A Chinese regulatory crackdown on online search and advertising drove a sharp drop in Baidu’s quarterly profit and a second consecutive revenue decline, according to The Wall Street Journal. The internet giant expects revenue of 16.48 billion yuan to 17.03 billion yuan ($2.37 billion to $2.45 billion). Over all, fourth-quarter profit dropped 83% to 4.13 billion yuan, or 11.40 yuan ($1.64) an ADR. Baidu’s American depositary receipts, up 15% over the past 12 months, rose 2.7% to $189.11 in after-hours trading. Tougher ad requirements following the death of a student who took fake cancer treatment he found on Baidu ad have forced Baidu to drop advertisers, including an 18.6% drop in advertisers and an 8.2% decline in online marketing revenue in the most recent period.
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