Entrepreneurship

These Ridiculous Facts About the Coffee Industry Will Blow Your Mind

Alex Biles — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:45:30 +0000

Courtesy of data from the International Coffee Organization, the folks over at FinancesOnline.com have put up a slick infographic with a bounty of interesting facts and figures about the coffee industry.

The infographic details everything from the role of "coffee coyotes" -- middlemen who force farmers to sell coffee at a loss, then sell the product to millers for a high profit -- to the roles that giants like Dunkin Donuts (NASDAQ: DNKN) and ...

Here Are 14 Yearbook Photos of Business Big Shots

Alex Biles — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:19:13 +0000

When we think of the business titans of our age, we often associate their likeness with private jets, cash flows in the millions, intense board room meetings and bold leadership.

Yet, the humble beginnings of the CEOs, co-founders and chairmen of some of America's top companies are often overlooked.

Benzinga compiled a collection of high school yearbook photos from some of the biggest names in the business and finance sectors today.

Which high school version of a current business big shot would you hang out with if you could? Let us know in the comments.

Brian Moynihan is the CEO of Bank of America.

Moynihan was the youngest boy in a family of nine, and would wear his older siblings' hand-me-downs. "I had the smallest [sweater] and then I grew into the next and the next and the next. I had to wear them all," Moynihan told Brown Alumni Magazine. (Photo: Brown Daily Herald).

David Tepper is the head of Appaloosa Management, a hedge fund that grossed $2.2 billion last year -- the most of anyone in 2012.

When Tepper was 4 or 5 years old, his older sister brought him to school as the topic of her show-and-tell project. David showed up off his advanced multiplication and addition skills to the class. (Photo: Bloomberg TV).

Donald Trump is the Chairman and President of the Trump Organization

Born in Queens, Trump was sent to the New York Military Academy by his parents, beginning at age thirteen. (Photo: Yearbook Library).

Rex Tillerson is the Chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil. ...

To Succeed With Tumblr, Yahoo Has to Reverse a History of Questionable Acquisitions

Alex Biles — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:53:29 +0000

With the blessing of its board on Sunday, Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) acquired Tumblr, the trendy social network most popular among teens, at a favorable valuation of $1.1 billion.

This means Marissa Meyer and company shelled out about a quarter of the company's cash on the chance that they can monetize the social network run by David Karp. The attempt at monetization comes as Yahoo hopes to appease the Tumblr faithful while simultaneously growing the site.

This wouldn't mark the first time Yahoo has swallowed up a booming startup, as its long list of buyouts display. Meyer has high hopes for Tumblr, and in the company's press release, Yahoo promises not to "screw it up."

But to achieve its high expectations, Yahoo will have to reverse the course of a long, miserable history of unsuccessful acquisitions. Here are nine of Yahoo's most notable acquisitions gone awry.

Follow Alex Biles on Twitter at @perfectlyaloof.

1. Broadcast.com (1999)

Mark Cuban founded broadcast.com with Christopher Jaeb and Todd Wagner as AudioNet in 1995. The company broadcasted talk radio live on the Internet and later added sports and even presidential conventions.

Broadcast.com went public in 1998, setting a one-day record for IPOs (at the time) by rising almost 250 percent from its opening price, climbing from $18 per share to $62.75.

Yahoo acquired broadcast.com for $5.7 billion in 1999, eventually splitting its services into Yahoo Launchcast for music and the now discontinued Yahoo Platinum for video. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons).

2. GeoCities (1999)

Yahoo bought GeoCities for $3.6 billion in 1999. At the time, GeoCities was the third-most trafficked website in the world, offering a web host and online community in one.

Yahoo let GeoCities simply sit there, rotting away like a summer squash in a fiery autumn before sounding its death knell in 2009. (Photo: ArsTechnica).

...

One Year Later: Facebook Employees Are Happier Since the IPO

Alex Biles — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:55:01 +0000

One year following Facebook's (NASDAQ: FB) IPO, its employees are more satisfied than they were in the twelve months before the public offering, as well as more confident in CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

The revealing figures come from a survey conducted by Glassdoor. In the twelve month period before the May 18, 2012 public offering, Facebook workers gave their company a 4.6 rating, where a "5" indicated maximum satisfaction.

In the year since, that rating increased to a 4.7 average among employees. In the same time period, Facebook employees' approval rating of Mark Zuckerberg climbed from 95 percent to 99 percent.

Outside of a rough patch in the first half of 2011, Facebook has maintained a consistently high rating among employees both before and after its IPO.

Employee pay at Facebook also appears ...

These 10 Companies Have the Best Business Outlook According to Employees

Alex Biles — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:47:52 +0000

A new report from Glassdoor has surveyed employees around the country and captured their sentiments on the prospects of their employers.

The survey is voluntary and anonymous, containing the question: Do you believe your company's business outlook will get better, stay the same or get worse in the next six months?

Company ratings are determined by respective employees. Check out the slideshow to see who made the top ten.

10. Home Depot

Outlook Getting Better: 61%

Staying the Same: 32%

Getting Worse: 6%

Company rating (out of 5): 3.3

9. Whole Foods Market

Outlook Getting Better: 62%

Staying the Same: 29%

Getting Worse: 10%

Company rating (out of 5): 3.8

...

SolarCity Continues Rocket Ride

Scott Rubin — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:43:26 +0000

According to Elon Musk's Wikipedia page, he first conceived of the idea for SolarCity (NASDAQ: SCTY), a company founded by his cousins Lyndon and Peter Rive, at the annual Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert.

Like many of Musk's various inspirations, today SolarCity is a thriving company sporting a market-cap of around $2.65 billion. Investors who bought in at the IPO price in December 2012 have already realized gains well in excess of 300 percent.

SolarCity is run by Lyndon Rive and Musk remains the company's chairman of the board. Musk's other better-known ventures include Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA), which has been on quite the hot streak of late, and Space X, an ambitious rocket technology company with a goal of one day helping colonize Mars.

In recent months, as the share price of both Tesla and Solar City have soared, so has Musk's net worth. Today, he is worth an estimated $4.3 billion after basically going completely cash broke as recently as 2010. Although Musk provided the financing and inspiration for SolarCity, the story of the company is not really about him.

SolarCity describes itself as a national leader in clean energy services. "We make clean energy available to homeowners, businesses, schools, non-profits, and government organizations at a lower cost than they pay for energy generated by burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas." The company, based in San Mateo, California, currently employs ...

These 11 Companies Are Paying Less and Keeping Americans Poor

Alex Biles — Sat, 11 May 2013 15:11:07 +0000

The National Employment Law Office has uncovered a disturbing statistic. Since the job market hit a bottom in February 2010, lower-wage jobs have grown nearly three times faster than jobs that pay more.

While the recession has seen companies like McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) thrive -- a 130 percent surge in profits is nothing to scoff at -- the real wages of low-income Americans have declined.

This is a direct affront to the traditional American orthodoxy that over time, hard work will result in greater wages and upward mobility.

With the help of crowdsourced information from Payscale, Benzinga chose companies known for their low pay at random and documented the wages places like Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) , Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) and The Gap (NYSE: GPS) pay their workers.

The findings were not pretty.

The U.S. Government classifies those working full-time and making under $10.60 an hour to be poor.

In more than one case, we found companies like Yum Brands (NYSE: YUM) subsidiary Kentucky Fried Chicken whose median hourly wages for workers with more than 10 years of experience failed to crack $10 an hour.

Hourly wage ranges were chosen based off Payscale's crowdsourced reports of wages from the most common jobs at each employer.

1. McDonald's Restaurants Ltd.

Number of employees worldwide: 1.8 million

Hourly wage range (U.S.): $7.11-$12.19

Employer pay: -4% below market

Median Hourly Pay by Experience
Less than 1 year: $7.73
1-4 years: $8.00
5-9 years: $8.86
10-19 years: $9.69

2. Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)

Number of employees worldwide: 190,000

Hourly wage range: $7.63 -$11.23

Employer pay: -6% below market

Median Hourly Pay by Experience
Less than 1 year: $7.78
1-4 years: $8.01
5-9 years: $9.19
10-19 years: $9.31

...

UBS Joins a Growing Group of Titans in Funding the Entrepreneurial Fellowship Venture for America

Jake L'Ecuyer — Fri, 10 May 2013 17:08:11 +0000

In a press release Friday morning, UBS Americas (NYSE: UBS) announced it would invest $1.2M over the course of three years to support an entrepreneurial fellowship called Venture for America as part of its “Revitalizing America” initiative.

Inspired by Teach for America, Venture for America places top-level college graduates in low-cost cities at startups where they can both gain meaningful experience and positively impact the expansion of the company they work for. The program launched last year in Detroit, New Orleans, Providence, Cincinnati and Las Vegas and is expanding to Baltimore, Cleveland and Philadelphia this year.

"We're grateful to UBS for their vision and support." said Andrew Yang, Founder and CEO of Venture for America. "With their backing, we'll be able to further our mission of revitalizing American cities and communities by putting our talent in ...

Ron Perelman Praises Technology And Preaches Disruption in Unprecedented Interview

Jason Cunningham — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:23:33 +0000

Financier Ronald Perelman appeared on CNBC's Squawk Box for an exclusive live interview Thursday morning, marking the first time Perelman has given a live televised interview.

During the hour-long chat, Perelman discussed earnings, political views, future possibilities and announced his promise of $100 million to Columbia Business School.

In regards to his more than a dozen companies, he said that earnings growing, but that top-line growth has been difficult across every sector.

"I think it's an interesting time. I think overall our businesses are doing very well. Not in regard to revenue growth, but in regard to controlling expenses," said Perelman.

Companies like Revlon Cosmetics (NYSE: REV) are only going to grow two to three percent this year.

"Everything is around that level or flat," said Perelman.

He noted that there was no need to hire back the layoffs from 2008 and 2009 because of their increased efficiency and productivity, which is good for the operating companies but bad for unemployment rates. Perelman said that technology was what gave them the availability of increased productivity.

Perelman went on to say that he thinks that technology is key for opening up new markets while improving models.

"It's expanded our horizons and I think that's ...

Top 4 NYSE Stocks in the Electronic Equipment Industry with the Lowest PEG Ratio

Monica Gerson — Wed, 01 May 2013 15:11:04 +0000

For the date of May 1, here are the top electronic equipment stocks on the NYSE in terms of PEG ratio.

Harman International

Company: Harman International Industries (NYSE: HAR)

PEG ratio: 1.06

Trailing twelve-month operating margin: 6.70%

Overview: Harman International Industries, Incorporated is engaged in the developing, manufacturing and marketing of audio products and electronic systems. The Company has developed a range of product offerings, which are sold under brand names like AKG, Crown, JBL, Infinity, Harman/Kardon, Lexicon, dbx, Digitec, BSS, Studer, Soundcraft, Mark Levinson, Becker, Revel, Logic and Selenium. The Company has four segments: Infotainment, Lifestyle, Professional, and Other. The Company's Infotainment segment designs, manufactures and markets infotainment systems for vehicle applications. The Company's Lifestyle segment designs, manufactures and markets automotive audio systems for vehicle applications. The Company's professional segment designs, manufactures and markets a range of loudspeakers, power amplifiers,digital signal processors, microphones,headphones and mixing consoles. Effective February 28, 2013, the Company acquired Martin Professional A/S from A/S Schouw & Co. (via NYSE).

...

A 'Buffet' of Buffett: Benzinga's Biggest Pet Peeve

Alex Biles — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 14:34:55 +0000

Everybody makes mistakes.

But can you imagine incorrectly spelling the name of one of the biggest and most respected business people in America, not once, but hundreds of times?

From Wikipedia:

Warren Edward Buffett (/ˈbʌfɨt/; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is widely considered the most successful investor of the 20th century.

From The Free Dictionary:

buffet n. (pronounced BUFF-AY) 1. A meal consisting of several dishes from which guests serve themselves.

See the difference?

What Benzinga has captured here is one of our biggest pet peeves and the perpetrators will surprise you. Some of the most respected newspapers, magazines and financial outlets on the Internet have continually misspelled the Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A)(NYSE: BRK-B) CEO's name, even those with teams of editors at their disposal.

Prepare yourselves and get ready to cringe!

Time Warner Cable is our first offender.

Really? The New York Times?

*Shakes Head*

This looks like a super reliable service, everybody!

'Buffet' fever is a worldwide epidemic.

Get rich by opening a buffet?

I never knew a table full of food could have opinions on Facebook stock.

Does anybody read U.S. News for any reason other than college rankings?

Amateur newspaper. Amateur mistake.

*Facepalm*

Uh oh. ...

Online Advertisers and Senators Butt Heads Over 'Do Not Track'

Jim Probasco — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:20:07 +0000

Digital advertising advocates are concerned that browser “do not track” settings will bring financial ruin to small online businesses. On the other hand, members of Congress, including Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.), say online companies are not complying with the wishes of consumers who do not want their Internet browsing tracked.

It all came to a head Wednesday during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation according to The New York Times. Rockefeller called out the digital advertising industry for failing to honor privacy requests from online consumers and threatened to press for federal legislation to get the job done.

In response, Lou Mastria, managing director of the Digital Advertising Alliance, said the industry had set up a program called, “Your AdChoices,” which consumers can use to opt out of receiving tailored ads.

Rockefeller, however, was not buying what the advertisers were selling. “Do Not Track,“ he said, “is still just an idea, not a reality.” Adding, “What exactly is the holdup?”

The holdup seems to be the desire of online advertisers to amass ...