guided missile cruiser and two destroyers from the US Navy completed the flotilla, along with one warship from the French navy.

On Sunday, six naval warships including Abraham Lincoln that is based in those waters from the US and the UK started to patrol the Straits of Hormuz in a show of strength. The straits could be the chokepoint for global oil flows if Iran decides to take the battle to oil-dependent countries and stops oil tankers here. This could send oil prices soaring and would be a killer blow to the sluggish global economy.

With this current situation looking like a economic war brought on by US , EU  and IRAN, there is always the danger of it escalating with dangerous consequences. China’s Prime Minister Wen Jiabao was  has expressed concerns in this context of rising tensions over fresh Western sanctions against Iran and its consequences for energy security in Asia.

Links:

Europe buys oil from – http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1621003/Factbox–Whose-oil-does-the-EU-buy-

The aboriginal  language of Iwaidja is thousands of years old but on Croker Island only about 150 people still speak it.

About the Smartphone Iwaidja  app

The app will have 1,000 dictionary entries and almost 500 phrases and people will be able to search the word , and also hear the word on the app that is being developed.

The Iwaiidja app will help keep the language alive for future generations and help visitors to the region better understand the local culture

Related links

AusAnthrop Australian Aboriginal tribal database

http://www.iwaidja.org/

Iwaidja – Project

Iwaidja (NT)

Business Newspapers Australia

In fact according to IBIS revenue  to Australian on-line retailers is expected to increase to a staggering 8.6 %per year over five years to be  worth a whopping 10 Billion. Internet acess and speed have increased  and will increase further with the  teh NBN making it possible fopr the larger part of the population to go online and read newspapers  or shop online.

The older methods of getting the latest breaking news like the TV and the Newspaper  will soon become a thing of the past.

Below  is a list of some of the “major Australian Newspapers”  that have managed to get a sizeable online presence in this changing market.

Sydney Morning herald (SMH) – Sydney and Australian News @  www.smh.com.au

The Australian -  www.australian.com.au

The Age – Melbourne & Australian News @ www.theage.com.au

Heraldsun – -Victoria and Australia News @ www.heraldsun.com.au

News Portal  – www.news.com.au

Many of these newspapers have also released apps for smartphones in the apple and Android marketplace to make their news more accessible to people with smartphones on the go

The Australian financial review

Other than newspapers having online presence there  are other dedicated online Business journals that  have a had a major online presence since a some time back like  the www.brw.com.au/  ( Business review weekly )and local players  like www.wabusinessnews.com.au ( for WA business ) and the Business spectator at www.businessspectator.com.au/

The Business Review Weekly

If you are looking  for a old article from  a newspaper , it is likely that you can  find it  at www.trove.nla.gov.au which have  a digitised version of the newspapers online or Archives

The 2011 Business Year in review

 The boat Tragedy of Christmas island - On December, 15th  2010, a boat carrying around 90 asylum seekers, mostly from Iraq and Iran, sank off the coast of Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian ocean. For a period of about one hour, the unpowered boat was washed back and forth as backwash water pushed it away from the cliff and finally the boat broke Killing and injuring many.

The Queensland floods – Floodwaters rushed through much of Queensland in December 2010 and January 2011

The Malaysian Asylum swap deal  – The Australian  High Court declared the Federal Government’s so-called Malaysia solution invalid, leaving the Federal Government’s refugee policy in tatters.

Overseas Student murder,India Media and threat to billion dollar education industry .A  Indian  student murder leads to press in India labelling it a race murder  and dwindling of student admissions.

Pic: ref thevine.co.au

Online shopping in Australia and Brick and mortar shops..Online retailers who have not joined the new online shopping revolution whinge about online retailers getting GST tax benefit

The tsunami in japan – A magnitude 9.0 earthquake hit off the coast of Japan, near the city of Sendai and followed with a tsunami wrecking havoc in japan and then also triggered the worst nuclear disaster sine Chernobyl, causing a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Europe crisis and  US stock market volatility

Subdued Real estate sector and when it will  be up again. The Global Real Estate Trends report stated the warning of “further slowing in sales and price appreciation in 2011” which has come true.

The china Real estate bubble - In China, house prices throughout the country have fallen as  strict government policies aimed at cooling the property market start to take effect, prompting fears from many analysts that the china house price bubble is bursting.

The Arab uprisings – A revolution took place across the Arab world in early 2011, with hordes of protesters taking to the streets in Tunisia and Egypt, then later in Libya, Bahrain &  Iran.

The Christchurch earthquake – A 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit New Zealand’s at 12:51pm on February 22, creating havoc and killing many people in central Christchurch  and Canterbury

The riots in london – Between 6 and 10 August 2011, several London boroughs and districts of cities and towns across England suffered widespread rioting, looting and arson.

I also came across a interesting post  ( year 2011, according to Thomas Edison in 1911 ) .check o it out

Some of our other popular Blog posts in 2011

Are Australian Wineries in trouble ?

Mining rivals Mongolia & South Africa increase mining projects

Royal wedding cartwheels by Holy man

Wrap up – Diggers & Dealers 2011 Conference

Rising demand in China and India for their energy needs has pushed mergers and acquisitions globally to a record $34.5 billion this year, with 192 companies acquired .

The possible  combination of Whitehaven Coal Ltd. and Aston Resources Ltd. could create a giant of a company valued at A$5.1 billion ($5.1 billion).

International coal consumption is projected to climb by an annual 2.8 percent in the six years to 2016 due to rising demand to feed power  generation stations and steel mills in China and India.

Deals and acquisitions In coal sector

Yanzhou was China’s biggest takeover of an Australian company with the A$3.1 billion acquisition of Felix Resources Ltd. in 2009.

Yanzhou Coal Mining Co., China’s fourth-biggest producer, plans to buy Gloucester Coal Ltd. for at least $2 billion.

International Coal Ventures Ltd., a group of Indian state- backed companies formed to buy overseas coal assets, is one of  the bidders for Aquila Resources Ltd.’s Washpool coal mine in Australia

Peabody Energy Corp.’s impending  $4 billion takeover of Macarthur Coal Ltd.

New Hope Corp., with a market value of A$4.7 billion, said last month  is said to be in talks with several bidders.

Tata, India’s largest business group  or JSW Steel Ltd. another large Indian steel company could possibly bid for the miner to secure thermal- coal mines.

Cockatoo Coal Ltd., with a market value of A$376 million, is another possible target.

Carabella, which has a market value of A$155 million, said in October that it had received “several unsolicited expressions of interest” in its Grosvenor West project in Queensland

Rising Prices of coking coal & thermal coal

Global imports of thermal coal may increase 5.2 percent next year to 581 million tons led by gains in India, Australia’s bureau said and analysts are predicting gains in price for coking and thermal coal  and also and increase in imports from the major growing economies.

The value of  Australian mining companies has fallen to the lowest since July 2010, dropping 35 precent from a high this year creating a  very attractive price factor for takeovers and mergers in this sector.

WordPress Tags: Black,Coal,India,china,Australian,shores,,Ventures,

Indian,assets,bidders,Aquila,Washpool,Peabody,

Macarthur,Hope,Tata,Steel,miner,Cockatoo,million,

Carabella,October,Grosvenor,West,Queensland,

With Samsung now getting a decision in their favour in Australia they will be laughing all the way to the bank by  being able to sell their SAMSUNG TABLETS in Australia which apple was trying to  block. The market for smartphones and tablets  are hot and there is a lot of money involved in sales of these latest hot products  and now companies are willing to file  court cases just to get their fair share of this pie. with sales in smartphones and tablets booming Apple and Samsung have been embroiled in some 30 legal cases in 10 countries since April

Samsung galaxy tablet  and Apple ipad  are fighting it out  to become the markets leaders  in the tablet market

Samsung Electronics Co won this round of its global patent fight with Apple Inc on Friday when an Australian court lifted a ban on the sale of its Galaxy tablet computer just  in time for the busy Christmas shopping season. 

Samsung’s bid to block iPhone 4s sales in France was also recently rejected  allowing Apple to  sell its new iPhone 4s range of  smartphones.

Now Amazon.com has also entered the fray with its Kindle Fire tablet joining the tablet wars

Article provided by pctablets-reviews.com

Australia currently is enjoying the boom in the mining industry with new mining projects being announced and many expansions  and mergers announced in the last two years due to this profitable sector. It attracts investors ands deals from its Asian neighbor’s because it has already got  good infrastructure for steady supply of resources a reliable government and governance and reliable supply of the Mineral exports.

Rise of Mongolia and South Africa mining

South Africa and Mongolia have  advantages over Australia where mining is concerned, they not only have access to cheap labour but  the resources are said to be much richer according to experts and therefore less refining and processing required before export to other countries giving them an advantage in the resource’s price.

Mining in Mongolia

Mongolia is in the middle of a big economic transformation thanks to some really good mineral riches and government giving more access to outside companies to mine their riches thus making it a new investment hotspot. The country is one of the fastest growing economies of the world with a growth rate of 17 % a year and the Mongolian stock exchange was also the best performer in the world in 2010.

The Oyu Tolgoi copper gold deposit that was first explored unsuccessfully and then abandoned by BHP,  is now in Canada’s IVANHOE Mining hands with plans underway for them to develop this ,one of the worlds largest copper –Gold deposits, with a big market for them conveniently right next door (CHINA and INDIA) . TAVAN TOLGOI is another estimated six billion tone  coal deposit close to OYU TOLGOI and is said to be the largest underdeveloped coking coal project in the world.

There are other factors though where Mongolia has to step up with their infrastructure struggling  to keep up with the pace of economic growth. The rapid economic change has also resulted in their mongolian currency the ‘”tugrik” appreciating quickly  hurting other industries like tourism and the cashmere trade which has been a traditional earner for the mongolian people. With this rapid economic change creating class divides due to the perception of the mining wealth not distributed fairly, has brought some uncertainty with frequent regime changes happening in recent years.

Projects in Mongolia

• Ivanhoe mining
• East Asia Minerals Corp
• ENTREE GOLD INC.
• AREVA GROUP
• Aspire Mining Limited
• BHP BILLITON
• Haranga Resources Limited
• Aspire Mining Limited
• MERITUS MINERALS LTD.

South Africa Mining projects surge

South Africa is the world’s biggest producer of platinum, and one of the leading producers of gold, diamonds, base metals and coal

Iraj Abedian, a South African economist  has advised the mining ministry, saying South Africa isn’t the only mining power trying to determine how best to ensure its natural resources benefit as many south african people as possible, he said similar debates are going on in Latin America and Australia

Only recently , Colin Barnett in one of his speeches on mining commented that Australia should be well aware of  its rivals in the mining industry, and south Africa can very soon become a competitor  to selling its mineral resources to china and india at much competitive prices. Mining grew by 47% last year, according to the Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines, and had been forecast to grow a further 44% in 2011.

Botswana will lift a moratorium on new prospecting licences for coal, coal-bed methane (CBM) and related minerals by the end of September, a government official said on Friday

Projects in South Africa

• Cortec Mining – Kenya
• RioZim – Zimbabwe ( with RIO TINTO)
• Murray & Roberts (M&R)  - Zimbabwe
• Lafarge – Zimbabwe
• Anglo American (De Beers)  - Botswana

Aussies Claim another Sporting Victory

Williams was the hot favourite to win the cup but  Ninth-seeded Stosur had other plans and beat Serena Williams on American soil. The match was won in one hour and 13 minutes in front of 23,000 people on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

This is another great victory for Australia after Cadel Evans recently claimed the Tour de france cup

The match was not without controversy with Williams berating the chair umpire after receiving a one-point penalty for verbal hindrance.

What Serena Williams said to umpire Asdaraki

Williams called the chair umpire a ”hater”.

”If you ever see me walking down the hall, walk the other way,” she said.

"Aren’t you the one who screwed me over last time?,” Williams bellowed at Umpire Asdaraki. "That is totally not cool.”

Related links:

http://samstosur.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha_Stosur

While the sales of Australian wines  have gone down, French wines have been doing pretty well. French wine only accounts for 1.7% of all wine sales, but the share has doubled in the past five years. Apart from the low domestic demand in Australia  the high Australian dollar and domestic over-supply of grapes have also  affected the wine markets.

Some of the more popular wine growing region s in australia  is the Hunter Valley ( NSW,VIC), Swan valley , Margaret river( WA), Port Phillip and Gippsland ( Greater Victoria)

The wine grape production for the year 2009-10 is estimated by the ABS to be 1.53 million tones, around 9 percent lower than  the 2008-2009 harvest. The wine industry has been  affected by scarce water supplies in some regions and in some parts of south eastern Australia  also by the heat wave. In Victoria many  winegrowers was affected by the floods and outbreaks of  disease due to damp and humid conditions. The Murray darling  Swan hill zone has  been affected by disease  affecting wine production  in early parts of the year.

Red wine grapes have been the farmers popular choice in cultivation of production in 2009-10 with  it accounting for the total of 55%

The Popular grape variety cultivated by farmers in 2009-10

1. Shiraz

2. Chardonnay

3. Cabernet-Sauvignon

The forecast for   2011 –12 is for the wine  grape production to increase by 10 %  taking into account vines reaching full production, but so far the weather is playing a dampener on  good wine grape production and these results could get affected by any major disruptions in weather.

For more detailed information  on  wine grape  production statistics you can visit  www.abs.gov.au and www.abares.gov.au