Viernes 18/02/11 Los bulls controlan el mercado!!

[Maricielo]

Interesante el gráfico que muestra el rebote del oro



Ya lo preveían.

[especuladorx]

Si miras el grafico de Oro a 5 años veras que sigue estando en su canal alcista : http://www.kitco.com/charts/popup/au1825nyb.html , yo creo que su nueva parada sera entre 1450 a 1500, esperemos que así sea y a seguir ganando

[admin]

La Casa de Representantes con la mayoria republicana aprobo un recorte de $61 billones en los gastos del gobierno para este anio, la propuesta pasara ahora al Senado.

Los democratas reclaman que el recorte es excesivo.

De no ponerse de acuerdo el gobierno quedaria paralizado. (Federal shutdown)

[Maricielo]

Disculpen por el offtopic, pero estas cifras que encontré en la web de Semana Económica me han impactado. Admin me podrías dar una explicación de las mismas. Mucha música de 50 cents??

43,000 Hombres negros presos en 1980 en EEUU.
463,700 Hombres de color inscritos en la universidad ese mismo año.
791,600 Hombres negros en prisión en el año 2000.
603,032 Hombres negros inscritos en alguna universidad en el mismo año.


Leer más: http://blogs.semanaeconomica.com/blogs/ ... z1EPWXW9si

[admin]

No se si leiste el articulo del economista negro Williams que puse la semana pasada. El titulo era algo asi: Lo que no pudo hacer el racismo y la esclavitud lo ha hecho el gobierno: destruir a las familias negras.

Es un articulo con datos economicos, no simplemente opiniones.

La dependencia de los negros (y clases minoritarias) del gobierno se ha convertido en el mayor enemigo de la prosperidad para esos grupos, empezando con el aumento del sueldo minimo que perjudica a las minorias negras e hispanas, el desempleo en los jovenes negros e hispanos es casi el 50%, mucho mayor al de los blancos.

Las mujeres negras no tienen ninguna esperanza de casarse y formar una familia, casi el 50% de los hombres negros en edad de casarse estan presos. Mas del 50% de los ninios que nacen fuera del matrimonio pertenecen a las madres negras, la gran mayoria de los abortos en este pais son hechos por mujeres negras.

Cuando el gobierno deje de "tratar de ayudar" a los que segun ellos necesitan ayuda, realmente esos grupos van a entender que no se puede depender del gobierno, que esa es una proposicion perdedora, lo ha sido por generaciones.

Ahora da risa, por lo menos a mi me da risa a la Michelle Obama con su campania contra la obesidad en los ninios, es una reverenda idiota, que va a hacer? ir casa por casa y decirles a las mamas que deben de darle de comer a sus hijos. Si realmente el gobierno quiere que no haya tanta obesidad tendria que eliminar los subsidios al maiz y al azucar. Si esos dos alimentos tuvieran un precio real, ya van a ver como inmediatamente la gente dejaria de comer esa basura por que los precios serian mas altos.

Una vez mas es el gobierno el que propicia todos los problemas no solo en US si no en el mundo.

Ahora por ejemplo en NY tenemos al alcalde que quiere cobrar un impuesto adicional a las sodas. La realidad no es que quiere que la gente tome menos soda, lo que quieren es mas dinero por que estan quebrados.

Bueno si sigo voy a terminar arengando "Abajo el gobierno" Son realmente unas bestias.

[admin]

Data Points: U.S. Markets

By MarketBeat Staff
Dow Industrials, up 117.99 points this week, or 0.96% to 12391.25.

Up 4.80% over the three week period.
Best three week performance since the three week ended August 6, 2010.
Highest close since June 5, 2008.
Today, it up 73.11 points, or 0.59%.
Today’s top contributors to the Dow’s movement and their point contribution: CAT (18.92), CVX (11.73), TRV (8.63), BA (6.05), WMT (4.77).
Today’s laggards and their point contribution: AXP (-1.89), MRK (-1.89), AA (-1.82), PFE (-1.36), DIS (-1.06).
Nasdaq Composite, up 24.51 points this week, or 0.87% to 2833.95.

Up 5.47% over the three week period.
Highest close since October 31, 2007.
Today, it gained 2.37 points, or 0.08%.
S&P 500, up 13.86 points this week, or 1.04% to 1343.01.

Up 5.22% over the three week period.
Highest close since June 17, 2008.
Today, it gained 2.58 points, or 0.19%.

[admin]

Las acciones cierran en su punto mas alto en dos anios y medio

Stocks Close at 2½-Year High

By DONNA KARDOS YESALAVICH
Stocks climbed to 2½-year highs, extending their winning streak to a third consecutive week, as the market's upward momentum helped outweigh another round of tightening in China and unrest in the Middle East.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 73.11 points, or 0.6%, to 12391.25, its highest close since June 2008. The measure rose 1% this week, and has gained 4.8% over the past three weeks, marking its best three-week performance since August.

Joe Bel Bruno explains why stocks climbed to 21/2-year highs and extended their winning streak to a third consecutive week.
.Among the Dow's top performers Friday, Caterpillar added 2.4% and Travelers rose 1.9%. Chevron also was strong, up 1.6%, after a U.S. judge delayed a decision on whether to grant an injunction prohibiting the enforcement of an $8.6 billion judgment against the oil company over environmental damage in Ecuador's Amazon region.

The Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.37 points, or 0.1%, to 2833.95, its highest close since October 2007. It is now down just 0.9% from its October 2007 multiyear high.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index added 2.58 points, or 0.2%, to 1343.01, its highest close since June 2008.

"This is a market that just has momentum and it wants to go higher," said Dan Genter, chief executive and chief investment officer of RNC Genter Capital Management.

The market's advance came as China's central bank said it will raise banks' reserve-requirement ratio by half a percentage point, the second increase this year to withdraw excess liquidity from the economy and curb inflation. The move weighed on the materials sector, which gets much of its demand from China, but the rest of the market shrugged it off.

The climb also came despite additional turmoil in the Middle East, where protesters in Bahrain said security services opened fire on demonstrators as they marched toward the capital's Pearl roundabout, escalating the standoff between the country's Sunni Muslim rulers and its Shiite majority population.

Investors said there are concerns that the Middle East presents risks the market isn't accounting for.

"Some of the geopolitical events we're seeing in the Middle East do pose another risk," said Rob McIver, co-portfolio manager of the Jensen Portfolio. "It's interesting that that's not having more of a negative effect on the bulls at the moment."

Campbell Soup fell 3.9%, after the company cut its earnings outlook for this fiscal year amid competition for soups, sauces and drinks. The lowered guidance comes after Campbell reported a 7.7% decline in fiscal second-quarter earnings as more promotions again failed to boost soup sales. Revenue missed analysts' expectations.

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers jumped 13%. The casual restaurant chain's fourth-quarter earnings rose 37% to beat its downbeat forecast as higher traffic boosted revenue. Chief Executive Steven Carley said the company is implementing "significant initiatives" to increase same-store sales, reduce expenses, improve restaurant-level margins and drive overall corporate profitability.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke defends his agency's monetary policy, while Campbell's continues to struggle selling soup. Kathleen Madigan, John Shipman and George Stahl report.

[admin]

El Shanghai termina su racha ganadora en 6

Las acciones Chinas cayeron por primera venz en siete sesiones debido a los esfuerzos para enfriar la economia. En Europa las mineras cayeron empujando a la baja a las acciones en London.

WORLD STOCK MARKETSFEBRUARY 19, 2011
Shanghai's Winning Streak Ends at Six

Chinese shares fell for the first time in seven sessions as investors fretted about efforts to cool the economy. In Europe, mining stocks dropped, pulling down shares in London.

South Korea's Kospi and Taiwan's Taiex, both among the worst-performing Asian benchmarks in February, each rose 1.8%.

In SHANGHAI, the Shanghai Composite shed 0.9% to 2899.79, pulling back after a 5.5% climb over six sessions after a report in the state-run China Securities journal cited several analysts as saying the central bank may raise the reserve-requirement ratio for banks. After the market closed, the bank did just that.

An investor appears to take the market's news hard on Friday at a brokerage house in Taiyuan, China.

Anhui Conch Cement fell 1.9%, while Anhui Jianghuai Automobile slid 2.4%. Tangshan Jidong Cement fell 1.8% in Shenzhen.

In TOKYO, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average added 0.1% to 10842.80, the fifth consecutive rise, even as banks and steel stocks weakened. The weekly rise was the fourth straight and 12th in the past 16 weeks.

JFE Holdings and Nippon Steel fell 1.7% and 1%, respectively, on a Nikkei report that BHP Billiton has notified big Japanese steelmakers that it wants coking coal prices, now determined quarterly, to be set monthly starting in April.

In SEOUL, the South Korean market rebounded from a three-day losing streak as foreigners, who were net sellers in recent sessions, plowed money back into stocks.


Hyundai Heavy Industries rose 2.7% and GS Engineering & Construction added 5.8%, while Korea Kumho Petrochemical jumped 5.2%.

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering rose 5.7% after a person familiar with the matter told Dow Jones Newswires the shipbuilder has received a $2 billion order to build 10 container carriers for A.P. Moeller-Maersk.

In SYDNEY, the S&P/ASX 200 fell fractionally to 4936.73, but notched the fourth straight weekly advance. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group fell 3% despite first-quarter results being in line with expectations.

Billabong International jumped 6.4% after the surf-wear retailer retained its full-year outlook on the back of improving U.S. business.

Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 index fell fractionally to 291.02, its first loss in six sessions, a day after closing at its highest level since Aug. 12, 2008. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index eased 0.1% to 6082.99. France's CAC-40 index edged up 0.1% to 4157.14. Germany's DAX 30 rose 0.3% to 7426.81.

In LONDON, the mining sector's drop accelerated after China raised its reserve-requirement ratio. BHP Billiton dropped 2.2% and Rio Tinto fell 2.3%.

In PARIS, Lafarge jumped 4.1% after the cement maker swung to a fourth-quarter net profit and said it expects to be able to raise prices in 2011 and cut its debt by at least €2 billion.

Project-management and engineering group Technip fell 2.9% after the company made cautious comments late Thursday about projects in North Africa.

In FRANKFURT, Daimler and BMW, which have significant sales in China and are sensitive to growth expectations in the country, fell 0.6% and 0.8%, respectively.

In AMSTERDAM, satellite-navigation equipment maker TomTom plunged 11% after it said the market for personal-navigation devices shrank more than expected in the fourth quarter. It said both sales and profit will likely be flat in 2011 compared with 2010.

In LISBON, the PSI 20 index fell 1.2% to 8030.33, as retailer Jeronimo Martins slumped 5.7%. The firm reported a rise in fourth-quarter profit, buoyed by a good performance in Poland. However, growth in Portuguese food retail is expected to be "limited" in 2011.

[Maricielo]

Gracias por la precisión admin, interesante tu respuesta.

[admin]

De nada, aprovecho para recomendarlos los libros Superfreakonomics y Freakonomics. Van a encontrar muchas respuestas a sus preguntas.

[admin]

La plata trepa a su precio mas alto en casi 31 anios.

Cerro a $32.2980 troy ounce.

La plata ha subido 5.3% en lo que va del anio, el oro ha bajado 2.4%.



Silver Climbs Near 31-Year High

By MATT WHITTAKER And DEVON MAYLIE
Silver prices neared 31-year highs on a brightening outlook for the global economy and as inflation concerns have revived.

Silver for February delivery rose 72.6 cents, or 2.3%, to settle at $32.2980 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the metal's strongest close since March 1980.

The price of silver has increased 5.3% since the beginning of the year, while the price of gold has declined 2.4%.
."It's benefiting from optimism," said Ralph Preston, market analyst at Heritage West Financial.

Silver is a precious metal but unlike gold it has far more industrial applications. Because it is significantly cheaper than gold, which settled at $1,388.20 an ounce Friday, silver is becoming a popular way to hedge against rising prices, with inflation gaining in Europe and China. While inflation in the U.S. remains tame, some believe the Federal Reserve won't be able to control longer-term price pressures stemming from ultralow interest rates and Fed purchases of Treasurys to stimulate the economy.

.At the same time, the economic growth that is sparking inflation fears also is prompting a resurgence in manufacturing and consumer purchases.

Silver has gained 4.5% this year and 20% from a two-month low hit Jan. 25. In 1980, the Hunt brothers of Texas attempted to corner the silver market and pushed prices above $40 a troy ounce.

"It's a much more orderly market" nowadays, said Stephen Flood, director of Dublin-based bullion dealer GoldCore.

Commercial traders, like silver miners, have been adding to their short positions in futures contracts throughout February, a sign they are locking in prices. The commercial net short has risen to 50,796 lots in the week ended Feb. 15, from 44,340 lots at the start of the month, according to the latest data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Mexican company Minera Frisco SAB is hedging production as it seeks to bring previously unprofitable silver projects online, while miners such as Sweden's Boliden AB and U.S. Silver Corp. also set hedging deals for 2011.

The practice of locking in prices at current levels for future sales went out of vogue over the past few years as investors put pressure on precious-metal producers to gain more exposure to record prices. AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. and Barrick Gold Corp. spent much of 2009 and 2010 closing gold hedges.

Minera Frisco, recently spun off by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim's conglomerate Grupo Carso, has a 70-million ounce silver-hedging program booked out to 2013 that it announced in January in a stock-exchange filing.

Boliden has 2.23 million ounces of silver hedged for 2011 and a total 6.78 million ounces hedged for the period to 2013 as part of its Garpenberg mine expansion. It also is hedging zinc, copper, lead and gold production from that mine, it said. U.S. Silver Corp. is hedging some silver production in 2011, for 500,000 ounces, or 20% of its output, although it has no plans to hedge further production after this year.

"With the recent run-up in silver prices and the extreme volatility we have witnessed, U.S. Silver believed it would be prudent to guarantee a portion of our future cash flow," Chief Executive Tom Parker said.

[admin]

Los bonos a corto plazo tuvieron un repunte debido a las preocupaciones geopoliticas en el Medio Oriente que llevaron a los inversionistas a buscar inversiones mas seguras.

Los bonos a largo plazo recuperaron la mayoria de sus perdidas mas temprano, debido a que los inversionistas recortaron su apetito por el riesgo en adelanto al fin de semana largo. Los mercados estaran cerrados el Lunes por Presidentes Day.



CREDIT MARKETSFEBRUARY 18, 2011, 4:28 P.M. ET
Treasurys Post Weekly Gain
By MIN ZENG

NEW YORK—Short-dated Treasury notes led a rebound in the bond market on Friday as worries about geopolitical risks in the Middle East bolstered demand for safe assets.

Long-dated bonds recouped most of their earlier losses, as some investors cut risk appetites ahead of the long weekend. The U.S. financial markets, including stocks and bonds, will be closed Monday for Presidents Day.

"People don't want to go home short over the weekend given the situation in the Middle East," said Alan De Rose, head Treasury trader at Oppenheimer and Co. Inc. in New York, citing news Friday about Iranian ships passing through the Suez Canal and the unrest in Bahrain, Libya, Yemen, Jordan, and Iran.

By day's end, the benchmark 10-year note was down 4/32 or $1.25 per $1,000 invested, to push up the yield to 3.589%. The two-year note was 1/32 higher to yield 0.759%. Bond prices move inversely to their yields.

Bond prices posted a weekly gain. The two-year note's yield fell from 0.833% traded a week ago, while the benchmark 10-year note's yield slipped from 3.644%.

Bonds fell earlier as European Central Bank executive board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi flagged the need to raise interest rates to keep inflation in check. The comments came after China's central bank raised the Asian nation's commercial banks' reserve ratio for the second time this year amid the surge in global food and commodities prices.

Worries about interest rate hikes fueled a broad selloff in German bunds, the benchmark debt for the euro zone, and the selling spilled over into two other major government bond markets—Treasurys and the U.K. gilts, traders said.

The two-year German bund's yield, the most sensitive to changes in monetary policy outlook, jumped by about 0.08 percentage point to 1.392%.

But buyers returned on the latest Iran warship development, as some investors worried about a confrontation between Israel and Iran. After more than a day of conflicting reports, Egyptian state media reported Friday that the country will allow the Iranian warships to pass through the canal.

"As stable as it seems, it's pretty tentative. There are a lot of subplots in the Treasurys market that haven't been resolved yet," said Josh Stiles, senior bond strategist and managing director with IDEAglobal in New York.

The 10-year note's yield, a benchmark for U.S. consumer and corporate borrowings, has fallen from a nine-month peak of 3.77% set on Feb. 9. The bond market has stabilized after the recent selloff, with some investors scooping up cheapened securities, betting that the economy isn't strong enough to withstand higher yields.

The recent rise in Treasury yields had pushed up mortgage rates, posing a risk to the still weak housing market. The labor market data have been mixed lately and the increase in energy prices could hurt consumer spending in coming months, some investors said.

That has prompted interest rate futures traders to cut bets that the Federal Reserve will start raising interest rates in December. Such wagers have been reduced this week, contributing to the decline in the two-year note's yield and may support demand for next week's new Treasury note auctions.

The Treasury Department is scheduled to sell $99 billion new notes, including $35 billion in two-year notes Tuesday, $35 billion in five-year notes Wednesday and $29 billion in seven-year notes Thursday.

In a speech to Group of 20 finance officials in Paris, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke strongly rebutted critics who call his accommodative monetary policies inflationary. While dismissing talk that the Fed was fueling price pressures and asset bubbles, Mr. Bernanke failed to provide any new clues to the U.S. interest rate outlook.

The Fed has cited a weak labor market as a main reason to launch the $600 billion Treasury-bond buying program in early November as a second round of stimulus for the economy. The central bank has held its key policy rate between zero and 0.25% since December 2008.

[admin]

Los futures del oro se estabilizan

Otra medida de ajuste por parte de China ha hecho bajar al oro, pero desde entonces el metal se ha comportado estable debido a las persistentes compras.

El oro cerro 60 cents. mas alto a $1,385.70 la troy ounce en Comex.

Gold Futures Stabilizes

By MATT WHITTAKER
NEW YORK—Another round of Chinese monetary tightening brought gold down from five-week highs, but the precious metal has since steadied amid persistent buying.

The most-actively traded contract, for April delivery, was recently 60 cents higher at $1,385.70 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The metal pulled back as China's central bank said it will raise the reserve requirement ratio for banks by 0.5 percentage points, the second such increase this year, as inflationary pressures remain in the spotlight.

Gold is considered a hedge against rising consumer and producer prices, so moves aimed at curbing inflation can take some of the shine off the metal.

The reserve requirement increase, which takes effect Thursday, is the latest move by China to curb inflation. The consumer price index rose 4.9% in January, up from December's 4.6% rise, and economists have warned that consumer price inflation is likely to accelerate in February.

The Peoples' Bank of China raised benchmark lending and deposit interest rates earlier this month and raised the reserve requirement ratio six times and benchmark interest rates twice in 2010. The last reserve ratio increase took effect Jan. 20.

"The market is weighed down by the Chinese reserve-rate rise," said Jim Steel, senior vice president and metals analyst with HSBC in New York. But "it's not enough to offset all the other factors supporting gold."

Gold prices surged to record highs above $1,400 in December as worries about sovereign debt problems in Europe and concerns about long-term inflation from easy U.S. monetary policy boosted the metal as a safe-harbor investment and alternative currency.

Ultralow interest rates have also been key to gold's rise because they lower the opportunity costs of holding the non-interest-bearing metal.

The liberalization of the Chinese gold market, as well as central banks becoming net buyers have also helped prices, as have recent worries about unrest in the Middle East

[admin]

El petroleo se mantuvo firme

Los futures del crude oil terminaron al alza en NY mientras los traders se preparaban para la proxima expiracion de sus contratos, mientras otra ronda de ajuste monetario en China ponia presion en los contratos de Europa.

Light sweet crude para Marzo cerraron 78 cents mas alto o 0.9% a $87.14 en NYMEX.

El Brent crude bajo a $101.95.

Nymex Oil Prices Firm

By DAN STRUMPF
NEW YORK—Crude-oil futures edged higher in New York as traders prepared for a coming contract expiration, while another round of monetary tightening in China weighed on the European contract.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery rose 78 cents, or 0.9%, at $87.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Traders bid up the March contract, which expires Tuesday, ahead of the three-day Presidents Day weekend.

"I think a lot of the action on the front-end WTI is going to be due to the expiration" of the front-month contract, said Tom Bentz, oil analyst at BNP Paribas, referring to the Nymex's contract for West Texas Intermediate crude. "There could be some fireworks with the March-April spreads today."

Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange moved in the opposite direction, giving up 64 cents, or 0.6%, at $101.95 a barrel. The contract, a widely used benchmark in Europe and Asia, was weighed by further monetary tightening in China.

Traders who bid up the record price differential between WTI and Brent have been exiting positions in recent days, said Jim Ritterbusch, head of the oil-trading advisory firm Ritterbusch and Associates, leading the spread between the two benchmarks to ease Friday.

The front-month contract for Nymex crude has remained under pressure in recent months, hovering around $90 a barrel, while Brent crude has soared past $100. Near-record inventories at the contract's delivery point of Cushing, Okla., has pressured the contract. On Friday, the spread between the two narrowed to slightly above $15 a barrel, after hitting a record of $19.30 earlier this week.

"A large supply overhang at the futures delivery point could inhibit independent strength in the WTI well into the spring period and possibly beyond," Mr. Ritterbusch said.

Weighing on the Brent contract was China's decision to raise its reserve requirement ratio by 0.5 percentage point, the second such hike this year. China has sought to rein in inflation through repeated monetary tightening measures, but oil traders worry that the moves could inhibit growth in the world's second-largest oil consumer.

Meanwhile, concerns about Middle East tensions persisted Friday as fresh demonstrations took place in Bahrain, the island nation that neighbors No. 1 oil exporter Saudi Arabia. Protests sweeping the Middle East have lifted crude prices recently. Protests have spread to oil producers such as Libya and Algeria, raising fresh fears about supply disruptions.

Front-month March reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, recently traded down 0.65 cent, or 0.3%, at $2.5212 a gallon. March heating oil slipped 2.95 cents, or 1.1%, at $2.7029 a gallon

[admin]

Facebook gana tantos rivales como amigos
Por Geoffrey A. Fowler

.Las crecientes ambiciones de Facebook Inc. están redefiniendo el mapa de Silicon Valley.

A medida que la compañía fundada hace siete años aumenta sus contrataciones y añade funciones a su red social, se convierte en un problema mayor para empresas establecidas como Yahoo Inc. y Google Inc.

Facebook, que ahora cuenta con más de 600 millones de usuarios en todo el mundo y hace poco fue valorada en US$50.000 millones, está captando publicidad que antes iba a parar a las páginas de Yahoo, Myspace y otros competidores. La red social se posiciona como un potencial rival de PayPal, el servicio de pagos electrónicos del sitio de subastas eBay, mientras que sus alianzas con fabricantes de teléfonos inteligentes crean el marco para la competencia con Apple Inc. y Google en el negocio de servicios móviles. Asimismo, Facebook compite con Google y Microsoft Corp. para contratar a los mejores ingenieros.

Facebook's growing ambitions are re-drawing battle lines in Silicon Valley, with big established companies and startups alike considering how to work with -- yet maintain some independence -- from the tech juggernaut. WSJ's Geoffrey Fowler talks with Stacey Delo. Image courtesy of AP.
.Como consecuencia, muchas empresas de Silicon Valley tienen que decidir si deben tratar a Facebook como un amigo, cuyo alcance e información sobre los usuarios pueden ayudar a propulsar su crecimiento, o como un enemigo capaz de convertirse en una fuerza destructora.

"Facebook es tanto un gran competidor como un benefactor aquí en Silicon Valley", señala David Cowan, un inversionista de capital de riesgo de Bessemer Venture Partners. "Cualquiera que trate de llamar la atención de los jóvenes usuarios de Internet tiene que competir con la posición dominante de Facebook. Por otra parte, han abierto muchas oportunidades".

Los ejecutivos de Facebook no tienen reservas a la hora de proclamar sus aspiraciones. "Creemos que todos las industrias van a ser reconstruidas en torno a la participación social", asegura Sheryl Sandberg, su directora general de operaciones. Facebook ya ha contribuido a la creación de una nueva camada de compañías de videojuegos diseñados para interactuar con amigos, afirmó. "Noticias, salud, finanzas, compras y comercio… serán reconstituidas por empresas que trabajan con nosotros para establecer lo social como el núcleo", agregó.

Hasta ahora, el principal campo de batalla de Facebook ha sido el marketing en línea. En apenas dos años, su participación en el mercado estadounidense de avisos tradicionales en Internet tipo banners, que alcanzó US$8.880 millones en 2010, se disparó de 2,9% a 13,6%, según la firma de investigación eMarketer.

La expansión de Facebook se produce a expensas de empresas como Yahoo y AOL Inc., y es probable que el sitio también esté quitando ingresos publicitarios a medios tradicionales como los periódicos y la televisión. Yahoo ha dejado de intentar competir directamente con la red social y en su lugar ha integrado elementos de Facebook en sus sitios, con la esperanza de frenar una caída en el tiempo que sus usuarios pasan en sus páginas cada mes. Myspace, que al igual que Yahoo se ha asociado a Facebook, no quiso hacer comentarios. Myspace y The Wall Street Journal son propiedad de News Corp.

Jeff Levick, gerente de publicidad de AOL, dijo que veía el ascenso de Facebook como "complementario" debido a que las empresas tenían "dos negocios completamente diferentes".

AOL, agregó, se concentra en la monetización de contenido que los usuarios de Facebook comparten. "Entre más alta sea la calidad del contenido que producimos, más posibilidades de que sea compartido y que el tráfico vuelva a nosotros", dijo. Los principales anunciantes que están trabajando con las dos empresas están aumentando el gasto en AOL cada trimestre, aseguró el ejecutivo.

Facebook habría obtenido alrededor de US$2.000 millones en ingresos el año pasado, principalmente de publicidad, dijo una fuente al tanto. El sitio hace poco presentó formatos de anuncios que incorporan la red de amigos de los usuarios —incluso sus nombres, fotos y mensajes— y también ha volcado su interés en el mercado de publicidad local, al lanzar sus propios servicios de promociones que incorporan elementos de sitios como Groupon Inc., de cupones de descuento, y Yelp Inc., de reseñas de negocios y servicios. Ambas empresas declinaron hacer comentarios al respecto.

Es probable que Facebook invada más territorios a medida que construye lo que se conoce como una plataforma para Internet, que otros sitios web, teléfonos celulares y ahora incluso automóviles pueden usar para desarrollar sus propios productos que permitan a la gente llevar consigo sus preferencias y amigos. Hasta ahora, unos 2,5 millones de sitios web han aprovechado la plataforma, que les permite agregar el botón de "Me gusta" de Facebook en mensajes de blog, artículos de noticias, listas de productos y otras páginas.

Con su plataforma, Facebook se está convirtiendo en socio de otras compañías tecnológicas, incluso Google , que permite que los usuarios de YouTube compartan videos con sus amigos en la red social.

"El fundamento de una plataforma es uno sobre el cual la gente quiera construir porque existe un intercambio de valor equivalente", dijo Dan Rose, vicepresidente de alianzas y marketing de plataforma de Facebook.

Rose afirmó que Facebook tiene la intención de participar en nuevos negocios que surjan del uso de su plataforma.

Un ejemplo es el desarrollador de juegos Zynga Game Network Inc., que fue uno de los primeros en encontrar un crecimiento masivo en la plataforma de Facebook. La empresa ahora paga un tipo de impuesto por el uso de la misma.

En enero, la red social anunció que requeriría que todos los desarrolladores de juegos en su plataforma utilizaran sus "créditos" — una moneda virtual para comprar cosas en los juegos— con lo que se lleva un 30% en las ventas. Zynga declinó hacer comentarios.

Más adelante, la empresa podría extender su sistema de créditos a otras áreas de comercio, incluyendo bienes físicos, convirtiéndose en un potencial competidor de PayPal y de Amazon.com Inc.

Los ejecutivos de Facebook también tienen la mira puesta en los teléfonos inteligentes, donde esperan llegar a estar más integrados en el software de los dispositivos. Esta actividad cada vez más pone a Facebook como una empresa rival de Google, Apple y otros en la publicidad móvil.

Google no quiso comentar directamente para este artículo, pero en una entrevista en enero el presidente ejecutivo, Eric Schmidt, dijo que las dos empresas competían por talento, pero no por presupuestos de publicidad, y que los usuarios de Facebook utilizan más servicios de Google que otros usuarios. "Usted asume que si a ellos les va bien, a nosotros nos va mal, pero a todos los ganadores les suele ir bien", puntualizó.