Google stock forecast to breach $900 as core business lends stability (NDTV)
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)‘s share price should resume its upward march to about $900 from less than $800 now, analysts said on Friday, after the search giant’s strong quarterly profit reinforced its status as a technology sector favorite. At least five analysts increased their 12-month price target on the stock, by between $50 and $130 to $820-$925. Three others, who already had targets above $935, trimmed theirs. Some analysts said the predictability of Google’s results over the last several quarters was allowing them to better model earnings and stock price trends.
Now that’s a steal! Google to buy $39 million network for one dollar (NDTV)
Terms of an agreement between Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Provo, Utah, show the company will pay $1 for a fiber-optic system that cost $39 million to build. Even as Google takes ownership of the municipal network, Provo will have to pay off loans for its construction for another dozen years. Provo officials say it’s a good deal because the system hasn’t been able to pay for itself. They say Google will make upgrades and complete connections to every home. And Google Fiber will offer basic Internet service at no charge for a $30 hookup fee far less than the current $700 activation fee.
Google again beats Viacom in YouTube copyright case (NDTV)
A federal judge has thrown out Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAB)‘s lawsuit accusing Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) of posting its programs on YouTube without permission, a year after a federal appeals court had revived the landmark copyright infringement case. For the second time in three years, US District Judge Louis Stanton in Manhattan rejected Viacom’s damages claims over Google’s alleged unauthorized posting of clips from “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” “South Park,” “SpongeBob SquarePants” and other programs that viewers had uploaded to YouTube.
Tech’s Rust Belt Takes Shape (WSJ)
Technology has long distributed its riches unequally. But the sector has seldom seemed so sharply divided between disrupters and the disrupted. Computing pioneer International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) -7.05% on Thursday reported its revenue dropped 5% after failing to close big software and hardware deals. …Software giant Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) +3.54% once known for rapid sales of PC software, reported that the business that includes its Windows operating system turned in essentially zero growth after one-time effects of software revenue deferrals. By contrast, Internet innovator Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) +2.78% said Thursday revenue grew 31% in the first quarter, while profit rose 16%.
Google Mail and Other Services ‘Disrupted’ (ABCNews)
Google’s mail and application services were unavailable to some users Wednesday morning. The company said it was investigating the problems, but didn’t know their cause. It didn’t say how many people were affected. The disruptions started affecting people worldwide around 8 a.m. Eastern time but appeared to be resolved by midday. Earlier, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s apps status dashboard showed that its Mail, Drive file storage service and office-application services were “disrupted.” Its administrator control panel, which lets companies manage their Google applications, was completely down.
