Did Oracle Corp. (ORCL) feel like it could be king of the smartphone world?

Reutersis reporting that Oracle CEO Larry Ellison testified that his firm considered buying the remains of Canadian phonemaker Research in Motion, Ltd. (TSE:RIM) and dead Californian phonemaker Palm (a shuttered subsidiary of Hewlett-Packard, Comp. (HPQ)) in a bid to form a massive vessel to house the IT giants budding smartphone ambitions and sail the mobile seas.

While Oracle may have considered RIM-Palm an attractive proposition and while HP and RIM might have viewed Oracle as their knight in shining armor, numerous icebergs would have loomed if this voyage came to fruition.

Aside from the fact that Oracle would be setting sail into waters ruled by veterans Google, Inc. (GOOG) and Apple, Inc. (AAPL), it would also be doing so with two firms who were rejected by consumers and left for dead.

Some might call this romance madness, but Mr. Ellison testified that his firm seriously considered making a life with the RIM-Palm, but that critical market research sunk the dream. Instead, Oracles heart will go on, as it tries to scuttle Googles Android operating system in court on grounds of intellectual property infringement.

In that regard, Oracle could hitch a profits joy-ride aboard Googles wildly successful Android operating system. Oracle shouldnt count its smartphone dollars before they hatch, though, as Google isnt about ready to succumb to it in court. The pair will continue their bitter legal dance in weeks ahead.

LOS ANGELES, CA, Apr 20, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) –
Playsino,
http://www.playsino.com , today announced it has closed on
$1.5 million of new funding. Playsino is focused on building the
largest social casino game publisher on social networks and mobile
platforms.

The company has closed on $1.5 million as part of what is expected to
be much larger financing to support the company’s ambitious goals.
Investors in the round included: IDM Venture Capital, a
Singapore-based venture capital firm investing in early to mid-stage
interactive digital media companies; Pacific Capital Group, a
Los-Angeles based private investment firm, which is led by Gary
Winnick, founder, Chairman and CEO; Siemer Ventures, a Santa Monica
venture capital firm; and several prolific angel investors, such as
Jordan Simons, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of GCP, a merchant
bank whose principals have closed over 200 investments and
transactions valued at over $15 billion; and Wicks Walker of W4
Ventures. Existing investors Tomorrow Ventures, Jim Armstrong and
Michael Huskins also participated.

“Playsino’s global potential is a key focus for our firm. Virtual
currency can play anywhere, and Playsino’s unmatched familiarity with
it best positions them to become the world’s largest social casino
game company,” said Denis Gamobramov, Managing Partner of IDM Venture
Capital.

The financing will accelerate the new Playsino product offerings led
by Brock Pierce, new CEO of Playsino and a Managing Director of the
Clearstone Global Gaming Fund. Pierce has founded eight companies,
acquired more than 30 others, and closed a dozen corporate finance
transactions, securing more than $200 million on behalf of his
companies.

“Brock is dynamic, the type of young entrepreneur we like to back and
the vision he shares of social gaming integrating elements of casino
games is undoubtedly going to become a substantial industry,” said
Andrew S. Kane, Managing Director and COO of Pacific Capital Group.

In 2001, Pierce, who is often referred to as the “Godfather of
Virtual Goods,” founded Internet Gaming Entertainment (IGE), which
pioneered the market for virtual goods in online games and was sold
in 2007. In 2003, Pierce founded Zam, which was sold in January 2012.
In 2004, Pierce has rolled up the exchange of virtual goods through
marketplaces using IMI Exchange, which today owns the world’s leading
marketplaces for the trading of virtual goods with systemwide annual
revenues exceeding $500 million. In 2010, he also led Xfire’s spin
out from Viacom.

“Social casino gaming combines the virality and addictiveness of a
game like Farmville with the monetization capabilities of mid- to
hard-core gaming,” said Pierce. “I believe this sector will have many
winners with some creating value in the billions. I aim to keep
Playsino at the forefront of the race by ramping internal
development, publishing relevant third party content as well as
acquiring the best independent players in the space.”

In addition to Pierce, Playsino is also bringing along key gaming
veterans needed for the ambitious effort to build the world’s largest
social casino games company.

Playsino enters a potentially drastic inflection point for social
gaming, with emerging social casino games as the catalyst for that
movement. Half of all the people on the Internet — 510 million –
play some sort of social game, a 71 percent increase since 2010.
Recent reports also estimate online gambling will be worth $30
billion globally in 2013, with the United States accounting for $4.5
billion of that figure.

“We believe the next evolution of social gaming will involve merging
it with what has been the longtime appeal of wagering,” said David
Siemer, Managing Director of Siemer Ventures. “Playsino’s gaming
platform is well-positioned to capitalize on this next phase.”

About Playsino:
Playsino, a social casino games company, brings the
exciting world of live-action gaming to mobile and social platforms
globally. The company is run by proven entrepreneurs and game
industry veterans. Playsino, formally Titan Gaming, is headquartered
in Santa Monica, CA.

SOURCE: Playsino

Copyright 2012 Marketwire, Inc., All rights reserved.

Financial Glossary

Words used in this article:

NISTs atom-based magnetic sensor, about the size of a sugar cube, can measure human brain activity. Inside the sensor head is a container of 100 billion rubidium atoms (not seen), packaged with micro-optics (a prism and a lens are visible in the center cutout). The light from a low-power infrared laser interacts with the atoms and is transmitted through the grey fiber-optic cable to register the magnetic field strength. The black and white wires are electrical connections. Credit: Knappe/NIST

A miniature atom-based magnetic sensor developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has passed an important research milestone by successfully measuring human brain activity. Experiments reported this week verify the sensors potential for biomedical applications such as studying mental processes and advancing the understanding of neurological diseases.

1. [...] Voyage to St. John By Anthony Figliola ? April 17, 2012 ? Post a comment This past week I visited the island of St. John in the US Virgin Islands. My family and I rented a home overlooking Rendezvous Bay on the south side of the island. Words could not describe the Read more on Long Island Business News [...]

   ]]> http://www.noisiarecords.com/2012/04/28/voyage-to-st-john/feed/ 0 http://www.noisiarecords.com/2012/04/27/guys-and-dolls-in-capricious-caper-at-birdcage-theatre/ http://www.noisiarecords.com/2012/04/27/guys-and-dolls-in-capricious-caper-at-birdcage-theatre/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:51:22 +0000 Admin http://www.noisiarecords.com/?p=885 Birdcage Theatre in Oroville will get off to a rollicking night on March 30 with its opening of the Frank Loesser Broadway hit of the 1950s, Guys and Dolls. Based on a story by Damon Runyon, it is one of the best of American musical comedies.

   Directed by Allison Cardwell, Guys and Dolls is a spangle-time fable about two love affairs, gamblers, showgirls, cops and a capricious assortment of hustlers. The cast of 23 is supported with a 9-piece band under the direction of Tim Howey, choreography by Megan Cardwell and scenery by Josh Hill.

   Guys and Dolls opens on a New York City street with gambler Nicely-Nicely (Herman Tuider) joining cohorts Benny (Terry Bartlett) and Rusty Charlie (Cheryl Turnbough) to sing, A Fugue for Tinhorns.

   A gambler, Nathan Detroit (Bill Tronson), is looking for a place to hold a craps game. Nathan and Miss Adelaide, a nightclub singer (Kathy Robinson), have been engaged for 14 years and she wonders if and when they will every marry.

   Nathan is constantly searching for new places to hold craps games because police Lt. Brannigan (Dennis Ashley) keeps trying to break up the gambling racket.

   A second love story concerns Sky Masterson, a sophisticated gambler (Anthony Orsillo), and Sarah Brown, a worker at Save a Soul Mission (Jennifer Beers).

   Nathan is trying to raise $1,000 to pay for a place to hold a new craps game. He maneuvers Sky into betting that he can get a date with any woman Nathan selects. When Nathan picks Sarah Brown, Sky

   ]]> http://www.noisiarecords.com/2012/04/27/guys-and-dolls-in-capricious-caper-at-birdcage-theatre/feed/ 0 http://www.noisiarecords.com/2012/04/27/instant-view-philly-fed-factory-activity-wanes-in-april/ http://www.noisiarecords.com/2012/04/27/instant-view-philly-fed-factory-activity-wanes-in-april/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 05:21:49 +0000 Admin http://www.noisiarecords.com/?p=883 NEW YORK (Reuters) – The pace of factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region waned in April for the first time in five months as new orders fell to their lowest since September, a survey showed on Thursday.

   March existing home sales fell 2.6 pct

   Leading economic indicator near 4-year high

   COMMENTS:

   MICHAEL TREBING, ANALYST, FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF PHILADELPHIA

   There are positive readings on all broad indicators and improvement in hiring. The activity index is a little bit below an index for no recession. There is growth there but not what I consider robust growth. Some of the growth may be due to warm weather over the region, so some demand may be borrowed from the future.

   ROBERT DYE, CHIEF ECONOMIST, COMERICA, DALLAS

   Its a string of disappointing data, starting with the jobless claims data. My sense here is there is a combination of factors at play here. Weather appears to be a strong factor which allowed some stronger-than-expected hiring and economic activity. Now we are seeing a correction of that. You also have those pesky seasonally adjustments. And you also have some genuine step-down in activity.

   But right now, I dont think its indicative of a soft patch in the economy. There are also a lot of concerns about Europe and China is showing slower growth. We need to see more data and (see) whether we could bounce back in May. Its still a little early to tell. We have seen significant improvement in the labor market and auto sales since mid-2011.

   My expectation for the Fed next week is that they are in watchful waiting mode. They still have an active program in effect right now. Its still data dependent for the next couple of months.

   TOM PORCELLI, CHIEF US ECONOMIST, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, NEW YORK

   We have had a pretty poor round of economic data here. Philly Fed is the second major manufacturing data that has slipped, which is potentially an ominous sign for manufacturing. Data thus far has not been encouraging. While manufacturing has not fallen off a cliff, it is showing some softening here.

   Home sales were disappointing and it shows that housing clearly benefited from the warmer weather earlier in the year and now we have pay back. This is not encouraging.

   KARL SCHAMOTTA, SENIOR MARKET STRATEGIST, WESTERN UNION BUSINESS SOLUTIONS, CALGARY

   Philly Fed was very much priced into expectations, and nobody really expected it to rock the market. I think the reality is that about two weeks ago, people started downgrading their expectations for the US economy. We expected a loss in momentum. But overall, were seeing things heading in the right direction, though maybe not as fast as some had hoped. But its nothing calamitous at this point.

   MARK MCCORMICK, CURRENCY STRATEGIST, BROWN BROTHERS HARRIMAN, NEW YORK

   I think the overall theme in the US is that the underlying growth trajectory is moderating from what weve seen in the previous quarter. I think the Fed meeting next week is going to be a non-event. The Fed is comfortable with the pace of the recovery in its current state. I dont see them taking QE off the table because the Fed isnt going to take away a tool that they felt has been important and helped the economy, but US data is still running at a decent clip. Its very unlikely that the Fed moves forward with QE. Were kind of stuck in this inaction.

   ANDREW WILKINSON, CHIEF ECONOMIC STRATEGIST AT MILLER TABAK CO IN NEW YORK

   No real surprise to see a deterioration in Philly Fed, but it was surprising to see an expansion in the employment component. That doesnt fit in with the other indicators.

   The housing market remains flat on its back, I remain surprised that people continue to look for signs of recovery. It just isnt something that will happen quickly.

   MARKET REACTION

   STOCKS: Stocks pare gains .N.

   BONDS: Treasuries add to gains.

   FOREX: Euro trims gains versus the dollar.

   (Americas Economics and Markets Desk; +1-646 223-6300)

   ]]> http://www.noisiarecords.com/2012/04/27/instant-view-philly-fed-factory-activity-wanes-in-april/feed/ 0 http://www.noisiarecords.com/2012/04/26/beirut-airport-activity-soars-in-q1-of-2012/ http://www.noisiarecords.com/2012/04/26/beirut-airport-activity-soars-in-q1-of-2012/#comments Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:03:17 +0000 Admin http://www.noisiarecords.com/?p=881 BEIRUT: Activity at Beiruts Rafik Hariri International Airport soared in the first quarter of 2012, said a report issued by the Civil Aviation Authority Thursday. The number of passengers in the first three month of the year increased by 21 percent year-on-year to 2,242,379, the report said.

   In March 2012, the number of passengers at the airport increased 24.45 percent, compared to March 2011, totaling 432,817. It said the figure includes 223,254 inbound and 204,670 outbound passengers. The airport saw 4,893 transit passengers.

   The higher number of passengers did not, however, reflect an increase in the total number of passenger flights, the report added, highlighting that the airport continued to see a sharp decline in the number of transit flights.

   The total number of passenger flights reached 6,855 in March, declining by 12.79 percent year-on-year, despite inbound and outbound flights increasing by respectively 4.68 and 4.63 percent.

   ]]> http://www.noisiarecords.com/2012/04/26/beirut-airport-activity-soars-in-q1-of-2012/feed/ 0 http://www.noisiarecords.com/2012/04/26/trustees-may-consider-allowing-video-gaming/ http://www.noisiarecords.com/2012/04/26/trustees-may-consider-allowing-video-gaming/#comments Thu, 26 Apr 2012 09:02:46 +0000 Admin http://www.noisiarecords.com/?p=879 Trustees May Consider Allowing Video Gaming

   Trustees informally agreed to consider an ordinance allowing video gaming at places like the Lake Zurich American Legion.

   ]]> http://www.noisiarecords.com/2012/04/26/trustees-may-consider-allowing-video-gaming/feed/ 0