Sunday, January 2, 2011

Microsoft Hotmail users report missing e-mail

NEW YORK: Some users of Microsoft Hotmail are starting off the new year scrambling to get back old e-mails. A chorus of frantic users has posted complaints on Microsoft's online forum that all of their messages have disappeared.

``Please help me get them back,'' wrote one user under the moniker 'Zacgore' in a post dated Saturday. ``All my kids' info and pictures are in there!''

Others complain that the majority of the e-mail in their inboxes was sent to their deleted mail folders instead. It is unclear from the posts how widespread the problem is. The free Web-based e-mail service is the world's most used with about 360 million users, according to comScore Inc.

Windows Live support technicians have said in numerous threads that the Hotmail team is aware of the problem and working on a fix.

"At this point it appears to be a limited issue, and Microsoft is working with individual users who are impacted. We apologize for any inconvenience to our customers," Microsoft spokeswoman Catherine Brooker said in statement. She declined to disclose what caused the glitch.

Microsoft's forum contains 476 pages of complaints about lost and deleted e-mails that date back to early November.


Read more: Microsoft Hotmail users report missing e-mail - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/internet/Microsoft-Hotmail-users-report-missing-e-mail/articleshow/7206650.cms#ixzz19x3OROyA

Rupee falls by 4 paise in early trade

MUMBAI: Rupee snapped its four-session gaining streak in the early trade today and depreciated by 4 paise to Rs 44.74 a dollar, as the US currency strengthened against major currencies.

The dollar's gains against other major currencies weighed down the rupee, but higher opening at the stock markets capped the losses, dealers said.

The rupee had ended 26 paise higher at Rs 44.70/71 a dollar in the previous trade, on selling of dollars by banks and exporters.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex today opened 153.77

Read more: Rupee falls by 4 paise in early trade - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Rupee-falls-by-4-paise-in-early-trade/articleshow/7208918.cms#ixzz19x2upwou

Goldman invests in Facebook at $50bn valuation

Facebook, the popular social networking site, has raised $500 million from Goldman Sachs and a Russian investor in a deal that values the company at $50 billion, according to people involved in the transaction. The deal makes Facebook now worth more than companies like eBay, Yahoo and Time Warner.

The stake by Goldman Sachs, considered one of Wall Street's savviest investors, signals the increasing might of Facebook, which has already been bearing down on giants like Google. The new money will give Facebook more firepower to steal away valuable employees, develop new products and possibly pursue acquisitions — all without being a publicly traded company. The investment may also allow earlier shareholders, including Facebook employees, to cash out at least some of their stakes.

The new investment comes as the Securities and Exchange Commission has begun an inquiry into the increasingly hot private market for shares in Internet companies, including Facebook, Twitter, the gaming site Zynga and LinkedIn, an online professional networking site. Some experts suggest the inquiry is focused on whether certain companies are improperly using the private market to get around public disclosure requirements.

The new money could add pressure on Facebook to go public even as its executives have resisted. The popularity of shares of Microsoft and Google in the private market ultimately pressured them to pursue initial public offerings.

So far, Facebook's chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, has brushed aside the possibility of an initial public offering or a sale of the company. At an industry conference in November, he said on the topic, "Don't hold your breath." However, people involved in the fund-raising effort suggest that Facebook's board has indicated an intention to consider a public offering in 2012.

There has been an explosion in user interest in social media sites. The social buying site Groupon, which recently rejected a $6 billion takeover bid from Google, is in the process of raising as much as $950 million from major institutional investors, at a valuation near $5 billion, according to people briefed on the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly.

"When you think back to the early days of Google, they were kind of ignored by Wall Street investors, until it was time to go public," said Chris Sacca, an angel investor in Silicon Valley who is a former Google employee and an investor in Twitter. "This time, the Street is smartening up. They realize there are true growth businesses out here. Facebook has become a real business, and investors are coming out here and saying, 'We want a piece of it.'"

The Facebook investment deal is likely to stir up a debate about what the company would be worth in the public market. Though it does not disclose its financial performance, analysts estimate the company is profitable and could bring in as much as $2 billion in revenue annually.

Under the terms of the deal, Goldman has invested $450 million, and Digital Sky Technologies, a Russian investment firm that has already sunk about half a billion dollars into Facebook, invested $50 million, people involved in the talks said.

Goldman has the right to sell part of its stake, up to $75 million, to the Russian firm, these people said. For Digital Sky Technologies, the deal means its original investment in Facebook, at a valuation of $10 billion, has gone up fivefold.

Representatives for Facebook, Goldman and Digital Sky Technologies all declined to comment.

Goldman's involvement means it may be in a strong position to take Facebook public when it decides to do so in what is likely to be a lucrative and prominent deal.

As part of the deal, Goldman is expected to raise as much as $1.5 billion from investors for Facebook at the $50 billion valuation, people involved in the discussions said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the transaction was not supposed to be made public until the fund-raising had been completed.

In a rare move, Goldman is planning to create a "special purpose vehicle" to allow its high-net worth clients to invest in Facebook, these people said. While the S.E.C. requires companies with more than 499 investors to disclose their financial results to the public, Goldman's proposed special purpose vehicle may be able get around such a rule because it would be managed by Goldman and considered just one investor, even though it could conceivably be pooling investments from thousands of clients.

It is unclear whether the S.E.C. will look favorably upon the arrangement.

Already, a thriving secondary market exists for shares of Facebook and other private Internet companies. In November, $40 million worth of Facebook shares changed hands in an auction on a private exchange called SecondMarket. According to SharesPost, Facebook's value has roughly tripled over the last year, to $42.4 billion. Some investors appear to have bought Facebook shares at a price that implies a valuation of $56 billion. But the credibility of one of Wall Street's largest names, Goldman, may help justify the company's worth.

Facebook also surpassed Google as the most visited Web site in 2010, according to the Internet tracking firm Experian Hitwise.

Facebook received 8.9 percent of all Web visits in the United States between January and November 2010. Google's main site was second with 7.2 percent, followed by Yahoo Mail service, Yahoo's Web portal and YouTube, part of Google.

For Mr. Zuckerberg, the deal may double his personal fortune, which Forbes estimated at $6.9 billion when Facebook was valued at $23 billion. That would put him in a league with the founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who are reportedly worth $15 billion apiece.

Even as Goldman takes a stake in Facebook, its employees may struggle to view what they invested in. Like those at most major Wall Street firms, Goldman's computers automatically block access to social networking sites, including Facebook.

Read more: Goldman invests in Facebook at $50bn valuation - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/international-business/Goldman-invests-in-Facebook-at-50bn-valuation/articleshow/7209207.cms#ixzz19x2Zzugq

Markets start 2011 on a strong note, Sensex opens 154pts up

MUMBAI: The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today opened almost 154 points up on continued buying by foreign funds and retail investors, tracking firming Asian bourses.

The BSE Sensex moved up by 153.77 points or 0.67 per cent to 20,662.86 points, with all the sectoral indices led by auto sector, trading positive with gains up to 1.47 per cent.

The barometer had gained nearly 483 points in the previous three sessions.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange's Nifty also opened 44.05 points or 0.58 per cent high to 6,178.55 points.

Brokers attributed the good opening at bourses to upbeat sentiment in the New Year, as auto companies buoyed by strong growth in vehicle sales in December led the rally in stocks.

Firming trends on the other Asian bourses also boosted the trading sentiment here, they added.

The BSE auto sector index shot up by 1.47 per cent to 10,386 points, as stocks of Hero Honda shot up by 1.15 per cent to Rs 2,009, Mahindra and Mahindra by 2.76 per cent to Rs 799, Tata Motors by 1.65 per cent to Rs 1,327.90 and Maruti Suzuki by 0.38 per cent to Rs 1,426.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up by 0.10 per cent, while the Japan's market remained closed today.

Read more: Markets start 2011 on a strong note, Sensex opens 154pts up - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Markets-start-2011-on-a-strong-note-Sensex-opens-154pts-up/articleshow/7208886.cms#ixzz19x2NGK1H