Reuters, January 30, 2005 Yahoo Inc. has agreed to take in data directly from stock exchanges to offer financial data to its users as well as other Web sites, the Internet media company said on Sunday.

AdAge.com, January 31, 2005 Following high-impact results with its product placement in last year's Apprentice, Yahoo has joined Mark Burnett Productions and Donald Trump again this year to promote its Local Search. The move is of interest because it dramatically demonstrates the effectiveness of a product placement campaign designed to sell a difficult-to-explain online service. Yahoo's local search is special tier of search that functions much like a local yellow pages index to individual merchants in given metro markets across the U.S.

Reuters, January 30, 2005 Arabic media channel Al Jazeera has been voted the world's fifth most influential brand in a poll of branding professionals that gave the top slot to U.S. iPod and computer icon Apple.

The New York Times, January 31, 2005 Last Monday, Google representatives called analysts and reporters to trumpet a new service that searches the transcripts of television broadcasts. Yahoo, Google's rival, got wind of the announcement and within hours, its publicity machine had bolted into action to say it had a similar service in the works.

PC Authority, January 28 2005 Spammers are cashing in on trends in the lifestyle market, peddling wares more upmarket than traditional spam products. In particular, the iPod has become a favourite for savvy spammers.

Adweek, January 27, 2005 iVillage said it has redesigned its Web site with an eye to expanding its video advertising inventory. Visitors to the women-focused site now see video offerings on each Web page. IVillage recently upgraded its video content through its $17.2 million acquisition of Healthology, a medical information provider with a library of 1,200 streaming videos.

DMNews.com, January 28, 2005 An appearance on the opening episode of the third season of "The Apprentice" Jan. 20 generated tremendous traffic to Burger King Corp.'s Web site.

Reuters, January 27, 2005 Yahoo began offering on Thursday a new tool that allows users of its local search service to send restaurant or business information in the form of a text message from a computer to a mobile phone.

ClickZ, January 27, 2005 United Virtualities is set to introduce a new rich media ad product that lets advertisers track detailed user interactions with multiple elements in a video clip. Called Shoshmosis, the unit adds a Flash layer to any streaming video format, enabling users to roll over or click on individual elements within the frame. Marketers can apply it to repurposed television content, their own TV ads ported to the Web, or original Web programming.

Cnet, January 27, 2005 Amazon.com is mapping the streets of the United States in an ambitious digital photography project to drive people into local businesses. The online retailer's search unit, A9.com, is masterminding the project, which will eventually pair digital photos of storefronts and their surroundings with more than 14 million U.S. business listings from around the country.