The House approved a bill yesterday to bar states from taxing Internet access through 2014, clearing the way for President Bush to sign the measure into law before the current ban expires tomorrow.
The unanimous vote resolved a conflict with the Senate, which last week called for the longest-ever Internet-tax ban by passing the seven-year ban. The House had voted Oct. 16 to prohibit the taxes for four years.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) urged Bush to sign the bill immediately.
Since 1998, a federal law has prohibited cities and states from taxing most forms of Internet access. The ban was last extended in 2004. Groups representing state and local officials had pushed for a four-year ban.
High-speed Internet service providers AT&T, Verizon Communications and Comcast, and Web companies such as Google, had sought a permanent ban but welcomed the seven-year renewal.
The legislation would allow states and cities to continue taxing all forms of telephone and pay-television service, even if carriers bundle those services with Internet access.
Most House Republicans wanted a permanent tax ban and "will continue to fight" for one after the seven-year renewal expires, Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, the second-highest-ranking Republican in the House, said in an e-mailed statement.
October 31, 2007
October 10, 2007
The Thirty-Somethings Running Your Company
In case you haven't noticed, the stereotypical image of a silver-haired 50-something chief executive wearing a perfectly dimpled necktie is fading.
The top dog at the company no longer has to fit that mold to gain the trust of his or her peers and shareholders. Authority and competence are no longer found just in a look--and age and experience don't always dictate performance.
The top dog at the company no longer has to fit that mold to gain the trust of his or her peers and shareholders. Authority and competence are no longer found just in a look--and age and experience don't always dictate performance.
NHL, Reebok Create Glitzy Midtown Manhattan Store
The NHL store landscape ispunctuated by larger-than-lifeplayer images.
The National Hockey League and Reebok have collaborated on an apparel store in midtown Manhattan with a dazzling display of video screens and designer t-shirts where shoppers can also relax over a double mocha latte.
The NHL Powered By Reebok, as the store is billed, is intended to stop hockey fans strolling by in their tracks with enough eye candy to rival the window displays in the city's diamond district across from the Sixth Avenue location.
It lives up to the billing, as yesterday's press tour revealed. Next to a wall display of Reebok shoes, fans can design their own pair with an NHL team logo. Along with newly-designed high-ticket Reebok NHL jerseys are designer variations on the NHL team themes, including t-shirts and pullovers designed by Reebok for men and women
Read more of this story
The National Hockey League and Reebok have collaborated on an apparel store in midtown Manhattan with a dazzling display of video screens and designer t-shirts where shoppers can also relax over a double mocha latte.
The NHL Powered By Reebok, as the store is billed, is intended to stop hockey fans strolling by in their tracks with enough eye candy to rival the window displays in the city's diamond district across from the Sixth Avenue location.
It lives up to the billing, as yesterday's press tour revealed. Next to a wall display of Reebok shoes, fans can design their own pair with an NHL team logo. Along with newly-designed high-ticket Reebok NHL jerseys are designer variations on the NHL team themes, including t-shirts and pullovers designed by Reebok for men and women
Read more of this story
October 5, 2007
Can Facebook be worth $10billion?
They are joined by more than 100,000 new users a day – the company is set to triple in size this year. In America, more people visit the site than go to eBay and, to applause, Zuckerberg said they were working on overtaking Google.
Facebook has emerged as the star of the latest wave of “Web 2.0” internet companies. Now, Zuckerberg told Fortune magazine, he was about to unveil “the most powerful distribution mechanism that’s been created in a generation”.
It’s the sort of statement guaranteed to stop executives in the technology and media industry in their tracks.
In Seattle, Microsoft was clearly listening. The software giant has struggled in recent years as Google has stolen its thunder, and software services have moved increasingly online. Last week Zuckerberg was at Microsoft’s HQ, where he was reported to be negotiating the sale of a minority stake in the company for $500m (£244m). The price would value Facebook at $10 billion.
There have been rumours Zuckerberg may be holding out for $15 billion. Google, too, is said to be considering an offer.
Facebook has emerged as the star of the latest wave of “Web 2.0” internet companies. Now, Zuckerberg told Fortune magazine, he was about to unveil “the most powerful distribution mechanism that’s been created in a generation”.
It’s the sort of statement guaranteed to stop executives in the technology and media industry in their tracks.
In Seattle, Microsoft was clearly listening. The software giant has struggled in recent years as Google has stolen its thunder, and software services have moved increasingly online. Last week Zuckerberg was at Microsoft’s HQ, where he was reported to be negotiating the sale of a minority stake in the company for $500m (£244m). The price would value Facebook at $10 billion.
There have been rumours Zuckerberg may be holding out for $15 billion. Google, too, is said to be considering an offer.
Google Advances on Europe
“Googliness” is still important for Google’s operations outside the US, but it is incorporating local touches. In some countries, such as Russia, Google has struggled to compete against local rivals such as Yandex and Rambler. “Our support for the Russian language was not great, so we opened an office in Russia and got Russian engineers to look at the problem,” says Nelson Mattos, Google’s new head of engineering for Europe.
Meanwhile, Google is launching products such as mapping services, which by their nature require regional expertise. A team in Israel is leading developments that include reading internet pages from right to left. The company is keen to move into mobile services, in which London is a global centre.
Above all, there is a fear that unless Google is sensitive to concerns voiced by European governments it could become embroiled in long legal disputes. European data protection officials, for example, question the length of time Google keeps the results of search queries, amid concern that these could compromise users’ rights to privacy.
Meanwhile, Google is launching products such as mapping services, which by their nature require regional expertise. A team in Israel is leading developments that include reading internet pages from right to left. The company is keen to move into mobile services, in which London is a global centre.
Above all, there is a fear that unless Google is sensitive to concerns voiced by European governments it could become embroiled in long legal disputes. European data protection officials, for example, question the length of time Google keeps the results of search queries, amid concern that these could compromise users’ rights to privacy.
Forget the Israel Lobby. The Hill's Next Big Player is Made in India.
With growing numbers, clout and self-confidence, the Indian American community is turning its admiration for the Israel lobby and its respect for high-achieving Jewish Americans into a powerful new force of its own. Following consciously in AIPAC's footsteps, the India lobby is getting results in Washington -- and having a profound impact on U.S. policy, with important consequences for the future of Asia and the world.
"This is huge," enthused Ron Somers, the president of the U.S.-India Business Council, from a posh hotel lobby in Philadelphia. "It's the Berlin Wall coming down. It's Nixon in China."
"This is huge," enthused Ron Somers, the president of the U.S.-India Business Council, from a posh hotel lobby in Philadelphia. "It's the Berlin Wall coming down. It's Nixon in China."
Designs on a New Market Niche
When the Arizona Diamondbacks decided to overhaul the interior of their 10-year-old baseball stadium last winter, the team's executives went to Target. Not one of the 1,500 retail stores around the country, but the retailer's less well-known commercial-interiors division.
Designers from Target Corp. spruced up the stadium's clubhouse, made the suite-level dining areas more inviting and hunted down a massive conference table for the team's boardroom.
Designers from Target Corp. spruced up the stadium's clubhouse, made the suite-level dining areas more inviting and hunted down a massive conference table for the team's boardroom.
Founder of Ryanair dies at 71
Tony Ryan, who, as founder of Ryanair, was a pioneer of the European low-cost airline industry, died on Wednesday after a long illness at the age of 71.
The son of a train driver, he became one of the giants of Irish business and was a role model who inspired a generation of younger business leaders. Among them were Denis O'Brien, the telecoms entrepreneur, Michael O'Leary, Ryanair chief executive and Domhnal Slattery, founder of Jetbird, all of whom at one stage worked for him.
The son of a train driver, he became one of the giants of Irish business and was a role model who inspired a generation of younger business leaders. Among them were Denis O'Brien, the telecoms entrepreneur, Michael O'Leary, Ryanair chief executive and Domhnal Slattery, founder of Jetbird, all of whom at one stage worked for him.
The Cheap Revolution
WSJ Oped from Richard KarlGaard
Poor Steve Jobs. First he apologizes for dropping the price of the iPhone from $599 to $399 after just 10 weeks on the market and offers Apple customers a $100 rebate. Now he's being slapped with a $1 million lawsuit from a New York woman who says Apple violated price discrimination laws when her fancy new phone was suddenly worth $200 less.
What's going on here? Did Mr. Jobs gouge early technology adopters just for a couple extra (billion) bucks? I don't think so. After a long streak of successes, Mr. Jobs and Apple -- whose stock is up more than 20-fold since 2002 -- have collided with two forces stronger than they are: One is the cheap revolution; the other is the global economy. Together they forced Apple to drop the price of the iPhone and offend its geeky customer base.
Poor Steve Jobs. First he apologizes for dropping the price of the iPhone from $599 to $399 after just 10 weeks on the market and offers Apple customers a $100 rebate. Now he's being slapped with a $1 million lawsuit from a New York woman who says Apple violated price discrimination laws when her fancy new phone was suddenly worth $200 less.
What's going on here? Did Mr. Jobs gouge early technology adopters just for a couple extra (billion) bucks? I don't think so. After a long streak of successes, Mr. Jobs and Apple -- whose stock is up more than 20-fold since 2002 -- have collided with two forces stronger than they are: One is the cheap revolution; the other is the global economy. Together they forced Apple to drop the price of the iPhone and offend its geeky customer base.
A Reward for Good Behavior
A billionaire wants to give $5 million to African leaders who rule responsibly.
Mo Ibrahim's ideas have been labeled wacky before. A decade ago, when even American consumers were just getting used to cell phones, he decided that the real growth market was sub-Saharan Africa.
"I'm not a visionary," says Ibrahim, 61, a Sudanese businessman who was raised in Egypt and now lives in London. "Things are obvious, but most of us just don't open our eyes."
Celtel, the Pan-African telecom giant he created then, was sold to a Kuwaiti company in 2005 for $3.4 billion. Now Ibrahim wants to use that money for another big, possibly loopy gamble—to pay African leaders to retire.
Mo Ibrahim's ideas have been labeled wacky before. A decade ago, when even American consumers were just getting used to cell phones, he decided that the real growth market was sub-Saharan Africa.
"I'm not a visionary," says Ibrahim, 61, a Sudanese businessman who was raised in Egypt and now lives in London. "Things are obvious, but most of us just don't open our eyes."
Celtel, the Pan-African telecom giant he created then, was sold to a Kuwaiti company in 2005 for $3.4 billion. Now Ibrahim wants to use that money for another big, possibly loopy gamble—to pay African leaders to retire.
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