Beyonce's big start paces rare gain for 2006 sales
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LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Turns out Beyonce's birthday is   not just a celebration for the singer, but for the whole music   industry. The No. 1 bow by her second solo album, "B'Day," also   signals the first time in four months that album sales beat   those of the comparable 2005 sales week.
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Strong sales of new and old products alike led Microsoft to its fastest first-quarter growth in eight years, with the company reporting growth in all five business segments and both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) that beat analyst expectations.
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Really, we didn't need another Beyonce album this soon.
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Strong sales of new and old products alike led Microsoft to its fastest first-quarter growth in seven years with the company reporting growth in all five business segments and both revenue and EPS (earnings per share) that beat analyst expectations.Revenue for the fiscal quarter ended Sept. 30 was up 27 percent at $13.76 billion compared to $10.81 billion a year ago, Microsoft said Thursday. Consensus estimates from Thomson First Call analysts were for the company to generate revenue of $12.57 billion. Microsoft&#39;s EPS for the quarter was $0.45, which also soundly beat Thomson First Call consensus estimate of $0.39. Net income for the quarter was $4.29 billion, a 23 percent increase over the $3.48 billion reported a year ago.At $5.92 billion, operating income for the quarter also had double-digit percentage growth: An increase of more than 25 percent over operating income reported for the same period last year of $4.47 billion.Microsoft&#39;s first quarter was buoyed by the highly anticipated launch of the Xbox 360 game Halo 3 on Sept. 25, just days before the quarter&#39;s close. In its first 24 hours on sale, the game brought in $170 million in sales; it became the fastest selling video game in history after being in the market for just a week and a half, according to the company.Strong performances from Microsoft&#39;s client, business, server and tools, and online divisions also contributed to revenue growth in the quarter. In particular, Microsoft said sales of its Windows Vista OS experienced double-digit growth through multi-year business contracts, and demand for Microsoft Office, Windows Server, and SQL Server was also high.Looking ahead, Microsoft said it expects to report revenue in the range of $15.6 billion to $16.1 billion for its second quarter, which ends Dec. 31. Operating income is expected to be in the range of $5.9 billion to $6.1 billion, while diluted EPS are expected to be between $0.44 to $0.46 for the second quarter, the company said.For its fiscal year 2008, Microsoft expects revenue in the range of $58.8 billion to $59.7 billion and operating income in the range of $23.3 billion to $23.7 billion. Diluted earnings per share are expected to be between $1.78 and $1.81 for the fiscal year, the company said. These new numbers were increases in Microsoft&#39;s guidance for the year from previous forecasts of $56.8 billion to $57.8 billion in revenue and $1.69 and $1.73 in EPS for the year.On a conference call Thursday, Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell said the company raised its financial guidance for the year due to improved outlooks for Microsoft&#39;s client business, its server and tools operation, and the Microsoft Business division.Sales of Vista seem to be on an uptick, and the fact that many long-term contracts Microsoft has with enterprise customers were up for renewal during the quarter helped fuel some of the revenue growth for the OS. Liddell expects that although companies have signed up for Vista in their contracts, many won&#39;t adopt it until the arrival of Vista Service Pack 1, expected in the first calendar quarter of 2008.&quot;It&#39;s still early days&quot; for Vista adoption, he said.Though analysts on the call gave Microsoft kudos for the quarter, there was still criticism about the performance of Microsoft&#39;s Online Services Division (OSD), the home of Microsoft&#39;s search and online advertising business. Revenue for the division grew only 25 percent year over year despite the close during the quarter of&#160;Microsoft&#39;s $6 billion acquisition of digital services agency aQuantive, a company expected to fuel growth in online advertising revenue.Liddell acknowledged on the call that this kind of growth for OSD is &quot;acceptable, but not stellar,&quot; saying, &quot;we&#39;d like to see it higher.&quot;This story was updated on October 25, 2007
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Barclays, the nation's third-biggest bank, has said that net profit surged by 33 percent to a record 4.571 billion pounds in 2006, lifted by its investment banking arm.
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Sony Pictures, riding  high at the box office with the comedy "Talladega Nights: The  Ballad of Ricky Bobby," has narrowly edged out Walt Disney Co.  to become the first studio to sell more than $1 billion worth  of tickets at the domestic box office this year.
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Led by Usher's blockbuster release  "Confessions," U.S. album sales rose nearly 2 percent in 2004  -- posting their first gain in four years even as digital music  downloads continued to explode, Nielsen SoundScan reported on  Wednesday.
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Sales of song downloads overtook those for physical singles for the first time at the end of 2004.
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Having a No. 1 album just isnât what it used to be. This week Alicia Keys is back atop the Billboard chart with âAs I Amâ (J), but the 61,000 copies it has sold is barely above the historic low for a No. 1 album, Nielsen SoundScan reported. The âJunoâ soundtrack, on Rhino, fell to No. 2, with 55,000 sold. New releases dot the chart this week. The Mars Volta, which revels in head-spinningly complex progressive rock, opened in the third spot with 54,000 sales of âFrances the Muteâ (Universal); the Welsh heavy metal band Bullet for My Valentine reached fourth place with âScream Aim Fireâ (Jive), selling 53,000; and the â2008 Grammy Nomineesâ compilation (Hip-O/Universal) moved 50,000, opening at No. 5. The remix album âHannah Montana 2: Non-Stop Dance Partyâ (Disney) bowed at No. 7, and Vampire Weekend, the acclaimed New York indie band, reached No. 17 with its self-titled debut on the XL label.
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For the first time, sales top &#36;1 billion in one quarter, researcher says.
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Beyonce led the Billboard Hot 100  singles chart for a 10th consecutive week Thursday with  "Irreplaceable," while Nelly Furtado's "Say It Right" climbed  one spot to a new peak of No. 2.
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U.S. sales of digital music albums  grew by 60 percent in the first six months of 2007 but failed  to offset the rapid sales decline of compact discs, according  to data from Nielsen SoundScan.
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Walt Disney's 3-D movie "Hannah  Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concerts" topped  movie box offices, raking in $29 million for the biggest  opening for a normally slow Super Bowl weekend, according to  studio estimates on Sunday.
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Beyonce reportedly makes up to &#36;4.7 million for just 10 days of work a year &#151; and that's just her hair. But she has to inform L'Oreal of "any radical change to her hair any concert tour may necessitate" and keep it in excellent condition, according to The Smoking Gun Web site, which has posted the contract between the singer and the cosmetic giant.
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Sales of singles in the UK show signs of recovery as the music industry as a whole grows, figures show.
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Amy Winehouse album Back to Black is confirmed as the biggest selling album on the UK chart in 2007.
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General Motors Corp. , the  world&#039;s largest auto maker, said on Tuesday its sales in China  rose 47 percent in the first half of 2006, as it benefited from  a stronger-than-expected domestic market.