Monday, May 7, 2007

France goes Conservative

In recent history, France has been considered an obstacle of progress in European economics, a socialist haven, and a punch line to jokes. Arguably, France has been a sickly stepsister to the other European powers. That said, it looks as if the voters have finally had enough. It might have been the 9% jobless rate, the perception of weakness regarding national security, or excessive spending; but whatever the motivation, France has decided to elect a conservative President and is likely to vote along similar lines for Parliament next month.

Nicolas Sarkozy, son of a Hungarian immigrant, will face stiff challenges in addressing the free-wheeling spending patterns as well as national philosophies on world trade, defense, and the European Union. During his campaign, Mr. Sarkozy spoke of tightening the budget and defining relations with the E.U. and the United States. In his acceptance speech, he specifically spoke of France’s relationship with the U.S. and reassured the world that “France will always be by the U.S.’s side when it needs her.”

Personally, I am optimistic that the growth of a fiscally sound European Union and a conservative France (I know it's hard to say without chuckling) would go a long way in creating a global trading partner that can help propel technology and labor over the next several decades. Only time will tell, but from this side of the Atlantic it sure looks like a step forward.

Friday, May 4, 2007

Microsoft, Yahoo and a heap of dough...

Is the rumored Microsoft/Yahoo deal about search and online advertising or something more? If you own Microsoft stock, you better hope it’s more because a $50 billion price tag on Yahoo does not forebode ROI for quite some time.

Microsoft still leads the way in business software, from their hugely popular operating systems and office product lines, but change may be on the horizon. More and more, in the Web 2.0 world, organizations are leaning towards online processes for business development, and arch-rival Google is positioning to fill this void. Through shared application and collaboration services like SharePoint (a Microsoft product), businesses are exploring more ways to migrate from PC-based (stand-alone) to inter/intra-net-based mechanisms for work product development. Companies are also “searching” for ways to increase productivity with business products through cost-effective means.

Personally, I am a huge fan of Office 2007, both as a shared application and stand-alone, but the price is steep ($559 for an upgrade to Office 2007 Ultimate and $800 for the full version). Microsoft must find ways to create and develop profit margins in this unit as it expands with the Office-Live initiative without passing the bill directly to the consumer. If Microsoft cannot adapt to more effective price models, they risk losing their “Golden Egg” to Google. One speculative possibility for these "alternative" profit-making measures is through targeted online advertising, of which Yahoo is the "second-most" authority in the world. Their assistance in this effort might very well be the answer and the rationale for spending the $50B.