Merchants are hoping for a Valentine’s Day validation.Retailers and others are looking for any signs that an economic comeback is truly mounting.AOL and Google have reached a five-year renewal of their revenue-sharing pact.
The deal will now include mobile search and online video, two areas that AOL Chief Executive Tim Armstrong called critical to the future of his company as it tries to revamp and return to profitability.
“First and foremost is the turnaround; one of the things we’ve been doing is positioning the company for where the puck is going,” Armstrong said last week. “AOL recognizes that mobile is important and is taking active steps to put the company in that direction.”
Armstrong said AOL is ready “to enter a new phase starting to focus on offense,” with plans to roll out new Web products this fall.
Observers predict record coal trading
Coal trading is poised to rise to an all-time high this year as prices are less than half their 2008 peak stoke demand, defying government efforts to phase out the most-polluting fossil fuel.
The volume of coal derivatives bought and sold around the world may jump as much as 46 percent this year to 2.3 billion metric tons, based on data from exchanges and brokers, according to Guillaume Perret, founder of Perret Associates Ltd.
“It’s looking pretty good for coal,” said Kris Voorspools, director of 70Watt Capital Management, a Luxembourg hedge fund. “It’s the fuel for the developing world. China and India are using it to grow.”
