What Twitter's All About

We're all very proud of the company,said Twitter CEO Dick Costolo following the firm's public listing on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday morning.It's been our users who have gotten us to where we are today.We have a lot of work to do,and I'm anxious to get back to the office tonight and get started on that.All the capital raised today is going into the company.
It's all about making it very simple for new users to come to the platform.It's all about the very,very long-term business we're trying to build,growing the business for all the 2.4 billion connected people to all become users of the platform.
We made it clear that we had every intention to remain an independent company.We'll be making sure that we have people on the ground around the world driving unique regional content onto the platform.We have 94 of the Ad Age Top 100 already working with us this year.We are public;real time;coversational;and distributed.It's all about amplifying the characteristics that we already have,being the indispensible companion to the live experience.
These startups always evolve from those who were originally there.I don't have any time to think about what happened three years ago,Mr.Costolo declared.*
Twitter is very agressively priced at 40 times earnings;there will be better entry points later on,said Mark Mahaney,managing director at RBC Capital Markets.Amazon,Priceline,Netflix and Facebook are better buys right now.The Internet ecosystem generates a lot of wealth.If you pick the right 5-6 companies,that's how the individual trader can make money.
The stock closed at 44.90,down slightly from the 45.10 opening price.
Twitter(TWTR),Priceline(PCLN),Netflix(NTFX),Amazon(AMZN),Facebook(FB)

N.J. Offering ‘Fugitive Safe Surrender’ Program To Those With Outstanding Warrants « CBS New York

N.J. Offering ‘Fugitive Safe Surrender’ Program To Those With Outstanding Warrants « CBS New York

Good Vibrations:Exxon Mobil and Tesla Motors

Even though Exxon Mobil's Q3 earnings were down 18% on the year,hurt by refining margins,the latest report was still greeted positively by Wall Street.Earnings of 7.87 billion dollars,or 1.79 a share,did beat the consensus estimate of 1.77 a share.As well,oil production rose 1.5% on the year,with liquids volumes up 5.3%.
It's better than I thought,said CNBC analyst Jim Cramer.Exxon looks good,with the production growth.It's nice to see a big dog get a good run here.*
In Monday trading,Exxon Mobil shares closed at 92.10,up 2.28,or 2.54%.The stock pays about a 2.9% dividend,and a 3 billion dollar buyback to support the share price is expected.*
Tesla Motors stock popped 8.03% in Monday trading,closing at 175.20,ahead of Tuesday's earnings report at the close of trading.Bloomberg described the stock's October results as having hit a pothole,however.It experienced a loss of 4.7 billion dollars-it's worst monthly performance since October 2010.R.W. Baird&Co. cut the stock from outperform to neutral,saying it was priced to perfection.Investors are wagering on the carmaker having tremendous future success,driving it to heights seldom seen,with the stock trading at 13.9 times sales,versus GM's 0.4 times sales.
This speculation causes the stock to be highly volatile,moving sharply at the slightest news.For example,fires that resluted from Tesla crashes on October 1 in Washington state,and in Mexico on October 18,caused the stock to crater.Tesla CEO Elon Musk himself said in an October 25 interview that the stock price we have is more than we have any right to deserve.*
Exxon Mobil(XOM),Tesla Motors(TSLA)

Asia This Day:Fed's Fisher in Sydney;China Services;Shanghai Golf

A top central banker,Richard W. Fisher,who is President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas,has bitterly criticised the U.S. Government for the inept handling of the federal budget,thus hindering the Federal Reserve's efforts to help the economy recover.Mr.Fisher thus echoed the frustration of the American people with the recent government shutdown and sequestration.
I am not a proponent of increasing government spending without restraint,Fisher,whose father was born in the Australian state of Queensland,said in a Sydney speech to business economists.The excessively over-indebted US Government has been hog-tied,prevented from providing stimulus.It has thus provided a counter-cyclical,suppressive role.The inablity of our government to get its act together has countered the pro-cyclical role of the Federal Reserve.We have a government that hasn't been able to agree on a budget in 5 years;that has historically,under both Republican and Democrat presidents and Congresses,spent money and committed itself to fund long-term programs without devising revenue streams to cover current costs or fund future liabilities.
One could say that GDP would have risen at 3.2 percent had government expediture increased at the same rate as private expenditure.Or,more modestly,if government had just been held constant,instead of contracting,GDP would have grown at an annual rate of 2.6 percent.
Under these circumstances,it is no small wonder American businesses are not expanding and growing jobs at the pace we at the Fed would like to see.It is no small wonder that our economy is growing at a substandard pace compared to previous recoveries.It is no small wonder that the most expansive monetary policy the Fed Open Market Committee has ever engineered has been hampered from accomplishing what it set out to do,Mr Fisher complained.*
China's services sector grew the most in thirteen months in October,a report from the National Bureau of Statistics shows.The services PMI rose to 56.3 in October from 55.4 in September.*
Most Asian markets fell in early Monday trading,with Japan's Nikkei index down 0.88%,perhaps disconcerted by Mr.Fisher's remarks.*
In golf,American Dustin Johnson won the PGA Tour's World Golf Chmapionships-HSBC Champions in Shanghai in a memorable tussle with England's Ian Poulter and Graeme McDowell of Scotland.Johnson said it was the most important win of his career,given the field and the tournament.It was his eigth PGA Tour victory.He praised HSBC for their excellent work on the tournament.
Johnson,Poulter and McDowell spurred each other on with an exhibition of accurate ball-striking.China's WC Liang also played well,tying for fifteenth with his eleven under par 66.Poulter and McDowell will go on to the Turkish Open this week in the European Tour's Race to Dubai.

Where You Can Find the Music

This week's music is available on my Twitter page @Businessblogger.It was not technically possible to post it directly to Blogger,so that's a good alternative.This week there are two selections:
How To Save A Life-The Fray
Heart Full Of Soul-The Yardbirds.
I apologise for the inconvenience,but you can find many other items of interest on my Twitter page anyway,so I hope to see you there as well.

YouTube Problems

YouTube said they were having technical difficulties.I am unable to post the music I had selected.

In Depth:US-Pakistan Relations,part 2

On Wednesday,October 23,President Barack Obama and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif held detailed discussions on the situation in Pakistan and where the two sides will go from here.President Obama commended the resolve of the government and people of Pakistan,armed forces and law enforcement agencies to defeat terrorists and praised Pakistan for its military campaign,the White House said.The two Leaders emphasized that no country's territory should be used to destabilize its neighbors.President Obama reiterated his confidence in Pakistan's commitment and dedication to nuclear security and recognized that Pakistan is fully engaged with the international community on nuclear safety and security issues.
Prime Minister Sharif expressed appreciation for the development and rehabilitation by the U.S. government of roads in Pakistan's border areas.Both sides emphasized the need to maintain and enhance the GLOC's infrastructure.
They welcomed the ongoing security transition in Afghanistan and Afghan-led preparations for next April's presidential elections.Prime Minister Sharif also underlined that the support of the international community in the repatriation of Afghan refugees and their reintegration in Afghanistan was of critical importance to Pakistan.Both Leaders called on the Taliban to join in the political process and enter into dialogue with the Afghan government.
The two Leaders stressed that the improvement in Pakistan-India bilateral relations would greatly enhance prospects for regional peace,stability and prosperity,as it would significantly benefit the lives of citizens on both sides of the border,the White House added.