Zynga cuts 5 percent of work force, ending 13 games

Zynga "FarmVille" creator shuts down its Boston office and has laid off 5 percent of its full-time workforce and may also close its Japanese and British offices. It is due to steep decline in earnings as users gradually migrate to mobile devices. They will also end 13 unspecified older game titles, Chief Executive Mark Pincus said.

Rumors of the layoffs in Austin and Boston had spread on gaming blogs and over social networks during the day, and the company's shares closed down more than 5 percent, at $2.20. But they bounced back 4.5 percent to $2.30 in after-hours trade, following news of the cost-cutting initiatives.

Zynga went public to much fanfare in December at $10 a share but has since lost over three-quarters of its market value. It has been hit by delays in its game pipeline as older titles fade, while it has struggled to come up with new hits for mobile devices.

With its top line shrinking, Pincus told employees in an earlier memo just this month that he was disappointed by the results but urged his staff not to lose sight of the bigger picture.

source yahoo news/Reuters

Softbank shares UP

Softbank, a Japanese mobile carrier, soared up in Tokyo on Tuesday as investors buy back into the stock that was heavily traded the last two sessions because of the news of its $20 billion takeover of Sprint.

Softbank shares jumped 9.5 percent to 2,485 yen ($31.49) in heavy trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, after losing more than 20 percent of their value in the previous two sessions. Softbank stock tumbled 17 percent on Friday and then 5.3 percent on Monday.

Softbank and Sprint Nextel reached a deal under which Softbank will pay $20 billion for a 70 percent stake in the wireless telecom operator. Sprint Nextel is the number three US carrier behind AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

Traders said that the spike on Tuesday was due to bargain hunters looking to pick up the embattled counter on the cheap.

source google news (AFP)

Japanese Car Sales in China Down

Japanese automakers are suffering plunging sales in China this month after violent anti-Japanese protests in which Japanese-brand cars were targeted. The violence stemmed from the island dispute between the two countries.  

Honda sales had fallen 40 percent; Nissan sales were down 35 percent; Toyota sales is down by 49 percent; Mazda sales had fallen 35 percent.

source nytimes

World stocks fall

BANGKOK (AP) -- World stocks fell Wednesday as investors awaits the U.S. jobs report.

The U.S. Labor Department will release employment data for September on Friday. While the U.S. economy shows signs of resilience, thanks in part to rising car sales and home prices, hiring has remained too sluggish to reduce high unemployment, which is at 8.1 percent.

The U.S. economy also is at risk for falling off a "fiscal cliff" early next year. That's when tax increases and deep spending cuts take effect unless Congress reaches a budget deal. If those measures do take effect, the economy could fall into recession.

Full Story here

source yahoo finance