Business

For the first time in eight months, the dot-com layoff trend appears to be slowing, falling 9 percent in February, according to a report released Tuesday by the job placement firm of Challenger, Gray and Christmas. Over the past three months, nearly 35,000 Internet workers have been let go -- 12 ...

Amazon.com stepped into the online music download arena Wednesday, launching a music community that will allow users to transfer songs for free and make voluntary micropayments to artists or charities via a "Virtual Tip Jar." The move gives Amazon an opportunity to test-drive its micropayment ...

Beleaguered e-tailer Buy.com announced Wednesday that it is eliminating approximately 125 positions -- more than half of its 230-person staff -- in a bid to conserve cash. The Aliso Viejo, California-based company said the job cuts, and a plan to significantly reduce expenses related to "certain...

Long-struggling Internet retailer eToys announced Monday that it will file for protection under U.S. bankruptcy law within the next five to 10 days. The Los Angeles, California-based company said it concluded that "under any scenario," its outstanding liabilities of approximately US$274 million ...

According to published reports, Internet service provider Microsoft Network is considering charging users access fees for select content provided via its UK Web portal within the next year. The plan is yet another signal that portal access fees on sites such as MSN and Yahoo! are just around th...

Sabre Holding Corporation rolled out a point-of-sale Web portal for travel agencies Tuesday that integrates Sabre's database of travel services with Internet content. The new product, eVoya Webtop, will make it easier for traditional travel agents who use the Sabre reservation system to "compete...

America Online said Tuesday that it has inked a partnership deal with Loudcloud, the company co-founded by Netscape co-creator Marc Andreessen, aimed at providing e-commerce services to merchants. Under the agreement, Loudcloud will host and manage AOL's range of merchant services, including ...

Layoffs. Consolidations. Tumbling stock prices. When will the madness end? According to industry analysts, the dot-com shakeout is going to get much worse before it gets better -- and it won't be getting better anytime soon. More shutdowns and layoffs lie in wait for the online world. "If you lo...

With Canadian e-commerce players looking at an "enormous" expansion in online activity over the next five years, those that do not outsource their Internet technology needs are likely to run into a host of technological stumbling blocks, according to a study released Monday by Forrester Research....

Despite the ongoing dot-com shakeout, Web merchants who follow a five-part plan to satisfy customers have a chance to succeed and reach profitability, according to a report released Monday by the Boston Consulting Group. The report, "Winning the Online Consumer 2.0: Converting Traffic into Prof...

Oasis, a consortium including IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems, announced Thursday that it will start to integrate a competing e-commerce standard being developed by Microsoft. The consortium, which is working under the auspices of the United Nations to develop a standard for e-business...

Internet auctioneer eBay will be looking for more than the usual exposure when it combines with its real world auction arm, Butterfields, to auction a series of five nude Marilyn Monroe photographs online in March. Gartner Group analyst Robert Labatt told the E-Commerce Times that the Monroe auc...

After a week of being dogged in the press over its declining number of auction listings, Yahoo! released numbers Thursday indicating that remaining users now have a better chance of selling their merchandise. Yahoo! Auctions senior producer Brian Fitzgerald told the E-Commerce Times that in the ...

Despite the shakeout that has led to the closure of Web sites selling furniture, garden supplies and pet food, there's another e-tail sector that is on fire: Web-based tobacco sales. The online merchants are apparently thriving, but the budding industry faces more than one legal hurdle. Not on...

In its fourth-quarter earnings report issued Thursday, Stamps.com said it is sticking to earlier projections that it will be operating in the black in the first quarter of 2002. "The initiatives we've put in place in the fourth quarter of 2000 and the first quarter of 2001 have put us in an even st...