Metue.com

Looking at Apple’s purchase of Palo Alto Semiconductor (PA Semi) opened the door to two core questions.  One, the micro look, questioned what Apple’s specific interests in the company were.   Why did they make the purchase?   Part 1 of this two part article series delved into that question in detail.  The second question is a recurring issue and more macro in focus: does this small scale purchase give any indication of a change in Apple’s M&A strategy? 

Click to Read More

From key earnings announcements to days significant in takeover battles like Yahoo/Microsoft and EA/Take Two, the next month is littered with influential events, especially for companies at the crossroads of media, entertainment and technology.  There’s so much to keep track of:  On April 17th Google releases earnings.  April 22nd, Yahoo follows suit. Then there’s Microsoft on the 24th, Nintendo (also the 24th), DreamWorks SKG, Viacom, Disney and a host of others. It’s easy to lose track.

For quick and easy reference to stay on top of it all, we’re trying out a new feature: The Metue Event calendar.  The new page takes our internal calendar and puts the key dates in a simple, sortable table for all to use.  Looking for a company, click the headings for the appropriate column and the table will resort to list the companies. Click to Read More

The revolving doors of corporate suites are always turning. New hires coming in, new executives restocking teams with teams of their own choosing, people moving to new challenges or to pasture.  It’s a constant.  This past week, however, has seen enough executive staff shifting to keep any HR team busy.  From Motorola to AMD, from the BBC to NBC and CBS, from the Washington Post to the Wall Street Journal, the corporate trees got a good shake.  Here’s the recap of who’s in and who’s out: Click to Read More

When you talk about video game consoles the first topics are usually the quality of play and the graphics; it’s the fun factor not the technology.  But beneath the surface of shiny plastic cases and glowing LED’s, these remain powerful devices with impressive technical credentials.  The consoles can do a lot more than gaming and their innovations are carrying into entirely unrelated sectors.

•••Wii Warfare•••
Nintendo’s motion activated controller has proven to be a huge hit with consumers.  The simple, but effective interface, has completely changed the nature of video game play.  It’s expanding audiences, increasing accessibility and just simply: fun.   It’s also turning out to be a lot more powerful.

Click to Read More

Last spring, shareholders at Blockbuster took advantage of proxy season to vote their thoughts on issues of executive salaries.   By a slim majority, 57%, they became the first of many companies to pass a “say on pay” shareholder proposal.   (Verizon shareholders passed a similar resolution a few days later).  Tuesday, Blockbuster became the first major media company to accept the non-binding proposal at the board level.

The “say or pay” concept, which was initially suggested to Blockbuster by the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, calls for an annual shareholder vote (pro or con, yay or nay) on executive pay.  It is not binding, and a compensation committee has no obligation to agree, but it does insure the shareholders have a voice in the process.

Click to Read More

In the world of Web 2.0 and social networking “open” is the new black; it’s the “it” trend.  On the same day that Yahoo shook hands with Google and MySpace to join their Open Social programming specification, and the same day Microsoft announced a broad data portability pact with 5 other social networks, digital music network iMeem announced they were launching an open platform of their own.

The iMeem service, dubbed a “Media Platform” aims to go further than other offerings.  Click to Read More

Over the course of a week there are always a few news items that don’t warrant front page attention but still merit a mention; things like new hires or deals that finally closed after being widely reported when first announced.  This week with Electronic Arts hiring a COO,the New York Times proxy settlement and deal closings from Clear Channel and Amazon, there have been a handful that fell into that category. Here’s the roundup in one dose:

Click to Read More