Seems that I need to be prepared to even worse traffic in coming days... You can very easily gauge local bay area economy by amount of time you spend on roads during peak commute hours.. We can already see growing delays due to increased cars on the road.. Cars on the road or commute time under normal circumstances is directly related to local economic conditions.. They have improved over last few years.. despite substantial investments in local freeways you can see that peak commute hours are getting worse..
If this news about Dell, Arista & Palo Alto Networks is true then we should be expecting even further delays.. Even though it gives some pain during office commute.. it is kind of enjoyable pain.. it gives you lot of comfort to see bay area coming back to its glory days (last time it was dot.com boom??)...
However.. Kahi dhoop.. Kahi chaya.. (best English translation I can think of is.. "Somewhere Sunny... Somewhere Shade".. I am sure there has to be better proverb in English.. In case you guys know.. let me know it's English equivalent..)..
Seems that our friends in Zynga are suffering a lot.. though they are still doing good for an average company.. but it seems that wall street is not happy with them.. so does.. many of the employees over there.. I could never understand their business model.. how can anybody be so dumb to procure virtual goodies with real money.. it is beyond my comprehension.. but then I am old school person.. Looks like many more folks are converting to old school like me!!!and that is causing grief to Zynga..
I think Zynga should do more of in game advertising or start some payer club who can pay some kind of monthly subscription and will be allowed to play their games not only free of advertisements but also will get some special latest and greatest games (aka beta testing).. Free gamers should be forced to view advertisements and limited sponsored merchandise while playing.. May be it is already in place.. I really can't think of any viable sane revenue model for Zynga..
Good news for employees is that SF is even more hot for job perspective as most of the newer start-ups are setting their shop in SF instead of suburbs of SF.
Overall.. I hope to see golden days back in bay area again very soon..
Cheers!!!
A short distance away, Dell and Arista have leased two of three buildings that haven’t even been constructed yet by developer Irvine in a project known as Santa Clara Gateway. The buildings are due to be completed by mid-2013, and the deals were arranged through commercial realty firm CB Richard Ellis. Arista wouldn’t confirm its lease, but sources with direct knowledge of the transaction and Arista’s expansion plans confirmed the tech company has signed a lease for the building. The company, based in Santa Clara, has 500 employees worldwide, spokeswoman Amanda Jaramillo said. She wouldn’t disclose the company’s local employee count.
Dell, which confirmed its latest lease, in February announced it would expand its Silicon Valley outpost and add offices to allow the company’s workforce to reach 850 jobs. Now, Dell’s Silicon Valley workforce is around 1,500, said spokeswoman Katelyn Davis.
“We are very happy to be expanding our presence in Silicon Valley,” Davis said in comments emailed to this newspaper. For Dell, the Silicon Valley hub is a springboard for the company to evolve beyond its traditional roots as a computer manufacturer. It is eyeing a push into additional technologies such as storage, networking and cloud computing. “Silicon Valley is a center of technological innovation, and Dell continues to tap the great talent pool here,” Davis said. “We have added hundreds of new positions in engineering, sales and marketing and services.”
A growing host of technology giants have gobbled up offices in the South Bay. The flurry of deals involve large blocks of space in Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Mountain View and Cupertino. Sunnyvale has sizzled with unprecedented expansions by Google, Apple and LinkedIn.
“The path of expansion keeps heading south,” said Chad Leiker, a vice president with Kidder Mathews, a commercial realty firm. “Companies are taking large blocks of space in Santa Clara, and now they are looking to push into North San Jose.”
That’s spurred a building boom in multiple markets in the South Bay.
“There is new development coming out of the ground,” Leiker said. “And some developers plan to redevelop existing buildings or build on older parcels if they are in prime locations. Developers hope to ride the next wave of company expansions.”
Contact George Avalos at 925-977-8477.
==============================
Battered Zynga faces a third-quarter loss
Weak demand for some titles, charge linked to OMGPop acquisition will hit Q3 bottom line
NEW YORK (AP) — Zynga, the maker of “FarmVille” and other online games, expects a loss for the third quarter because of the weak demand for some of its titles. It’s also taking a charge related to its acquisition of OMG-Pop, a mobile game maker, which it bought for $183 million in March.
The San Francisco-based game company said Thursday that it sees a net loss of 12 to 14 cents a share for the three months that ended Sept. 30. Excluding one-time items the company expects to break even or post a loss of 1 cent per share.
Zynga also forecast revenue of $300 million to $305 million.
Analysts, on average, expect break-even earnings on revenue of $286.7 million, according to FactSet.
Zynga said it will take a charge of $85 million to $95 million on its acquisition of OMGPop, the company behind “Draw Something.” The charge — which amounts to roughly half of what Zynga paid for the company, represents its diminishing value. While user numbers soared earlier this year, “Draw Something” quickly lost footing in the months after the acquisition.
Zynga also cut its guidance for the full year. It expects bookings of nearly $1.09 billion to $1.1 billion, down from earlier expectations of $1.15 billion to $1.23 billion. Bookings reflect in-game purchases of virtual goods in the quarter they occur.
“The third quarter of 2012 continued to be challenging and, while many of our games performed to plan, as a whole we did not execute to our satisfaction,” CEO Mark Pincus said in a statement.
He added that the company remains “optimistic about the opportunity for social gaming and the power of our player network of 311 million monthly active users. When we offer our players highly engaging content, they respond.”
Investors were not as optimistic. Zynga shares tumbled 54 cents, or 19 percent, to $2.28 in after-hours trading.
If this news about Dell, Arista & Palo Alto Networks is true then we should be expecting even further delays.. Even though it gives some pain during office commute.. it is kind of enjoyable pain.. it gives you lot of comfort to see bay area coming back to its glory days (last time it was dot.com boom??)...
However.. Kahi dhoop.. Kahi chaya.. (best English translation I can think of is.. "Somewhere Sunny... Somewhere Shade".. I am sure there has to be better proverb in English.. In case you guys know.. let me know it's English equivalent..)..
Seems that our friends in Zynga are suffering a lot.. though they are still doing good for an average company.. but it seems that wall street is not happy with them.. so does.. many of the employees over there.. I could never understand their business model.. how can anybody be so dumb to procure virtual goodies with real money.. it is beyond my comprehension.. but then I am old school person.. Looks like many more folks are converting to old school like me!!!and that is causing grief to Zynga..
I think Zynga should do more of in game advertising or start some payer club who can pay some kind of monthly subscription and will be allowed to play their games not only free of advertisements but also will get some special latest and greatest games (aka beta testing).. Free gamers should be forced to view advertisements and limited sponsored merchandise while playing.. May be it is already in place.. I really can't think of any viable sane revenue model for Zynga..
Good news for employees is that SF is even more hot for job perspective as most of the newer start-ups are setting their shop in SF instead of suburbs of SF.
Overall.. I hope to see golden days back in bay area again very soon..
Cheers!!!
THOUSANDS OF JOBS POSSIBLE
Tech’s South Bay deals
Dell, Arista Networks, Palo Alto Networks could bring big payroll 1st
By George Avalos
gavalos@bayareanewsgroup.com
SANTA CLARA — Three high-profile tech companies — Dell, Arista Networks and Palo Alto Networks — have struck deals to expand their South Bay operations in agreements that could bring thousands of jobs to Santa Clara.
All together, the companies have agreed to lease 600,000 square feet in Santa Clara. Buildings with that much space typically can accommodate 2,400 or more employees.
Palo Alto Networks has rented 300,000 square feet on Great America Parkway near the amusement park. Just up the street, south of Highway 237, Dell is renting 150,000 square feet, while Arista is leasing 150,000 square feet at a site next door to Dell.
In the largest of the expansions, Palo Alto Networks is taking over spaces once occupied by struggling Internet titan Yahoo.
“We have experienced significant growth,” said Mike Haro, a spokesman for Santa Clarabased Palo Alto Networks. “We needed space to account for that moving forward. We want to accommodate customer demand. We are in a hiring mode.”
At present, Palo Alto Networks has roughly 300 employees in the South Bay, Haro estimated. The company went public in July, pricing its shares at $42 each and raising $260 million through the initial public offering. Since the IPO, its shares have soared 57 percent.
Tech’s South Bay deals
Dell, Arista Networks, Palo Alto Networks could bring big payroll 1st
By George Avalos
gavalos@bayareanewsgroup.com
SANTA CLARA — Three high-profile tech companies — Dell, Arista Networks and Palo Alto Networks — have struck deals to expand their South Bay operations in agreements that could bring thousands of jobs to Santa Clara.
All together, the companies have agreed to lease 600,000 square feet in Santa Clara. Buildings with that much space typically can accommodate 2,400 or more employees.
Palo Alto Networks has rented 300,000 square feet on Great America Parkway near the amusement park. Just up the street, south of Highway 237, Dell is renting 150,000 square feet, while Arista is leasing 150,000 square feet at a site next door to Dell.
In the largest of the expansions, Palo Alto Networks is taking over spaces once occupied by struggling Internet titan Yahoo.
“We have experienced significant growth,” said Mike Haro, a spokesman for Santa Clarabased Palo Alto Networks. “We needed space to account for that moving forward. We want to accommodate customer demand. We are in a hiring mode.”
At present, Palo Alto Networks has roughly 300 employees in the South Bay, Haro estimated. The company went public in July, pricing its shares at $42 each and raising $260 million through the initial public offering. Since the IPO, its shares have soared 57 percent.
A short distance away, Dell and Arista have leased two of three buildings that haven’t even been constructed yet by developer Irvine in a project known as Santa Clara Gateway. The buildings are due to be completed by mid-2013, and the deals were arranged through commercial realty firm CB Richard Ellis. Arista wouldn’t confirm its lease, but sources with direct knowledge of the transaction and Arista’s expansion plans confirmed the tech company has signed a lease for the building. The company, based in Santa Clara, has 500 employees worldwide, spokeswoman Amanda Jaramillo said. She wouldn’t disclose the company’s local employee count.
Dell, which confirmed its latest lease, in February announced it would expand its Silicon Valley outpost and add offices to allow the company’s workforce to reach 850 jobs. Now, Dell’s Silicon Valley workforce is around 1,500, said spokeswoman Katelyn Davis.
“We are very happy to be expanding our presence in Silicon Valley,” Davis said in comments emailed to this newspaper. For Dell, the Silicon Valley hub is a springboard for the company to evolve beyond its traditional roots as a computer manufacturer. It is eyeing a push into additional technologies such as storage, networking and cloud computing. “Silicon Valley is a center of technological innovation, and Dell continues to tap the great talent pool here,” Davis said. “We have added hundreds of new positions in engineering, sales and marketing and services.”
A growing host of technology giants have gobbled up offices in the South Bay. The flurry of deals involve large blocks of space in Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Mountain View and Cupertino. Sunnyvale has sizzled with unprecedented expansions by Google, Apple and LinkedIn.
“The path of expansion keeps heading south,” said Chad Leiker, a vice president with Kidder Mathews, a commercial realty firm. “Companies are taking large blocks of space in Santa Clara, and now they are looking to push into North San Jose.”
That’s spurred a building boom in multiple markets in the South Bay.
“There is new development coming out of the ground,” Leiker said. “And some developers plan to redevelop existing buildings or build on older parcels if they are in prime locations. Developers hope to ride the next wave of company expansions.”
Contact George Avalos at 925-977-8477.
==============================
Battered Zynga faces a third-quarter loss
Weak demand for some titles, charge linked to OMGPop acquisition will hit Q3 bottom line
NEW YORK (AP) — Zynga, the maker of “FarmVille” and other online games, expects a loss for the third quarter because of the weak demand for some of its titles. It’s also taking a charge related to its acquisition of OMG-Pop, a mobile game maker, which it bought for $183 million in March.
The San Francisco-based game company said Thursday that it sees a net loss of 12 to 14 cents a share for the three months that ended Sept. 30. Excluding one-time items the company expects to break even or post a loss of 1 cent per share.
Zynga also forecast revenue of $300 million to $305 million.
Analysts, on average, expect break-even earnings on revenue of $286.7 million, according to FactSet.
Zynga said it will take a charge of $85 million to $95 million on its acquisition of OMGPop, the company behind “Draw Something.” The charge — which amounts to roughly half of what Zynga paid for the company, represents its diminishing value. While user numbers soared earlier this year, “Draw Something” quickly lost footing in the months after the acquisition.
Zynga also cut its guidance for the full year. It expects bookings of nearly $1.09 billion to $1.1 billion, down from earlier expectations of $1.15 billion to $1.23 billion. Bookings reflect in-game purchases of virtual goods in the quarter they occur.
“The third quarter of 2012 continued to be challenging and, while many of our games performed to plan, as a whole we did not execute to our satisfaction,” CEO Mark Pincus said in a statement.
He added that the company remains “optimistic about the opportunity for social gaming and the power of our player network of 311 million monthly active users. When we offer our players highly engaging content, they respond.”
Investors were not as optimistic. Zynga shares tumbled 54 cents, or 19 percent, to $2.28 in after-hours trading.
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