Exclusive: Yahoo Finally Set to Strike Alibaba Share Deal — Half Now, Then Half of What’s Left After Eventual IPO

Could the never-ending Yahoo-Alibaba deal finally be close to a handshake? Yes, indeedy.
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Hey Mickey, You’re So Fine: Meet the Man Who Landed Silicon Valley’s Hottest Funding Deal in Pinterest

The $1.5 billion valuation can still blow your mind.

Exclusive: Japan’s Rakuten Wins the Heart of Pinterest in $100M Funding Race With $1.5B Valuation

The largest e-commerce site in Japan is about to get pinned by Ben Silbermann in massive funding round.
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Panasonic Posts Record Annual Net Loss

Panasonic Corp. said Friday its net loss in the fiscal fourth quarter grew more than tenfold from a year earlier, as ongoing struggles at its television operations and a tax-related charge pushed the Japanese electronics conglomerate to its biggest annual loss in its 77-year history.

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Sony Forecasts End of Loss Streak

After reporting a net loss of $5.7 billion for the last fiscal year — its fourth annual loss in a row — Sony Corp. said it expects to swing back to a profit this fiscal year as its consumer-electronics and component businesses recover.

Place Your Bets: Will Loeb Drop Another Bomb on Yahoo at Vegas Confab Later Today?

There are pretty good odds, but it’s a gamble for the activist investor to find a way to top his last act.
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PayPal Partners With Japan’s SoftBank to Form Digital Payments Joint Venture

Late this evening, PayPal unveiled a multimillion-dollar joint venture with SoftBank, an Internet and telecommunications provider in Japan, to work together on the future of digital payments there.
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In Japan, Games Business Pairs Reward and Risk

As a Japanese government investigation questions the legality of mobile videogames like those from Gree Inc. and DeNA Co., a snapshot is emerging ofboththe promise and risk of the nascent social-network games business, an industry that offers a new model of success for Japan’s flagging technology sector.

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Despite Crackdowns, Sina Still Winning the Weibo Game

Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo may be in the midst of its most aggressive crackdown yet following an explosion of political rumors among users, but it is still beating Tencent in the microblogging race in China, according to a McKinsey & Co. report released this week.

Yahoo’s Q1 Earnings: New CEO Will Get Some Satisfaction!

New Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson is making list and taking names.
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Exclusive: Yahoo Asia Deal Talks Off for Now