Archive

At the end of 1999, retail analyst Lehman Brothers Holdings predicted that holiday season failures would force many online merchants to fold or go up for sale at a rapid rate in 2000.

Online media company CNET, Inc. (Nasdaq:CNET) has announced that it will buy privately-held online comparison shopping company mySimon, Inc. for approximately $700 million (US$) in stock.

E-commerce is set to explode in Japan from about $4 billion (US$) in 1999 to $693 billion in 2003, according to a new report from Andersen Consulting and Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI).

Telemundo Network Group LLC, one of the most recognized Spanish-language TV networks in the United States, has announced a multi-million dollar (US$) strategic investment in Spanish-only e-tailer Espanol.com in an effort to target Hispanic consumers in North and Latin America.

For the first time, a book on e-commerce has reached the top of the business bestseller list on Amazon.com. The online giant named the book, Customers.com by Patricia Seybold and Ronni Marshak (contributor), the number one business bestseller for 1999.

According to a report from the Yankee Group, many experts are looking at business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce to help the Chinese develop a modern value-added manufacturing and service-based economy.

After failing in its attempt to acquire the JustLinux.com open-source community site, EBIZ Enterprises, Inc. (OTC BB: EBIZ) has launched TheLinuxLab.com to provide technical support to users of the open-source operating system.

Utility software solutions provider Network Associates, Inc. (Nasdaq: NETA) has announced that it is incorporating clustering solutions by Legato Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: LGTO), a provider of enterprise storage management software, into its new line of e-commerce security appliances.

IBM, which announced a weaker-than-expected fourth quarter today, has unveiled two major e-commerce initiatives.

During a recent Republican presidential debate, Arizona Senator John McCain challenged Texas Governor George W. Bush to join him in a pledge to permanently ban Internet taxation.

Business-to-business (B2B) transactions will propel the online healthcare industry to reach $370 billion (US$) by 2004, according to a recent study by Forrester Research, Inc.

Business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce was a paltry two percent or so of overall retail sales in 1999. Nevertheless, industry experts are telling brick-and-mortar companies in the $2.7 trillion (US$) retail industry that they must jump online quickly or risk being left behind.

Oil companies have had a boom-bust relationship with high technology since the high-profit days of the 1970s, when several oil companies, most notably Exxon, pumped millions into largely unsuccessful high tech start-ups such as Zilog, Qwip and Qwix.

Forrester Research, Inc. has concluded that, despite recent improvements to its archaic Web site, Wal-Mart's e-commerce operation will require vast improvement if it is to mount a serious challenge to Amazon and other industry leaders any time soon.

A leading legal IT services firm in the UK has warned of potentially significant contractual mistakes by "bricks and mortar" companies failing to consider the legal consequences of moving their products and/or services online for sale.