Comcast to Acquire Time Warner Cable for $45.2 Billion

Updated, 9:30 a.m. | Comcast, the nation’s largest cable operator, wants to get even larger.

 

Already the dominant player in providing pay television services to American consumers, Comcast and announced on Thursday a deal for Time Warner Cable’s boards, which will create a behemoth that will dominate the media industry.

 

It is the second transformative deal for Comcast in recent years, coming just months after it completed an acquisition of NBC Universal, the TV and movie studio. And the deal, if completed, could have impacts on consumers across the country, though it is unlikely to reduce competition in many markets.

 

Describing the deal as “a friendly, stock-for-stock transaction,” Comcast will acquire 100 percent of Time Warner Cable’s 284.9 million shares outstanding, in a deal worth about $45.2 billion in stock value.

 

The deal will leave Time Warner Cable shareholders owning approximately 23 percent of Comcast’s common stock.

 

“The financial benefits of this are attractive and will create sustainable benefits for years to come,”

Comcast’s chief executive, Brian Roberts, said on a conference call on Thursday.

 

Comcast is also expanding its share repurchase program to $10 billion, a move that will somewhat offset the dilution from issuing so many new shares as part of the deal.

 

Comcast and Time Warner Cable do not overlap in any markets, meaning that there are no consumers who will see their choices in cable operators diminished as a result of a deal.

 

“We do not operate in any of the same ZIP codes,” Mr. Roberts said. “We believe this transaction is approvable,” Mr. Roberts said. “It is pro-consumer, pro-competitive, and strongly in the public interest.”

 

Nonetheless, about 8 million current Time Warner Cable customers will become Comcast customers.

 

That may be a good thing for those customers, as Comcast is seen as an industry leader in terms of providing high-quality television and Internet services, while Time Warner Cable has a reputation for poor customer service.

 

For the three million customers that Comcast plans to divest, they will likely see their service taken over by other regional cable operators such as Cox, Cablevision or Charter Communications.

 

Comcast will acquire a net of about eight million subscribers, bringing its total customer base to about 30 million. Comcast noted in its news release that it would have less than 30 percent of the market share for pay television subscribers in the United States after the deal.

 

Time Warner Cable executives also said the move would benefit its customers.

“On a personal level, it’s never easy to cede control of a company,” said Rob Marcus, Time Warner Cable’s chief executive. “However in this case, it just makes too much sense.”

 

The merger is almost certain to bring to an end a protracted takeover battle that Charter Communications has been waging for Time Warner Cable. Last month, Charter proposed to acquire Time Warner Cable for $132.50 a share, an offer Time Warner rebuffed as “grossly inadequate.”

 

On Thursday, Charter did not address the deal directly, saying only that “Charter has always maintained that our greatest opportunity to create value for our shareholders is by executing our current business plan, and that we will continue to be disciplined in this and any other M.&A. activity we pursue.”

 

The merger agreement between Comcast and Time Warner Cable is also subject to shareholder approval at both companies. The companies said the deal was expected to close by the end of the year.

 

J.P. Morgan, Paul J. Taubman, and Barclays served as the financial advisers to Comcast and Davis Polk & Wardwell and Willkie Farr & Gallagher were its legal advisers. Morgan Stanley, Allen & Company, Citigroup and Centerview Partners advised Time Warner Cable and its board, while Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom served as legal advisers.

 

Original article from http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/02/13/time-warner-cable-and-comcast-strike-45-2-billion-deal/?_php=true&_type=blogs&ref=business&_r=0

11:28 PM | 0 comments | Read More

BlackBerry CEO Fuels Rally by Refocusing on Businesses

BlackBerry Ltd. (BB)’s new chief executive officer is starting to win over Wall Street skeptics.

Bets against the smartphone maker have fallen to their lowest level in almost a year, according to research firm Markit. The shares are at a four-month high, and now the Canadian company is adding cash by selling off most of its real estate in its home country.

 

Almost three months into his tenure, John Chen is replenishing his executive ranks, refocusing on business users and promising more of the keyboard-based devices that first endeared BlackBerry to customers. While the company generates a mere fraction of the sales it recorded during its heyday, Chen’s strategy is beginning to yield results at a business that wrote off billions of dollars in unsold inventory last year.

 

“It’s like walking into a factory and the machinery is not humming, but you know there’s a lot of value there if you can put it together and get it to work again,” Don Yacktman, founder of Yacktman Asset Management, said in an interview. His Austin, Texas-based firm held 5.9 million BlackBerry shares as of Sept. 30, valued at about $59 million at yesterday’s close.“The stock was just dirt-cheap when you look at the assets.”

Photographer: Jin Lee/Bloomberg

 

Photographer: Jin Lee/Bloomberg

Almost three months into his tenure, BlackBerry Ltd.’s New Chief Executive Officer John Chen is replenishing his executive ranks, refocusing on business users and promising more of the keyboard-based devices that first endeared BlackBerry to customers.

BlackBerry is trading at 0.61 times its annual sales, compared with an average of 2.14 for stocks on the S&P 500 Technology Hardware & Equipment index.

Adam Emery, a spokesman for BlackBerry, declined to comment, citing company policy not to discuss stock movements.

 

BlackBerry jumped 9.4 percent to $9.93 at yesterday’s close in New York, then climbed as much as 6.4 percent in late trading after the company announced its real-estate plans. The smartphone maker said it will sell 3 million square feet (280,000 square meters) of space, leasing back what it needs.

Real-Estate Cash

The property may raise as much as C$550 million ($501 million), based on sales prices for previous BlackBerry buildings and the leaseback agreements on some buildings, saidTed Davis, a property broker with Avison Young Inc. who specializes in southwestern Ontario.

Loyalty from some clients has helped buoy BlackBerry shares. Yesterday’s stock gain was fueled by a U.S. Defense Department decision to support the company’s smartphones as the primary device on a new network, with only limited backing for Apple and Android products.

The shares are still down 37 percent from a year ago, a sign that Chen, 58, has more converts to win over. Analysts remain bearish on the stock, with only 3 out of 43 recommending buying it, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

BlackBerry jumped 9.4 percent to $9.93 at yesterday’s close in New York, then climbed as much as 6.4 percent in late trading after the company announced its real-estate plans.

“Chen’s downsizing and enterprise-software-focused strategy is pragmatic, but we’re still cautious on his ability to successfully turn around the business,” Ittai Kidron, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co., wrote in a note earlier this month.

Warmer Reception

The reception on Wall Street for Chen, who led a previous turnaround at Sybase Inc., has been warmer so far than that of his predecessor Thorsten Heins, who presided over a 63 percent decline in BlackBerry shares in the first nine months after he became CEO in January 2012. The stock eventually recovered, rising as high as $17.90 a year ago today, on short-lived optimism that a new line of devices would help the company win back customers.

The new CEO has set expectations lower, choosing not to concentrate on the consumer market so he can reinforce BlackBerry’s position as a provider of technology to businesses.

Chen told Bloomberg News this month that Waterloo, Ontario-based BlackBerry will “predominantly” produce smartphone models with physical keyboards that appeal to business users who need to bang out frequent e-mails.

Reassuring Customers

The shift away from touch screens, back to the style of phones that made BlackBerry famous, reflects Chen’s campaign to reassure business customers, many of whom had been loyal to BlackBerry until they began wavering in recent years.

Chen struck a deal in December with Foxconn Technology Group to outsource design and production of BlackBerry’s phones, giving him more time to wring value out of its software and services business.

BlackBerry is drawing on the experience of Chen and some of his former deputies at Sybase, which was trading near a record low when he took over as CEO in 1998 and was sold in 2010 to SAP AG for $5.8 billion. Chen has hired onetime colleagues at both companies for some of the top sales, corporate strategy, marketing and enterprise services jobs.

Chen’s moves are shooing away short-sellers, who borrow a stock that they expect to fall and collect profits by repaying the shares at a lower price. BlackBerry’s short interest tumbled to 29 million shares on Jan. 20, the lowest since March 1, 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and Markit.

Short Interest

Short interest in BlackBerry soared in March 2013, peaking at 63.5 million shares on March 15. It is now less than half that level. That has pushed the stock’s short-interest ratio --a measure of how many trading days it would take for short sellers to cover their positions -- down from a high of 3.32 to 1. A rising number indicates bearishness on a stock.

Still, it remains more than 10 times the 0.07 ratio of Apple Inc., and higher than Google’s 0.83. Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android platform have steadily won market share from BlackBerry over the past six years. BlackBerry’s share rally is probably also causing short sellers to cover their positions, contributing to its declining short interest, Yacktman said.

It may be too early in Chen’s tenure to judge him completely, Yacktman said. He said Chen’s appointment reminds him of when Hewlett-Packard Co. replaced CEO Leo Apotheker withMeg Whitman in 2011. After becoming Hewlett-Packard’s fourth CEO in two-and-a-half years, Whitman took an $8.8 billion writedown and told investors she’d need five years to reshape the company.

‘An Upgrade’

“When they replaced Leo Apotheker, it was like a breath of fresh air,” Yacktman said. “You didn’t know how well Meg Whitman would do but you knew it was an upgrade. I think there’s some of that.”

Stepping in after BlackBerry scrapped an attempt to sell itself, Chen has described his new employer as “in the game for the long term.” Whether he ultimately finds a buyer, as he did at Sybase, or puts the company in position to remain independent, he’s shifting the perception of the smartphone maker.

“BlackBerry is no longer a device company. It is an enterprise software company,” said Citron Research, a stock commentary site that often sells stocks short, in a report last week saying it was long on BlackBerry shares. “Note to Wall Street: Change your mindset, and get a new expert analyst on the job before you miss a real opportunity.”

10:22 PM | 0 comments | Read More

What’s New in Activity Trackers, Smartwatches and Other Wearable Tech

Wellograph

Wearable tech was big at CES this year, where we saw dozens of gadgets to clip on to clothing, wear on a wrist, strap to our heads (or helmets), and even slip on your feet. Many of these wearables are evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, but they have the potential to change the way we will interact with and use technology every day.

Smartwatches: Getting elegant & multipurpose

Dozens of companies are getting in on the booming smartwatch trend. Some focused on design and others on fitness.

 

On the design side, the Pebble watch company, a veteran of the game, has a more elegant version of its already popular Pebble smartwatch, featuring more memory and a new steel case and band. The Wellograph, a combo smartwatch and fitness tracker, also impressed us with its elegant design, simple and easy to read interface, and sapphire crystal display. In the back of the watch is a heart rate sensor and built-in is a 9-axis motion sensor to track your activity throughout the day.

 

Most of the fitness-focused smartwatches have impressive activity tracking capabilities. Many try to do too many things and end up not doing any of them well, but there are a few smartwatches that get the balance right.

 

LifeTrak

One such smartwatch is the LifeTrak Zone R415. On the fitness tracking side it counts steps, automatically determining activity (walking, running, etc.) and eliminating non-step activities like driving in a car. It includes heart rate monitoring as well as calorie counting based partly on that data.

 

The Zone will also track your sleep and wake you up when it detects you’re in a light sleep phase so you won’t be groggy.

 

On the smartwatch side, it alerts for incoming and missed calls, text messages, and email. You can’t take a call or read the full message on the watch. For a combo device that’s main focus is fitness, that bit of functionality feels like enough. All this and it will last a year on the small, replaceable battery inside. The R415 will be available this summer.

Kreyos

Kreyos Meteor also sports a long list of useful features, but manages to make it all work. The smartwatch comes with a speaker and mic built-in for taking calls and for voice commands. You can also control smartphone functions with simple hand gestures. The screen shows full notifications, such as the text of emails and SMS, and for some apps you can respond back from the watch.

As a fitness tracker, the smartwatch counts steps and other activity, though there’s no heart rate monitor. The Meteor can connect to an ANT+ or Bluetooth-enabled heart rate monitor to utilize that information to calculate calories burned. All this plus you don’t have to strap it on as a watch–with accessories you can wear around your neck or clip on to clothing.

Life Tracking: One wearable to rule them all

Another big trend in wearable is lifelogging, which most often involves hooking a camera to you from dawn ’til dusk or when you’re doing something cool, such as base jumping from the world’s tallest building. Capturing every single moment on film doesn’t appeal to everyone, but what about a device that constantly monitors what you’re doing and saying in order to enhance your life and store key data?

That’s the promise of the Kiwi, a clip on device that’s still in development. If the Kiwi does everything it’s supposed to do, it will be one of the most sophisticated trackers available. The Kiwi senses motion, temperature and sound (including your voice) like other devices, but the paired smartphone app doesn’t just collect information The app also interacts with the Kiwi and the wearer. You can wear it anywhere on the body from your collar to your wrist to your shoe, and it’s capable of different functions, collecting different information depending on where you wear it.

 

 

If you wear the Kiwi on your arm or wrist during a workout, the Kiwi can track reps for almost any activity from weight lifting to cardio machines. Keep it on your collar or mid-chest while cooking and it can record you speaking a recipe aloud. The Kiwi will calculate the nutritional value of the meal and update your grocery list. Wear it on your wrist to initiate actions, like making a call or turning the temperature up on your connected thermostat, with simple gestures.

 

You can build all of these interactions via the smartphone app. The interface looks similar to If This Then That (IFTTT.com) and the recipes seem just as easy to set up as they are on IFTTT’s service. The number of actions and trackers are in the dozens, and each can stand alone or be grouped together as part of profiles based on time of day, location, or activity.

 

Again, if it fulfills its promise, the Kiwi could be the most sophisticated tracker available when it launches this summer.

Kid Wearables: Always keep them in sight

Sophisticated tracking devices aren’t just for adults. A number of new clip-ons are designed specifically to help parents keep kids safe.

 

The Protecht electronic guardian lets caregivers track eight kids or items up to 150 feet away with a master controller. The master unit gets an alert if a child wearing a tag gets too far away, is exposed to extreme temperatures or if someone presses the panic button.

 

That works for close proximity monitoring but isn’t useful if your child is at school and you’re across town at the office. Trax is a GPS device that parents can track from a smartphone app or the web. You can see where the tracker is on a map at all times and get alerts if your kid exits a pre-set safety boundary, such as the area around their school, day care, or friend’s house. Trax also alerts you if the device gets dropped (or removed) and if it exceeds a certain speed limit.

What’s Next?

Advances in textile-based sensors point toward a future where trackers will be articles of clothing just as often as they are accessories. We’ve already seen the beginning of this in the Sensoria Smart Socks, one of our Best of CES winners. Can a touchscreen sleeve that alerts you to calls and other notifications be far behind?

And why stop at clothes? Google Glasses and other head gear that provide heads-up displays or eye-level images and video seem futuristic now, but a new Google project to create a smart contact lens is already in the works. Its original purpose is to collect blood glucose levels from tears for diabetic patients. We highly doubt that will be the only trick it can do when it’s ready for a wider audience.

Biometrics, images, video, activity data, location, messages, mood—there’s no limit to what you’ll be able to track with your watch or shirt or eyewear or accessories in the next few years.

Read more: What’s New in Activity Trackers, Smartwatches and Other Wearable Tech | TIME.com http://www.techlicious.com/blog/whats-new-in-activity-trackers-smartwatches-other-wearable-tech/#ixzz2r8hZEgsh

10:02 PM | 0 comments | Read More

“Apple Must…”: A Brief History of People Instructing the Company to Do Things

By Harry McCracken @harrymccracken

Apple CEO Tim Cook, stubbornly refusing to announce a large-screen iPhone at Apple's press event in San Francisco on September 10, 2013

Some wise person — I wish I knew who — once said that everybody has two businesses: their own, and show business. The same is true in the world of technology, except the two businesses people have are their own, and Tim Cook’s.
Everyone, in other words, seems to have strong opinions about what Apple should be doing. And a remarkable percentage of the people who share their thoughts state them not as a suggestion or a preference but as an imperative so absolute that ignoring it could plunge the company into crisis. To emphasize the seriousness of the matter, their headlines usually use the words “Apple must…”
There are, however, a few problems with this approach to Apple commentary:

1. The stuff Apple must do usually amounts to following an industry trend in much the same way that everybody else is doing it, right this very moment.
2. Though Apple does frequently respond to industry trends, it’s not in the company’s nature to do so in precisely the way that everybody expects, and it often bides its time before doing anything at all.
3. Time and time again, Apple doesn’t do what Apple must do…and yet the results aren’t calamitous.
4. In some instances, the things people insist Apple must do — such as make a netbook — are not only not necessities, but terrible ideas.

Herewith, a few examples. Just to show this has been going on for a long time, let’s begin with an example that’s almost three decades old.

Apple must open the Mac architecture.

Decreed by: Microsoft CEO Bill Gates and his colleague Jeff Raikes, in a June 25, 1985 memo to Apple’s John Sculley and Jean-Louis Gassée
Why? Allowing 3-5 other leading computer manufacturers — such as Wang, AT&T or DEC — to make Mac-compatible machines would help expand the platform and ensure Apple’s reputation as a technological innovator.
What Apple did: Nothing, until a decade later, when it allowed some third-party hardware companies to license the Mac OS — a decision it reversed in 1997 when Steve Jobs returned to the company.
Aftermath: Microsoft’s operating systems went on to dominate the PC industry for decades. They still do. But almost 29 years after Gates and Raikes’ memo advising Apple to follow the same strategy as Microsoft, Apple isn’t just still selling Macs — it’s also the most profitable PC company on the planet.

Apple must release the iPhone.

Decreed by: DSLReports forum member Cortland on February 28, 2005
Why? It would create converts who’d then buy Macs instead of Windows PCs.
What Apple did: Less than two years after Cortland’s directive that Apple should enter the smartphone market with something called the iPhone, the company followed it.
Aftermath: The iPhone did indeed help sell Macs. More important, it outsold them, and became Apple’s most important product.

Apple must do a netbook now.

Decreed by: Cnet’s David Carnoy on February 27, 2009
Why? “It’s the biggest growth category in laptops.” And nobody’s spending $1,000 on the MacBook Air.
What Apple did: It never released anything remotely like a netbook, though I guess you could make the case that the iPad, at $499, was a netbook killer in disguise.
Aftermath: In October of 2010, Apple released much-improved new versions of the MacBook Air, which became very popular. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry, having found netbooks to be profit killers, decided to replace them with Ultrabooks — thinner, slicker, pricier laptops that paid the sincerest form of flattery to the MacBook Air.

Apple must embrace the online version of Google Voice.

Decreed by: Don Reisinger of eWeek on August 10, 2009
Why? After the uproar over its initial rejection of Google’s Google Voice app for the iPhone, the company could reconsider and approve the software. But “that won’t happen.” So it needs to publicly acknowledge that it’s O.K. with Google offering a purely web-based version for iPhones.
What Apple did: The thing Reisinger declared would not happen — it approved the Google Voice app.
Aftermath: Perhaps chastened by the FCC’s investigation of the Google Voice affair, Apple stopped rejecting apps purely on the grounds that they competed with the iPhone’s built-in apps. A happy ending for everybody involved.

Apple must announce the Verizon iPhone.

Decreed by: MSNBC.com’s Wilson Rothman on October 19, 2010
Why? To screw Google by encouraging Verizon customers to spurn Droids in favor of waiting until the likely January arrival of the iPhone. Not announcing the Verizon phone during Apple’s October 20 press event, Rothman said, would be “dumb.”
What Apple did: It waited until January 11, 2011 to announce the Verizon iPhone, which didn’t go on sale until a month after that.
Aftermath: Once it was available, the iPhone 4 had the strongest launch of any device in Verizon history.

Apple must launch NFC in the iPhone 5.

Decreed by: Brett King on May 10, 2011
Why? With NFC technology increasingly important for mobile payments and other applications such as data-transfer-through-bumping, “it’s either that, or let Google change everything and rethink your iPhone branding strategy.”
What Apple did: It didn’t build NFC into the iPhone 5, 5s or 5c. At this point, I suspect that few holdouts expect it to arrive in any future model.
Aftermath: Mobile payments via NFC haven’t turned out to be as big a deal as many folks once thought they would…though of course, it’s possible that they’ve been hampered by the fact that iPhones don’t support them. Meanwhile, iOS 7′s AirDrop feature mimics NFC without requiring its presence.

Apple must deliver the iPad Mini.

Decreed by: Mashable’s Lance Ulanoff on July 25, 2012
Why? Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Google’s Nexus 7 are hits at 7 inches for $199, so Apple needs to offer a tablet at the same price and size.
What Apple did: On October 23, 2012, Apple did release the iPad Mini — but it had a 7.9-inch display and cost $329, making it something less than a direct competitor for Amazon and Google’s cheapo models.
Aftermath: Apple later knocked the price of the Mini down to $299, while adding a $399 Retina model. And both Amazon and Google, when they upgraded their 7 inchers, greatly improved the specs and raised the price to $229 — nudging the whole market slightly in Apple’s nicer-but-pricier direction.

Apple must make an iPhone with a bigger screen.

Decreed by: Business Insider’s Henry Blodget on February 1, 2013
Why? “After five years of having the best smartphone on the planet, Apple has arguably fallen behind the competition. And the biggest and most obvious reason Apple has fallen behind the competition is its stubborn insistence on sticking with a small iPhone screen.”
What Apple did: Since Blodget’s post, the company has released two phones — the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c — with screens the same size as that of the iPhone 5. (Blodget followed up his first post with one noting an analyst’s contention that a bigger-display iPhone had been delayed until 2014, saying that if that was true, Apple was “hosed.”)
Aftermath: Despite the new iPhones’ relatively dinky displays, both models managed to outsell their principal rival, Samsung’s Galaxy S 4, in October, which would seem to suggest that their screen size isn’t a crippling competitive disadvantage.

Apple must buy Netflix.

Decreed by: blogger John Henwood on February 9, 2013
Why? “A purchase of Netflix would not only give Apple a massive footing in internet based TV, but it would give them a valuable management team that could help drive their innovations forward once again.”
What Apple did: It’s shown no interest in buying Netflix, a purchase which would cost at least $20 billion. Instead, its TV strategy to date has consisted of quietly beefing up Apple TV’s content lineup.
Aftermath: People who take seriously the possibility of Apple spending billions on a high-profile company — who are legion — would do well to keep in mind that it’s never paid more than a few hundred million for an acquisition, and rarely buys anything that anybody’s ever heard of.

Apple must announce touchscreen Mac computers soon.

Decreed by: Gary Judge of Head4Space.com on February 23rd, 2013
Why? Microsoft and Google are doing touchscreen machines and “Apple need to be ready to decapitate its own market before others do.”
What Apple did: It’s been less than a year, so “soon” may not have come and gone yet. But so far, no Mac Touch.
Aftermath: I wouldn’t rate the odds of Apple releasing touchscreen Macs at zero percent — years ago, I asked Steve Jobs himself about the possibility, and he didn’t rule it out. But the difficulties Microsoft is having with Windows 8 show that adding touch to a non-touch operating system is no cakewalk. Me, I think the chances are far higher that Apple will eventually do iOS devices in Mac-like cases — though I’d never say that the company must do so.

Apple must fire Tim Cook.

Decreed by: Fraser Seitel on April 9, 2013
Why? “Three words: miserable shareholder relations.” (More words behind paywall.)
What Apple did: Continued to employ Tim Cook.
Aftermath: By September, Seitel was no longer demanding Cook’s ouster. Actually, he was generously sharing advice on how Cook could avoid being fired. (Example tip: Cook should buy a blue blazer.)
Apple, incidentally, isn’t the only tech company that gets advice in the form of musts. If you’ve been paying attention, for instance, you know that Microsoft’s musts have included turning Windows into open-source software, buying Palm and rebranding itself as Bing. It’s failed to do any of the above, and has — so far — lived to tell the tale.
I’m not going to demand that pundits stop telling tech companies what they must do. But here’s a modest proposal: If you say that a company must do something, and it doesn’t — and catastrophe doesn’t ensue — wouldn’t it be fair to write a follow-up story acknowledging that your advice didn’t turn out to be so essential after all?


Read more: "Apple Must...": A Brief History of People Giving Apple Advice | TIME.com http://techland.time.com/2014/01/20/apple-must/#ixzz2r8ezZJV4

9:49 PM | 0 comments | Read More

These Are the Most Popular College Degrees Earned by Millionaires

 

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This piece originally appeared on John A. Byrne‘s LinkedIn Influencers page.
Having a net worth of one million dollars may not be what it used to be. But it’s still a mark of success for those who are able to achieve it. Which college degrees helped to produce the most millionaires?

The answer to that question came out in a new survey and the MBA degree held up surprisingly well in the millionaire sweepstakes. The survey reveals that engineering degrees produce the most millionaires, followed by MBA, economics and law degrees.

The review, conducted by wealth management magazine SPEAR’s and consultancy company WealthInsight, assesses some 70,000 millionaires worldwide (individuals with over U.S. $1 million in assets–excluding primary residences), to reveal their most popular degrees and top-attended universities.

However, the results are slightly misleading: Many of those engineering majors made their millions in entrepreneurship, points out WealthInsight’s Oliver Williams in a statement. “…Interestingly, few of these degrees turn out to be outright vocational; Most engineering graduates, for example, are not engineers but entrepreneurs,” he says. “The same goes for most law and politics graduates, who owe their fortunes not to practicing their professions but climbing the ranks of the financial services sector.”

Predictably, business degrees dominate the list. “You would expect to see a high number of scientific or financial degrees in the top 10, like engineering, commerce and accounting. Numerical degrees are a notable advantage when it comes to amassing a personal fortune,” Williams points out.

The survey results also dispel the myth that college dropouts, such as Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, regularly make it to millionaire status. Roughly 1% of millionaires in the survey did not obtain a degree, meaning the other 99% clearly depended–at least in part–on a diploma.

Not surprisingly, Harvard University and Stanford University top the table for millionaires’ most-attended universities. University of California, Columbia University and University of Oxford round out the top five.

The U.S. claims nearly half of the millionaires’ 500 most-attended universities with 216 institutions on the list. The UK comes in a distant second with 42, followed by Canada and France with 27 universities, each.

SPEAR’s editor Josh Sepro explained in a statement that top schools equip their millionaires with more than academics: “The universities which dominate are exactly the ones you’d expect, not just because of the quality of the education but because of the self-confidence they instill in their students.

They also have strong alumni networks which give their students a leg up when they move into the world of work.”
For the full top 100 list of global universities visit SPEAR’s story.

Read more: The Most Popular College Degrees Earned By Millionaires | TIME.com http://time100.time.com/2013/11/11/these-are-the-most-popular-college-degrees-earned-by-millionaires/#ixzz2r8dRqmUf

9:42 PM | 0 comments | Read More

How are prepare for 2014 at work

Turn in all expense reports
Credit: Forbes

Whether you have a few days off or you’re working right through the holidays—there are a few things you’ll want to do around the office before 2013 comes to an end.

“Sometimes this depends on your industry or job, but I think all professionals–no matter their role–can use this time of worldwide renewal to do at least a little bit of wrapping up and preparing for the New Year,” says Sara Sutton Fell, chief executive and founder of FlexJobs.“This ritual is important because many of us are so busy that if we’re not given a specific time of year to do this, it may never get done.” And if we want to see real career progress and advancement, we have to take stock of where we’ve been and what we’ve done, so we know how to move forward, she says. 

Anna Sidana, the vice president of corporate marketing at BrightEdge, agrees that it’s necessary to end the year right at work. She says it is important to start the New Year with a fresh perspective, because this provides an opportunity to refocus on professional goals to ensure that you are expending your energies on projects that are going to make a difference and further your career. “Making a conscious decision to think about the New Year as a new beginning provides a natural milestone to reassess your career and its progress,” she says. “It is a chance to plan any changes and initiatives you might want to begin, however small.”

By wrapping up loose ends and projects, making any outstanding phone calls and addressing unresolved e-mails before the holidays, people can come back to the office with a renewed focus on the New Year, Sidana says.

“Taking the time to close the year out allows you to start the New Year off on the right foot, headed in the right direction,” adds Ryan Kahn, a career coach, founder of The Hired Group, star of MTV’s Hired! and author of Hired! The Guide for the Recent Grad.

Close out any outstanding projects. Your time off during the holidays is there for you to recharge and refresh. “Don’t leave loose ends or missed deadlines lingering over you,” Kahn says. “Spend the extra time now to make sure you can enjoy worry-free time off.” Plus, when you return to your workplace in 2014, you’ll have one less thing on your to-do list.

Complete all end of month/year reports. If you’re responsible for end-of-month or end-of-year reports, get those done before 2014, if possible, Sutton Fell says.

Turn in all expense reports.  This can be a challenge when recent charges have not been posted to the credit card—but try to make sure you’ve completed as many of your 2013 expense reports as possible, says Jay Canchola, an independent human resources consultant.

Set an out-of-office response on your voice mail and e-mail. This may seem obvious, but it’s often overlooked, Kahn says. “You may be on vacation, but others may not be. Don’t risk inadvertently damaging any relationships.”

Coordinate travel plans and contact information. In addition to your out-of-office reply, you’ll want to make sure your team, and especially your manager, are aware of your travel plans and know how to reach you in case of an emergency, Kahn says. “You should also get a sense of where they will be and how to get in touch with them. This will eliminate any potential stress or surprises heading into your time off — and also demonstrate responsibility.”

Update your professional profiles. Ensure your LinkedIn profile, résumé and other professional resources are up-to-date, especially if your New Year’s resolution includes searching for a new job, Sidana says.

List your accomplishments. Reflect on the last 12 months and make a list of your accomplishments, Sutton Fell says. “Quantify anything that you can, and be as detailed as possible. Include what you did, why you did it, who was affected by it, and how it benefited the company. This information can be used in the future, either during your performance review, when requesting a raise or promotion, or in your résumé when applying for new jobs.” And you should do it now because once the New Year begins, you might not be able to recall all the details.

Lay out your goals. On the flip side, make a list of what you hope to do in the New Year, Sutton Fell says. “These can be both for your current job and for your own professional edification.”

“Planning goals for yourself and your team gives you a head start when you return after the holiday,” Sidana adds.

Are there projects you want to be involved with, or tasks you want to take on? Do you want to take a class or join a professional association? “Write these down and post them where you’ll see them regularly, either in your office at work or even on your refrigerator at home,” says Sutton Fell.

Reinforce your network. The holidays are the perfect excuse to send out cards or check-in with contacts you may not have been in touch with as much you’d like to be, Kahn says. “If you missed the opportunity to send out holiday cards, consider sending out New Year’s greetings.”

Complete all benefits forms. The end of the year is often a deadline for employee benefit changes, so check with your HR department and make sure you have all changes completed and paperwork signed, Sidana suggests.

Give thanks. Acknowledge how others have helped you in your career over the course of the year, Kahn says. “Let them know that you appreciate their efforts.”

Get organized. Clear your desk and e-mail and voicemail inboxes. This way, if you do take a few days off during the holidays, you’ll return in 2014 to a nicely organized workspace—which can significantly reduce any stress.

Disconnect. Take the time to enjoy being on vacation (even if you only have a day or two off) and spending time with loved ones. If you can avoid checking your e-mail or phone messages, do it. You’ve earned a break, Kahn concludes. You’ll return to the office in 2014 feeling refreshed and ready for what lies ahead.

10:18 PM | 0 comments | Read More

Microsoft buys Nokia's devices for $7.9 billion

Nokia has sold its devices and services department to Microsoft. (Featured - Nokia CEO, Stephen Elop).

IT'S been rumoured for a long time and toady it finally happened.

MICROSOFT is buying Nokia Corp.'s devices and services business, and getting access to the company's patents, for a total of 5.44 billion euros (A$7.9 billion) in an effort to expand its share of the smartphone market, the companies announced late Monday.

Microsoft will pay 3.79 billion euros (A$5.5 billion) for the Nokia unit that makes mobile phones, including its line of Lumia smartphones that run Windows Phone software.

Microsoft is also paying 1.65 billion euros (A$2.5 billion) for a 10-year license to use Nokia's patents, with the option to extend it indefinitely.

"We are very excited about the proposal to bring the best mobile device efforts of Microsoft and Nokia together," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in a memo to employees. "We are receiving incredible talent, technology and IP (intellectual property)."

Microsoft said it is acquiring Nokia's Asha brand of low to mid-level smartphones and will license the Nokia brand for current Nokia mobile products.

"This element provides Microsoft with the opportunity to extend its service offerings to a far wider group around the world while allowing Nokia's mobile phones to serve as an on-ramp to Windows Phone," the companies said in a joint statement.

Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft said it will draw from its overseas cash resources to fund the transaction. When the deal closes in early 2014, about 32,000 Nokia employees will transfer to Microsoft, the companies said.

Nokia, based in Espoo, Finland, said Stephen Elop will step down as president and CEO as the deal moves forward. 

The companies said he is expected to transfer to Microsoft, along with several Nokia vice presidents.

Nokia said Chairman Risto Siilasmaa will stay in his current role and assume the duties of interim CEO.

Nokia plans to hold a news conference in Finland tonight to discuss the deal.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/technology/biztech/microsoft-buys-nokias-devices-for-79-billion/story-fn5lic6c-1226709828376#ixzz2dowJYASA

4:30 PM | 0 comments | Read More