Articles by Nora Macaluso

Shares of Internet marketplace firm FreeMarkets (Nasdaq: FMKT) rose nearly 30 percent in early trading Thursday after the company, a pioneer in online reverse auctions, said that fourth-quarter business is proving stronger than expected and that results will be better than previously thought FreeMarkets also announced an expanded contract with one ...

While Internet use in Central and Eastern Europe is growing fast, the required technology remains too expensive for most consumers, posing "formidable barriers" to e-commerce, according to a report released Wednesday by the Yankee Group. Yankee associate consultant Graham Finnie said that few people have the money to buy computers, and regulatory ...

Looking to raise money for a small online business? Experts say that in today's difficult economic environment, some basic tenets for securing financial backing remain -- but other rules have changed, and it is as important as ever to be abreast of those changes For example, as far as presentation, a live or semi-live demonstration of the product t...

Americans expect to do most of their holiday shopping in stores rather than online this year, and those who do plan to turn to the Web say that convenience will be the keyreason, according to two new reports released this week. In a survey released Tuesday, consulting firm Accenture reported that 83 percent of its respondents said brick-and-mortar...

To build trust and gain customer loyalty, online merchants and marketersneed to let Web shoppers feel in control of the buying process, as well ofthe ways that personal information about them may be used, according to areport published Thursday by McKinsey &Co Just 4 percent of Internet users routinely register at Web sites, and thosewho make it a ...

The holiday shopping season is off to a fast start at America Online (NYSE: AOL), the company said Wednesday, raising hopes for a late-year revenue boost for Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) and other e-tailers as well AOL members spent US$2.7 billion online in October, up 80 percent from last year, the No. 1 Internet service provider said. AOL director o...

Popular search engine Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) will trade high-profile positioning for dollars under a new agreement with Overture Services -- formerly known as GoTo.com Beginning Thursday on Yahoo's main search page, Internet users will see both the company's own keyword matches, compiled by Yahoo! staffers, and the top five paid listings from Overtu...

Embattled e-marketer DoubleClick (Nasdaq: DCLK) is giving up ownership of its European media operations, and teaming with a German partner to run them as it shoots for profitability next year DoubleClick said Tuesday it will sell its European media business to Germany's AdLink Internet Media for 30.5 million euros (approximately US$27 million), whi...

Online banking and brokerage company E*Trade (NYSE: ET) is bringing its services to the largest market in Europe, with the launch Thursday of an online investing site aimed at German consumers A July study by Jupiter Media Metrix singled out Germany as the place to be for Internet-based financial companies, saying Web sites offering online stock pu...

With all the attention that EBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) has devoted to building fixed-price sales on its site, one might jump to the conclusion that the Internet auction giant has dramatically changed its mission The fact is, EBay remains first and foremost an auctioneer, according to analysts and company executives. However, the fixed-price push is helpin...

E-commerce will grow "whether the economic recovery is around the corner or a couple years off," according to a study released Wednesday by Forrester Research (Nasdaq: FORR) Forrester, which surveyed approximately 9,000 online shoppers for the study, said that e-commerce will continue to thrive because most Web buyers are in high-income jobs not af...

Contrary to speculation immediately following the September 11th terrorist attacks, fear of further violence is not keeping American shoppers out of stores, according to a survey released Monday by Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive and Nielsen//NetRatings That spells more bad news for e-tailers, who already have to contend with a general slump in c...

Name-your-price e-tailer Priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN) reported third-quarter results Thursday that came in just above expectations, which had been lowered to reflect a falloff in travel after the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States The Norwalk, Connecticut-based online travel company also predicted it will break even, before charg...

Name-your-price e-tailer Priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN) reported third-quarter results Thursday that came in just above expectations, which had been lowered to reflect a falloff in travel after the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States The Norwalk, Connecticut-based online travel company also predicted it will break even, before charg...

Name-your-price e-tailer Priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN) reported third-quarter results Thursday that came in just above expectations, which had been lowered to reflect a falloff in travel after the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States The Norwalk, Connecticut-based online travel company also predicted it will break even, before charg...

Discount online travel company Hotwire said Wednesday that sales and daily transactions have returned to the levels seen before the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States Almost 1 million new users have registered with the year-old site since September 11th, "demonstrating the company's continued growth despite turbulent times," Hotw...

Consumers who shop on the Net prefer e-tailers that make buyingonline convenient over those that offer low prices, according to a surveyreleased Wednesday by Internet research firm Gartner (NYSE: IT). The survey, conducted by Gartner's G2 division, found that 81 percent ofonline shoppers said they valued convenience while just 33 percent saidprice...

Auction powerhouse EBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) on Monday repeated its goal, set one year ago, of reaching US$3 billion in revenue by 2005, saying growth in all its businesses remains strong However, the company disappointed some analysts and investors by predicting that 2002 revenue will total $1.05 billion to $1.1 billion. That figure would result in pro ...

Homestore.com (Nasdaq: HOMS), the No. 1 online real-estate company, said Thursday it will cut as many as 700 jobs, or about 20 percent of its workforce, as it trims costs and reorganizes its operations The Westlake Village, California-based e-business, which works with the National Association of Realtors to provide home listings and other real-est...

Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) said Wednesday it will no longer pay commissions on travel booked over the Internet, sending shares of online travel companies lower amid speculation that other airlines will follow suit At Prudential Securities, analyst Mark Rowen on Wednesday downgraded Expedia (Nasdaq: EXPE) and Travelocity (Nasdaq: TVLY), citing...