Ad Targeting:

• Placecast is releasing a product that targets users by Wi-Fi hotspot, delivering ads based on where they are and what content they're perusing.

Agencies:

• Earnings at Omnicom were up 13 percent in Q4 of last year. It warned shareholders the slowing economy could impact future financial results.
• Publicis and its agency Optimedia USA created Optimedia Inside, an initiative for media-agnostic planning and solutions.
• WPP Group will consolidate all its search agencies under either its Outrider or GroupM brands and divisions.

As the Yahoo Turns:

• It's likely that the next phase of Microsoft's increasingly aggressive bid for Yahoo will be composed of negotiations held outside the public eye.
• Google is not as hot on a potential Microsoft/Yahoo merger as it once was and is even less enthusiastic about Yahoo tapping it for search ad sales.
• Yahoo is talking with News Corp. about a joint venture whereby News Corp. purchases significant shares and spins Fox Interactive Media off into Yahoo's fold.

Biz Buzz:

• Giving the HSN portion of IAC's business to Liberty Media could encourage Liberty to walk away from its holdings in IAC, ending a spat between the two company's leaders.
• Dow Jones made a strategic investment in obituary site Tributes.com, a spin-off from Boomer social network Eons.com.

Legal, Government and Regulation:

• ValueClick agreed to pay $2.9 million to the FTC after an investigation into its violations of the CAN-SPAM Act and other regulations.

Shopping and E-Commerce:

• A study from Pew shows younger online users consider e-commerce more efficient and better for finding deals.
• Borders is adding stations in stores where shoppers can print pictures and download music and books.

Signs of What's to Come:

• ICANN is considering allowing domains ending in ".pdf" or ".mp3", but has rejected extensions that would include only numbers.
• The top online magazine sites saw traffic rise by over eight percent in 2007, according to Nielsen and the Magazine Publishers of America.