Business

Bidding to stoke sales in some of the biggest ticket items on its sprawling auction site, eBay has announced a deal to extend direct financing to buyers of automobiles on eBay Motors through Web-based firm E-Loan. Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed, and for the time being, the pac...

Amazon.com is giving Web developers free access to data and technology to help them build applications for the online retailer's customers and sellers on its six global Web sites, the company said today. Andy Jassy, Amazon vice president of Web Services, said: "Some developers already have applicati...

Multi-channel retailers were leaders in e-commerce growth in the latest holiday season, but a new study reveals significant opportunity gaps remain for these merchants. The first Evolution of the Multi-Channel Consumer (EMC2) study released yesterday was conducted by Inc., the e-tailing group, Fry a...

After years of sluggish deal-making, early stage venture capital investing appears to have made a comeback in the U.S., with about a third of dollars flowing into seed funding and series A rounds in 2004, according to a report released today by Ernst & Young LLP and VentureOne. The report says U...

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Michael Powell, who oversaw numerous controversial decisions, many of which were aimed at freeing e-commerce and telecommunication firms from regulation, is reportedly resigning his post. The FCC had no official comment, but widespread reports indicat...

Microsoft continues to lose browser market share to open-source competitors, according to market researcher WebSideStory. Firefox, Opera and Apple's Mac-only Safari are vying for second place in a space that Microsoft's Internet Explorer still dominates. IE's market share dropped 1.5 percent to 90.3

You probably remember what happened to the tech bubble when it burst in 2000. It was quite a disaster. How could a sector that showed so much promise become so decimated? Exactly what went wrong? And, why does the future now look promising for this once devastated sector? In a previous article, I ta...

Normally a Wall Street darling, eBay finds itself in the rare position of disappointing analysts and investors with its fourth quarter earnings report and its forecast for 2005 -- and this at the same time it faces a rare competitive threat. Investors responded by sending eBay shares lower by more t...

For a technology company, intellectual capital is one of the most important, if not the most important asset. Intellectual capital is more than intellectual property as it is commonly understood in that it also includes a company's trade secrets, know-how, problem-solving methods, customer informati...

In a brewing battle of online auctioneers, discount e-tailer Overstock.com is taking full advantage of eBay's new, higher pricing. Just days after eBay announced a 60 percent price increase that enraged its Store subscribers, Overstock has reduced its listing fees 52 percent. Analysts said eBay coul...

Two new reports say 2004 was a very good year for personal computer sales as demand for mobile machines drove double-digit growth worldwide. The reports, from competing research firms IDC and Gartner, also said the year was especially good for Dell, which continued to rein atop the PC sales charts a...

IBM posted fourth quarter results that beat Wall Street forecasts for sales and profits, with all of its divisions turning in strong performances. IBM said profit climbed 12 percent to US$3.1 billion, or $1.81 per share, with income boosted by currency exchange rates. Though revenue was up 7 percent...

In a hookup that could be a glimpse at a future Web experience that includes as much streaming video as static content, Yahoo and Verizon said they have struck a deal to offer co-branded high-speed Internet service. Yahoo will join Microsoft's MSN as a Verizon partner and users of the telecommunicat...

E-mail is like having a brilliant friend who is somewhat crazy, not well socialized, and occasionally self-destructive. They can help you. However, they can also get you into big trouble. While we might not have the capability to moderate the behavior of a crazy friend, it is well within our capabil...

Intel announced today it is reorganizing its business worldwide, saying it wants to align its internal structure with product platforms while also streamlining operations. Santa Clara, California-based Intel said it has formed five separate product groups, including two aimed at emerging opportunit...