Just A Random Thursday

Boy, there’s lots of stuff going on this first week of January 2012.

News stuff.  Business stuff.  Economics stuff.  Even politic stuff, which I’ve already addressed in the form of the Iowa Caucuses twice this week.

So here’s some of the business news that seemed worthy of highlighting:

U.S.car sales ended with a strong year, and a particularly strong December.  Chrysler’s sales rose 26% for the year, Ford’s 11%, and GM’s 13%.

“You Push The Button, We Do The Rest.” Eastman Kodak is on the verge of filing for bankruptcy protection. Reports suggest they’re trying to stay afloat by selling off parts of their patent portfolio, but Chapter 11 looms in the distant. I feel a new song brewing: “Di-gi-tal smoked the silver-halide…”

Yahoo’s got a new boss.  But is the new boss the same as the old boss? EBay exec Scott Thompson, which currently runs eBay’s PayPal group, has been hired to bring Yahoo out of its financial blues.  My recommendation: The way out is through the data, Sensei.

Netflix is makin’ content with the owner of the Bada Bada Bing!  Steven Van Zandt comes back to Gangster life in “Lily Hammer,” this time as a NYC mobster relocated to Lillehammer, Norway. Get it? Lily…Hammer?  I’m guilty as charged, I watched the Web preview and laughed my tush off. Tune in Feb 6.

Beautiful music is being made, bought and sold online, more than ever.  Nielsen SoundScan reports sales of complete albums reached 330.6 million last year, with a majority of music now being sold and distributed online (vs. Physical distribution via CDs, etc.). British R&B artist Adele led the way, with her “21” selling some 5.82 million copies. So, please, don’t stop the music!

The American worker is getting back to work.  Less folks filed for unemployment benefits in the United States last week, even as the private sector added a smokin’ 325,000 jobs in December, according to ADP’s monthly hiring report. Still, unemployment was expected to tick up to 8.7% for the month of December, especially with continued weakness in manufacturing and construction.

Mark Cuban and Jason Calacanis in the same room? Well, maybe not in the same room, but they have helped social CRM startup Nimble raise $1M in funding. Nimble CEO views Nimble as a “combination Hootsuite, Yammer, and Salesforce,” allowing Nimble users to authenticate into Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google and ultimately connect contacts, calendars, and communications.  Sign me up — just so long as I don’t have to appear in a reality TV show with Cuban.

Okay, that’s enough for now.  I have to go make some money for the IBM company.