Groupon, the online coupon business, has jumped on the internet bandwagon by filing for an initial public offering, and the figures it discloses in its S-1 filing are astonishing in various ways.

In short, Groupon is  growing like crazy in terms of number of users and offers, while losing money at an eye-watering rate. To make up for the latter, it has come up with an ingenious way of smartening up its figures. Read more

For more than a decade, the task of securing a personal computer, corporate network or internet transmission from hackers has been one the vast majority of people, from chief executives and government leaders to consumers, have tried to foist on others.

That is understandable: the job is complicated, unproductive, and never finished. Read more

The only thing on which companies and investors seem able to agree about initial public offerings is not to trust investment banks. Read more