Eagle Eye Opener: Twitter Acquisition May Drive Revenue; International Markets Show Mixed Results; U.S. Postal Service Plans to Cut Saturday Mail Delivery to Save $2 Billion

Twitter to Revolutionize Ad Review 140 Characters at a Time (NewYorkTimes)

Yesterday, Twitter confirmed reports of paying $100 million to acquire “social TV analytics company” Bluefin. The acquisition of Bluefin is seen by industry experts and investment analysts as a coup for Twitter, as it now allows the online messaging service access to an instantaneous stream of commentary about what’s being shown on television. Companies like SuperBowl broadcaster CBS pay through the nose for real-time feedback on their advertisements and programs. Twitter’s management hopes this new facet to its business allows the company to focus on key revenue drivers within the advertising and television programming industries.

Light Trading Day Leads to Mixed International Results & Early Futures Gains (Bloomberg)

After earnings announcements by Disney and Zynga slightly beat experts’ estimates, global markets responded with little more than a polite yawn. Far Eastern indexes advanced slightly led by Japan’s Nikkei 225 — which gained 3.77 percent — while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Shanghai’s Composite Indexes were both up slightly (less than one point each). Europe’s major markets were mixed this morning, with England’s FTSE up .25 percent while France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX were both down (.68 and .55 percent, respectively), at the time of this writing. U.S. Futures gained slightly for he most part.

Through Rain & Snow, Sure — Through the Weekend?  Not So Much (USAToday.com)

In an effort to cut hemorrhaging losses, the United State Post Office (USPS) has decided to end Saturday letter service — a move that’s sure to delight FedEx and UPS investors.  However, because Saturday package delivery has increased some 14 percent since 2010, the USPS announced it would maintain this service. The move to a five-day work week for letter carriers is expected to save the USPS some $2 billion annually. With this cut, the company is poised to lose another $6 billion in the coming quarter — making it the third year in a row of at least that much loss. Finally, to make this savings a reality, the U.S. Congress has to approve this measure by August — at the latest.