The FT on Google+
The news outlet with a metered subscription service online has more than double the number of followers of the New York Times and five times the number that the Guardian has acquired.
It is almost a year since the launch of Google's social network, with the Financial Times creating a page in November, when organisations were granted the ability to have a Google+ presence.
On Saturday (16 June) the FT thanked its one million followers on Google+ as it reached the milestone, a post which at the time of writing had generated 64 comments indicating the level of engagement.
According to a blog post on the Financial Times, "Google+ is much more than a social network" as it gives the "ability to personalise content to specific audiences based on what users are interested in".
In the post the news outlet states that "this platform is an important new communications channel", with search facilities and hangouts, the chance to include the audience in debates.
Earlier this month the FT said it is looking at ways to allow those with a subscription to the news outlet to login and read the digital publication from social reader apps such as Flipboard and Zite, enabling its audience to read the FT on their platform of choice.
In today's blog post on the importance of Google+ as a platform, the FT states that it "also wanted to create additional touch points for our readers, allowing them to read FT content where and how they choose".
The post continues: "In developing its Google+ page, the FT opted to emphasise captivating content and exclusive reporting. As early adopters quickly took to Google+, it might have been easy to focus on highlighting tech and digital content on the platform, but the FT has gone far beyond this remit, sharing a wide variety of content from correspondents around the world and has seen a strong response.
"Part of the social media team’s strategy has also been to play up to the highly visual nature of the platform and rich-media content such as videos, images and infographics have proved particularly successful."
Stocks Turning In Mixed Performance In Mid-Day Trading - U.S. Commentary - NASDAQ
(RTTNews.com) - After moving to the downside in early trading, stocks have turned mixed over the course of the trading day on Monday. The choppy trading comes as traders digest the results of the Greek elections ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting.
The major averages are currently turning in a mixed performance, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq posting a moderate gain. While the Nasdaq is up 10.68 points or 0.4 percent at 2,883.48, the Dow is down 24.44 points or 0.2 percent at 12,742.73 and the S&P 500 is down 0.78 points or 0.1 percent at 1,342.06.
Profit taking contributed to the initial weakness on Wall Street, with traders cashing in on the strong gains posted in the two previous sessions. The gains lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to one-month closing highs last Friday.
The pullback also came as traders shrugged off news of the pro-bailout New Democracy party's victory in the Greek elections amid rising bond yields in Spain and Italy.
However, traders seemed reluctant to make any significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's upcoming monetary policy meeting.
Many traders expect the Fed to announce additional stimulus measures when it releases its post-meeting statement on Wednesday. A lack of further stimulus could lead to a sell-off on Wall Street.
The subsequent recovery by the markets was partly due to the release of a report from the National Association of Home Builders showing its reading on homebuilder confidence at a five-year high in June.
The report showed that the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index crept up to 29 in June from a downwardly revised 28 in May. Economists had expected the index to come in unchanged compared to the 29 originally reported for the previous month.
With the modest increase compared to the previous month's revised reading, the index rose to its highest level since coming in at 30 in May of 2007.
In corporate news, shares of Microsoft (MSFT) are trading modestly lower amid rumors that the software giant will unveil a Windows-based tablet device to rival Apple's (AAPL) iPad at an event this evening.
Sector News
While most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves in mid-day trading, significant weakness remains visible among oil service stocks. Reflecting the weakness in the oil service sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index is down by 2 percent.
The weakness among oil service stocks comes amid a notable decrease by the price of crude oil, with crude for July delivery sliding $1.20 to $82.83 a barrel.
Steel and brokerage stocks are also seeing continued weakness, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index and the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index down by 1.3 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, railroad stocks have shown a strong upward move over the course of the session, driving the Dow Jones Railroad Index up by 1.2 percent. Housing, tobacco, and biotech stocks have also moved to the upside on the day.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged up by 1.8 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced by 1 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.7 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and and the German DAX Index edged up by 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries have pulled back near the unchanged line after seeing early strength. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by less than a basis point at 1.582 percent after hitting an early low of 1.56 percent.
For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com
Stocks mixed as European debt crisis festers - Los Angeles Times
Investors appeared fed up with policy makers' inability to resolve a crisis that has bedeviled markets for more than three years. Leaders of the most developed countries are meeting in Mexico to discuss the crisis and the slowing global economy.
U.S. indexes opened lower then drifted between modest gains and losses. Homebuilders rose after a measure of confidence among U.S. builders rose to a five-year high.
Spanish borrowing rates spiked Monday above levels that forced other countries to take bailouts, a sign that bond investors fear Spain will default on its debts.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 31 points to 12,735 shortly after midday. Hewlett-Packard fell 62 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $21.02. It was the biggest percentage decline among the 30 stocks in the Dow.
The Nasdaq Composite index rose nine points to 2,881. It was lifted by Apple, its biggest component, which rose $8.06, or 1.4 percent, to $582.19.
Rival tech titan Microsoft will make a “major” announcement after the market closes. Many expect it to introduce a tablet computer that would compete with Apple's market-dominating iPad.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell two to 1,341.
On Sunday, Greek voters elected a party that wants to continue a program of international bailout loans that require painful budget cuts. Traders had fretted for weeks that a radical leftist party would prevail and reject Europe's unpopular bailout plan.
The next step, traders feared, would be Greece's dropping the shared currency. Anxiety over a Greek exit was so pronounced that many expected bank runs on Monday if political anti-bailout parties had won the election.
Yet Greece's situation remains precarious. The anti-bailout party got a big chunk of the vote. There's also no guarantee that the winners will be able to form a government. Elections a month earlier had not produced a governing coalition, leading to Sunday's do-over.
Many had expected stocks and other risky investments to rally on relief that the conservative party won. But the broader scope of Europe's financial burdens soon overshadowed whatever breathing room the election provided.
Safe investments rose and riskier ones fell as traders continued their long vigil for a more permanent solution in Europe. Leaders there are considering a centralized system of bank regulation and deposit insurance to complement proposals of closer economic coordination.
Attention shifted Monday toward Spain and Italy, both of which will require international help if they can't convince bond investors that their finances are sound.
Benchmark stock indexes plunged 3 percent in Spain and 2.9 percent in Italy. Stocks in Germany and the U.K. edged slightly higher.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.59 percent from 1.63 percent earlier Monday as demand increased for low-risk assets.
The yield on Spanish 10-year bonds jumped to 7.15 percent, the highest since Spain joined the euro. Only a week ago, Europe unveiled a massive bailout of Spain's banks intended to reassure investors about the nation's finances.
Greece, Ireland and Portugal needed bailouts after their borrowing costs rose above 7 percent. It looks like tiny Cyprus will need a bailout as well.
The ISE Homebuilders index rose 28 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $9.92. Lennar, PulteGroup, D.R. Horton and Toll Brothers all rose strongly.
Giant military contractor SAIC fell 47 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $11.77. The Defense Department said Friday that SAIC had lost its biggest contract to Lockheed Martin, a $4.6 billion deal to run the department's global network.
Energy prices, which are sensitive to investors' expectations of future economic growth, fell. Benchmark crude for July delivery slid $1 to $83.03 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Tech stocks show life with Microsoft event on tap - Marketwatch
Where Paul Krugman, Keynes are vulnerable
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