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Facebook insiders can sell stock as 'lock-up' ends

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Menlo Park (California): Facebook's early investors and a handful of directors will become eligible on Thursday to sell stock they own in the social networking company. It marks the beginning of a time-honored process for public companies, one that will give many Facebook employees the same right to sell their shares this fall.

It's conceivable none of them will sell. But if they do, up to 1.91 billion more shares could flood the stock market over the next several months -- more than four times the 421 million shares that have been trading since Facebook's initial public offering in May.
Facebook insiders can sell stock as 'lock-up' ends
So-called "lock-up" periods, which prevent insiders from unloading shares too close to an IPO, generally start to expire 90 days after a stock makes its public debut. The progressive phasing-in of various shareholders allows early owners to shed their stock and make way for new investors, says Peter Zaleski, a professor of economics at the Villanova School of Business in Pennsylvania.

But there's risk involved, too. If too many people sell, Facebook's stock price could decline. That's a problem the company can't afford. On Tuesday, the stock closed at $20.38, down 46 per cent from its initial public offering price of $38.

In all, 271 million shares will become eligible this week, according to Facebook's regulatory filings. Firms ranging from Accel Partners to Goldman Sachs, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus and Facebook board members James Breyer, Peter Thiel and Reid Hoffman are among those free to sell. Microsoft Corp., another early Facebook investor, will be eligible to sell, too.

Facebook's 28-year-old chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, won't be able to sell his shares until mid-November. Facebook hasn't explained why Zuckerberg didn't become eligible this week. He controls about a third of the 1.22 billion shares and stock options that will become unlocked on Nov. 14.

Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter believes it's unlikely that top executives will sell their shares as soon as they can. It would look bad for the company, Pachter says, if Facebook's No. 2 executive and operating chief Sheryl Sandberg or finance chief David Ebersman decide to sell. 'The only people who would sell are people who need the money,' Pachter says. 'I would be very worried if Sheryl Sandberg or Ebersman sell, but they are not that dumb.'

Following this week's lock-up expiration date, about 243 million more Facebook shares and stock options will enter the public stock market between Oct. 15 and Nov. 13. That's when current and former Facebook employees will be able to sell stock they earned as compensation.

Then there's the November 14 expiration, and another one a month later. Next May, a year after Facebook's IPO, the Russian Internet company Mail.ru Group and DST Global -- both of which made early investments in Facebook -- will be able to sell their shares.

The early investors who sold their stock to the public as part of Facebook's IPO did so at $38 each. If they sell now, they will make far less money from each share than they did in the IPO. Facebook's stock has not hit its IPO price since its first day of trading. As a result, the company's market value has plummeted from $104 billion to $59.1 billion in roughly three months.

August 2012 Google Toolbar PageRank Update | Google PageRank Update August 2012

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August 2012 Google Toolbar PageRank Update

Well there comes just a new update on Google's Page popularity algo on 2nd August 2012. The PageRank toolbar has started showing new ranks for all websites worldwide. The update this time seems a major one and there could be no further expectation of any new changes within the next 24 hours. The last update was on May 3rd and third last was on February 6th. The duration gap has now become constant. Google rolls out these updates quarterly, after every three months. The next update and last update of this year is expected anytime between  November 1-10 2012. PageRank as you all know is a numerical weighting scale between 0-10. Websites that are recommended by related niches via backlinks rank higher on PR scale and get the benefit of faster crawl and index rate.  Blogs with higher PR are crawled faster compared to those with lower PageRank. For example a PR 7 webpage is crawled several times per minute compared to a PR 5 page that is crawled once every minute. The faster the robot crawls your pages the greater the chances for you to drive organic traffic from Google and build readership.

The PR for MBT remains at 4.0 and same is true for SEM which remains at 2.0. My main focus these last months have been Alexa Rank and I must congratulate all our readers for taking MBT to attain an Alexa Rank of 7K. MBT now counts amongst the very few Google blogs that has AlhamdulillAh crossed the 10K boundary. SEM has amazingly reached 29K within just 6 months and is improving daily. 

How important is PageRank?
PageRank is a successful link analysis algorithm that differentiates Google from its Market competitors. This algo is and was the backbone of Google's popularity when Larry Page and Sergey brin  first introduced this new giant search engine's functionality in September 1998. SEO professionals and internet marketers have now started measuring a website's popularity in terms of PageRank and Alexa Rank. PR is good to attract paid product reviews. Business owners do pay well if your blog has a stable PageRank, at least 3.0
But PageRank comes last in my priority list. Read further to find why.
Google Web Spam Head, Matt Cutts himself says that what is more important is your Content and not the PageRank. Watch this useful video:

Why your PageRank is not increasing?
Your PageRank did not increase? If yes then don't get frustrated and start understanding the concept first. PageRank is not sequential and surely not proportional to the number of incoming links. It is an automatic system that depends on quality links pointing your main domain. I have already written a detailed post that explains every single question revolving around your mind:

Do you need several backlinks?
It's a myth that PR depends on getting hundreds of backlinks from niche websites. A single link from a high PR blog can change your rank from 0 to 4. Some guest authors have already experienced this with us before. You must not waste your precious time commenting on forums and blogs just for the sake of low quality backlinks. Keep yourself limited to just 4-5 blogs that you may read and interact with. Build a relationship with your favorite authors and once you succeed in winning a respect in their eyes for yourselves, you can then start guest posting at these blogs without any hesitation.


Quick PR Formula:
  • Guest post on at least 4 Blogs (where you comment) with PR > 3
  • Make your Post of at least 1K words
  • Make sure your blog is well designed, presented and contains at least 25 posts. You must provide a solid reason so that the author may offer a link.
  • Produce a post that is related to the author's niche
  • Make it presentable, sound mature and to the point
  • Never try to promote yourself or your blog on a guest post, talk about the topic only.
  • Add images and video to make the post stand out
No one would neglect such a great post. Try it.

Do not fool yourselves
Site rankings do count well but give your first priority to quality content only. Write more and publish more. Do not waste your online working hours in finding tweaks to somehow increase your PageRank. Instead do a lot of reading and Work on your SEO skills and build readership. There are many blogs online with PR 6.0 but they are not well versed with marketing strategies to use in order to market their blog and make a living out of it. Neither PR nor Alexa are as important as readership. I have always emphasized on the following priority list:
  1. Readership First          (i.e. Posting quality content)
  2. Traffic second              
  3. Alexa third
  4. PageRank Fourth
Advertisers look for a return value in your blogs, if you fail to offer that you fail to win a lucrative income. Internet Marketers look at your niche topic first and then they analyze your readership, fan followers and finally your site rankings.

What is the Maximum PageRank achievable by a blog?
So far blogs that are managed by a single author or 2-6 authors could succeed in achieving a maximum of PR 6.0. I have not come across any blog with zero investment to have attained a number greater than six. Normally large businesses that have strong marketing backup rank high because the investment is huge. Blogs like search engine land, seomoz, mashable and techcrunch are corporate websites that have several hired authors who write tons of articles per week. Many people are involved behind its promotion and management and they are often backed by both print and electronic media.
So if you are a dedicated blogger then achieving 6 should be your goal. Remember Pagerank does not decide which blog is good and which is poor, its only an algorithm that tells whether a site is well recommended online or not. Reputation of any blog depends only in its strong reader base and quality updates.

What's your PageRank?
Do share with us your updated PR values and feel free to ask any SEO related question. I just hope this new update was a calm one for most of you. If you have seen a sudden positive jump then well done, if your Rank remains the same then thumbs up but if your PR has dropped then don't get demotivated and start working on the simple PR formula we shared above. Nothing works better than this technique so make yourself prepared for some quality guest posts and work with patience because you have a lot of time. i.e. 3 Months. The next update could occur anytime between 1-10 November 2012.

Download Metacafe Video Downloader

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Download Metacafe Video Downloader
Metacafe Video Downloader Description Download, save and convert Metacafe videos ( metacafe.com ) to your PC Download and saveMetacafe videos ( metacafe.com ) to your PC, Ipod, Iphone, Mobile Phone, PSP with one-click. No need to use scripts for web browsers. You don't need any players to play flash video just play it on the default media player classic. No extra codecs or players needed.

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Last updated: 18.11.2011 | Updated
Publisher: Chermenin Software, Inc.
Category: Internet / Download Managers
Editor's rating: Not rated yet 

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Kingfisher Air loss widens to Rs 651 cr in first quarter

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Mumbai: The net loss of debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines widened to Rs 651 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2012, from Rs 264 crore a year ago.

Impact of high fuel cost, high interest rate, rupee depreciation and extraordinary expenses on account of return of aircraft to the lessors and costs associated with non-operating aircraft resulted in the loss, the airline said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
Kingfisher Air loss widens to Rs 651 cr in first quarter

Revenue dropped to Rs 301 crore in the April-June quarter from Rs 1,907 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

On Friday, shares of the airline tanked by over 11 per cent and closed at Rs 7.40 on the BSE. Intra-day, the scrip plunged 12.6 per cent to a record low of Rs 7.27.

Maruti expects to resume Manesar operations in 10 days

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New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki is expected to restart production at its Manesar facility in the week starting August 20. An announcement to the effect is expected on Monday, top company officials told Business Line.
Maruti expects to resume Manesar operations in 10 days

The plant, which has two production lines making about 1,900 cars a day, was shut following the July 18 violence that claimed the life of an official and injured 96 others. Maruti had declared a lockout on July 21.

"We hope to make an announcement on resuming production at Manesar on Monday (August 13). Component vendors will have to be informed to start supplies, so we will need a week to 10 days from Monday to start operations," a Maruti official said.

The carmaker will first start Plant B, which currently makes the new Swift hatchback and is expected to shift some experienced workers from its Gurgaon plant for the same. Plant B has been chosen to run first because it is highly automated and would thus need fewer workers to resume operations. Resuming production of the Swift and then the Dzire would help the company meet the high demand for the diesel variants of the models.

With the festival season round the corner, the production halt has stretched waiting periods on both these models from 3-4 months to 5-6 months.


On Monday, the company is also expected to get the report of the Special Investigation Team on the July 18 violence. Till now, the Gurgaon police have arrested 137 workers, including 12 office-bearers of the plant union.

S.Y. Siddiqui, COO for Administration (HR, IT), said, 'We will definitely review the investigation report on Monday. We will then be able to announce our estimate as to when we should be able to restart the plant.' Along with statements gathered from the injured officials, the report will help the company identify all the employees involved in the clash and take action on those who are found guilty.

The month-long closure of the plant is expected to result in about Rs 2,700-crore loss in potential revenues for the car market leader and a drop in market share from 40 to 38 per cent. Maruti Suzuki shares on the BSE were up 1.61 per cent at Rs 1,163.50 on Friday.

Pawar rules out drought-like situation in Punjab, Haryana

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Chandigarh: Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, promising to compensate farmers for incurring heavy input and irrigation costs due to rainfall scarcity, denied that a drought-like situation was prevailing in the states of Punjab and Haryana
Pawar rules out drought-like situation in Punjab, Haryana

The Centre would give compensation to the farmers in the form of subsidies which would be deposited directly into their accounts, said Pawar, who was touring the two states along with union minister for rural development and drinking water and sanitation Jairam Ramesh. "Over 85 per cent farmers have 'kisan' credit cards and we have asked the states to prepare the lists of farmers to be compensated so that the money could be deposited into their accounts," Pawar said.

He added that it was due to the "tremendous" efforts of the farmers in Punjab that the state had recorded 35.25 lakh hectares under paddy as against a target of 34.80 lakh hectares. The farmers, he said, would be adequately compensated for spending much more on diesel for irrigation in the absence of electricity supply during the sowing period.

Similarly, Haryana farmers would also be compensated, as the state ensured 19.73 lakh hectares under the crop as against a target of 22.80 lakh hectares. Haryana, the union minister said, remained the worst hit state with a 71 per cent rain deficit, while Punjab suffered 68 per cent less showers till August 7.

Jairam Ramesh announced that NABARD would release Rs 40 crore as emergency loans to the farmers of Punjab within a week as against the state's demand for Rs 26 crore in the wake of monsoon failure.

Both union ministers were in Chandigarh to hold review meetings with ministers and senior officials concerned from Punjab and Haryana in the wake of monsoon failure and its impact on the states in terms of crop situation and drinking water supply.

Gold, silver soar on buoyant demand, global cues

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Mumbai: Gold prices strengthened further at the domestic bullion market on consistent buying by stockists and jewellery retailers on the back of ongoing festival season demand

Apart from gold, silver also maintained its strong momentum owing to steady speculative off-take amid firm industrial demand. Standard gold (99.5 purity) surged by Rs 115 to end at Rs 29,880 per 10 grams from Thursday's closing level of Rs 29,765.
Gold, silver soar on buoyant demand, global cues

Pure gold (99.9 purity) spurted by Rs 120 to finish at Rs 30,020 per 10 grams from Rs 29,900. Silver ready (.999 fineness) rose by Rs 105 per kg to close at Rs 54,140 from Rs 54,035 previously.

On the global side, gold moved higher on weak dollar valuation supported by optimism over stimulus. Gold for December delivery advanced by USD 2.60 to settle at USD 1,622.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the NYMEX late yesterday. Silver for September contract eased to USD 28.06 an ounce.

Rs 500 note, a favourite with counterfeiters

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New Delhi: The Rs 500 note appears to be most preferred choice for counterfeiting. This is evident from the figures tabled in the Lok Sabha by the finance ministry.

The ministry informed the House that the cost of printing currency notes in the two Government presses varied.
Rs 500 note, a favourite with counterfeiters

According to information provided by the Reserve Bank of India, 4.35 lakh fake currency notes were detected in 2010-11. Of this, there were 2.46 lakh pieces of notes with Rs 500 denomination, valued at Rs 12.30 crore.

This information was given by minister of state of finance, Namo Narayan Meena, in a written reply. Fake currency of Rs 500 denomination rose to over three lakh, with a value of over Rs 15 crore, during 2011-12. That year, a total of 5.21 lakh counterfeit notes were detected.

Other than the RBI, various other banks also detected counterfeit currency. The total number of such pieces was 3.90 lakh in 2010-11, which rose to 4.83 lakh in 2011-12.

The finance ministry has claimed that it was working in tandem with the RBI, the home ministry, the CBI and various security and intelligence agencies to thwart illegal activities related to fake currency.

Chidambaram's promises keep market tempo upbeat

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Mumbai: Finance minister P. Chidambaram’s promise to shortly reveal a path of fiscal consolidation to regain investor confidence kept the market tempo upbeat for the second week in a row

Both the key indices, Sensex and Nifty, rose by over 2 per cent despite a steep fall in heavyweights such as SBI and Bharti Airtel amid unexpected decline in industrial output. Sustained buying by foreign funds was another major factor for the markets to remain firm.
Chidambaram's promises keep market tempo upbeat

Investors were enthused by comments made by Chidambaram to unveil a broad roadmap to regain investor confidence and the government will work with the RBI to moderate inflation.

Brokers also said the trading mood improved on global cues influenced by higher-than-forecast US jobs data at 163,000 for July that came out after Indian markets closed on August 3.

The BSE 30-share gauge resumed the week higher and improved further to an intra-trade at four-and-a-half-month high of 17,726.64 on Wednesday, levels not seen since March 16, 2012 when it had logged a high of 17,871.00.

However, it could not sustain the gains due to a decline in the country's industrial production announced on Thursday and a steep fall in telecom giant Bharti Airtel on dismal Q1 performance and also in SBI due to rise in non-performing assets (NPAs) respectively.

The Sensex later ended at 17,557.74, a net rise of 359.81 points, or 2.09 per cent. Last week, it had spurted by 358.74 points, or 2.13 per cent. The broadbased NSE 50-issue Nifty also flared up by 104.70 points, or 2.01 per cent, to end the week at 5,320.40.

Share values of Bharti Airtel was the top loser from the Sensex pack with a fall of 13.73 per cent after its profit dropped 37 per cent in April-June quarter, the tenth decline in quarterly profit. SBI was the second with a decline of 5.86 per cent, which restricted the rise in the Sensex, otherwise the gain would have been much more pronounced.

Auto, IT, metal, FMCG and refinery stocks were at the forefront, while some of the consumer durable and realty stocks were down on profit-booking.

Buying was seen in some of the key frontline stocks such as M&M, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki, TCS, Infosys, Sterlite Ind, Hindalco, Jindal Steel, HUL, ITC, RIL, GAIL, L&T, NTPC and Tata Power, while second-line stocks underperformed the Sensex, indicating lack of interest from retail investors as the current unstable scenario.