Yahoo for Sale - Verizon Considered Most Likely Buyer

You may have heard about Yahoo's plans to "spin off" their core web business. Over the past decade, the company lost the battle for market leadership to Google, which was once their smallest competitor, and has gone through several CEOs, still without any significant growth in sight. So, it makes sense that Yahoo wants to make a last-ditch effort to turn their luck around. However, as Tracey Lien stated in her recent L.A. Times article, Yahoo may have given up their plans to turn the business around. Instead, the web powerhouse could be looking to sell while the company is still worthwhile to potential buyers.

The various chief executives have tried everything to bring the company back to its former glory. Millions of dollars were spent to try to make Yahoo into a leader in media and technology, but that never really panned out, especially since the company largely missed the transition to mobile technology. Yahoo's websites get nearly a billion visitors per month, yet Yahoo has yet to gain the kind of big-money advertisers that Google and other competitors are known for snagging. Yahoo even tried starting a $42 million video program to compete with Netflix and YouTube but canceled it after disappointing results in the first season.

One of the company's most valuable assets, at least to analysts, is its $32 billion stake in Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba. Unfortunately, Yahoo failed to successfully spin off that asset, which just led to more scrutiny by current and potential future investors. According to analysts, Yahoo's changes this month to their employees' severance packages are a telling sign that Yahoo is getting ready for a sale. According to tech analyst Jan Dawson, the only way Yahoo doesn't get sold is if they insist on a price that no one is willing to pay. Even then, Dawson continues, Yahoo could end up looking at a sale again in the near future.

At least 40 potential buyers have done in-depth research into Yahoo's finances, but some companies are looking like more likely buyers than others. Currently, the front-runner in the competition to purchase Yahoo is mobile and broadband company Verizon. Verizon has both means and motive, especially after acquiring AOL last year as part of its attempts to bolster its efforts to become a leader in the media sector. Other potential buyers include Daily Mail, a British tabloid newspaper with similar audiences as Yahoo; Microsoft, which tried to purchase Yahoo in 2008 for $45 billion; and CBS, which could use Yahoo's size to reach a larger audience. There are some rumors that Google could be interested, but Dawson doesn't believe that Google would want to invest a lot of money to gain a business so similar to what they already have.

Some private equity firms could also be interested in purchasing Yahoo, but if they did, it is likely that the company would be broken up and sold off in pieces in the near future. Each asset within the company would be built up, then sold in the right market for greatest potential profitability to the firm. No matter how it goes down, though, it is expected that Yahoo will find itself under new ownership at some point in the next several months. Yahoo has billions of visitors a year, thousands of employees, and has been valued at about $35 billion. Eventually, someone will buy the company. It's just a matter of time.

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Millennials Better at Saving Than Previously Assumed

Millennials are often stereotyped as being bad with money. Many people view those 20-something-year-olds as frivolous spenders, more concerned with the here and now than with the future. However, according to recent research, Millennials don't actually deserve this classification. According to Jonnelle Marte's L.A. Times article, they are saving much more aggressively than in past years, and in some cases are saving more than their middle-aged counterparts.

In the study, "Millennials" were defined as consumers between the ages of 18 and 29, and the results blew away many assumptions previously made about their age group. About 62% of Millennials are saving more than 5% of their income for retirement, emergencies, or other future financial goals. This is a significant improvement from last year when only about 42% of Millennials put the same portion of their pay toward savings. Comparatively, it was found that about 50% of consumers between the ages of 30 and 49 were putting as much into savings.

Analysts believe that Millennials' interest in saving money for a rainy day may come from personal experience or what they saw family members go through. Many, especially those straight out of college, struggled to get a job during the recession. Others, even if unaffected themselves, watched as family members were hit by layoffs and saw how hard it was for parents or even grandparents to recover. Likely because of this, 40% of Millennials are putting their savings aside for an emergency, rather than for retirement or something else that would matter the most in the distant future. They know how hard it can be to survive if they unexpectedly lose their job, and as such, want to be sufficiently prepared.

How are Millennials able to save more money now than in previous years? Some are cutting their spending, realizing that instant gratification isn't worth potential financial struggles in the future. Others are getting better jobs or being promoted to better-paying positions in the recovering company, and therefore are earning more money and are more able to put some of it toward savings. Some went back to school when they found that they couldn't find work during the recession and are putting their degrees to use in getting jobs now.

Not all Millennials are choosing to put their money aside for emergencies. Many are saving in order to be able to afford big purchases in the near future. About 27% are saving for a future home, 26% are saving for a car, and 36% are saving to go on vacation. No matter what they are saving for, researchers agree that Millennials have come to understand the value of saving, often more than their older counterparts. When asked about their major goals, the majority chose "saving", while smaller, but still significant, portions chose "leading a healthy lifestyle" or "paying down debt." Saving money can have a positive impact on anyone's life, so it's a good thing that more individuals have come to realize the value of saving over spending.

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Not All Tesla Customers Will Get Expected Tax Rebates on Model 3

Tesla's new electric vehicle, the Model 3, is making waves throughout the market. Thousands of buyers are looking to get their hands on the luxurious, energy-efficient, affordably-priced car. At $35,000 before any governmental rebates, the Model 3's price can't be beaten by other electric vehicle producers. Thousands of dollars in state and federal rebates are offered to buyers, thus making the car an even better deal, but the rebates are not as easy to get as a buyer might think. According to Rob Nikolewski's article in the L.A. Times, buyers shouldn't count on the rebates when determining whether they can afford to purchase Tesla's Model 3.

Just this week, Tesla allowed potential customers from around the world to put down a $1,000 deposit in order to reserve their Model 3, which won't actually hit the market until December 2017. In the first 3 days, over 270,000 customers reserved their future vehicle, drawn in by its price, appearance, and the Tesla brand name. Many also took into account potential rebates that they expect to receive from the government, which Nikolewski considers an unfortunate oversight. According to him, most of the government rebates could run out by the time people get behind the wheel of their Model 3.

Southern Californians can receive $7,500 from federal subsidies and $2,500 from state subsidies when purchasing one of Tesla's electric vehicles. Unfortunately, the subsidies are only allowed for a certain number of customers. After 200,000 Tesla vehicles have been sold, the government will start to phase out the subsidies until, eventually, there will be none left. Additionally,  the state recently announced that wealthy buyers (a head of household income of greater than $340,000 or a single filer income greater than $250,000) will not qualify for the state rebates at all. So, some buyers are trying to play the odds to have the greatest chance of getting the $10,000 in tax rebates.

One customer in Santa Monica, Paul Scott, decided to go for the $50,000 version of the Model 3, which comes "fully loaded." Scott's logic in ordering the most expensive model is that he assumes that Tesla will produce their more expensive models earliest, which means that he will have a greater chance of getting the rebates before they run out. Either way, Scott asserts, he is fully willing to buy the car, whether he gets the tax credit or not. Other buyers, however, don't even seem to realize that the tax rebates are not a definite source of income. They are assuming that the price will automatically be $10,000 less, and are making their purchasing decisions with incorrect numbers, a mistake that they will regret.

Tesla needs to make the terms much more clear for customers. While $35,000 is still an incredibly low price, especially for a high-end, energy-efficient vehicle that grants owners the use of Tesla's supercharger stations, customers will not be happy if they find out that they won't be able to get the $10,000 in tax credits that they had expected. For all we know, California may decide to raise the number of individuals to which they will grant rebates, in order to encourage more potential buyers into greener vehicles. So, it is possible that a lot more than 200,000 customers will get tax credits. Either way, Tesla needs to make the situation as transparent as possible so as to avoid upsetting customers and losing potential customers forever.

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Disneyland to Incorporate Surge Pricing in Response to High Demand

Nearly 40 years ago, Robert Crandall, the then chairman of American Airlines, first employed a "dynamic pricing" system through which customers could get "super saver" fares, which adjusted based on demand and seat availability, among other factors. Since then, dynamic pricing has spread throughout many markets, which has caused surge pricing to be more of a normal part of the economy. As described by James Peltz, in his L.A. Times article, Disney became one  of the most recent companies to join airlines, online retailers, and ride-sharing applications in employing dynamic pricing.

While Disney's decision to incorporate surge pricing at Disneyland and its other theme parks may have come as a surprise to many customers, business analysts saw it as the sensible move for the company. Airlines are able to fill more seats without becoming overbooked using dynamic pricing because the pricing strategy encourages customers to buy seats on days where demand is usually lower. In that way, both customers and airlines can benefit. Customers are able to get a discounted price while airlines are able to sell tickets and fill seats on an otherwise underbooked flight. In much the same way, Disney will be able to control daily traffic to some extent.

Under the new policy, visitors will have prices ranging from a 4% discount on low-traffic days to a 20% surcharge on exceedingly busy days. This plan allows Disney to follow the same laws of supply and demand that all businesses do. Disney's supply is limited since they can only allow a certain number of visitors at any given time. Very often, especially in the summer months, when many people are out of school or are able to take time off from work, more people want to enter the parks than can be safely admitted, so some have to be turned away. This is bad for business, because it reduces the number of tickets Disney can sell, and it leaves potential customers with a bad taste in their mouth and make them less likely to want to return to the park in the future.

So, rather than turning away potential customers, surge pricing can convince customers that their day of enjoyment at the park might be more worthwhile if rescheduled to a different day. If they visit the park on a low-traffic day, the visitors will not only receive reduced prices, they will also be in a much less crowded park, which will allow them to enjoy more rides and attractions. Dynamic pricing has become more prevalent in the society because of improvements in computing technology. American Airlines was able to employ surge pricing originally because they had a computing system that allowed them to easily compare prices and availability, enabling them to sell seats at competitive prices. For most businesses, dynamic pricing was impossible until their data became much more computerized.

From ride-sharing services like Uber to the stock market to auto dealerships, dynamic pricing has spread throughout most markets. Data is key in determining competitive pricing. Teams use data from previous games and sales of merchandise in order to determine which games will be most in demand, and therefore should have the most highly-priced tickets. Pricing for hotels can be determined based on the events happening in the area and the level of demand for short-term housing. In general, improvements in computing technology have made pricing a huge part of sales and have improved the profit margins of many businesses. In the future, dynamic pricing will likely spread to every business, thus giving customers a choice. A potential customer may not like the increased price, but when it comes down to it, they can either take it or leave it. Every customer has the choice whether to purchase something or not.

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BEWARE - You and Your Clients Are a Target For This Real Estate Scam

Cyber-criminals are finding new methods every day to steal personal and financial information. Their techniques range from phishing scams to buffer overflow techniques and brute-force password hacking. Banking institutions have found themselves under attack far more than usual in recent years, and have in turn begun to incorporate stronger security measures in an attempt to block hackers. As a result, many scammers/hackers have moved on to what they believe are "easier targets." focusing on normal people rather than financial institutions, Just last week, the Federal Trade Commission and the National Association of Realtors issued a warning to consumers that they must be hyper-vigilant in order to avoid recent phishing schemes that have been targeting closing costs on real estate transactions.

The National Association of Realtors, along with the Federal Trade Commission, issued their statement warning people to be on the look-out for a specific scheme targeting those involved in a real estate transaction. First, the hackers gain access to the email account of a customer, real estate agent, or escrow officer, and use the information to keep up-to-date on the transaction and determine the closing date. When they have figured out the closing date, the scammer sends an email that has been masked in such a way that they are able to impersonate the escrow company, title company, or real estate agent, telling the customer that the wiring instructions had a last-minute change. If the customer takes the bait, they send their funds to the scammer's account, which can be emptied in minutes.

Sepulveda Escrow utilizes encrypted and secure email when sending documents with sensitive and confidential information. In addition, documents can be returned via email through this secure portal. Sepulveda Escrow has also instituted new procedures to contact Clients directly to confirm details, rather than relying on email or contact through a third party. (Please see end of this blog for some helpful tips.)

It is imperative to know that cyber criminals don't always need to be able to break through firewalls or use high-tech software to get your personal information or access your computer's data. Quite often, hackers use more subtle tricks to gain access. Phishing schemes are one of the most common ways by which they trick potential targets. One example of phishing is when a hacker sends a mass email to a group of people, and makes it look like the email comes from a bank or other online payment platform. The email requests that the recipient verify their login information by following a link. The link leads to a page that closely resembles the actual login page for the financial institution, but when the user inputs their login information, the hacker records the username and password, thereby enabling them to access the account and steal their money.

Another example of phishing is when a hacker contacts a target or a group of targets under the guise of an Official informing them that they have been the victim of a scam. They then tell the recipient that they can help them fix the damage, but first ask for certain sensitive information like Social Security number or bank information, to "verify" what data had been "stolen."  While you may look at this and think that the scheme is too obvious to be effective, statistics show that approximately 0.4% of recipients fall prey to such attacks. In other words, if a mass email is sent to 10,000 people, about 40 of them will have their information successfully stolen.

While phishing is historically the easiest and most effective method by which hackers are able to steal personal or financial information, there are several other methods. A buffer overflow attack, used by more sophisticated hackers, involves inputting many lines of code into an online form in order to overload the system and allow the hacker to steal data inputted by previous customers. A brute-force password hack involves a computer program that inputs all kinds of combinations of letters, numbers, and symbols, until the correct password has been found and the hacker has gained access to an email or other kind of online account.

Finally, hackers often package viruses or worms into free online software or as attachments to mass emails. Such viruses can enable the hacker to record keystrokes, thus giving them access to many of your passwords, or enable them to access built-in microphones or webcams on laptops. Simply opening such an email or downloading an infected attachment can lead to a virus being installed on your computer or mobile device. Fortunately, anti-virus software can often help to detect and remove these viruses, but hackers are constantly finding new ways to avoid detection by your anti-virus program. The best way to avoid getting such viruses is to be careful when downloading anything, and to avoid opening any emails that seem suspicious or come from unknown or unreliable sources.

Here are some tips to help you avoid being affected by similar scams. First and foremost, if something doesn't look right or feels even a little bit suspicious, don't hesitate to double-check it. Don't rely too much on emails. Instead, pick up the phone and call your escrow officer or realtor to make sure that everything you have received is correct. Don't open email attachments you aren't expecting. Additionally, you shouldn't trust financial information that has been sent via email, nor should you send any of your own financial information via email, because it usually isn't secure. In general, wiring instructions are sent by fax or encrypted email message. When inputting personal information on a website, check the address for "https," of which the "s" stands for secure, meaning that your information will be better protected.

Be very careful when opening attachments or downloading anything from an email, no matter who sent it to you. Just because you recognize the email address, doesn't mean that the message actually came from the person you associate with that email address. It's possible that a scammer could have hacked a friend's email, or could have disguised their email to appear as if the message came from a friend's email address. Proceed with caution. Being aware and cautious can save you a lot of hassle in the long run. 

Biggest Tip: Following up on the phone after sending an email may seem burdensome, but we at Sepulveda Escrow find that it is always worthwhile to go the extra mile to avoid financial losses and potential lawsuits.

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Find out more about us at www.sepulvedaescrow.net. Any Questions? Contact our Escrow Expert! Sepulveda Escrow Corporation (818) 838-1831. Follow our company on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.

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Banks to Incorporate Biometric Scanning to Help Prevent Hacking on Mobile Platforms

Due to hackers and other cyber criminals, online security has become a major issue around the world. In an attempt to protect their users' information, various websites have enacted different countermeasures to increase security and prevent hacking, but criminals seem to be evolving with technology. Furthermore, many of the extra safety measures, while they do a good job of protecting users, are often viewed as too confusing or time-consuming. James Koren, in his L.A. Times article, describes Wells Fargo's newest security measures: eye scanning and facial/voice recognition.

Banks and credit card companies tend to be the main targets of hackers and scammers looking to steal money and/or identification information. With a relatively small amount of information about you, a cyber criminal can apply for credit cards, open up bank accounts, and rack up thousands of dollars in debt under your name before you are any the wiser. Banks like Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo are constantly looking for better ways to protect their customers without causing more of a hassle. What they have concluded is that the best method, at least for the time being, is the use of biometric markers, which, with current technology, are nearly impossible to forge.

The average consumer wants to be well protected, yet doesn't want to have to put in a lot of effort in order to obtain that protection. For example, Google, among other websites, has a feature called 2-Step Verification. When you make an account with Google, you have the option to save a phone number to your account. Then, every time you try to log in to your account on a computer that you have not saved, Google requires that you input your username, password, and a six digit code that is sent in a text message to the provided phone number. While this system essentially prevents hackers from getting into your account via brute force attacks, it can also be pretty annoying for users who have to log on to multiple computers/devices in any given day.

Besides lengthy, multiple-step encryption, there is also the simple issue of having to remember several different passwords for different websites, each with different formatting requirements. Each website doesn't want you to use the same password on another site, in case one of the websites gets hacked, but how is the average user supposed to remember upward of 5 passwords, and recall which one goes to which website? Biometrics seems to be the best of both worlds for both time-conscious and safety-conscious customers. Currently, fingerprint-scanning is huge in the marketplace, as new phones by Apple and Samsung are coming with built-in fingerprint scanning capabilities. Some banks are already offering fingerprint-based mobile access to non-business customers. However, for commercial customers, who have much larger accounts, and therefore much more to lose to cyber criminals, the banks want to use additional biometric markers to help ensure the security.

Wells Fargo's new service will use a phone's front-facing camera to look at the pattern of blood vessels on a user's retina. This pattern of blood vessels is just as unique as an individual's fingerprint and, therefore, provides just as much security.  Additionally, users could log in to their account using facial/voice recognition. A user holds their phone so that the front-facing camera can see them, and reads a series of numbers that appear on the screen. A combination of recorded voice data and facial structure data will determine if the user is who they claim to be. In all, these new features should provide a much easier and safer experience for all users, especially business customers who need better safety features. As of now, technology has developed to the point where biometric scanning is doable, but not yet hackable. In the future, this may change, but for the moment, biometrics is the safest course.

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Find out more about us at www.sepulvedaescrow.net. Any Questions? Contact our Escrow Expert! Sepulveda Escrow Corporation (818) 838-1831. Follow our company on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.

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"The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" at Universal Studios Hollywood Expected to Greatly Increase Park's Revenue

J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" franchise has made the author a millionaire and a worldwide sensation in the relatively short time since she first published "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," the first book in a seven-part series. While it took her quite a while to find a publisher that was willing to take a risk on the new author, when she finally did, the series took off and quickly became the best-selling sensation it is today. Between the seven books in the main series, three other books set in the same universe, 8 movies, and all of the different kinds of merchandise, "Harry Potter" has been a huge money-maker over the years. One of the largest sources of merchandise income has been Universal's "Harry Potter World" in Orlando, Florida. Hugo Martin, in his L.A. Times article, discusses the upcoming opening of a new theme park, this time in Los Angeles: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, at Universal Studios Hollywood.

Everyone expects the new theme park to be a huge success, both for the franchise itself and for Universal Studios Hollywood, which has undergone millions of dollars in renovations over the past couple of years in an attempt to bring in more visitors. In 2014 they started with a Despicable Me-themed attraction called Minion Mayhem and continued into 2015 with the Simpsons Springfield land and a new Fast and Furious ride. The new Harry Potter attraction, however, while still smaller than its Florida counterpart (about one-third of its size) is expected to do more for Universal's bottom line than any of the other attractions.

Besides the fact that the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter will attract more visitors to the theme park as a whole, analysts believe that a large portion of the increased income will be due mainly from merchandising. In 2010, when Orlando first opened a Harry Potter World, park attendance went up by 20% and total revenue increased by 41% in the first year. Analysts believe that a similar trend will be noticeable at the Los Angeles analog. Between souvenirs like wands or robes and food options like butterbeer and chocolate frogs, the Harry Potter World is expected to make a killing among die-hard fans and regular folks alike. With a franchise like Harry Potter, there is very little that can go wrong, since the fans, known as "Potterheads," are so invested in the series that nay addition to the magical world is seen as a welcome surprise.

Members of Universal Studios' sales and design teams have come up with many clever ideas to make the theme park a huge money-maker. Replica wands ($39.95) can be purchased to match a favorite character's, and for a slightly higher price ($47.95), one can purchase an "interactive" wand. These interactive wands are specially designed to activate lights and motors specially incorporated into some of the wizarding world's attractions when waved in a certain manner. Not only do these wands bring in more revenue, they also add to the overall ambiance of the park and make visitors feel more immersed in the magical world that Universal is creating. Costumed employees add to the "realism" of the immersive world, and visitors will have the ability to purchase robes, wands, and the like to add to their personal collections.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter should be a huge success for Universal Studios Hollywood. As of now, it is smaller than the one in Orlando, but with enough traffic and high demand, the park will likely expand in future years. 2016 seems to be the year for all things Harry Potter related. Not only is California's wizarding world opening, but Rowling's sequel to the Harry Potter series, titled "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," will be performed in English theaters in July and the script should come out in print soon after. Finally, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," one of Rowling's other books set in the wizarding universe is currently in filming and is set to be released in movie theaters in November. One might expect that all of this new content will eventually be incorporated into new Universal attractions, which should make for even more income in the not-too-distant future.

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Find out more about us at www.sepulvedaescrow.net. Any Questions? Contact our Escrow Expert! Sepulveda Escrow Corporation (818) 838-1831. Follow our company on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.

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