Twitter plans to raise $1bn in IPO

Social networking company Twitter has said it plans to raise $1bn (£619m) in its stock market debut in documents filed with US regulators.

In the filing, revealed on Thursday, the seven-year-old company said that it now has 218 million monthly users and that 500 million tweets are sent a day.

It made a loss of $69m in the first six months of 2013, on revenues of $254m.

It will be the largest Silicon Valley stock offering since Facebook's listing in 2012.

Analysts said that the offering was likely to get a good response.

"Social media is red hot," said Internet analyst Lou Kerner. "Twitter is front and centre benefiting from market enthusiasm for all things social, and remarkably strong metrics."

Financial details

The filing also revealed Twitter's finances for the first time.

While the company has never made a profit, its revenue has grown from just $28m in 2010 to $317m by the end of 2012.

Around 85% of Twitter's revenue last year came from ad sales; the rest was from licensing its data.

The company takes in a significant portion of its ad revenue from mobile devices, an important metric often tracked by analysts.

As of 2013, over 65% of the company's advertising revenue was generated from mobile devices. More than 75% of Twitter users accessed the site from their mobile phone during that same time period.

Some analysts said that the decision by the firm to raise capital indicated that it was keen on improving the way people enjoy content on its platform and how advertisers connect with its users.

"Users should be happy about this," said Zachary Reiss-Davis, an analyst with Forrester.

"It looks like Twitter is looking at how to enrich the experience and it understands that to build a successful service, they have to create something people like and want to come back to and spend time on."

Peter Esho from Sydney-based Invast Financial Services, added that Twitter's ease to use had seen it increase its user base, making it an attractive option for advertisers.

"I think what Twitter has working in its favour is that it's very easy to use: it doesn't eat up too much bandwidth for the average user in places where broadband penetration is low," he said.

The filing also revealed that two of the company's co-founders, Evan Williams and Jack Dorsey, own significant stakes in Twitter, and could stand to take in significant sums from the company's stock market listing.

Mr Williams owns 12% of shares in the company, while Mr Dorsey owns 4.9%.

Benchmark Capital's Peter Fenton, an early investor in the company, is the second-biggest shareholder, with 6.7% of shares.

Advantage Nasdaq?

Twitter indicated three weeks earlier that it had filed for a public stock market offering.

However, under a new law passed by Congress in 2012, it did not have to reveal its financial documents because it had revenue of less than $1bn.

But by releasing the documents publicly, it gave an indication that it hopes to complete its stock sale soon.

The company plans to list under the stock symbol TWTR, but it did not reveal which stock exchange, the Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange, it had chosen.

However, Mr Esho said that the listing was likely to be on the Nasdaq.

"I was to speculate, I think it would have to be Nasdaq," he said. "That really is the exchange that has seen so many tech names come to the market."

Goldman Sachs is the lead bank taking the company public, a coveted position that is often fought for amongst the nation's biggest banks.

The other banks helping with the offering are Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, BofA Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank Securities and CODE Advisors.

Champions league T20 2013 final

CLT20 final: It's Sachin Tendulkar vs Rahul Dravid for last time-

Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid - will be up against each other for the last time as both the batsmen will quit the shortest format after the Champions League Twenty20 final at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Sunday.

Mumbai Indians' opener Tendulkar and Rajasthan Royal skipper Dravid had, both, announced earlier that this would be their final Twenty20 season.

The 40-year-old Dravid had retired from international cricket at the beginning of 2012 while Tendulkar, who retired from One-Day International (ODI) cricket last December, still plays in Tests.

Mumbai and Rajasthan have played each other four times this year, and the honours have been even. Both won their home matches in IPL 6, Mumbai won the second IPL qualifier in Kolkata, and Rajasthan won the inaugural game of CLT20 2013.

That makes things look balanced. However, the IPL champions Mumbai Indians have the experience of playing and winning two matches at Kotla, where the final is to be played, while Royals have played all their matches at home.

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Ambati Rayudu, Aditya Tare, Rishi Dhawan, Abu Nechim, Akshar Patel, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Smith, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mitchell Johnson, Glenn Maxwell.

Rajasthan Royals: Rahul Dravid (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Stuart Binny, Sanju Samson (wk), Ashok Menaria, Dishant Yagnik, Vikramjeet Malik, Harmeet Singh, Rahul Shukla, Pravin Tambe, Shane Watson, Kusal Perera, James Faulkner, Kevon Cooper.

Cricket World Cup 2011 opening ceremony

             In a nation where rickshaws continue to be the most popular mode of conveyance, it is Bangladesh's way of fusing tradition with modernity. The Pontings and Sangakkaras may find Thursday's rickshaw ride amusing but, for the 14 rickshawalas handpicked to ferry the cricketing luminaries --- it could well be a life-changing experience.

             As television cameras capture the moment and telecast the images to a worldwide audience, they will not only get their two minutes of fame but also become part of World Cup history, leaving the rest of their ilk to envy these chosen 14. The much-hyped rickshaw ride is not the only thing that will be on view during the two-hour-long opening ceremony whose tickets have long been sold out.

              A few thousand fans who braved long queues and to buy tickets can consider themselves lucky because it offers them two shows for the price of one. The gates of the stadium will open at 2.30pm (3pm IST) and fans will be treated to a pre-show (from 4 to 6pm) before the big show gets under way with the welcome song --- O prithibi, tumi aaj chine nao (O world, it's time to know us) --- sung by local artistes. The high point of the function is expected in the segment where Canadian rock singer Bryan Adams takes over from top singers from the three host nations --- Bangladesh, Indian and Sri Lanka --- following the formal opening of the tournament by prime ministerSheikh Hasina, who has spared no effort in branding the country's image with the ICC's quadrennial showpiece event.   
              Three of Bangladesh's top lady singers --- Runa Laila, Sabina Yasmin and Mumtaz will kick off this segment by belting out some of their chart-bursting numbers, while the mellifluous voice of Sonu Nigam will tug at our heart strings even as the 14 skippers enjoy a rickshaw ride. And there will the trio of Shankar, Ehsan and Loy to sing the theme song De Ghuma Ke (whack it will all your might) in Hindi, Bengali and English to set the tone of the competition which involves a staggering 49 matches spread over six weeks.

              There will also be a band from Sri Lanka to entertain the fans before Adams gives it to us straight from the heart in what promises to be a one night love affair. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), which was keen to rope in Shakira for the opening ceremony, opted for Adams after the representatives of the Colombian singer reportedly asked for a cool $2 million appearance fee! An aerial cricket show, touted to be first of its kind, promises to wow the spectators.

                The last time the World Cup was staged in the sub-continent in 1996, the opening ceremony at the Eden Gardens had been an unmitigated disaster. First-time co-hosts, Bangladesh, are taking every precaution to prevent any glitches. Having spruced up the nation's capital for the World Cup, the Hasina government is ready to showcase Bangladesh in a new light even as Dhaka doubles up as the capital of the cricket world for the next few days.

Glorious Moments of Cricket World Cup 2011

         I had a peculiar expression on my face and also on my mind, openers who were striking the ball on meat of the bat were involved in a blizzard run out. I just turned to my friend and gave him a thought. I was not too sure about the understanding between SACHIN & SEWHAG, who are or rather should be the best opening pair in the prestigious CRICKET WORLD CUP 2011.

         India being top on list of favourites. And my next suspicion came when Bangladesh were cruising through the hurdle of 340 odd runs India made. Fielding were pretty average batsmen could easily pick runs. However it was nice to see India pulling on with match. Dhoni going for DRS, on last ball of the 50th over, with a sarcastic smile gave me a feel if he was taking things too lite. Though I was on winning side, things don't seem convincing to me.

           Couple of other matches like AUS-ZIM & ENG-NED too gave me an impression that India should have played better with ball and on Field. Zim almost gave Aus a stroke or two and England survived ten Doeschate brilliance with bat. Ryan ten Doeschate produced a scintillating 119 from 110 balls, and followed up with the brilliant bowling figures of 2 for 47 in ten overs, to give England one of the biggest frights.
          
             Ireland also had proven that they were not among those teams which would surrender so easily.This made me think again and again if win against Bangladesh was convincing enough.Then came IND-ENG, which was the first match that India and its supporters were too keen on. The openers and couple of batsmen shown why they were quoted so dangerous. Sachin was seen in top form, those back to back sixes that he hit of swann gave pushed the English away mentally. But, not holding the licence to go during the power play shown oppositions a clear picture of batting line up, its pro & cons. Match ended up in a tie, fielders and people handling the ball were responsible for this, but terrible batting came to bowlers rescue. Dhoni and yuvi were again obsessed with DRS system, which almost could end the match in a different zone.

                Next two matches, with Holland and Ireland, India managed to float through the waters, but the way they managed things gave me second thoughts on betting my money on team India. It was also the time when every critic had opinion swift. India was also quoted not to be favourites anymore.

                 On the other hand, teams like Pakistan,New Zealand were putting their hand up, as if someone asked them if they needed a place in semis. It was a time when something stuck me hard. I had a feeling if this was the team i was counting upon.But, there was a silent engine that was igniting which was not given much importance till later stages of the World Cup. It was the YUVI effect. He was among the run getter's and whats more important was he was giving India crucial breakthrough with ball. He looked calm,composed and what was most appealing was his grace in the field. He was just the old Yuvi who brought victories with his fielding efforts. He was back to his original fielding position 'THE POINT'. And also not to forget Zak, who produced a wicket every time he was give the ball.With fair bit of criticism, India took on South Africa. This was supposed to be one of the biggest clashes that were scheduled in WC 2011.

                 Sachin-Sewhag pair has proven why they were arguably the best opening combo. Styne-Morkel attack was the best attack that any team had this season. But,probably for the first time Smith had to pull off both of these bowlers from attack as India reaches 87 from 10 overs,which was best score scored in entire tournament.Sachin was on top of every ball that was bowled at him. But the batting worries continued. The licence to kill during the power play has misfired terribly once again.Though the fielding standards were risen, the match was lost in the last over.And again,because of the batsmen, bowlers share of criticism was minimal.

                This was the time, all permutations and combinations were made to find who play whom in the quarters.Also there was a worry of India getting knocked out of the cup with some sort of calculation. I again told to myself, if a team need to win the title of champions, they should never be in a position where in they get qualified, based on points scored by oppositions. And to me India had to beat west Indies, so that i could cherish the entry of India into the second stage of the World Cup. I was till not happy with way things went on. May be it is because India was quoted to be favourites. Next match was won by India & we ended up second in the group. This match brought fair amount of confidence in all cricket lovers as Yuvi, who was fighting for a place in the side, scored a ton and helped India win with comfort. Then came the big match with the mighty Aussies.

                It was India who way back in 2007-2008 began to quake through the empire Australia built in on the cricket field. There was a master stroke form all three departments of Indian team. Bowling was on the stumps, fielding was breath taking and batting gave many more surprises to the opposition. It looked very simple and calm as Yuv iPonting'sdominance over the cricketing nations was over and India started to reach the summit of mountain that they have started to climb way back in 2008. Indian fielding deserves a para on this blog. Surly, Raina,Kholi,Yuvi,Gambhir were at peak of their fielding skills. It was no wonder that Sachin could aim at stumps form the boundary line. 

               This was mother of all battles around the planet. India versus Pakistan in the world cup semi finals. What better moment could there be for media to get better ratings,for politicians to divert the attention of charges on them and for common public to show their patriotic feeling. Again India had control of all the three departments of the match . Sachin was among runs but not with getting dropped for 5 times, which was a disaster as far as Afridhi was concern. Yuvi was again among wicket takers. But the skipper was not firing at all. There was not even a 50 from this guy.Getting into finals was not at all surprising to most of the people who follow cricket from close quarters.

              After all, India's performance was at peak for quite some time now. This was the perfect moment for a win and to bring back the cup back home after 28 years. Again fielding was top class. Srilanka is considered to be a better fielding unit. But, India has out classed them in the finals with some outstanding performance in ground fielding department.Bowling was good but it lacked the punch they carried earlier. The batsmen showed what is it to be a champion side. I was spell bond to see the resistance shown byKholi-Gambir pair in the finals after those two early wickets. This was a sign of showing the world how to deal with the best of the team in the league. Skipper might have thought this was the time for him to pull up his socks. He made sintillatin 91 along with gambir who missed out on a world cup hundred, more so in a finals. It all ended up with the tread mark helicopter shot from Dhoni's willow over the long off. Probably he kept this performance of his in store for the perfect movement.

It sounds AWESOME .... INDIA THE WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!!

Virat Kohli's sensational 133-run knock that kept India alive in the tri-series.

Virat Kohli Leads India to an Amazing win

             The match at Bellerive Oval (Hobart) played today between India and Sri Lanka could be termed as the most interesting One Day match of the year so far. India were at last position in the Tri-series played between India, Sri Lanka and Australia in Australia, and to remain in the series and keep their hopes alive for reaching in the finals India had to win the match in 40 overs chasing 320 runs which India chased down in just 37 overs and won the match with a bonus point.
         
              Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to field first which was a brave decision, one would say, as it wasn’t easy to chase a score set for 40 overs while the other team playing full 50 overs. When Dhoni decided to field first he would have thought that India will get a target of around 250 runs which they would be able to score in 40 overs with the fire power they had in the team but as usual it looked like Dhoni has made a big mistake as Sri Lanka went on to score a massive 320 runs in 50 overs with Tilakratne Dilshan scoring a huge score of 160* and Sangakkara scoring 105 runs. With this kind of score on the scoreboard and looking at the current form of India’s top order it was confirmed that India will not even win the match and Sri Lanka and Australia will reach in the finals of the CB Series 2011/12.But, Indian batsmen had something else in mind.
         
              Indian openers Sachin and Sehwag gave the start which was well needed to chase the target but Sehwag was dismissed at the score of 54 in which he scored 30 runs of 16 balls and with his dismissal the hope of victory went down but Sachin continued to score on the other end with Gambhir. Sachin scored 39 in 30 balls and dismissed by firing Yorker by Malinga. Now it was turn of young Virat Kohli who has already proven to be a great replacement of Sachin Tendulkar in the future. Kohli with gambhir scored runs with great pace and he went on to score 133 of just 86 balls and leading India to the victory in just 36.4 overs which once looked impossible even in 50 overs. Virat Kohli scored 44 runs in 16 balls bowled by Malinga to him.

               Virat Kohli scored his 9th ODI century and was awarded with Man of the Match for amazing performance with the bat and leading India to the victory and keeping the hopes alive in the series. Virat Kohli has played 82 one day matches and scored 3233 runs with an average of 47.54 and strike rate of 84.87. He has scored 9 centuries and 20 half centuries, today’s innings being his best performance in his career so far. Meanwhile Saching Tendulkar is still waiting for his 100th century in his international career.With this kind of performance by the Indian team and gud start by Sachin and Sehwag will make it more difficult for selectors to choose the team for the Asia Cup which is to be declared tomorrow after the meeting of BCCI selectors. Lets see what team they select for the Asia Cup and will Sachin and Sehwag be dropped from the team or will they remain in the team and if selected, can Sachin score his 100th century.

Spain make history in all-European final

Not only did Spain become first-time winners of the FIFA World Cup at Johannesburg's Soccer City Stadium on Sunday by defeating the Netherlands 1-0, La Roja also made history as the first European nation to win the global football championship outside their own continent.
If that was not achievement enough, Vicente del Bosque's squad became the second nation in history – after West Germany in 1972 and 1974 – to lift the World Cup on the back of success in the UEFA European Championship, La Roja having won UEFA EURO 2008. Spain, who edged out the Oranje thanks to Andrés Iniesta's extra-time winner, are the eighth country to lift the coveted prize after Uruguay, Italy, West Germany/Germany, Brazil, England, Argentina and France.
That two teams from Europe were able to vie for this accomplishment in the first finals staged on African soil was a remarkable achievement, especially when put in its historical context. Only six European teams had previously reached a World Cup showpiece in the eight finals staged on other continents – and each time they did so in a losing cause.
Czechoslovakia lost to Brazil in Chile in 1962, Italy did likewise in Mexico in 1970, before the Netherlands (in their second final defeat) were undone by hosts Argentina eight years later. The same South American opponents vanquished West German hopes in Mexico in 1986, then Brazil accounted for Italy in the United States in 1994 and overcame Germany in Japan in 2002.
Sunday's showpiece encounter was also the second successive World Cup decider involving two of Europe's finest, yet it was only the eighth overall in 19 editions of the tournament:
• 2006 (Germany): Italy 1-1 France (aet, Italy win 5-3 on penalties)
• 1982 (Spain): Italy 3-1 West Germany
• 1974 (West Germany): Netherlands 1-2 West Germany
• 1966 (England): England 4-2 West Germany (aet)
• 1954 (Switzerland): West Germany 3-2 Hungary
• 1938 (France): Italy 4-2 Hungary
• 1934 (Italy): Italy 2-1 Czechoslovakia (aet)
Spain – who had not participated in a World Cup semi-final until their defeat of Germany on Wednesday – and the Netherlands had never met in this tournament or the UEFA European Championship prior to kick-off on Sunday. Their nine previous encounters, beginning with a 3-1 Spanish victory in the final of the 1920 Olympic football event, included four wins apiece.
While Spain were their continent's ninth finalist after Germany, Italy, France, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, England, Sweden and, of course, the Netherlands, the Oranje – as purveyors of so-called total football – lost successive finals in 1974 and 1978. In taking on Spain, a fixture which increased Europe's total of World Cup final appearances to 25, Bert van Marwijk's squad had the chance to make it third time lucky, most notably when Arjen Robben was denied by Iker Casillas when one on one with the Spain goalkeeper midway through the second half of a tense encounter.
It was a miss which would prove costly as Spain ultimately went on to become world champions and, in the process, win the trophy by scoring just eight goals in seven games, three strikes fewer than the previous lowest tally, 11, set by England in 1966 and Brazil in 1994.