Apple&rsquo;s latest iPad looks sufficiently incremental. The new tablet device comes with a sharper screen, more powerful chip and better camera. The update is evolutionary, not revolutionary. That may have let down gadget fiends hoping for something more. But history suggests it should be plenty for Apple investors.

Punctuated evolution

Business Standard

Facebook has friended a raft of new underwriters for its forthcoming initial public offering. According to the company&rsquo;s latest filing, there are now 31 of them, up from an initial six. That may be overkill, but the social network&rsquo;s clout means it can line up the extra resources and reputational buffing at little, if any, cost.

Friends with benefits

Apple is finally giving its shareholders a bite of its cash pile. The company will hand out about $45 billion over three years, including $30 billion of dividends and $10 billion of buybacks. While that&rsquo;s a good start, Apple could make $50 billion in free cash flow in the financial year ending September. With sales and profit rocketing &mdash; and the bulk of its huge cash hoard still stuck abroad &mdash; bigger payouts will surely follow.

One more thing

Worse is still to come for Research In Motion. After losing $70 billion of market value in less than four years, the BlackBerry maker&rsquo;s latest results horrified again. The next iteration of its devices or a sale might provide salvation. But those seem like longshots.

Worse not worst

Not all initial public offerings are about smart money cashing out. Biotechnology firms exist in a topsy-turvy universe where early financial backers actually buy up large chunks of additional stock when their companies go public. That may sound like a refreshing alternative to the debuts of Facebook and other Internet hotties. But caution is advised.

Facebook&rsquo;s defensive purchase of Instagram raises a red flag. Online photos are supposed to be a core Facebook competence. Paying $1 billion for the popular picture-sharing app may boost the social network in mobile. But paying over the odds for revenue-free rivals is usually the hallmark of anxious, mature firms&mdash;not a growth company seeking to go public at a $100 billion valuation.

Snapping a rival

Zynga&rsquo;s investors worry about the company&rsquo;s dependence on Facebook. So, it&rsquo;s no wonder they warmly greeted the company&rsquo;s plans to diversify away from the social network, currently the source of more than 90 per cent of Zynga&rsquo;s revenue. But one trend affecting its giant symbiotic partner shouldn&rsquo;t worry them much &mdash; the shift to mobile devices. Ad-dependent firms like Facebook, Pandora and Yelp could lose out, if only temporarily, but Zynga&rsquo;s revenue model is different.

Upwardly mobile

Yahoo needs more than a revolution at the top. The dysfunctional internet firm is much like a failing country. It has been mismanaged and suffers from bureaucracy and an increasingly uncompetitive business model. It even had, until recently, a dictator for life in founder Jerry Yang. Third Point&rsquo;s successful shareholder revolt promises a fresh start, but fixing Yahoo won&rsquo;t be simple. The firm is plagued by many ills.

Next up, Levinsohn

Research In Motion doesn&rsquo;t need to remain Canadian. The struggling BlackBerry maker is weighing its options, from joint ventures to a sale. Some officials seem to prefer to keep the once-feted company's ownership north of the US border. But despite form in the recent past, the possibility of a deal being blocked shouldn't worry potential foreign buyers of RIM too much. The company's declining sales and significance present a bigger challenge.

First, find a buyer

Facebook&rsquo;s initial public offering (IPO) on Friday showcases the best and worst sides of capitalism. Execrable puffery accompanies the entrepreneurial achievement of transforming a dorm-room project into a company worth over $100 billion in just eight years. Poor corporate governance, Silicon Valley cronyism, breathless pundits spewing misinformation, bankers in hoodies and manic investors are all on display. And yet the flip side of such indulgence is worth admiring.

Tale of two hoodies

Dependence on Facebook spreads far and deep. It&rsquo;s not just social networking junkies that have grown reliant on Mark Zuckerberg&rsquo;s website creation, which on Thursday filed a new version of the prospectus for its impending initial public offering (IPO). Businesses such as online gamer Zynga have been created on its back. Bankers are pegging their careers on floating the firm. And the state of California needs the IPO to help close its yawning budget gap.

Not like, need

It&rsquo;s too soon to be doubting Apple. Fears over a slowing US smartphone market and chip problems sent investors scurrying in April, when the company&rsquo;s shares tumbled by over 10 per cent. But the iPad maker smashed expectations yet again, almost doubling profit in the latest quarter. The trends powering Apple &mdash; China, rising margins and the halo effect &mdash; still have legs.

As you were

Google is no stranger to bad corporate governance. It set off the trend in Silicon Valley when it established super-voting shares in its 2004 market debut. Insiders Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt now control 66 per cent of the votes with about a quarter of all shares. But the three have watched newcomers Zynga and Facebook surpass them in the governance race to the bottom. So, Google's founders are getting back in the race by adding a third class of non-voting shares.

Silicon Valley aristocracy

Apple and Facebook have become frenemies versus Google. The iPhone maker hasn&rsquo;t figured out social networks. Remember Ping? Facebook fears losing control to the makers of operating systems powering mobile gadgets. Making the social network work smoothly on Apple devices can boost revenue for both &mdash; and allow them to thwart their mutual nemesis Google.

Enemy ours

Microsoft has managed to pull off a welcome surprise. Considering the software giant&rsquo;s poor track record selling consumer gadgets, few would have been surprised if it managed to produce another doozy with its foray into the market for tablets. But Microsoft&rsquo;s &lsquo;Surface&rsquo;, which it introduced late Monday afternoon, shows it is getting the hang of it. But with other firms already entrenched, producing just a decent offering probably isn&rsquo;t enough.

Good isn't enough

Apple rolled out its iconic iPhone five years ago, just as Bear Stearns subprime hedge funds sounded the alarm on a systemic trauma. Financial woe often impedes development. But the iPhone is proof that innovation can defy the odds and overcome hard times.

iFive

Facebook has lost a few more friends with its first-time fizzle. The social network's revenue grew 32 per cent from the same period last year in its inaugural earnings report as a public company. While such growth would look fantastic to a company selling toothpaste or beer, it's not spectacular for a company that was recently sold to investors as the hottest in tech. Worse, profit and margins took a hit even after ignoring stock compensation. Facebook is investing heavily, but investors counted on having cake and eating it. Instead, they're going hungry.

Not so fast

Heineken&rsquo;s latest takeover may trigger aftershocks in Southeast Asian finance. The Dutch brewer is paying $6 billion, or a hefty 17 times Ebitda, to take control of Asia Pacific Breweries from partner Fraser and Neave. Heineken had little choice, as it couldn&rsquo;t let APB &mdash; and hence the linchpin of its Asian strategy &mdash; slip through its fingers. This sets up F&amp;N&rsquo;s next act &mdash; a breakup of the remainder of the conglomerate.

A, B, C, D

Apple&rsquo;s iPhone 5 offers subtle and sublime charms. The unveiling of the company&rsquo;s latest handset may have been a bit of a snooze. Better isn&rsquo;t as exciting as new. But throw in improved software and it&rsquo;s enough to be a big hit with consumers &mdash; and Apple investors, too.

White delicious

This looks like a case of lost in translation for Yahoo. The internet group led by Marissa Mayer says it may use much of the bounty from selling its stake in Alibaba, the Chinese web conglomerate, for acquisitions, rather than returning it to shareholders in the form a special dividend or buyback. As crummy as that sounds, it is already baked into Yahoo&rsquo;s value. Investors seem resigned to Mayer wasting a chunk of their cash.

Lost in translation

Cisco&rsquo;s attendance at fat camp has paid off. The networking giant&rsquo;s boss, John Chambers, was forced to admit early last year that Cisco&rsquo;s quest for growth over the previous decade had done little more than squander capital, leaving the firm a bloated mess. Since then Cisco has shed excess weight and has just hiked its dividend. Now, it needs to get fighting fit.

Robert Cyran