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Twitter Banned, But Hires China Exec To Boost Advertising ‘Success’

Twitter ( TWTR ) has hired a new exec to head up its China division as it looks to court local businesses for advertising, even though the government has banned the social media service from operating on China’s mainland since 2009. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced the appointment of Managing Director for China Kathy Chen in a tweet late Thursday. “A big welcome to Twitter, @KathyChen2016! She joins us as our MD for China!” Jack Dorsey’s post said. In response Chen tweeted, “We have many ways to connect China to the world.” San Francisco-based Twitter opened an office in Hong Kong a year ago to court Chinese companies wanting to advertise their products and services to its millions of users around the globe. The microblogging service has seen 340% growth in its number of Chinese advertisers since then, according to a report in the South China Morning Post quoting Shailesh Rao, Twitter vice president for Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Emerging Markets. Major Chinese advertisers for Twitter include brands such as Lenovo Group and Huawei Technologies, as well as China media outlets like the state-owned Xinhua news agency and People’s Daily, the report said. “Because of the success we’ve seen, we want to expand the investment we’re making” in the region, said Rao. Twitter China Chief Worked At Microsoft, Cisco Chen is a veteran information technology executive who previously worked at Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Cisco Systems ( CSCO ). She will take over from Peter Greenberger, the former director of emerging markets, Greater China and Russia. Greenberger is now the Asia-Pacific head of global brands and agencies at Twitter, according to the report. Twitter got a price-target cut Thursday from investment bank Morgan Stanley , citing falling user engagement and shrinking user growth at the social media site. Morgan Stanley also trimmed its projections for Twitter’s user growth. Twitter will end this year with 307.1 million global users, the investment bank now says, down from its original projection of 310.6 million. The amount of time that each user spends on the site is also declining, said Morgan Stanley, with those lower engagement levels holding back revenue growth. In Q4, Twitter’s U.S. mobile users averaged just 2.7 minutes daily on the site, said Nowak, compared to 40.5 mobile minutes for music streaming service Pandora Media ( P ), 30.3 minutes for Facebook ( FB ) and eight minutes for YouTube, owned by Alphabet ( GOOGL ) subsidiary Google. The figures are based on research from ComScore and Morgan Stanley. Twitter will capture a 1.4% share of net digital ad spending this year, up marginally from a 1.3% share in 2014, according to a March survey from eMarketer. Google ranks first, with a 30.9% share of net digital ad spending; Facebook ranks second, with a 12.0% share of the total market, which eMarketer estimated will reach $186.8 billion market in 2016. Twitter stock was up 1% in midday trading on the stock market today , near 18. Alphabet stock was up a fraction, while Facebook stock was down a fraction.

How Much Will Apple Increase Its Dividend, Stock Buybacks?

With iPhone sales expected to fall on a year-over-year basis for the first time in the March quarter, Apple ( AAPL ) investors are shifting their focus toward the company’s annual adjustments to its capital return program. Apple is expected to increase its quarterly cash dividend and raise its stock buyback plan when it announces fiscal-second-quarter earnings on April 25. The question is: How much will Apple boost its capital return outlay? Last year, Apple increased its quarterly dividend by 11% to 52 cents a share and raised its share repurchase authorization to $140 billion from the $90 billion level announced in 2014. In total, Apple’s directors last year authorized an increase of more than 50% to the company’s program to return capital to shareholders. Under that plan, Apple expected to use a cumulative total of $200 billion in cash by the end of March 2017. Credit Suisse analyst Kulbinder Garcha on Friday said Apple could comfortably raise its capital return by about $10 billion per year over the next two to three years. “This would result in a capital return of about $53 billion per year, or roughly 8.5% of Apple’s market cap,” Garcha said in a report. Garcha reiterated his outperform rating on Apple stock with a price target of 150. Apple stock was flat, near 112, in midday trading on the stock market today . RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani said March 27 that Apple could raise its dividend by 10% to 15% to get its yield above 2%. Apple also could boost its stock buyback program to $40 billion to $50 billion a year, compared with $35 billion last year, he said in a report. Earlier last month, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster predicted Apple would raise its dividend by 5% to 10%. Apple Car Strategy Is Likely A Software Initiative Meanwhile, Mizuho Securities analyst Abhey Lamba on Friday reiterated his buy rating on Apple with a price target of 120. In a report, Lamba said Apple could make a bigger push into the automotive market with software-led developments in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). “We think Apple is likely to participate in the ADAS market in some way, even though it has yet to highlight its plans,” Lamba said. “Apple has clearly communicated its intentions of becoming a more pervasive part of the consumer lifestyle experience over time. “As it pertains to the auto market, CEO Tim Cook believes the industry could be poised for disruption with ‘electrification and autonomous driving’ in the near term. As an anecdote, we find evidence to support these ambitions in the company’s recent, aggressive hiring plans across engineering and operations.” While some analysts believe Apple is working on its own car, Lamba says it’s more likely the company will provide technology to current automakers. It already offers its CarPlay software to several major automakers. On Thursday, Motor Trend magazine provided its best guess at what an Apple Car might look like . Its artist conceptions show an almost egg-shaped vehicle with a glass ceiling and double-wide gull wing doors. RELATED: Apple iPhone Sales Could Fall For 3 Straight Quarters, Analyst Says Apple Should Be Valued Like Internet, Not Hardware, Company .

Ligado Spectrum Push Good For Verizon, AT&T, But Bad For Dish?

Federal regulators appear to be warming up to a radio spectrum proposal from Ligado Networks, formerly LightSquared, which could provide AT&T ( T ), Verizon Communications ( VZ ) or T-Mobile US ( TMUS ) with a new strategic option — but could spell trouble for Dish Network ( DISH ) and its spectrum holdings. The Federal Communications Commission recently began its Broadcast Incentive Auction involving airwaves owned by local TV stations. The top bidders are expected to be AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. The complex auction is expected to drag on for months. Ligado’s re-emergence from Chapter 11 has been a wild card . Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile might be less likely to buy Dish’s spectrum or partner with the satellite TV broadcaster if Ligado’s spectrum becomes commercially available. Dish has struggled to find a wireless partner to pursue mobile video services. Former Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg is chairman of Ligado, while former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt is a board member. Ligado, controlled by private equity firms, has a sizable 35 megahertz of midband spectrum. “Recent filings suggest the FCC may soon open inquiry on Ligado’s new spectrum proposal,” said Paul Gallant, an analyst at Guggenheim Partners, in a research report. “We believe Ligado’s restructured spectrum plan stands a reasonable chance of winning FCC approval. “If Ligado’s path to market becomes clear, it (would be) a long-term positive for Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, and a potential concern for Dish’s spectrum valuation (if Dish has not already monetized its spectrum).” After emerging from bankruptcy, Ligado has reached agreements with tractor maker Deere ( DE ) and GPS device maker Garmin ( GRMN ), resolving issues over potential global positioning system interference.