| Google Enters the Hotel Business, Takes on Advertisers Priceline, Expedia, and Trip Advisor Posted: 08 Apr 2014 07:47 PM PDT As far as I am concerned the more competition the better. The result is always lower prices and better service. Thus, I welcome the Wall Street Journal report Google Checks In to the Hotel Business. Google Inc (GOOG) is moving boldly to play a larger role in booking hotel rooms—at the risk of offending some of its most important advertisers.
Google is adding more photos and reviews to its hotel listings, so they increasingly resemble those of travel search sites such as Priceline Group Inc. (PCLN) Expedia Inc(EXPE) and TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP). And it is more aggressively promoting its "hotel-price ads" that post room rates directly as travel-search sites do.
The idea is to encourage travelers to plan more of their trips directly on Google. In the process Google gets them closer to making a booking, which experts expect will make referrals more valuable, prompting travel agencies and hotel operators to pay more for clicks on Google ads over time. It also encourages more hotel operators to place ads on Google directly, bypassing online travel agencies that charge commissions of up to 25%.
In its latest move related to hotels, Google on Monday struck a licensing deal that will give it access to technology from hotel-booking software startup Room 77 while adding engineers to Google's hotel-search team.
But the move is risky: Online travel agencies are among Google's biggest advertisers. Priceline Group will spend more than $1.5 billion in 2014 on Google advertising and Expedia could spend another $1 billion, mainly to attract hotel bookings, estimates RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Mahaney. Those two alone could account for nearly 5% of Google's ad revenue this year, Mr. Mahaney estimates, even though the company has over a million advertising customers.
The hotel-price ads on Google are "a game changer," said Erik Muñoz, an executive director at hotel-booking software company SiteMinder. He said Google's new ads allow hotels to compete with online travel agencies for a direct booking, potentially driving down their costs.
"Any time you're dealing with Google it pays to be careful and know what its long-term strategy is," says Tom Botts, chief customer officer at Denihan Hospitality Group, which is testing the virtual tour at its Miami property.
The relationship between Google and online travel agencies can be even more tense. They fear Google's moves to establish direct relationships with hotels, said one executive of Orbitz Worldwide Inc. (OWW) Expedia and TripAdvisor are members of FairSearch.org, an advocacy group that highlights what it sees as Google's anticompetitive practice of promoting its own services in search results. Even so, they remain big spenders on Google advertising because of the valuable leads. Competition is a Good ThingAs I said, the more competition the better. What we really need is Google, Wal-Mart and other companies competing to lower the cost of education and healthcare. Eventually, I assure you that will happen. In regards to healthcare, lower prices are on the way and Obamacare will not have a thing to do with it. In regards to education, please see ... Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com |
| Ukraine Parliament Erupts in Violent Brawl; Separatists Seize Buildings in 3 Cities; Kerry Accuses Russia of Creating Pretext for Invasion; Civil War? Posted: 08 Apr 2014 11:11 AM PDT Today, another fistfight between pro-Russia separatists and loyalists broke out in parliament. On Sunday Pro-Russian protesters seized state buildings in three east Ukrainian cities. The Ukrainian government says separatists rigged a building in Luhansk with explosives, a claim the separatists deny. The Ukraine government also claims the protesters hold 60 hostages. In response to the renewed violence, US Secretary of State John Kerry accused Russia of "Creating Pretext for Invasion", while Russia said Ukraine's response could trigger a civil war. Buildings Seized in Kharkiv, Donetsk, LuhanskReuters reports Pro-Russia Protesters Seize Ukraine buildings, Kiev Blames Putin
Pro-Russian protesters seized state buildings in three east Ukrainian cities on Sunday, triggering accusations from the pro-European government in Kiev that President Vladimir Putin was orchestrating "separatist disorder".
The protesters stormed regional government buildings in the industrial hub of Donetsk and security service offices in nearby Luhansk, waving Russian flags and demanding a Crimea-style referendum on joining Russia.
Protesters also later seized the regional administrative building in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, Interfax news agency reported.
Acting President Oleksander Turchinov called an emergency meeting of security chiefs in Kiev and took personal control of the situation, the parliamentary press service said.
Ukrainian Parliament Meeting Devolves Into Brawl, AgainYahoo! News reports Ukrainian Parliament Meeting Devolves Into Brawl, Again A brawl broke out during a meeting of parliament in Kiev today, after communist leader Petro Symonenko accused his political opponents of contributing to the Crimea crisis by using extreme tactics to oust former president Viktor Yanukovych. The comments riled two nationalist leaders, who ran at the podium to physically stop him from speaking. Brawl VideoLink if video does not play: Violent Brawl at Kiev Parliament Separatists Hold 60 hostages in Luhansk BuildingReuters reports Ukraine Authorities Say Separatists Hold 60 Hostages in Luhansk BuildingUkraine's state security service on Tuesday said that pro-Russian separatists had placed explosives in a building they seized in the eastern city of Luhansk and were holding 60 people hostage.
"The criminals have rigged the building with explosives ... and are holding around 60 people, threatening them with weapons and explosives," the SBU security service said in a statement. "They are using terrorist measures."
But one of the protest leaders told Reuters that there were no explosives and that no one was being prevented from leaving the building. "We do not need hostages to get what we want," said Anton, who declined to give his second name.
A Reuters reporter said people appeared to be moving freely in and out of the building.
The Luhansk building was one of several seized by protesters in the east of the country demanding regional referendums on independence from Kiev.
Protesters in Donetsk remain in control of the main regional authority building, but authorities ended the occupation in the city of Kharkiv. Kerry Accuses Russia of Creating Pretext for InvasionThe Financial Times reports Kerry Accuses Moscow of Creating 'Pretext' for Ukraine Invasion The US has accused Russia of fomenting unrest in eastern Ukraine, calling its efforts "illegal and illegitimate" and warning that Moscow was seeking to create a pretext for possible military action.
"What we see from Russia is an illegal and illegitimate effort to destabilise a sovereign state," John Kerry, the US secretary of state, told lawmakers in Washington.
Mr Kerry called Russian special forces "the catalyst" for uprisings over the last 24 hours that saw armed pro-Russian separatists seize government buildings in three cities in eastern Ukraine.
"This could potentially be a contrived pretext for military intervention just as we saw in Crimea," Mr Kerry said, adding: "No one should be fooled." Civil War?The Wall Street Journal reports Ukraine Could Be Plunged into Civil War, Warns Russia Ukrainian police on Tuesday regained control of a government building occupied by pro-Kremlin separatists in one volatile eastern city as pro-Russian protesters in another appeared to be slipping into disarray.
As Ukraine's new government pushed to show its authority in the region, Russia warned that the use of force to dislodge demonstrators who had taken over government offices could plunge the country into civil war.
Pro-Russian protests had flared up in Ukraine's eastern cities after the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych in late February, but had appeared recently to be fading. They reignited Sunday as crowds of several hundred seized government buildings in the three cities.
In Donetsk, protesters declared the founding of the "Donetsk People's Republic" and demanded a referendum on independence from Ukraine. Ukraine's wealthiest man, Rinat Akhmetov, a Donetsk native who had been a member of Mr. Yanukovych's political party, reportedly met with the separatists in Donetsk and urged them to negotiate with the government.
Meanwhile in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that representatives of pro-Russian elements in eastern and southern Ukraine should be allowed to participate in multilateral talks with Russia, the U.S. and the European Union and the new government in Kiev aimed at calming tensions.
He accused Kiev of ignoring the interests of the eastern and southern part of the country and said the crisis couldn't be resolved without taking the demands of the region into account. I do not believe this leads to civil war, but if it does, the US will be more to blame than Russia. It was the US that helped orchestrate the overthrow of pro-Russia president Viktor Yanukovych. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com |
| IMF Upbeat on US and Global Growth, Steen Jakobsen Says "Surprise Index" Differs Posted: 08 Apr 2014 09:36 AM PDT In a 204 page IMF Report on World Economic Economic Outlook the IMF predicts 3.0 percent US growth in 2014, 1.1 percent for the eurozone, and 5.7 percent growth in emerging markets. I did not slog through the report, rather I stopped reading on page 13 with the predictions. The IMF is perennially wrong and perennially overoptimistic. Surprise Index Steen Jakobsen, chief economist for Saxo Bank: "The IMF new economic forecast says the US is going to be the growth engine for 2014. It makes perfect sense, not!!! Citigroup's Surprise index (economic data relative to expected data is at new lows while policy makers see improvement. I guess ultimately it will turn due to mean reversion, but if this is superior growth, I need to go back to school." Steen's Personal NotesEveryone, and I mean, everyone I have met in the last three month is overweight US stocks based on more growth, best of worst, but asset return from the US market reflects the above chart and my personal view that rates going lower due to much lower growth in the US than perceived.
Year to date performance is not really what the doctor ordered in December is it?
Gold (GLD) vs. S&P 500 (SPX) vs. 7-10 Year Treasuries (IEF)
 Wine Country Conference IIWant to hear a live discussion of what Steen Jakobsen thinks about Europe, China, or US interest rates? Then come to the second annual Wine Country Conference which will be held May 1st & 2nd, 2014. We have an exciting lineup of speakers for this year's conference. - John Hussman: Founder of Hussman Funds, Director of the John P. Hussman Foundation which is dedicated to providing life-changing assistance through medical research
- Steen Jakobsen: Chief Economist of Saxo Bank
- Stephanie Pomboy: Founder of MacroMavens macroeconomic research
- David Stockman: Ronald Reagan's budget director, best-selling author, former Managing Director of The Blackstone Group
- Mebane Faber: Co-founder and the Chief Investment Officer of Cambria Investment Management
- Jim Bruce: Producer, Director, and Writer of Money For Nothing: Inside the Federal Reserve
- Chris Martenson: Reknown speaker and founder of Peak Prosperity
- Mike "Mish" Shedlock: Investment advisor for Sitka Pacific and Founder of Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis
Conference DetailsFor further details about the 2014 conference, please see Wine Country Conference May 1st & 2nd, 2014Unlike other "for profit" conferences, every cent of money raised in this event goes to charity. This year's cause is autism. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com |
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