Saturday, January 7, 2012

The most important trends in global economy 2012

Trend #1 according to foresight expert Edward Musinski -

Asian investments around the world.

Only some examples.

1.The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is a major player in European real estate, whether it is a finished asset or development. Qatar Holdings LLC has made its first investment in a class-A office project in Poland. http://www.swfinstitute.org/swf-news/qatar-holdings-buys-warsaw-office-development/

2. The Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Co, which is a sovereign wealth enterprise of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), plans to invest €250 million (US$ 337.4) in developing an Adriatic resort in Montenegro. http://www.swfinstitute.org/swf-news/qatari-diar-montenegro-resort-dev/

3. China Investment Corporation (CIC) is a sovereign wealth fund. Since then, CIC's assets have grown to $500 billion at the end of 2011.

China Investment Corp. (CIC), who wrote that China was keen to make equity investments in Western infrastructure, especially in Britain. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=china-eyes-to-buy-european-assets-2011-11-28

Now let’s take a look at ten areas where we expect to see trends making a major impact in 2012!

BRIC & beyond rising: Markets, competitors, mindsets and systems
Financial and economic uncertainty explodes: New roles for power brokers?
Geopolitical tensions: Politics as a barrier to economic and social stability, versus an enabler
Food, water and energy security: Growing challenges
Cybercontrols & cyberwars: The new frontlines of authority and crime
Technology breakthroughs: Are we serious and will we pay the price?
Beyond the Gang of 4: The fight for controlling the interface
The democratization of everything: Facing the tensions of globalization and fragmentation
Redefining playing fields: Fighting to own the new consumer
Generations Y and Z moving to the forefront: Preparing for the digital natives

http://vsocial.livejournal.com/141290.html

Friday, January 6, 2012

10 predictions for Web Trends 2012

#1: social will go away, but that the next generation of social apps will be about doing things more efficiently and saving time
http://znacomstva.blogspot.com/2012/01/10-predictions-for-web-trends-2012.html

Tech M&A trends are positive http://goo.gl/fb/TxDCZ

Thursday, January 5, 2012

M&A activity in 2011

For the entire year, 460 companies were bought for $46.4 billion, down 13% from the activity seen in 2010. But the deals were valued much higher as the total amount spent for the purchases was 30% higher than the $35.6 billion spent in 2010.

The median price paid for a company catapulted 77% to $71 million last year, with the median amount raised down 12% to $17 million before reaching an M&A or buyout exit. The drop in funds reflect the lower start-up costs needed to start a company these days.

"Acquisitions of companies liquidating their assets were halved in 2011 and companies are benefiting from lower start-up costs by taking capital farther toward a larger acquisition,” said Jessica Canning, global research director for Dow Jones VentureSource, in a release.

The largest acquisitions in 2011 include Plexxikon bought by Daiichi Sankyo for $805 million, Medtronic's $800 million purchase of Ardian, Shire's $750 million acquisition of Advanced BioHealing and Electronic Arts purchase of PopCap Games for $732 million.

As for the largest transactions in the consumer technology space, PopCap was the largest, followed by Quidsi's sale to Amazon for $545 million, Tiny Prints $406 million sale to Shutterfly, Wal-Mart Stores $300 million purchase of Kosmix, and KAR Auction Services' acquisition of Openlane for $250 million.

Monday, January 2, 2012

The next big ideas: social TV, crowdsoursing

The next big idea: social TV
http://content.bitsontherun.com/previews/mzSKMwxm-3qUDsq9e

In addition to TV networks including hashtags in the aired programs and streaming content encouraging watchers to comment and share what they are viewing, many companies have started capitalizing on the advertisement revenues available when joining forces with major programs.

GetGlue is a new service that, by April, had already amassed 1 million users

Saad Khan of CMEA Ventures at Vator Splash on his thoughts on the next billion dollar space, his favorite startups and tips on pitching him. Saad starts off by sharing that he invests in the entrepreneur and not necessarily the idea. To quote him, "I invest almost exclusively in people – really smart people! Regardless of what you are doing if you are one of those people then email me saad@cmea.com"

Watch the interview for the types of entrepreneurs Saad has invested in, people who are wired a little differently and have been demonstrating that for a while.

So what is the next billion dollar space? He shares two areas: Changing of page rank to something else such as "People Rank" or "Like Rank" presents a significant opportunity. How do you establish authority around a person and how does that change Search and Navigation paradigms.

The other space he's excited about is Crowdsourcing. How do you capture people’s marginal hour to disrupt industries.