- Netflix shares are set to bounce on Tuesday after the mail-order movie company issued bullish guidance and announced a stock buy-back. Chief executive Reed Hastings said a key part of the company’s growth came from interest in its Internet streaming services, suggesting Netflix could be making headway in its ambition to be a major player in the on-demand video market.
- With demand for its microchips weak because of slumping mobile phone and TV sales, Texas Instruments reported grim Q4 and 2008 earnings. It also announced 3,400 job cuts, contributing to the Monday total of 75,000 jobs lost around the world.
- While others downsize, IBM prefers to engage in what it calls “workforce rebalancing” and “resource action.” A week after Big Blue revealed that a 20-cents-a-share charge to cover headcount reductions, a tech industry union claimed the company had cut 2,800 jobs. IBM refused to comment, but did not deny that the “rebalancing” had accelerated as a result of the economic downturn.
- If speculation that eBay will sell Skype has started swirling again, new CEO John Donahoe only has himself to blame. He told us in an unguarded moment last April that he would put the unit on the block if there were no synergies to be found. Donahoe has since gone out of his way to stress that Skype is already effectively a free-standing business, with few overlaps with eBay’s core business.
- With Twitter being used for every conceivable application, the micro-blogging service is said to be in search of another $20m in funding. Even though it’s not yet profitable, Twitter is reportedly giving itself a valuation of $250m. This after the company turned down a half billion dollar acquisition offer from Facebook.
- The health of Apple chief executive Steve Jobs continues to be an irresistible topic, though there is nothing to go on but hearsay. Valleywag passed on a weakly-sourced claim that “Steve Jobs checked into Stanford Hospital over the weekend and was scheduled for surgery this morning.” But a subsequent post on Silicon Alley Insider brushed that rumor aside.
© The Financial Times Ltd 2012 FT and 'Financial Times' are trademarks of The Financial Times Ltd.