Facebook buys Whatsapp

Facebook buys Whatsapp

 

                      Facebook acquires whatsapp for $19 billion on Wednesday. Facebook is one of the biggest social networking site preceded by twitter. Whatsapp is another application used in mobile device for connectivity among friends with similar features of facebook.

                      Facebook was initially developed for PC based social networking. It received overwhelming response and leaded the market for past 5 years. Facebook developed mobile application to facilitate mobile users. Similarly Whatsapp was an application launched a couple of years ago for mobile users. Whatsapp also gathered huge response of 450 million users due to its unique features. 

 

     

                        And now, its facebook buys whatsapp for $19 billion. It was officially announced on Wednesday 19th February 2014. It is one of the biggest acquisitions in recent time. The purchase includes $12 billion in Facebook shares and $4 billion cash. It calls for an additional $3 billion in restricted stock units to be granted to WhatsApp founders and employees that will vest over four years.

                     So it has raised expectations among facebook and whatsapp mobile users for any new features. So lets see for any change ... !!!!

Mark Zuckerberg has posted about whatsapp acquisition in twitter as below :

                     "I'm excited to announce that we've agreed to acquire WhatsApp and that their entire team will be joining us at Facebook.

                      Our mission is to make the world more open and connected. We do this by building services that help people share any type of content with any group of people they want. WhatsApp will help us do this by continuing to develop a service that people around the world love to use every day.

                     WhatsApp is a simple, fast and reliable mobile messaging service that is used by over 450 million people on every major mobile platform. More than 1 million people sign up for WhatsApp every day and it is on its way to connecting one billion people. More and more people rely on WhatsApp to communicate with all of their contacts every day.

                      WhatsApp will continue to operate independently within Facebook. The product road map will remain unchanged and the team is going to stay in Mountain View. Over the next few years, we're going to work hard to help WhatsApp grow and connect the whole world. We also expect that WhatsApp will add to our efforts for Internet.org, our partnership to make basic internet services affordable for everyone.

                     WhatsApp will complement our existing chat and messaging services to provide new tools for our community. Facebook Messenger is widely used for chatting with your Facebook friends, and WhatsApp for communicating with all of your contacts and small groups of people. Since WhatsApp and Messenger serve such different and important uses, we will continue investing in both and making them each great products for everyone.

                     WhatsApp had every option in the world, so I'm thrilled that they chose to work with us. I'm looking forward to what Facebook and WhatsApp can do together, and to developing great new mobile services that give people even more options for connecting.

                     I've also known Jan for a long time, and I know that we both share the vision of making the world more open and connected. I'm particularly happy that Jan has agreed to join the Facebook board and partner with me to shape Facebook's future as well as WhatsApp's.

                   Jan and the WhatsApp team have done some amazing work to connect almost half a billion people. I can't wait for them to join Facebook and help us connect the rest of the world."

Interesting fact:

                 The developer of whatsapp tried to join facebook and twitter few years ago. But he was rejected. And now the app developed by him is bought by facebook. So, this shows " Every failure has a biggest success ahead " .

So lets wait and watch for any new features in whatsapp.. sorry.... facebook acquired whatsapp ... !!!!! 

CSR consultancy for corporates

CSR consultancy for corporates

                              As per latest government regulation, the corporates have to spend 2% of their profit on corporate social responsibility. Many companies have taken very good steps to spend on various CSR activities. But the question is " Is the money spent on CSR activities by corporates reach the target people effectively? ". Still there are many people without satisfied basic needs, at the same time the companies are ready to invest for CSR activities. So where is difference or gap? 

                        Corporates are busy with handling their business, pressures, employee issues, stakeholder issues and shareholder expectations. Though they have interest on CSR activities, they are not aware and able to focus on CSR activities.

                         

                          Thus there is a need for proper middleman between NGOs and Corporates. So we have an idea of implementing an firm for providing consultancy for CSR such as " How to spend money on CSR activities? ", "How to reach the target people? ",  " How to implement it in long run? ".

                         

                         Our initiative is to get the money spend by corporates towards CSR activities to reach the target people. This will surely provide an bridge between corporates and NGOs to carry out CSR activities. Whats your suggestions , comments, tips for it? Your suggestions are welcomed . . .

 

How will be the Global Economy in February 2014?

How will be the Global Economy in February 2014? 

  

                         Every four to six years, the countries experience an economic slowdown. It happens like clockwork. The current bull market is now in its fourth year. The markets are performing well. But, Unemployment remains high, as does household debt. Gross domestic product (GDP) is essentially flat. Housing may be the one bright spot, but even that sector is fragile at best.

                        Congressional Budget Office (CBO) feel about the economic outlook in 2014 is pessimistic. The CBO expects the U.S. economy in 2014 to remain moribund and for unemployment to remain near eight percent. But it gets better. It also projects that both actual and potential real GDP will eke out 2.25% annual gains between 2019 and 2023.

                         The extra dollars pumped into the economy were supposed to spur economic growth. It had the reverse effect, shrinking the buying power of each dollar, the driving force of inflation. As the U.S. dollar continues to decline in value against other world currencies, goods imported into the U.S. become more expensive.

                        Gross debt levels in many nations, including Japan, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Ireland, are all high. Public debt is also high. Reducing government debt takes a long time; especially with continued global economic headwinds. That said, even under the best circumstances, it can take years. Case in point: now, 15 years after debt rose above 100%, it’s only marginally lower.

                        Successful debt reduction requires fiscal constraint and policies that support growth. This includes supportive monetary policy and measures that address structural weaknesses in the economy. Those ingredients are not currently in place.

                       After five years of support from the Federal Reserve, economic growth is anemic. Economic instability, political deadlock, the business community’s mistrust of the government, concerns over its fiscal health, deterioration in the development of its financial markets, and a weak American dollar have cut into corporate America’s bottom line.

U.K:

                      The U.K. recovery is well underway, with real GDP registering a 0.7% q/q gain in the fourth quarter of 2013 in line with expectations. We can continue to expect the quarterly pace of growth to moderate gradually over the course of 2014, leading to an overall expansion of 2.5%.

                      The outlook for key emerging market economies in Europe has deteriorated in the face of heightened foreign exchange volatility. We have to lower our growth forecasts for both Russia and Turkey in 2014-15, with currency weakness expected to extend through the forecast horizon despite intervention by the monetary authorities.

Canada:

                       Outlook for the Canadian economy is unchanged from last month. Real GDP growth is expected to pick up to an average of 2½% in 2014-15, as strengthening U.S. and global growth and a more competitive currency lift exports and business investment. At the same time, consumer and housing activity are expected to be restrained by a lack of pent-up demand and high household debt burdens.

                       Virtually all sectors are expected to contribute to the pickup, with pent-up demand and an improving job market underpinning consumer and housing activity, rising business confidence lifting capital outlays, and governments easing back on fiscal restraint. In Canada, federal austerity already in place plus stronger growth is expected to result in a size able contraction of the fiscal 2014-15 federal deficit.

Mexico:

                        As a result of the recent depreciation of the Mexican peso against the U.S. dollar, we have to revise slightly our currency forecast, particularly for the first quarter of the year. In our view, currency volatility will remain high in the coming months, responding to the U.S. monetary policy adjustment. Nevertheless, we expect the currency to stabilize in Q2, followed by a slow pace of depreciation in the second half of 2014.

In 2014, we will still be waiting to see the results:

                       Future economic growth will depend on its ability to innovate, create, and reinvent the way it does business. And it will need to meet the growing and evolving untapped demands of an increasingly challenging global environment. The actions taken since 2008 have put our country’s economic future on the back burner.

                      The economic outlook for 2014 is grim. In 2014, investors should be very worried—and they should be prepared

Google’s Plan for 2014

GOOGLE ’S PLAN FOR 2014

                   
                   Due to increased usage and demand for content, apps and devices across its platform, search giant Google is set to make "strategic" investments in Android, Chrome and You Tube.

 
    

                 It seems that Google will continue to invest in three major areas. These include core ads (search and display advertising) and businesses that demonstrate high consumer success, such as YouTube, Android/Play and Chrome. It will also invest in new businesses towards driving adoption and innovation like social, commerce and enterprise.

                 Google chief financial officer, Patrick Pichette said the firm will continue to invest for the long term and its infrastructure continues to be a key strategic area, and said:

                "Our free cash flow, in consequence of all this, was $3 billion. So there you have it, strong results and an optimism that provides us the confidence to fund strategic growth opportunities, including Android, Chrome, YouTube, Enterprise, just to name a few," he told analysts.

                 The company, headquartered in Mountain View, California, said last week that consolidated revenue rose 17% to $16.86 billion in the October-December quarter, helped by strong demand for content, apps and devices. Net income climbed 17% to $3.37 billion. In the fourth quarter of 2013, capital expenditure was $2.26 billion, a majority of which was used for production equipment, data-center construction and real estate purchases.

                  As of December 31, the company had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $58.72 billion.

Satya Nadella - Likely New CEO of Microsoft

Satya Nadella - Likely New CEO of Microsoft

   

                                


                   Satya Nadella is a 46-year-old native of Hyderabad, India likely to be the next CEO of Microsoft. He did his schooling in Hyderabad Public School in Begumpet and he got his Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Communication (B.E) degree from the Manipal University. He has finished his Master of Science degree in Computer Science (M.S) from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. He also completed his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Chicago.

                     His professors of Manipal University says that he was a enthusiastic student and asks lots of questions to them. He was always a different student from others by search for new knowledge and technologies.

                     He joined Sun Micro system initially. Later by 1992, he joined Microsoft. runs Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise group, where he’s responsible for the tech giant’s ambitious “Cloud OS” effort to move software and storage from on-site computers to the Internet. Previously, Nadella was president of Microsoft’s $19 billion Server and Tools Business, where he’s credited with spearheading the company’s recent push toward cloud-computing.

                      Over the last two decades Nadella has worked closely with Ballmer and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.  Nadella has played a key role in bringing some of Microsoft's most popular technologies, like its database, Windows server and developer tools, to the cloud, called Azure.

                     Thus he is one among the most expected CEO of Microsoft.  His name is likely to be announced for CEO soon. Since Microsoft is lacking behind in technology race with their competitors, pressure and expectations over Satya Nadella is more. But as of now, we have to wait and watch his proceedings after he takes charge as CEO of Microsoft...