It seems the International Cricket Council (ICC) has realized the enormous benefits the Internet has as a medium of marketing and propaganda. Yesterday, it roped in Internet giant Yahoo! as its online partner for all ICC events.

What Yahoo! gets out of it.

After a troubled 2008, this year has begun on a positive note for Yahoo! The 3-year deal entitles Yahoo! to exclusive online content rights & marketing entitlements for major ICC tournaments, including World Cup 2011, ICC World, Twenty20, and ICC Champions Trophy. Yahoo! will also have access to exclusive images, videos, interviews and player chats around all major ICC events.

Yahoo! to Launch dedicated ICC site!

For its part, Yahoo! has created an exclusive property called iccevents.yahoo.com , which will host all relevant information for every ICC event. Yahoo! has also launched a new, global cricket website — cricket.yahoo.com . Yahoo! calls it the ‘complete resource’ on the game. It is expected to feature news, updates, images, match schedules, statistics, and player profiles. The site however is still in the beta version.

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said, “In today’s technology-driven world, this is a massive boost for the ICC and cricket. The ICC corporate website and the various event sites that will spring from this partnership will set a new benchmark for innovation and user interaction to ensure that people who choose to follow their team online are rewarded with an entertaining and exciting experience.”

S. Ramadorai, CEO of TCS, said there will be no pay hike in 2009, and the company plans to increase its working hours from 40 hours to 45 hours per week from April 2009.

The company will treat internal efficiency as a critical measure to benefit from higher employee productivity. There will be no change in behavior because of any US tax break, but there will be an emphasis on reduction of discretionary spend and delay infrastructure spending, said a company statement.

Bhavin Shah, global technology research of JPMorgan, is of the opinion that IT companies will cut budgets by at least 15-20%. He however said there would be no material impact on the IT sector because of the cut in service tax.

“We expect significant budget pressure across the corporate space on a global basis. So, I think IT budgets could be down easily by at least 15-20% year-on-year for some of the major companies on a global basis,” Shah said.

He said customers will ask for 20% price cuts and the IT sector might see single-digit growth in FY10. IT stocks may see a further downside from the current levels.

The Lok Sabha yesterday approved External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s plan for reducing the CENVAT (excise duty/CVD) rate by 2% and service tax by 2.5%. Mukherjee had proposed these steps in the VOA announced earlier this month.
Industry bodies like MAIT, CII, FICCI, etc. have welcomed the move, which it sees as a positive move by the government to lift the economy.

How does the reduction in CENVAT rates and service tax help Indian manufacturers? For one, it is expected to bring some degree of price stability. Reduction in service tax could also see a reduction in prices of IT solutions and services. Vinnie Mehta, executive director of MAIT, opined that the reduction in excise and service tax would help bring down the prices of IT products other than computers. Of course, as K. Vaitheeswaran, co-founder of Indiaplaza.in, points out, whether price of IT products and services actually comes down will depend on the manufacturer and if he is willing to pass on the benefit to the consumer.

Hiranya Ashar, CFO of Rolta India, a developer of IT-based GIS and engineering design services, however does not expect any major impact on Indian IT companies. “More than 90% of their (IT companies) revenues are exports and exempt from these taxes. There might be minor gains in terms of reduction in cost for items which attract service tax such as lease of premises, telecom expenses etc,” he said.

Harinder Salwan, secretary of Infotech Software Dealers Association (ISODA), also echoed this view. According to him, the confusion over interpretation of applicability of service tax on packaged software still continues. He further said that telecom users will be the biggest beneficiaries of this announcement as their phone bills will be reduced by 2% across the board.

Chandrajit Banerjee, director general of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said, “The announcement would stimulate demand. The further reductions in excise, service tax by 2% and extension of reduction in excise duty will go a long way in stimulating consumption.”

As Sudhindra Mokhasi, founder & CEO of BPO e-Sutra, points out - the IT industry is on the cusp of transition from STPI and SEZ, hence the proposal to bring on par the IT exemption for separate entities and subsidiaries in an SEZ is a good move. (However this will be brought into effect only after the formal budget).

In today’s scenario, most companies are looking to either defer annual increments or give nominal increases. Overall easing of tax rates can be viewed as higher effective net income for employees and hence the reduced annual increments may look more palatable and acceptable to employees.

HONG KONG – Asian stock markets tumbled Tuesday, with Hong Kong’s index down nearly 4 percent, after relentless fears about the financial system and world economy drove Wall Street to its worst finish in more than a decade.

Every major market shuddered from losses across a range of sectors, from banks to technology firms, exporters and commodities, wiping out solid gains from the previous day.

Tokyo’s benchmark languished near a 26-year low as news that Nomura Holdings , Japan ’s biggest broker, will raise billions more in capital by selling shares added to worries about the financial sector.

Most Asian bourses advanced strongly Monday on reports the U.S. government may take a greater stake in tottering financial giant Citigroup .

But concerns that Citigroup and other banks will keep suffering severe losses flared overnight amid pessimism about a quick economic recovery and doubts the government can return the reeling financial system to working order.

As the Obama administration tried to pacify fears, saying it would launch a revamped bank rescue program this week, U.S. investors hammered stocks. The Dow Jones and Standard & Poor’s 500 indexes plummeted to their lowest closes since 1997.

“Investors are just selling out in disgust across the board — disgust with the market, disgust with the financial problems,” said Lorraine Tan, director of equities research at Standard & Poor’s in Singapore .

“The government seems to keep throwing in money, but there doesn’t seem to be any end to the declines or solutions to the problems,” she said.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 stock average lost 107.60 points, or 1.5 percent, to 7,268.56, but traded of its lows. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sank 478.07, or 3.6 percent, to 12,697.01, while South Korea’s Kospi fell 3.2 percent to 1,063.88.

Shanghai’s benchmark, among the year’s best performers so far, dropped 4.3 percent as China’s central bank said the country’s economic downturn could worsen and warned the risk of deflation is “quite big” amid collapsing consumer demand. The bank’s report could temper expectations that China’s slump might be bottoming out and a recovery might be taking shape,

Elsewhere, Australia’s stock measure was off 0.6 percent, and Singapore’s benchmark lost 1.8 percent. Indexes in Singapore, Taiwan and India shed more than 1 percent.

Overnight, U.S. investors seemed unconvinced after regulators promised to ensure the viability of banks by providing capital and said they would start conducting “stress tests” on Wednesday to gauge the health of financial firms.

Amid the assurances, however, came more reports of financial gloom.

Struggling insurer American International Group Inc . said it’s evaluating “potential new alternatives” to tackle its financial problems amid reports it will soon announce a $60 billion loss and ask the government for more aid.

After the markets closed, JPMorgan Chase said it was slashing its quarterly dividend to preserve capital in case economic conditions drastically worsen.

The Dow plunged 250.89, or 3.4 percent, to 7,114.78. It last closed this low on May 7, 1997 when it finished at 7,085.65. The Dow hasn’t traded below the 7,000 mark since October 1997.

While S&P 500 managed to close above its Nov. 21 trading low, considered a key threshold among investors, it still took a beating. The benchmark fell 26.72, or 3.5 percent, to 743.33. It was the lowest close since April 11, 1997.

Stock futures suggested Wall Street would rise modestly Tuesday. Dow futures were up 52, or 0.7 percent, at 7,168 and S&P500 futures were up 6, or 0.8 percent, at 751.

Oil prices languished in Asian trade, with light, sweet crude for April delivery down 36 cents at $38.08 a barrel the New York Mercantile Exchange . The contract lost 4 percent, or $1.59, to settle at $38.44 overnight.

In currencies, the dollar strengthened to 95.16 yen from 94.43 yen. The euro was up slightly at $1.2719 from $1.2705.

SINGAPORE – Oil prices extended losses for a second day Tuesday in Asia, falling near $38 a barrel, as a loss of investor confidence that the global economy will recover soon swept across stock and crude markets.

Benchmark crude for April delivery dropped 32 cents to $38.12 a barrel by afternoon in Singapore on the New York Mercantile Exchange . The contract overnight fell $1.59 to $38.44.

U.S. stock indexes fell to the lowest since 1997 on Monday on investor fear that a government stimulus package and plan to rescue ailing banks won’t keep the worst recession in decades from deepening.

Months of dismal economic news, highlighted by massive job cuts, have weighed on the psyche of investors and undermined faith that the economy will recover in the second half.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 3.4 percent Monday and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 3.5 percent.

All major Asian stock markets also fell on Tuesday.

“The stock and crude markets are reflecting the same negative sentiment about the broader economy,” said Gerard Burg, minerals and energy economist with National Australia Bank in Melbourne.

Even large output reductions by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries have failed to boost prices. OPEC has announced 4.2 million barrels a day of production cuts since September, and the group’s leaders have said it’s likely the 13-member cartel will cut more supply at a meeting on March 15.

“There’s relatively little that further production cuts can do,” Burg said. “They’ve already cut a sizable amount of their production.”

The fall in oil prices — crude has plummeted 74 percent since July — may itself eventually trigger a rally, as producers of high-cost fields shut down operations to avoid losses.

“Some producers are probably struggling to be profitable, and that puts a constraint on the downside,” Burg said. “It puts a very real floor in place.”

Burg said he expects oil to trade between $35 and $45 a barrel for the next few months.

In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures rose 0.36 cent to $1.05 a gallon. Heating oil dropped 1.14 cents to $1.16 a gallon, while natural gas for March delivery slid 5.6 cents to $4.04 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Brent prices fell 10 cents to $40.89 on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

NEW YORK – Wall Street has turned the clock back to 1997. Investors unable to extinguish their worries about a recession that has no end in sight dumped stocks again Monday.

The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 251 points to its lowest close since May 7, 1997, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index logged its lowest finish since April 11, 1997. It’s as if the decade’s dot-com surge, collapse and subsequent recovery never occurred.

The Dow is just over 100 points from 7,000. Both indexes have lost about half their value since hitting record highs in October 2007.

“People left and right are throwing in the towel,” said Keith Springer, president of Capital Financial Advisory Services .

Investors pounded most financial stocks even as government agencies led by the Treasury Department said they would launch a revamped bank rescue program this week. The plan includes the option of increasing government ownership in financial institutions without having to pour more taxpayer money into them.

Although the government has said it doesn’t want to nationalize banks, many investors are clearly still concerned that this could be a possibility as banks continue to suffer severe losses because of the recession. They’re also worried that banks’ losses will keep escalating as the recession sends more borrowers into default.

“The biggest thing I see here is the incredible pessimism,” Springer said. “The government is doing a lousy job of alleviating fears.”

The Treasury and other agencies issued a statement after The Wall Street Journal reported Citigroup is in talks for the government to boost its stake in the bank to as much as 40 percent. Analysts said the market, which initially rose on the statement, wanted more details of the government’s plans.

“It’s only a very partial picture of what we may get,” said Quincy Krosby, chief investment strategist at The Hartford . “This proverbial lack of clarity is damaging market psychology.”

Meanwhile, technology stocks fell after The Journal reported that Yahoo Inc. ’s new chief executive plans to reorganize the company. But the selling came across the market as pessimism about the recession and its toll on companies deepened.

“There’s no where to hide anymore,” said Jim Herrick , director of equity trading at Baird & Co.

The market’s decline extends massive losses from last week when the major stock indexes tumbled more than 6 percent. While falling to their 1997 levels, the major indexes plunged through the lows they reached in late November, at the height of the credit crisis.

“There’s no main driver of the down day,” said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer’s Investment Research. “There’s just so much skepticism in the overall market and (the question is) is the government doing proper things to get us out of this problem. Obviously the stock market is voting no.”

The Dow dropped 250.89, or 3.41 percent, to 7,114.78. It last closed this low on May 7, 1997 when it finished at 7,085.65. The Dow hasn’t traded below the 7,000 mark since October 1997. The index is down 14 percent over the past 10 sessions.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 26.72, or 3.47 percent, to 743.33. It was the lowest close since April 11, 1997, when it ended at 737.65.

When the indexes were last at these levels, they were in their ascendancy, climbing amid the dot-com boom. But 1997 was also the year that saw stock prices later plunge amid a growing financial crisis in Asia . Far away from Wall Street , it was the year that the U.S. first heard the name Monica Lewinsky , whose relationship with President Bill Clinton led to his impeachment and trial. And it was the year that the world was stunned by the death of Britain’s Princess Diana, on Aug. 31.

On Monday, the S&P 500 did close above its Nov. 21 trading low of 741.02. But the 14-month recession has decimated the major indexes: The Dow is down 49.8 percent from its record highs of October 2007, while the S&P 500 index is down 52.5 percent.

Detrick warned that a move below the S&P’s Nov. 21 low could set off “violent selling” as even more confidence drains from the market.

The technology-laden Nasdaq composite index dropped 53.51, or 3.71 percent, to 1,387.72.

Investors looking for a bottom also dumped smaller stocks. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 16.38 or 3.99 percent, to 394.58.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by more than 6 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange , where consolidated volume came to 6.35 billion shares compared with heavy volume of 8.12 billion shares on Friday.

Morgan Smith, investment counselor for Burns Advisory Group, said investors are now pushing out their expectations for a recovery in the industry until after this year.

“Everyone is trying to grasp at some type of bottom,” Smith said. “The market is just trying to figure out if it has priced in a worst-case scenario.”

Among tech stocks, Hewlett-Packard Co . fell $1.96, or 6.3 percent, to $29.28, and Intel Corp . dove 70 cents, or 5.5 percent, to $12.08.

Other big losers included General Electric Co., which dropped to a 14-year low of $8.80, but ended down 53 cents, or 5.7 percent, at $8.85. Aluminum producer Alcoa Inc . tumbled 48 cents, or 7.6 percent, to $5.81.

Some financial stocks managed to gain, including Citigroup , which rose 19 cents, or 9.7 percent, to $2.14, and Bank of America Corp ., which gained 12 cents, or 3.2 percent, to $3.91.

Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 2.77 percent from 2.79 percent late Friday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.28 percent from 0.26 percent Friday.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

Light, sweet crude fell $1.59 to settle at $38.44 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange .

Overseas, Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.99 percent, Germany’s DAX index fell 1.95 percent, and France ’s CAC-40 slipped 0.82 percent. Earlier, Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 0.54 percent.

Sydney, Feb 23 (DPA) A total of 34,684 people applied for the dream job of caretaker on a paradise island in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, Queensland state Tourism Minister Desley Boyle said Monday.

Some jobseekers were unable to lodge their 60-second video clips because the website crashed under an avalanche of last-minute applications for a post that pays a lot of money for very little work.

‘We’d been advising people for a couple of weeks not to leave their submission until the last minute,’ Boyle said. ‘This massive amount of traffic slowed the site down and, regretfully, some people weren’t able to get their video application in by the deadline.’

The top source country was the US and accounted for about one-third of the applicants, followed by Canada and then Britain.

‘I think we’re safe in saying that this is the most sought-after job in the world,’ Boyle said.

The panel will pick a shortlist of the best 50 applicants and announce their names March 3. The selection will be from 11 finalists and the successful applicant will start work July 1.

World stocks, measured by the MSCI index, hit their lowest level since April 2003 on Tuesday as Europe joined a global equity sell-off triggered by renewed concerns about the financial system.

The MSCI world equity index fell as low as 187.60, bringing its losses this year to more than 17 percent.

When it comes to Web analytics, Google has been shaking up the established fee-based players with its free offering — Google Analytics — and quickly grabbed the lead in market share, but researcher CMS Watch said big companies would be well-advised to check out a lesser known analytics player, Yahoo

Last spring, Yahoo bought Web analytics company IndexTools and converted the company’s service to its own under the name Yahoo Web Analytics. CMS Watch said with the conversion complete, Yahoo is slowly ramping up promotion and further development of the service, but it already offers several advantages over Google Analytics.

Both services are free, though actively marketed by resellers who offer consulting services to help companies implement them. “Google has more customers than anyone else,” CMS Watch Founder Tony Byrne told InternetNews.com. “The difference at a feature level between Google and Yahoo isn’t very much if you’re a small to mid-level size Company, and those customers might prefer Google’s slicker interface. But when you start talking about bigger sized companies with big Web site issues, Yahoo is more relevant.” Of course, Google and Yahoo are hardly the only game in town.

CMS Watch evaluated 20 Web analytics platforms, including Coremetrics, Omniture, Visible Measures, and WebTrends, against 12 potential use cases in a 470-page report released this week. Byrne said smaller firms are attracted to the free services from Google and Yahoo, but they’re not for everyone.

Google said it had no comment on the CMS Watch report. Yahoo couldn’t be reached by press time. Byrne notes that the Terms of Service (TOS) agreements for both Google and Yahoo give those companies the right to reuse the data they collect as part of their ongoing aggregation of Web traffic data. Paid services typically don’t, the data belongs to the client. “Commercial Web analytics vendors, like WebTrends, Coremetrics, and Omniture, those guys will tell you, and I think it’s true, that Google has helped them because it introduced a whole generation of Web managers to what analytics can do in a training tools kind of way,” said Byrne.

“They know there comes a time when these larger firms reach the limits of what Google can do and they’ll need to upgrade.” On that later point of delivering what enterprises or large companies need, the CMS Watch analysis grades Yahoo higher in several areas. For one, it has a larger default monthly page-view limit, 200 million for Yahoo versus five million for Google. Google offers more if you’re running an active Google AdWords campaign. Another key difference is access to traffic data. Unlike Google, Yahoo gives you access to the raw data about Web site, not just the summary reports both offer, and the ability to export that data.

Should you choose to migrate to another service, that export feature would let you continue to maintain a historical record instead of starting over. “Enterprises with legal departments care about that availability to the raw data,” said Byrne. He notes neither Google nor Yahoo shares the data outside of their own companies, but the rise in privacy and security-related issues have made IT departments more sensitive than ever to who has access to their company information. Overall, CMS Watch found that Yahoo Web Analytics had its drawbacks, including “an administrative complexity that accompanied its functional richness.

“It also dinged the service for lack of 24/7 tech support. Byrne said neither Google or Yahoo is going to be a good fit for some enterprises that would be better off considering a fee-based Web analytics solutions. “What Google has done is focused on simplifying the report experience, but some enterprises may find the result too simple,” said Byrne.