April saw Google Sites attain the number one spot in the Top 50 U.S. Properties ranking for the first time in its history with a total audience of more than 141 million visitors.

Yahoo Sites ranked second with 140.6 million visitors, followed by Microsoft Sites with 121.2 million visitors.

Superpages.com Network and CareerBuilder both jumped eight spots in the ranking to positions 18 and 30, respectively.

Content categories showing gains in April included job search, career resources, and television sites.

The top-gaining categories in April were Pharmacies and Retail-Food, both up 8 per cent from March.

According to comScore, Google’s unique U.S. audience in April was up 18 percent from the same month in 2007, while Yahoo’s audience grew 7 percent.

However, according to the Associated Press, Yahoo still leads in page views, meaning visitors spend more time there or return more often. Many Google users make a simple search request and quickly go elsewhere based on the results. Yahoo had 33.6 billion page views to Google’s 28.7 billion.

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The reputation of goods produced in emerging markets had a rough ride in 2007. Not only have the various product recalls from China caused great media uproar, the rise in consumer concern over the environment has given a PR edge to companies focused on environmental sustainability. The 2008 issue of Deloitte’s annual Innovation in Emerging Markets study “explores how manufacturers from developed and developing countries view product safety, product quality and environmental standards in emerging markets and how they are managing their exposure to risk stemming from sourcing from these markets.”

The study starts by outlining some of the recalls that became media events. “It could be termed the year of the recall.”

From tainted toothpaste to contaminated dog food, 2007 saw scores of products recalled due to safety and quality issues.

The product recalls were mostly of goods produced by manufacturers in China. The Deloitte report give special attention to the developing attitude of Chinese executives. They find that, unsurprisingly, the recent events have emphasized the importance of product quality, safety and environmental concerns.

More than three-quarters of developed market executives thought it was very or somewhat likely their company would favor sourcing from markets with stricter standards and roughly two-thirds expected increased production in company-owned facilities.

Developed and developing country executives agreed that these actions undoubtedly mean higher operating costs. Interestingly, only about half of developed market executives thought they would be able to charge higher prices by adhering to higher
standards. In contrast more than two-thirds of developing market executives believed that companies meeting strict standards could command higher prices.

Market expansion will come from a more than doubling of the world market for bioethanol, and even faster increases in global biodiesel demand, Freedonia says in an Industry Study on World Biofuels through 2011. Other biofuels will also experience strong growth, though much slower than either biodiesel or bioethanol.

On a regional basis, growth will be driven by a rapid expansion of the biofuel market in North America, particularly for bioethanol. The Asia/Pacific region and Western Europe will experience even faster advances, although absolute gains will trail the larger North American market. Similarly, increases in the small Africa/Mideast and Eastern Europe markets will be well above average. Growth in Latin America will be modest, a consequence of Brazil’s already sizable market for bioethanol.

Despite the growing size of the world’s largest producers, the proliferation of new companies and rapid expansion of the biofuel industry overall combined to limit the top nine producers to just a 30 percent share of the market in 2006.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (US) was the market leader, followed by POET (US), Cosan (Brazil), Sofiproteol (Diester Industrie –France), VeraSun Energy (US), Santelisa Vale Bioenergia (Brazil), Abengoa (Spain), VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie (Germany) and Cargill (US).

The 364-page report, which includes analysis by sector and by country as well as company profiles, can be purchased here.

Social media sites are changing the way companies market in most American industries. For financial services, the change might be even more dramatic. Forrester has issued a new subscription-only report detailing the many possibilities for the industry.

A number of websites have gone beyond using peer-to-peer websites simply for marketing purposes, by taking advantage of the new web formats to provide new service products.

These products also serve as a powerful source of brand differentiation. “The point,” according to the report, “is that in a commodity industry, small service differentiators will make or break customer loyalty and advocacy.”

Bank of America, ING DIRECT, Royal Bank of Canada and Wells Fargo have noticed the consumer need for -and differentiating power of- social media and have started to experiment.

Customers of banks are more likely to engage with social media than are customers of investment firms. Bank of America, Capital One and Citibank have the most engaged customers, with roughly one-third of their customers stating that they create and share content online, according to Forrester.

Bank of America’s investment customers are the most engaged in that category and E*TRADE is the only other institution consistently above average.

Forrester’s report, Disruption Looms for Financial Services, includes recommendations for how banks can best exploit social media.

The global carbon market doubled or tripled in value for all segments, except for projects in developing countries which saw a leveling off of market volumes transacted under the Clean Development Mechanisms

The global carbon market more than doubled to $64 billion in 2007, the report shows. The European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) also saw a doubling of both value and number of allowances transacted to the tune of $50 billion.

There are significant problems with the market, however:

“The overall data in the report masks some key vulnerabilities—especially for developing countries. All developing countries face a demand gap sometime in 2008 when buyers realize that there is not enough time to fulfill Kyoto commitments with new projects, and demand will have not yet kicked in from emerging markets in the US and Australia that are expected to be players in a future market after 2012.”

Another problem is that market growth is limited by the uncertainty of what will happen after the Kyoto protocol expires in 2012.

An interesting observation of the report is the degree to which business and environmentalists are working together:

“The world has truly changed today when power company executives and investment bankers talk about climate risk and environmentalists talk about leveraging the power of markets. Climate policy has mobilized the world of private capital to work in favor of protecting the environment. In so doing, it has brought together two
widely different worlds with very little experience and knowledge of each other.”

Considering how widely different these two cultures are, it is quite extraordinary to recognize how successfully they have worked together so far to produce concrete action to reduce carbon emissions.

In 2007, some prominent investment banks tried to further bridge the gap between the two worlds, as they hired specialist carbon staff, bought small and boutique carbon originators and made investments in the “infrastructure” of the carbon market, including exchanges and registries.

“Current valuations in the market,” according to the report based on a panel discussion of legal, advisory and financial experts , “are not conducive for sellers looking for attractive pricing for the intrinsic value of their franchises, and buyers may be unwilling to pay large premiums, given further uncertainty.”

Acquisitions of parts of companies are more likely than full scale takeovers this year: “Some organizations will need to raise capital, and so rather than sell the entire institution, they will sell off pieces that are not core but may, for the right buyer, command a premium price, or at least free up capital.”

Financial services companies will most likely be returning to their core operations.

“Companies [are] evaluating noncore operations, not only in terms of risk management, but also in terms of cost of capital and expense control. These considerations could generate consolidation-type transactions in certain sectors.”

Another potential source of significant M&A activity that is particularly ripe this year is “where there is a prior vested interest” in the target company. Similarly, “potential rescue activity in the bond insurer area” was considered as a possibility.

In general, foreign firms currently view US financial firms as potentially attractive investments. Interestingly, “many of the Japanese banks have indicated they’re willing to help out Wall Street firms. Much of the interest will depend on how long favorable exchange rates persist, coupled with their minimal preexisting U.S. exposure. That should prove to be a significant advantage over a lot of domestic investors going forward.”

So while 2008 may not be the year of the megadeal, there are still quite a few viable acquisition targets, and strategic players, waiting in the wings.

“While deal pace is not expected to break records or yield many blockbusters, M&A activity across most sectors should move along at a moderate clip in 2008. Distressed and nontraditional M&A activity may pick up, especially in the retail sector, which is influenced greatly by the spending habits of the middle-market consumer. Deal drivers will include companies’ need to raise capital and reduce risk by shedding noncore businesses, such as Banco Popular selling its U.S. consumer finance business to AIG.”

The weak dollar will also provide a strong impetus for a number of foreign acquisitions of US firms and firms, especially for European and British firms.

While availability of credit is down signficantly since the height of M&A activity in 2007, there are sources of capital that will be able to finance a large number of mergers and acquisitions. “With over $3 trillion in assets, sovereign wealth funds will also provide alternative financing conduits, whether through partnerships with private equity or investments in companies that choose growth by acquisition.”

…when companies want to resuscitate their stock prices, consumer businesses will dispose of their noncore assets and undergo product rationalization… which will obviously add to deal volume.

Commenting on the effect of a recession, several of the analysts focused on specific industries: “On the restaurant side, we tend to see the middle get squeezed. So in a challenging economic environment, you see high-end restaurants such as Morton’s not as affected as, say, Applebee’s, because many consumers will choose to eat at a quick-serve or fast-casual restaurant as opposed to a full-service establishment.”

Interestingly, due to its success, the online retail industry will likely see less M&A activity than its brick-and-mortar counterpart. “In fact, 2007 was Amazon’s best holiday season in its 13-year history.”

Other highlights:

• Private equity and strategic buyers dominate the broad consumer business industry, where, despite the threat of a recession, the luxury goods sector is expected to fare well.
• Product innovation, convergence, and cost control are among the many factors driving activity in the technology, media and telecommunications sector, where volume is expected to pick up in the latter part of 2008.
• High energy prices and strong cash flow, along with continued interest from foreign buyers due to a weakened dollar, have helped create a favorable deal environment for the utilities and energy sector.

The report starts by outlining the economic importance of those born between 1983 and 1994: “Gen Y is strong in numbers and affluence. The group has more than 75 million members, second in population only to the 80 million Baby Boomers, and boasts a collective income of approximately $1.89 trillion. Further, Gen Y-ers are positioned to become the wealthiest generation to date.

In addition to the growing inter-family wealth transfer, their cumulative earnings are projected to increase by 85% within the next 10 years, surpassing those of their Baby-Boomer parents by as much as $500 billion.

The survey found that all generations prefer to conduct their own research before making bank purchases, and value recommendations from family. Gen Y-ers, however, were more than twice as likely as other generations to report that family counsel was the most influential factor in making these choices.”
Interestingly, this openness to suggestion does not carry over to being easily influenced by marketing campaigns: “While these tendencies provide banks with a significant marketing opportunity to reach Gen Y consumers, the survey results indicated that this group was less responsive to purchase suggestions from their primary bank, as well as to associated product campaigns and special offers.”

The survey validates some of the more positive stereotypes of the age group: “Gen Y has been recognized as a civic-minded generation, with a propensity to combine belief with action. This is noteworthy, particularly considering the group’s youth and financial position. Gen Y-ers’ active use of the Internet, and especially social networking sites, may be driving an increased awareness of corporate practices and their broader effects.”

The report ends with three main suggestions:

Channels (Integrate, don’t separate) – Gen Y-ers are comfortable with new technologies and value the ability to switch among channels based on their needs. Banks should make their channels easy to navigate, provide a consistent customer experience, and integrate seamlessly to attract these tech-savvy, pragmatic consumers.

Marketing (Educate, don’t tell) – As ‘financial freshmen,” they need guidance on how to begin their financial lives – providing practical information can be a winning strategy to build relationships. They are skeptical of traditional advertising and rely far more on the advice of family and friends when purchasing products or services. Banks will need to reach out to these Gen Y networks, or create new ones, to communicate effectively with these new customers.

Products (Simplify, don’t complicate) – They prefer simple, practical, and affordable banking services that reflect the fact they are just beginning their financial lives and their comfort with technology. Gen Y values simple and practical products a competitive prices. Socially mindful, their interest can be stimulated through product offerings that have social and environmental benefits.

Indeed there was no change in the top five rankings, with Google followed by GE, Microsoft, Coca Cola and China Mobile. Apple entered the top ten, rising 9 places from last year to seventh place. IBM (sixth), McDonald’s (eighth) and Nokia (ninth) each moved up three spots.

Marking the waning of tobacco, Marlboro fell four places to tenth.

On April 3, the S&P had risen 3 percent over 12 months, the Brandz Top 100 portfolio was up 15 percent and the strong brands portfolio was up 22 per cent.

Other notable changes include:

Winners:

Vodaphone up 11 to 11th.

ICBC up 15 to 18th.

Porsche up 12 to 28th.

China Construction Bank up 30 to 31st.

Blackberry up 102 to 51st.

Losers:

Citi down 7 to 15th.

Home Depot down 14 to 40th.

NTT Docomo down 22 to 45th.

Starbucks down 21 to 56th

Yahoo! down 20 to 62nd.

eBay down 22 to 65th.

Ford down 23 to 68th.

Merrill Lynch down 24 to 74th.

Motorola down 32 to 92nd.

Full details are available here. Today’s Financial Times includes a special section analyzing the report.

Nielsen Online recently released findings showing that protecting the environment has become increasingly important to consumers, with online buzz around sustainability growing 50 percent in 2007. While early in the year discussion was dominated by the topic of global warming, bloggers progressively addressed a wider variety of green-related issues, with a particular emphasis on personal action such as recycling, avoiding excess packaging, and carpooling.

The report also outlines some of the roles that the online community plays in the environmental movement: “Bloggers are quick to condemn “greenwashing” - when they suspect companies misrepresent their environmental impact with aggressive PR campaigns - as spurious attempts to be ‘green.’”

“The Nielsen Online analysis showed that similar environmental initiatives can provoke different consumer responses depending on a company’s reputation and history. In the retail sector, says the study, while Wal-Mart and Target both introduced reusable shopping bags, some consumers voiced skepticism towards Wal-Mart because of its association with environmental, labor, and health care issues.”