Sharp drop in UK retail sales boosts stimulus case

LONDON (AP) ? Retail sales fell sharply in Britain during the wettest April in a century, official data showed Wednesday, a piece of bad economic news which analysts say could help prod the Bank of England to approve more monetary stimulus.

The Office for National Statistics said the volume of sales in April dropped 2.3 percent from March and 1.1 percent from a year earlier. Comparisons with last year were skewed by warm weather in 2011 and the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, which had combined to boost spending, the agency said.

Special factors aside, the April sales drop weighs down on hopes that Britain's economy will break out of recession in the second quarter, said Howard Archer, European economist for IHS Global Insight.

"It is evident that there are currently a lot of pressures on consumers as they face uncertain and worrying times," Archer said.

The weak figures ? combined with a sharp drop in inflation in April to 3 percent ? have fueled expectations that the Bank of England will have to approve more monetary stimulus this year. On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund urged both the coalition government and the central bank to do more to boost economic activity.

Minutes from the last meeting of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee showed that several members thought the factors for and against more stimulus were "finely balanced," though only one of the nine members voted to expand the 325 billion pounds ($510 billion) stimulus program of asset purchases, known as quantitative easing. All nine members voted to keep the key interest rate at the all-time low of 0.5 percent.

"It still looks like it won't take much to tip the committee into doing more QE," said Samuel Tombs, U.K. economist at Capital Economics. "Indeed, if we continue to see data as weak as April's retail sales figures, then a resumption to QE may only be a couple of months away."

David Miles was for the second consecutive month the only member of the rate-setting MPC to have voted for more economic stimulus this month, according to minutes of the meeting published Wednesday. However, several members ? the minutes didn't say how many ? thought the decision was finely balanced.

The IMF said Britain needs looser monetary policy, perhaps even through a cut in interest rates.

But MPC members "felt that the existing stock of past (asset) purchases, together with the low level of bank rate, would continue to impart a substantial monetary stimulus to the economy for some time to come," the minutes said.

They also expressed concern that an extra holiday in June to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II was likely to reduce output in the second quarter, though they expected a boost from the Olympic Games in the July-September quarter.

Associated Press

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Donald Driver Cha-cha-chas to "Dancing" win

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'Skyfall' Teaser Trailer: Five Key James Bond Scenes

Daniel Craig experiences trauma and Judi Dench's past comes back to haunt her in the first trailer for the new James Bond film.
By Josh Wigler

Daniel Craig in "Skyfall"
Photo: MGM/Columbia Pictures

"Skyfall" might be "done" for James Bond, but it's only just beginning for Agent 007's most devoted fans. The world got its first look at the 23rd Bond flick Monday (May 21) with the release of the first official "Skyfall" teaser trailer, putting Daniel Craig back into the British spy's iconic tuxedo for the first time since 2008's "Quantum of Solace."

Even with this early sneak peek (the film doesn't land in theaters until November 9), the exact who's, what's and why's surrounding "Skyfall" remain shrouded in mystery. The little we do know is hardly elaborated upon in the trailer: Dame Judi Dench's M has dark secrets in her past, secrets that are coming back to haunt her and her fellow agents, and it's up to Bond to put a stop to the madness. Somehow, Javier Bardem is involved to terrorize our hero, reliably silly bad-guy haircut firmly along for the ride, but we don't see Bardem and his bleach-blonde 'do in the teaser, at least not up close and personal.

Still, even a teaser as secretive as this one isn't without its share of decodable mysteries. Keep reading for five key scenes from the "Skyfall" teaser.

"Done"
Bond's interrogation at the outset of the trailer does more than inform the viewer that our favorite super-spy has Agent Provocateur lingerie on the mind. When the game of free-word association arrives at the term "skyfall," Bond tenses up, thinking back on a dark memory that involves him entering a room, gun drawn, with a dead body already slumped in a chair. (It's a split-second scene, viewable around the 29-second mark.) Though the "skyfall" referred to in the title and the interrogation remains a mystery, it's clearly linked to a painful memory that Bond would rather forget ... and given the horrors he's seen in his kill-happy career, the events of the Skyfall mission must be truly traumatic.

Killer Guilt
Agent 007 isn't the only one looking back in anger. As has been known for some time, the normally secretive M's history plays a pivotal role in the story of "Skyfall," and we get our first hints of that in two key shots in the new trailer. The most obvious one comes later; M and Bond wordlessly stare off at a bleak, hilly landscape, marking a rare occasion where the two agents are out on the field together. But there's another, easier-to-miss moment involving M at the teaser's 45-second mark. It's M, not Bond, who stands silently in a room filled with caskets, the U.K. flag draped over each and every one. Rumors abound that "Skyfall" will see a tragic end for Dench's M — perhaps her somber appearance in this scene is a taste of the tragedy to come.

A Tale of Two Bond Girls
It wouldn't be a Bond movie without a Bond girl, and "Skyfall" has two, both of whom can be briefly glimpsed in the teaser. At the 42-second mark is French actress Bérénice Marlohe, rumored to be a lethal femme fatale with designs on Bond's downfall. She stands ominously in a Chinese hotel room, windows open, curtains flowing in the breeze; it's not too much of a stretch to imagine that she's just finished kicking some ass, is it? Moments later, at the 48-second mark, is our first glimpse of "Pirates of the Caribbean" star Naomie Harris as the second "Skyfall" female lead, whose sexuality is much more overt than her co-star's in the teaser. Harris' character, Eve, is a field agent like Bond, and rumors suggest that she'll adopt the famous codename Moneypenny before the film's conclusion.

Dark Shadows
Though the teaser does not reveal him in the full light of day, Javier Bardem's big bad is definitely a presence all the same. A menacing silhouette walks toward the camera just past the minute mark, and his long, flowing hair indicates that this isn't Bond we're looking at; smarter money says this is Bardem's Silva, the vengeful operative hell-bent on destroying M, Bond and all others who stand in his way. Having previously played a vicious villain to Oscar-winning heights, Bardem doesn't need to show us too much to leave us fearful for his coming "Skyfall" appearance.

Shoot Everything That Moves
"Some men are coming to kill us. We're going to kill them first." And that's about all we know — and, really, all we need to know — about "Skyfall," as eloquently articulated by Bond at the teaser's conclusion. Those words, juxtaposed against shots of 007 arming himself with a fantastically badass automatic weapon against a neon-blue backdrop, are more than enough to guarantee our butts in seats for "Skyfall" come November 9.

Tell us what you think of the first official "Skyfall" teaser trailer in the comments section!

Check out everything we've got on "Skyfall."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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• 'Skyfall'

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Airbnb Makes Good, Will Now Cover Up To $1M In Property Damages

As people become increasingly comfortable using web platforms to swap homes, cars, and everything in between (spouses?), some have said that the collaborative consumption movement has the potential to be as profound as the industrial revolution. But, before that can happen, marketplaces and platforms that deal in collaborative consumption need to recognize the importance of ensuring consumer protection (and insuring related property), a lesson Airbnb learned the hard way last year. After multiple users' homes were trashed last summer (and a slew of bad press followed), Airbnb apologized and offered a $50,000 guarantee against damages to hosts. The startup dropped the ball the first time around, but today it's proving that it has learned its lesson, making good on its promises to protect users by announcing that it will now cover up to $1 million in property damages for every host.

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Video: Big-money MLB teams struggling so far

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5 Step Internet Marketing & SEO - Business 2 Community

Want to know how to to get more clients via Internet marketing? Professionals in all industries can benefit greatly from implementing quick and easy Internet marketing and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) ? you don?t even need any technical or Web experience to get started.

So long as you put a little bit of effort into your website or blog on a regular basis, you can build a thriving practice ? with customers coming to you, rather than you having to pay for advertising to attract them.

The nice thing about Internet marketing and SEO for professionals is that it is ?localized?. You can only treat patients who are close enough to commute to your offices, or represent clients in your city, so there is no point wasting marketing resources trying to compete in other states or geographical areas.

Why professionals should bother with Internet marketing & SEO

Regardless of whether your are a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or any other type of professional, a website or blog is critical to your practice. Whether or not you believe that a defense attorney needs Twitter followers, or a doctor needs to update her blog regularly, the fact of the matter is this:

?People find the information they need online!?

Professionals benefit from localized SEO & marketing

According to Google, the vast majority of searches are local. In other words, people are searching for products and services in their neighborhood, town or state. So if you don?t make sure that your website or blog is visible online, new clients and customers will go to competitors who do.

And yes, you?re very busy and rarely have time to mess around with blogs and websites. But, the suggestions I make here are pretty easy to implement, and shouldn?t be too time consuming (especially when compared to the potential rewards).

Internet marketing & SEO can easily be outsourced

To save time, you can always contract a professional Internet marketing and SEO consultant or company to plan and implement a great marketing and SEO strategy, tailored for your practice.

Check out this article entitled ?10 step assessment: How to hire an SEO consultant or Internet marketing company for your business? for more information on what to look for.

The top five Internet marketing & SEO tips for professionals

Each of the tips and techniques discussed in this list are chosen to give your practice the maximum ROI (Return on Investment) with the lowest input of time, effort and expense.

It?s not a comprehensive list, and if you want to get serious about driving traffic and converting visitors into paying clients, then you should consider hiring a professional Internet marketing and SEO expert.

1. Start a blog

Great content is the basis for any Internet marketing and SEO campaign. Without it, there is nothing for search engines to index, nothing for potential clients to read, nothing for people to share on the social networks, nothing for other sites to reference, nothing for people to discuss in forums, nothing for journalists and reporters to write about, and so on.

Blogging for professionals should:

• show off your knowledge
• discuss successful projects
• demonstrate your expertise
• be relevant specifically to your clients
• be targeted at potential clients in your catchment area

In other words, blog about what you know, what you do, and make the blog relevant to the people who you are trying to attract as clients. Talk about your projects and experiences in your locality.

If you don?t have a blog, the easiest way to get started is by using WordPress. WordPress is free and super easy to use.

You might also want to check out the following articles that will teach you more about blogging, and making money from blogging:

2. Get listed in Google places

Lots of people search on Google. Most searches are localized. Google places allows you to list your business or practice for free. Listed businesses show up in searches in their locality. Do the math?

To list your business or practice in Google places:

• Go to Google Places for Business
• Fill out your listing ? include contact information, pictures, promotions, updates, and any other information you feel is relevant

Now, when people search your locality for topics related to your practice, this listing will show up in the results, increasing your chances of being discovered.

3. SEO

The term SEO is so broad that it vaguely applies to any activity design to ?drive traffic and convert it?.

In terms of the type of SEO activities that are most applicable to a blog or site designed to provide essential information about a professional practice and its associated products and services, I would say:

• Analyze the most important keywords and phrases that people might use when searching for your practice
• Include important keywords and phrases in blog and page headings, as well as the first paragraph
• Ensure that you have analytics installed ? Google analytics is an excellent, free analytics service
• Use analytics to ascertain where traffic comes from, which articles and content are the most popular, and what people are doing while they are on your site
• Refine your content, marketing and website to maximize conversions

A conversion could be anything from phoning your offices (by accessing the number on your contact page), emailing an inquiry, purchasing a product or service, signing up for a newsletter, and so on.

The basic goal of SEO is:

1. Drive more traffic to your website or blog
2. Maximize the rate of conversion
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 indefinitely

You?ll also benefit from reading the following articles on SEO and its implementation:

4. Guest blogs & articles

?Authority? is one of the most important aspects of converting new clients via Internet marketing. If a potential client reads an article written by an expert, that demonstrates deep understanding and insight in that particular field, it is likely that they will perceive the author as an authority on that subject.

?With authority comes trust, and with trust comes new business. ?

On a regular basis, sit down and write an expert article for a leading niche news or blog site in your field of expertise ? you might even consider writing a column for a local newspaper.

By demonstrating your authority on a regular basis, in content that is published on quality sites, you build up a reputation as an expert in your field. People are predisposed to approaching the people they consider to be the ?best? in their field.

Always make sure you have an author credit with a link back to your own blog or website in the author byline or signature. Without this, there is no easy way for potential clients to contact you.

It is also important for SEO, as it helps to build up your own site?s authority and PageRank, which in turn helps it to appear higher up in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).

5. Social media

Professionals, like entrepreneurs, startups, small business and large corporates, can benefit greatly from using social networks to drive potential customers to your website or blog.

How you go about implementing an effective social marketing strategy really depends on your business objectives and niche market. Professionals should, at the very least, join LinkedIn, fill out the profile section completely, and sign up and contribute to relevant industry groups.

Twitter is also a good social platform for professionals to share information and news, and gain a following of other industry leaders and potential clients.

While it can be a long and time consuming ordeal to build up a strong social media presence, it is worth being active in this sphere simply for the ability to connect with new people very easily.

Often potential business partners respond far quicker and easier to a Twitter message than they would to an unsolicited email. LinkedIn offers InMail, which they guarantee will illicit a response ? or they give you additional InMail credits.

Check out the following articles on social media marketing:

If you?ve had success (or failure) in marketing your professional practice, share with us here or join the conversation on LinkedIn or Twitter.

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Alibaba buys back stake held by Yahoo for $7.1 billion

SHANGHAI/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chinese Internet entrepreneur Jack Ma is buying back up to half of a 40 percent stake in his Alibaba Group from Yahoo Inc for $7.1 billion, in a deal that moves the Chinese e-commerce leader closer to a public listing.

Under the agreement, Yahoo will sell half its stake in Alibaba for at least $6.3 billion in cash and up to $800 million in new Alibaba preferred stock. The deal, announced in a joint statement on Monday, caps years of often acrimonious talks over how Alibaba could reclaim some or all of the 40 percent stake that Yahoo bought for about $1 billion in 2005.

While Alibaba founder Ma had a strong personal rapport with Jerry Yang, Yahoo's co-founder who led the initial investment in Alibaba, ties between the two firms soured when Yang was ousted and replaced as CEO by Carol Bartz.

Relations were also complicated by a spat over the Chinese group's payment unit Alipay, and Yahoo's attempt to appoint more directors at Alibaba. Negotiations over a complex deal for Ma, who owns close to 7.5 percent of Alibaba, to buy back most of the Yahoo stake for up to $9 billion faltered earlier this year over valuation.

Yahoo, which has come under fire from shareholders for failing to take aggressive action to reverse a decline in advertising revenue in the face of competition from Google Inc and Facebook, will hand most of the sale proceeds, after tax, to its stockholders.

"For Yahoo it's a decent compromise, they were never going to keep all the 40 percent stake and expect to see these guys IPO. I think they sold it off at a pretty reasonable valuation," said Michael Clendenin at RedTech Advisors in Shanghai. "Yahoo still has a lot of bigger problems ahead of them, I mean, they are a portal so they're going the way of the dodo bird."

"Credit to Jack Ma, he's a wheeler and dealer and he got a very good deal on this one," he added.

A source familiar with the deal said Yahoo built in incentives for Alibaba, which operates the popular Chinese online marketplace Taobao, to hold an initial public offering by end-2015. Alibaba would buy back half of Yahoo's remaining stake - a 10 percent holding - at the IPO price or allow Yahoo to sell those shares in the offering before end-2015.

Alibaba Group, valued at $30-35 billion, listed its Alibaba.com unit in 2007, and in February agreed to buy it out, with Ma saying a group IPO would reward employees for their service.

"The valuation is reasonable ... but I don't think this is going to affect the IPO strategy," said Elinor Leung, analyst at CLSA. "I don't think the IPO is going to be imminent, meaning this year. Net-net this is going to be positive for Yahoo because you cash out on half the stake, but Yahoo's main worry is their U.S. business."

Alibaba said it would raise the money through a mix of cash, debt and equity. Sources said the group was in talks with existing shareholders including Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings to raise about $2.3 billion in equity to part-finance the deal. Alibaba was not immediately available to comment and a Temasek spokesman declined to comment.

Temasek bought shares from Alibaba employees in September in a tender offer in which DST Global, Silver Lake and Yunfeng Capital also took part. According to Basis Point, a Thomson Reuters publication, Alibaba is likely to increase a $3 billion loan for taking its listed unit private to $4 billion.

Alibaba has long been the dominant player in China's booming e-commerce sector, but the landscape in the world's biggest Internet market is evolving, with Amazon.com, Dangdang and 360buy emerging as tough competitors. Taobao has around 90 percent market share in China's consumer-to-consumer online trading and more than 53 percent of the business-to-consumer market.

SIMPLIFYING YAHOO

Yahoo's Alibaba stake and its 35 percent holding in Yahoo Japan, which it jointly owns with Softbank Corp, are considered the crown jewels of the struggling U.S. Internet company. Some investors have said Yahoo should monetize some of those holdings and return the proceeds to shareholders. Softbank owns around 30 percent of Alibaba.

Analysts have said selling down the Asian assets would raise cash for Yahoo and simplify its structure, making it easier for investors to value its core U.S. operations. Yahoo said it would return "substantially all" of the after-tax cash proceeds from the deal to its stockholders, increasing a planned share buyback authorization by $5 billion.

The deal marks an important accomplishment and an early sign of progress for Yahoo interim CEO Ross Levinsohn, the fifth person to step into the top job in the past five years at the company, which have seen falling revenue, layoffs, management reorganizations and executive departures.

Many analysts expect Levinsohn - who follows Scott Thompson, who stood down earlier this month after he was accused of overstating his qualifications, and Bartz, who was fired last September - to re-orient the company around its media properties including Yahoo Sports and Yahoo Finance, while focusing less on expensive tech efforts such as search and social networking.

Finalizing a deal with Alibaba could remove a distraction, allowing Levinsohn to focus on a comeback plan, while potentially earning goodwill from investors frustrated by missteps and poor performance.

"For Yahoo, this is something that needed to get done because Alibaba was having a bit of an issue with ... the group being so dominantly owned by foreign entities," Nomura Securities analyst Jin Yoon told Reuters.

"The China asset was kind of their crown jewel so I don't actually expect Yahoo to fully depart from China and I do expect Yahoo will have some sort of remaining involvement with Alibaba Group."

Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo and Japan's Softbank agreed to cap their shareholder voting rights in Alibaba at below 50 percent, said one source familiar with the issue, effectively keeping foreign ownership in check.

In addition to the share repurchase, Yahoo and Alibaba will amend their existing technology and intellectual property licensing agreement, with Alibaba continuing to operate Yahoo China under the Yahoo brand for up to four years. Yahoo will be freed from restrictions on it making other investments in China. Alibaba will make an upfront lump sum royalty payment of $550 million to Yahoo and keep paying royalties for up to four years.

UBS was lead financial adviser to Yahoo, while Credit Suisse advised Alibaba.

(Additional reporting by Jonathan Gordon, Denny Thomas and Chyen Yee Lee in Hong Kong, Alexei Oreskovic in San Francisco and Saeed Azhar in Singapore; Writing by Ian Geoghegan; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

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