Business

Lawyers have kicked off the trial between Hewlett-Packard and dissident scion Walter Hewlett in Delaware Chancery Court, trading fire over whether HP misled shareholders in an attempt to convince them to approve its mega-merger with Compaq. Among the evidence was a personal journal entry by Compa...

Expedia has served up the most solid proof to date that online travel has almost completely recovered from September 11th, beating expectations and registering a profit of $5.7 million in the first quarter on revenue that doubled to $116 million from a year ago. The company's profit compares with...

Amazon.com has announced the expansion of its year-old partnership with Borders Group, in which Amazon operates the Borders.com Web site. Now, customers who buy certain books, music and movies through the e-tailer will be able to pick up their purchases in Borders stores nationwide. The deal, sla...

In advance of its scheduled first-quarter earnings report, AOL has named Robert Sherman as its new president of interactive marketing, replacing Robert Friedman, who was brought in to lead AOL's marketing efforts in August 2001. Investors took the appointment as yet another sign of trouble. "Base...

PC maker Gateway has introduced a sleek new design for some of its desktop and notebook computers. Gone are the ivory-colored desktop shells and the flat black finish that characterized the company's notebook line. In their stead is a new platinum case with graphite accents. "Particularly in the ...

Contrary to what Microsoft's .NET spin doctors would have users believe, the software powerhouse is not likely to dominate e-commerce the way it now rules the desktop. ".NET will not radically change Microsoft's position within e-commerce," Giga Information Group analyst Andrew Bartels told the E...

Although Amazon.com has denied it will post back-to-back profitable quarters, analysts, investors and other e-tailers will be watching closely for signs of growth when the company reports first-quarter earnings. Moreover, they will want to determine the impact of the e-tailer's free shipping offe...

In most cases, small e-tailers and other e-businesses must climb big mountains to reach their goals. For example, the increasingly cluttered Internet sales channel demands that sellers provide unique and aptly delivered products and services. "If small companies are 'me toos' to the big players, ...

TMP Worldwide, the parent company of job site Monster.com, has paid $800,000 for rights to acquire the Jobs.com domain name and trademark from a defunct competitor. TMP said the bankruptcy court purchase will give its family of job search sites an immediate traffic boost. Jobs.com is now an umbre...

As expected, eBay met estimates in what is turning out to be a mostly positive earnings season. The company reported a first-quarter profit of $47.6 million, more than double the $21.1 million it booked in the year-ago period. Revenue swelled 59 percent, from $154.1 million a year ago to $245.1 m...

As the fourth quarter unfolds each year, e-commerce is measured and evaluated so closely that it seems as if each purchase is reported the instant it is made. Judging how well e-commerce is faring during the rest of the year is more challenging, but the second quarter contains some important holi...

Online shoppers' thoughts are turning to spring and summer vacation plans, and they are using the Web to turn those thoughts into reality. According to Internet measurement firm Nielsen//NetRatings, traffic to travel Web sites grew 12 percent to 51.2 million visitors in March, up from 45.9 millio...

Against a backdrop of solid earnings news from some bellwether tech companies, e-commerce software maker Commerce One reported sharply lower sales for the first quarter and said it will slash its workforce by another 30 percent. "Enterprises are more interested in applications that help them cut ...

March was not a big month for e-commerce, according to Internet research firm Jupiter Media Metrix. For the most part, Web users put away their wallets and flocked to sites about religion and entertainment, though travel sites also gained ground. Easter and Passover observances during the month d...

The merger of Hewlett-Packard and Compaq hit another potential snag as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and federal prosecutors in New York decided to take a closer look at HP's dealings with at least two large investors whose votes were key to merger approval. But an HP spokespe...