1 When no one wants to rule Delhi (Jawed Naqvi in Dawn) This has possibly never happened before in Indian politics. In 1996, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rushed to form a government under Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee totally aware it was woefully short of numbers in the Lok Sabha. He quit after a mere 13 days in power. That was just one example of the all too familiar blind lure of power that grips Indian politics. But this week, barely five deputies short of a simple majority, the BJP with 32 seats was all too willing to forsake its right to be called to rule Delhi assembly.
Arvind Kejriwal’s Aaam Aadmi Party (AAP) with a clutch of 28 seats on a surprise debut in the 70-member house would not want to rule either, arguing that its mandate was to sit in the opposition. And the Congress party, reduced to a single digit after three consecutive terms under Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, had no leg to stand on to even have a sniff at power. The deadlock will now go to Delhi Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung. He could declare President’s Rule in the state if no one is willing to take the responsibility to form a government.
The hung assembly in Delhi has emerged as the single biggest question mark on the projection of the BJP to win the general elections next year. The recent elections in the four northern states that form the bulk of the so-called “cow belt” have given the BJP a big boost though. It has dethroned the Congress in Rajasthan, and retained its hold in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh for a third term in each state. Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are the other big challenges before the BJP in the politically vital and high yield “cow belt” region. The rival leaders in these states were sanguine there was no BJP wave worth the name.
“This (results) mean there is a huge anger against the policies of the Congress. Where there was an alternative, like in Delhi, it (AAP) benefited. Where there was no alternative, the opposition party gained,” CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said. He said more than the policies what had helped AAP in the election was that they were seen as a possibility that can offer an alternative. Asked whether he thought that the promises that the AAP had made in its manifesto could be fulfilled, he said, “It is difficult. Electricity at half the price, all these are very attractive slogans. But the question is more burden should not be put on the people,” he said.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1061643/no-one-wants-to-rule-delhi
2 YouTube ad revenues may jump 51% (Stuart Dredge in The Guardian) Google has never revealed how much money YouTube makes since buying the online video service for $1.65bn in 2006. That doesn't stop analysts and research firms taking guesses. The latest is eMarketer, which has published its first estimates for YouTube's advertising revenues. The company predicts that YouTube's gross ad revenues will rise 51.4% to $5.6bn in 2013, accounting for 11.1% of Google's total.
Once YouTube has paid ad partners and video creators their share, its net ad revenues are still expected to reach $1.96bn this year, up 65.5% compared to 2012's $1.18bn. eMarketer has also broken out YouTube's net ad revenues in the US, estimating that they'll reach $1.08bn in 2013, with $850m of those coming from video advertisements. The company thinks this will give YouTube a 20.5% share of all US video advertising revenues for the year.
"Predicts", "estimates", "thinks" – this is all guesswork, so why should people trust eMarketer's analysis? The company says it is informed guesswork based on "hundreds of datapoints and studies about YouTube revenues, ad impressions, rates, usage and other factors collected from research firms, investment banks, company reports and interviews with industry executives".
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/dec/11/youtube-ad-revenues-tipped-to-jump-51-to-56bn-in-2013
3 Canada Post ending home delivery (BBC) Canada Post will
phase out home delivery in urban areas over the next five years as the postal
service struggles to rein in persistent losses. Under a five-year plan, the
cost of stamps will also rise and as many as 8,000 jobs will be eliminated. But
the agency says it will also open more retail locations across Canada.
Direct to the home delivery will be replaced by community post boxes installed throughout residential areas, Canada Post said. The agency said two-thirds of Canadians, mostly in newer suburban neighbourhoods and rural areas, already receive their mail through this method. Between 6,000 and 8,000 jobs will be eliminated as part of the plan - 12% of Canada Post's employees, although it says its workforce is aging and it expects almost 15,000 workers will retire or leave the company in the next five years. Canada Post delivers close to 10 billion letters and parcels each year but has seen a 24% drop in letters delivered since 2008.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25340301
Japanese game publishers make sure each download counts and players stay engaged—hiring math and statistics experts to parse billions of data points in real time, or having dozens of staffers monitoring the chatter on blogs and Twitter. In Japan, each downloaded game earns three times the global average on Apple devices and six times the world-wide norm on Android devices, according to App Annie.
The stream of cash from games has even pushed Japan to overtake the US in app revenue on phones and tablets overall, according to an App Annie report. In October last year, Japanese consumers spent roughly 30% less than US consumers did on gaming apps; this October, that is reversed to roughly 30% more, App Annie said. Game experts point out the Japanese populace has long been conditioned to pay for goodies on their phones.
Now, Japanese game makers are trying to replicate their lucrative mobile-gaming model abroad—mainly by promoting their games in foreign markets. The English version of "Puzzle and Dragons" has been downloaded more than a million times in the US, while a Korean version of "World of Mystic Wiz" has been downloaded a million times. Still, those levels are just a fraction of the downloads at home. Some mobile-game experts say differing tastes may be to blame. Many Japanese companies are eyeing partnerships with local game developers to combine overseas tastes with Japanese moneymaking know-how.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303330204579250090182968948
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