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In today's Motley Fool Take:
- Yahoo! Takes Overture
- Quote of Note
- Disney's Hidden Treasure
- Discussion Board of the Day: Disney
- Your $3,000 Tan
- Save for the Unexpected
- Quick Takes: Citigroup, PeopleSoft, Wal-Mart, more
- And Finally...
Yahoo! Takes Overture
Yahoo!
Overture is involved in one of the fastest-growing segments of the Internet advertising market. (One source, Piper Jaffray, expects the industry to generate $5 billion in revenue by 2006 -- an annual growth rate of 35%.) To see how the technology works, type the phrase "cell phones" into the search box at the top of this page. Along with the regular listings, you'll see a few "sponsored links" at the top. This lucrative real estate goes to the companies that bid the most for various search terms. As I write this story, AT&T Wireless
Yahoo! is also a partner, and along with Microsoft
Similarly, Yahoo! relied on Overture for 19% of its total revenue during the same period, and the world's top portal was not comfortable being that dependent on any one company. While some speculated that it was looking to develop its own pay-per-click model, in the end it made more sense to buy a proven, profitable leader.
The deal calls for Yahoo! to pay $4.75 in cash and 0.6108 of a share for each share of Overture -- a 13% premium for Overture stockholders. Considering Yahoo!'s share price has soared over 80% this year, it was a shrewd move to pay for more than half of the acquisition with its stock.
Might we see more consolidation in the industry? The market seems to think so, with shares of Looksmart
Quote of Note
"To be in the game, you have to endure the pain." -- George Soros, international investor and philantropist
Disney's Hidden Treasure
Releasing a big-budget pirate film has always been a cursed practice in Hollywood. With money spent typically finding a watery grave in Davy Jones' Locker, it has been a practice paid in fool's gold. Well, until now.
Putting the buck in swashbuckler, Disney's
Turkey spirits left behind from Geena Davis' turn in Cutthroat Island and Kristy McNichol and Chris Atkins in The Pirate Movie have been lifted. The list of pirate flick duds at BoxOfficeMojo.com, which have averaged less than $30 million at the multiplex over the past two decades, has found the exception to the rule in Disney's bold gamble.
Folks had every reason to doubt Disney's decision to spend roughly $140 million on a film based loosely on -- but branded tightly to -- a popular theme park ride. The last time Disney spent heavily on a high-action pirate adventure, it wound up taking a hefty $47 million after-tax bath on Treasure Planet. The entertainment giant had also botched its first attempt to tie a movie to an existing attraction when The Country Bears flopped last year.
So in came the plundering Pirates with a clever script, an artsy cast, and a storyline that borrows from more popular recent blockbusters like The Mummy with its fleet of skeletal warriors.
It works. It's also cause for a great sigh of relief by Disney because another attraction-branded feature -- The Haunted Mansion -- hits theaters come November. But before it starts licking its chops and announces new projects like It's a Small World: Ride It or Turnstile Trouble at the Ticket and Transportation Center, let's hope it realizes that Pirates became a winner despite being anchored to a park ride -- not because of it.
The movie works surprisingly well not because it stayed the course, but rather because it veered off in an entirely different and fresh direction. That's where the gold lies.
Discussion Board of the Day: Disney
What did you think of Pirates of the Caribbean? Was Disney just "Goofy" to start making live-action films based on its theme park attractions? Is this the kind of product branding that we'll be seeing more of in Hollywood? All this and more -- in the Disney discussion board. Only on Fool.com.
Your $3,000 Tan
Does your credit card statement hold a place of prominence in your photo album? If you financed your summer vacation with plastic -- and about 40% of vacationers do -- move over the snapshots and make room for your bill. It may be the most lasting memory of your trip.
Credit cards financed almost 40% of summer vacations last year, according to "Americans, Summer Vacation and Debt," a national study by AmeriDebt and Opinion Research Corp. What's troubling about that stat is that more than half of vacationers who put their trip on plastic will not pay it off right away.
With vacationers spending an average of $1,500 on their trip, that's a lot of mai tais and inner tube rentals. Putting just $20 a month towards that balance at an interest rate of 14%, those tan lines end up costing $3,428.43 over the next 14 years. Your card will be paid off just in time for you to put that laser skin resurfacing treatment on plastic!
If you've already taken your cruise/camping trip/Civil War reenactment outing, total your expenses, divide them by 12, and start stashing away that amount to cover next year's summer blowout. If you've already financed your travels with Visa and can't pay it off, negotiate for the lowest rate possible, or transfer the balance to a low-interest card (check out the current rates on The Motley Fool Visa) and pay it off pronto.
And if you're still planning your warm-weather jaunt, keep an eye on the biggest vacation expenses -- hotel accommodations, airfare (see what fares Fools are finding), and Disney doodads.
Save for the Unexpected
Here at Fool.com, we spend a lot of time talking about investing in the stock market. But that's for your long-term savings -- money you won't need for at least five years, right? Right! What about those unpredictable zingers life throws at you at the worst times? Why, that's why you need a stash of short-term savings. Let us tell you how to start saving today.
Quick Takes
Citigroup
PeopleSoft
Continental Airlines
Wal-Mart
And Finally...
Today on Fool.com:
- For updated stories throughout the day, bookmark our ever-changing News section.
- One Outfit, Two Hot Stores: Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie are capturing consumers' hearts.
- Rich Dad Just a Fad: The Rich Dad, Poor Dad series isn't all it's cracked up to be.
- Employees vs. Customers vs. Shareholders: Companies must serve three groups. Which is most important?
- In Fool's School, what's liquidity?
Contributors:
Bob Bobala, Robert Brokamp, Paul Elliott, Mathew Emmert, Jeff Fischer, Tom Jacobs, LouAnn Lofton, Bill Mann, Selena Maranjian, Rex Moore, Rick Munarriz, Matt Richey, Reggie Santiago, Kate Southerland, Dayana Yochim