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Is FiLife Running On Borrowed Time?

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Less than two months after talking up the turnaround at Dow Jones-IAC (NSDQ: IACI) personal finance JV FiLife, paidContent has learned the site’s continued existence is no certainty. It survived the multiple trimmings as Barry Diller cut back on IAC’s portfolio of emerging businesses, but the company is now exploring options that range from leaving it open to a sale or a full shut down. When Ezra Kucharz, president and GM for just over a year, left for CBS (NYSE: CBS) in January, both IAC and DJ credited him publicly with turning around the site and building it to the #4 personal finance site with 4.4 million unique visitors in December. Now both companies are declining comment about the site’s future.

One possibility for IAC could be selling its stake to Dow Jones (NYSE: NWS), which recently bought out SmartMoney partner Hearst. But that’s a well-established brand with an 800,000-circ magazine. Whether DJ would even want to own FiLife outright is unclear—as is whether a deal actually would involve much money. What FiLife does have—more traffic than SmartMoney.com, where personal finance is just one category, and a digital mentality. Is there a way to combine the two?

FiLife has had a bit of a tortured life from its beginning: taking more than a year to move from an idea to a blog, then taking so long to emerge from that status the plans appeared to be dormant. Dave Kansas, brought in from the Wall Street Journal to launch the site, was replaced by online vet Kucharz in late 2008. Adam Wiener, executive editor and VP-content was promoted to GM when Kucharz left, but not given the title of president.

It’s made strides on the editorial side. Just last month FastCompany picked it as the most innovative company in the finance area for using “a Q&A format with a host of social and game-like features to get Americans talking about money. More as warranted—and please feel free to e-mail me if you have details.

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Mar 19, 2010 11:15 PM ET

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Posted In: Features, Exclusive, Media & Publishing, Online News, Companies, IAC, News Corp., Dow Jones

  • RJ Disputa

    Just seeing the responses tells me you folks do your homework. That is how you accumulate gains in your portfolio. Read articles like these, learn the slant these individuals put on these stocks and understand their motives. I see their are folks who are upset they don't own more shares. I have my own online account. Don't be afraid to buy 5 or 10 shares at a time. Buy what you can afford. You never know what the future brings in these environments. BIDU could go up 50 or down 50. Don't be discouraged. If in your heart you feel this is a good investment, stay with it. But always remember to take some profits off the table. Good luck to all.

  • Anne Downes

    I bought 100 shares of Bidu when it was below l00.00. I have had to sell all but 25. I only wish I had been able to buy more. Wish you had a drip program.

    Thanks Bidu and good luck—-the heck with google. Bidu is China and tell the people to buy Chinese..

  • Fringebenefit

    It has become quite obvious, R J DISPUTA, why, exactly these nay-sayers are bashing BIDU. They are attempting to drive down the share price to get their clients in "at a good price."  Personally I am not worried. BIDU is the best in China; has been and will remain to be. If the price drops (again) I will simply buy more. My guess is these nay-sayers are kicking themselves for not having bought in back when the price was in the low one-hundred dollar range! Well, I did, and I'd gladly purchase more!

  • Rich

    Please consider BIDU's community function and ask Baidu function which are very popular in China. Frankly, BIDU works kindly as Yahoo - need to add websites munally that is not as good as GOOG. 

    Believe me, Chiense government can not have GOOG dominate Chinese market. They may block GOOG as that of Youtube.com if needed.

    Thanks BIDU, I almost make even in stock and I shall hold it to $400.

  • bidu to 300

    GOOG to BIDU in China is like comparing GOOG and Ask.com in the US.

    Case closed

  • RJ Disputa

    I watch these characters like a hawk. These BIDU bashers are the same bunch that hammer ISRG, FSLR, RIMM, AAPL and a few others. If folks took their time, ignored the cable tv frauds, ignored the anal-ists and did their homework they would make money. I always have bought and held and applied dollar cost averaging. It still applies today.

  • Ajoy

    Wallace Cheung has been saying this for the last 3 years, ever since Baidu
    IPOed. First it was, Google has it's servers outside China; once they move them
    to China, they will capture the market. Then it was, Google will add licensed
    music and the world will be theirs. Google has money; google never loses; google should not be challenged. Google, google, google.

    CS should have fired this guy a long time ago. All the other analysts who once
    used to say the same thing have come around. Including Goldman.

  • Mr short

    It's the same moron bashing bidu from $100 bottom and bashing SNDA from $30 (now $50): http://pulse.alacra.com/analyst-comments/Wallace_Cheung-A1942 . Hey genius, could you ever try to do sth with any credibility?

  • Deborah

    Mr. Disputa hits the nail right on the head. Whoever he is or works for should be handling my portfolio. I see a strong message with facts that parallel all the research I have done. This Cheung and Maher sound like all the short whiners I see on all the Yahoo message boards. Nothing but BS all the way. Feeble facts with old tired comments. Nobody is buying it. I think I'll buy a few more shares.

  • Robert

    I totally agree with RJ Disputa….they'll fail, nobody ever can undermine Baidu's success as nobody can screw Google in EU & U.S.
    nice but cheap try credit suisse…all u achieved was undermining ur own credibility

  • RJ Disputa

    Everything this analist is claiming is exactly the opposite of what is happening. BIDU is a brand name in China. GOOG is second fiddle. The Chinese most definitely will partner with BIDU 1000% faster than GOOG. They see GOOG as an American company trying to infiltrate the Chinese culture. Everything he claims is exactly what BIDU is doing, and doing better. Forming partnerships and building its saleforce also. Whoever "claims" anyone is the best in the business sound like they work for GM or Chrysler.  Again another survey…Credit Suisse reminds me of UBS-United Bull $#$##@#$. They recently (last week) downgraded BIDU to $150. Why are these people so dreadfully afraid of BIDU's spectacular growth? This all smells fishy to me, especially the fact a gentlemen named Cheung makes the claims. But as we all know, their have been feeble attempts to undermine BIDU since day one. I don't buy it, and I have 35 years in the market. Nice try little fellow. We shall see….we shall see.

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