Google parlays IPO to extend its empire far beyond Internet search during past 10 years + MORE Aug 19th

BEIJING, China – Asian stocks were mostly higher Tuesday after U.S. markets rose on news of diplomatic efforts to broker a cease-fire in Ukraine.
KEEPING SCORE: Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.9 per cent to 15,465.61, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.2 per cent at 25,002.34 and Seoul’s Kospi added 0.7 per cent to 2,066.89. China’s Shanghai Composite Index was the only decliner, shedding 0.1 per cent to 2,237.34. Sydney, Taipei and Singapore all rose.
UKRAINE: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said issues related to sending a humanitarian convoy to Ukraine were resolved following weekend talks in Berlin with his counterparts from Ukraine, Germany and France. Germany’s Frank-Walter Steinmeier said there was progress on “some issues,” though Lavrov said there was no movement on establishing a cease-fire between the government and pro-Russian rebels.
THE QUOTE: “Markets started the week on a firm note as investors took positively the talks between Russia and Ukraine over the weekend even though no major breakthrough was reached,” said Credit Agricole CIB in a report…

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Sweating, clapping and shouting until he was nearly hoarse, Steve Ballmer introduced himself to Los Angeles Clippers fans at a rally on Monday celebrating his new ownership of the NBA team.
The former Microsoft CEO made his way through the crowd inside Staples Center to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” exchanging high-fives and chest-bumping as he took the stage in front of 4,500 fans.
Ballmer paid a record $2 billion for the team in a sale that was confirmed by a judge last week. The name of disgraced former owner Donald Sterling, who controlled the team for 33 years before being banned for life by the NBA for racist remarks, was never uttered during the rally.
“We’re looking forward,” Ballmer proclaimed, having removed his blue Clippers hat. “Everything is about looking forward.”
Ballmer’s fervour was in stark contrast to Sterling, who never spoke to the media and was famously frugal when it came to spending on the team during decades of losing — despite having amassed a fortune through real estate…

SAN FRANCISCO – Google’s IPO, a decade ago this week, launched the company on a trajectory that continues to reshape its business and much of the world in its orbit.
And CEO Larry Page is determined to push even further.
Page’s vision is that Google’s products and services will become the control centre of people’s lives: The company’s driverless cars will chauffeur people around safer roads and deliver goods within hours of an online order. People won’t even have to bother leaving their homes, which will be made more comfortable and enjoyable through the use of smart appliances. Robots will handle tedious chores and other jobs, freeing up time for people to enjoy lives prolonged by health-management tools and disease-fighting breakthroughs engineered by Google. Internet-connected eyewear and watches will supplement the smartphones that ensure Google is a constant companion capable of anticipating questions and desires.
Google’s big bets are fueled by Page’s belief that “… incrementalism leads to irrelevance over time, especially in technology, because change tends to be revolutionary, not evolutionary,” he wrote in May in Google’s annual letter to shareholders…

TORONTO – True North Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX:TNT.UN) has announced a dealt to buy an Edmonton office building for $24.5 million.
Toronto-based True North says the single-storey, 96,804-square-foot building at 13140 St. Albert Trail is fully occupied.
The purchase price for the deal, expected to close about mid-September, will be satisfied by a combination of about $6.1 million in cash and $18.4 million aggregate principal amount of new mortgage financing.
In order to finance the purchase, True North has agreed to a bought deal financing involving the sale of 1.6 million units at a price of $6.55 per unit for aggregate gross proceeds of some $10.6 million to a syndicate of underwriters led by Raymond James Ltd.
Proceeds not allocated to the acquisition will be used to repay a portion of the REIT’s credit facilities.
“We are very pleased to broaden our footprint in the economically robust province of Alberta via our entrance into the Edmonton market, CEO Daniel Drimmer said in a release Monday…

The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan’s investment is part of a growing trend that’s seen oversees asset managers scoop up stakes in Chinese e-commerce operators