Apple leads broader tech sell-off
BloggingStocks — ... all plunged today: from software: Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) - down about 2.5% 8.7%, Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) - down nearly 3% 9%, to internet stocks: Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) - down over 7.3% 11.6% setting a 52-week low below $400 a share, Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) - down 10.7%%, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) - down 5% 10.4% and setting new 52-week low, eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) - down about 5.7% 11.6% and in danger ...

Analyst calls: UBS, BP, TOT, DISH, EBAY, JNPR, HBC, HBAN ...
BloggingStocks — ... SOV) to Market Perform from Underperform as they believe the company's deposits are showing stability despite the massive sell-off. Kaufman Bros. raised Longtop Financial (NYSE: LFT) to Buy from Hold on valuation as they believe Chinese software service stocks now reflect the investment risks. Lear (NYSE: LEA) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Citigroup. Analyst downgrades: Morgan Stanley downgraded eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) to Equal Weight from Overweight citing checks that indicate ...

Analyst calls: UBS, BP, TOT, DISH, EBAY, JNPR, HBC, HBAN ...
BloggingStocks — ... SOV) to Market Perform from Underperform as they believe the company's deposits are showing stability despite the massive sell-off. Kaufman Bros. raised Longtop Financial (NYSE: LFT) to Buy from Hold on valuation as they believe Chinese software service stocks now reflect the investment risks. Lear (NYSE: LEA) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Citigroup. Analyst downgrades: Morgan Stanley downgraded eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) to Equal Weight from Overweight citing checks that indicate ...

Grandstanding: McCain mentions Buffett as pick for treasury secretary
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), PoliticsIn an interview with Reuters, Senator John McCain mentioned Warren Buffett and former eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) CEO Meg Whitman as possible choices to succeed Hank Paulson as Treasury secretary: "I think it would be someone that Americans would recognize that would inspire trust and confidence. There's people like (Cisco chief executive) John Chambers, there's people like Meg Whitman, there's people like Warren Buffett." That certainly would be interesting as, in addition to being the greatest ...

Grandstanding: McCain mentions Buffett as pick for treasury secretary
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), PoliticsIn an interview with Reuters, Senator John McCain mentioned Warren Buffett and former eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) CEO Meg Whitman as possible choices to succeed Hank Paulson as Treasury secretary: "I think it would be someone that Americans would recognize that would inspire trust and confidence. There's people like (Cisco chief executive) John Chambers, there's people like Meg Whitman, there's people like Warren Buffett." That certainly would be interesting as, in addition to being the greatest ...

eBay tries again . . . with a big acquisition
BloggingStocks — Filed under: eBay (EBAY) According to a report from the 451 Group, the third quarter was horrible for tech M&A. With the financial crisis, it's tough to get buyers interested in deals. But, today we got some relief; that is, eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) agreed to shell out $820 million in cash for Bill Me Later. In fact, the company also paid $390 million for bilbasen.dk, which is a leading classifieds operator in Denmark. At the same time, eBay plans to slash 10% of the workforce (amounting to about 1,000 ...

Flash: Dow drops below 10,000 for the first time since 2004
BloggingStocks — ... ) -- down over 5% -- both companies expected to have difficulties either accessing funds or suffer from the global economic slowdown, or both. News of eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) -- down 5.5% -- laying off over 1,000 employees didn't help, only served as a reminder of the bad employment numbers from Friday and the expected worsening conditions in the jobs market. ...

eBay tries again . . . with a big acquisition
BloggingStocks — Filed under: eBay (EBAY) According to a report from the 451 Group, the third quarter was horrible for tech M&A. With the financial crisis, it's tough to get buyers interested in deals. But, today we got some relief; that is, eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) agreed to shell out $820 million in cash for Bill Me Later. In fact, the company also paid $390 million for bilbasen.dk, which is a leading classifieds operator in Denmark. At the same time, eBay plans to slash 10% of the workforce (amounting to about 1,000 ...

Flash: Dow drops below 10,000 for the first time since 2004
BloggingStocks — ... ) -- down over 5% -- both companies expected to have difficulties either accessing funds or suffer from the global economic slowdown, or both. News of eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) -- down 5.5% -- laying off over 1,000 employees didn't help, only served as a reminder of the bad employment numbers from Friday and the expected worsening conditions in the jobs market. ...

Obama, McCain both want Warren Buffett as Treasury Secretary
BloggingStocks — ... at this point in his life? Besides, he may not be the type of government official investors would like. Much to the horror of political conservatives, the Oracle of Omaha is backing Obama. He has come out against such bedrock Republican principles as abolishing the so-called death tax on inherited wealth. The financial disclosure requirements alone probably are enough to scare Buffett away from government service. To counter Obama's Buffett card, McCain said that former eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) CEO Meg Whitman might be the right person for the job. I guess no one ...

Obama, McCain both want Warren Buffett as Treasury Secretary
BloggingStocks — ... at this point in his life? Besides, he may not be the type of government official investors would like. Much to the horror of political conservatives, the Oracle of Omaha is backing Obama. He has come out against such bedrock Republican principles as abolishing the so-called death tax on inherited wealth. The financial disclosure requirements alone probably are enough to scare Buffett away from government service. To counter Obama's Buffett card, McCain said that former eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) CEO Meg Whitman might be the right person for the job. I guess no one ...

Earnings highlights: GE, IBM, Bank of America, Alcoa, Yum! Brands and others
BloggingStocks — ... fell more than estimated, and it cut its dividend. Brunswick Corp. (NYSE: BC) forecast a full-year loss and accelerated layoffs. Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) Q4 earnings just missed estimates thought revenues were up. Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) earnings results and growth prospects impressed one analyst. eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) earnings may be diluted by its ...

Earnings highlights: GE, IBM, Bank of America, Alcoa, Yum! Brands and others
BloggingStocks — ... fell more than estimated, and it cut its dividend. Brunswick Corp. (NYSE: BC) forecast a full-year loss and accelerated layoffs. Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) Q4 earnings just missed estimates thought revenues were up. Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) earnings results and growth prospects impressed one analyst. eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) earnings may be diluted by its ...

The week in preview: Mulling over techs, financials
BloggingStocks — ... $0.34 per share (+11.8%) on revenues of $645.9 million (+26.7%) Linear Technology Corp. (NASDAQ: LLTC): $0.45 per share (+11.1%) on revenues of $310.4 million (+10.3%) Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC): $0.34 per share (+8.8%) on revenues of $10.3 billion (+1.7%) United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX): $1.32 per share (+8.3%) on revenues of $15.1 billion (+9.0%) eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY): $0.41 per share (same as a year ago) on revenues of $2.1 ...

Earnings preview: eBay all the way?
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Internet, Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO), eBay (EBAY), Amazon.com (AMZN), Technology Famed online auction platform eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), whose Internet colleagues include Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), will be reporting earnings for the third quarter on Wednesday after the market closes up shop. What should shareholders expect from the company? Well, according to data posted by Trey Thoelcke, shareholders ...

Earnings preview: eBay all the way?
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Internet, Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO), eBay (EBAY), Amazon.com (AMZN), Technology Famed online auction platform eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), whose Internet colleagues include Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), will be reporting earnings for the third quarter on Wednesday after the market closes up shop. What should shareholders expect from the company? Well, according to data posted by Trey Thoelcke, shareholders ...

Before the Bell: Stock market poised to open lower on falling retail sales
BloggingStocks — ... stock market may open lower today amid growing worries about retail sales slowing following the release of figures from the U.S. Commerce Department that may heighten worries about consumer spending for the holiday season. Investors also will be keeping a close eye on earnings from two banks that have recently gobbled up smaller rivals hurt by the financial crisis JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC). eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) also reports results. Here is a look at other news that may ...

EBay Beats, Reverses Year-Ago Loss
AOL News — ... Online auction site eBay reports a third-quarter profit that beat analyst forecasts, reversing a year-ago loss that stemmed from charges to its Skype telecommunications unit. But shares continue to slide in after-hours trading after plunging nearly 15 percent today. Quote: EBAY ...

EBay Shares Slide on Weak Outlook
AOL News — ... Online auction site eBay reports a better-than-expected third-quarter profit, reversing a year-ago loss that stemmed from charges to its Skype telecommunications unit. But shares continue to slide in after-hours trading, after plunging nearly 15 percent today, as the company cuts its full-year financial targets. Quote: EBAY ...

After earnings report, I'm not buying eBay
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Earnings reports, Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO), eBay (EBAY), Amazon.com (AMZN) eBay, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY), which competes with Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Yahoo!, Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO), and Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), reported earnings for the third quarter on Wednesday. Net revenue increased 12% to $2.1 billion. Earnings on an adjusted basis were $0.46 per diluted share versus $0.41 per diluted share in the similar quarter one year ago. That was good for an 11% ...

I'm not giving up on eBay, yet
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Products and services, Internet, Competitive strategy, eBay (EBAY)Let me declare right from the start, that I currently hold no position in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY). However, if I did have the money to invest, I'd be buying into eBay right now as it goes down. I see eBay shares as a serious bargain right now. I was already thinking that when it 's share price hit $16. I know that I'm going against the grain again, but heck, that's what works best for me. The company is making moves to keep its books churning ...

Earnings highlights: Google, JPMorgan, Coca-Cola, eBay, Intel and others
BloggingStocks — ... Q3 loss but ordered 42 new planes. Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) reported its fourth straight quarterly loss on another write-down. Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) posted better-than-expected Q3 results on growth overseas. CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) reported strong Q3 results on lower fuel prices and cost controls. eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) topped Q3 expectations but lowered its full-year ...

Google this: CEO Eric Schmidt wants to join the Obama cabinet
BloggingStocks — ... would gather dust almost as soon as they were published. Schmidt's endorsement is hardly a shock. The Google co-founders are liberal in their politics. As the Journal noted, Google employees gave $487,355 to Obama's campaign compared with $20,600 to Republican John McCain as of Aug 31. Google is in much better shape politically than Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) whose CEO John Chambers is a big supporter of John McCain. Two other tech has-beens Meg Whitman of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) and Carly Fiorina of Hewlett-Packard Co. (NASDAQ: ...

Amazon: Where do the company and stock go from here?
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Earnings reports, Internet, Yahoo! (YHOO), Apple Inc (AAPL), eBay (EBAY), Time Warner (TWX), Wal-Mart (WMT), Amazon.com (AMZN), Target Corp. (TGT) Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), which competes with the e-commerce segments of companies such as Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) AOL, and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), closed on Wednesday at $49.99. After hours, it plunged to $42.98, a drop of 14%, following its ...

'How to Buy and Sell on eBay' hits CNBC -- another recession sign?
BloggingStocks — Filed under: eBay (EBAY), RecessionVideo Professor has been running commercials during the trading day on CNBC: I saw one at 9:44 a.m. EDT. The ads offer a program called How to Buy and Sell on eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY). I'm told that these commercials have been on the air for awhile but they seem especially well-placed and relevant now. A year ago, the average viewer on CNBC (according to CNBC) was worth $2.7 million. Now that number is probably closer to 27 cents and hawking castoffs on eBay probably has a whole new appeal. Perhaps ...

Serious Money: eBay should auction off Skype
BloggingStocks — ... Cisco Systems (CSCO), eBay (EBAY), AT and T (T), Sprint Nextel Corp (S), Clear Channel Commun (CCU), Comcast Cl'A' (CMCSA), Verizon Communications (VZ), Time Warner Cable (TWC), Serious Money This is the first in a four part series which I hope gives buyers, sellers, shareholders and dare I say management a platform for discussion. Over the years I have written numerous stories about eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), which I think has evolved from a must own stock of the new ...

Serious Money: eBay should auction off Skype
BloggingStocks — ... Cisco Systems (CSCO), eBay (EBAY), AT and T (T), Sprint Nextel Corp (S), Clear Channel Commun (CCU), Comcast Cl'A' (CMCSA), Verizon Communications (VZ), Time Warner Cable (TWC), Serious Money This is the first in a four part series which I hope gives buyers, sellers, shareholders and dare I say management a platform for discussion. Over the years I have written numerous stories about eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), which I think has evolved from a must own stock of the new ...

Serious Money: eBay should auction off eBay Motors
BloggingStocks — ... issues, Rants and raves, eBay (EBAY), Amazon.com (AMZN), Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), AutoNation Inc (AN), AutoZone Inc (AZO), Autobytel Inc (ABTL), Serious MoneyThis is the second in a four part series which I hope gives buyers, sellers, shareholders and dare I say, management, a platform for discussion. Now that I have unloaded Skype from eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) in Tuesday's post (Serious Money: eBay should auction off ...

Serious Money: eBay should auction off eBay Motors
BloggingStocks — ... issues, Rants and raves, eBay (EBAY), Amazon.com (AMZN), Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), AutoNation Inc (AN), AutoZone Inc (AZO), Autobytel Inc (ABTL), Serious MoneyThis is the second in a four part series which I hope gives buyers, sellers, shareholders and dare I say, management, a platform for discussion. Now that I have unloaded Skype from eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) in Tuesday's post, Serious Money: eBay sell-out, Skype to ...

Serious Money: eBay auction off PayPal -- create bidding war
BloggingStocks — ... American Express (AXP), Bank of America (BAC), Merrill Lynch (MER), MasterCard Inc'A' (MA), Countrywide Financial (CFC), Goldman Sachs Group (GS), Wachovia Corp (WB), Washington Mutual (WM), Wells Fargo (WFC), Serious Money This is the third in a four part series which I hope gives buyers, sellers, shareholders and dare I say management a platform for discussion. The most valuable asset eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) has is PayPal, the dominant internet ...

Serious Money: eBay auction off eBay
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Rants and raves, Competitive strategy, Cisco Systems (CSCO), eBay (EBAY), Amazon.com (AMZN), AutoNation Inc (AN), Serious Money, Technology This is the fourth in a four part series which I hope gives buyers, sellers, shareholders and dare I say management a platform for discussion. This week I envisioned an eBay (NASADQ: EBAY) without Skype, eBay Motors and Paypal. Everything goes to the highest bidder, excluding handling and delivery of course. While ...

eBay not so popular these days?
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Internet, Yahoo! (YHOO), eBay (EBAY), Amazon.com (AMZN) I saw some interesting Nielsen data posted at Silicon Alley Insider the other day about traffic levels at eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY). They seem to be on the decline. I don't want to spend time repeating a bunch of the numbers here, but suffice to say that trends in unique visitors and page views on a year-over-year basis have not been favorable to the online-auction entity. One quick example would be the 33% drop for the page-view category seen in October. ...

eBay not so popular these days?
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Internet, Yahoo! (YHOO), eBay (EBAY), Amazon.com (AMZN) I saw some interesting Nielsen data posted at Silicon Alley Insider the other day about traffic levels at eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY). They seem to be on the decline. I don't want to spend time repeating a bunch of the numbers here, but suffice to say that trends in unique visitors and page views on a year-over-year basis have not been favorable to the online-auction entity. One quick example would be the 33% drop for the page-view category seen in October. ...

Stocks in the news: GM, F, BAC, MER, EBAY, AAPL, YHOO, DHI, KBH ...
BloggingStocks — ... with automarkers, Deutsche Bank analyst Rod Lache said the scales are tipping in favor of a federal bailout from GM and Ford, MarketWatch said. Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) -- The Federal Reserve Board officially approved BAC.'s acquisition of Merril Lynch (NYSE: MER) on Wednesday in a $50 billion deal first announced in September. eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) was downgraded at Argus from Buy to Hold. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: ...

Will Amazon win with its pricing strategy?
BloggingStocks — ... (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Blue Nile (NASDAQ: NILE) are going to wait that long. They're in the game now. And they want your attention. More importantly, they want you to use the virtual shopping carts at their respective sites early and often. It's really crucial this year, because the economy stinks, and growth in spending isn't going to be great. According to CNBC, Amazon's strategy is to use very low prices as a way of stopping competitors like eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) dead in their electronic tracks. This Christmas season, retailers, ...

Cheap Stocks: Amazon.com
BloggingStocks — ... Amazon.com has expanded more than its product line, though. The Kindle's launch -- ill-timed though it may have been, in this age of the airtight consumer budget -- reveals a forward-thinking eagerness to stay relevant in an increasingly digital society. Plus, while eBay (NASDAQ: ...

Not such a Merry Christmas at eBay (EBAY)
BloggingStocks — ... While this is a week when many of us are celebrating and enjoying some much needed time with friends and family, things are not looking so cheerful over at eBay (NASDAQ: ...

Holiday shoppers spent 3% less online in 2008
BloggingStocks — ... with $26.3 billion in the same period last year, another clear signal that people are cutting their spending because they are worried about the economy. A bright spot in the report did show that Cyber Monday, the Monday immediately following Black Friday, was the second biggest day ever for online spending, with an increase of 15% in sales from last year, to $846 million in sales. Let's take a look at traffic for some of the big players: eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) : Holiday traffic for the popular e-commerce site was still the largest for ...

Madoff memorabilia is a hit on eBay
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Law, eBay (EBAY), Scandals A search for Madoff on eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) yields 85 listings. There's a Bernard L. Madoff Canvas Attache + Madoff Post-it Pad that went for $50. You can also get a Bernard L. Madoff Securities Mousepad -- the bid is already up to $76. According to The New York Post, "Other items include humidors, binoculars, beach towels, coolers, mousepads, shirts and jackets. The most expensive doodads so far include a Madoff flashlight that sold for $387 and a fleece ...

Will Meg Whitman do to California what she did to eBay?
BloggingStocks — Filed under: From the boards, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), eBay (EBAY), Marketing and advertising, Procter and Gamble (PG), PoliticsFormer eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) Chief Executive Meg Whitman reportedly is quitting the board of the online auctioneer along with Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG), and Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc. (NYSE: DWA) to run for governor of California. The news -- first reported by the Wall Street Journal -- should not warm the hearts of Californians. Under ...

Stocks in the news: YHOO, DB, MS, C, BG, HBC, PFE, ORCL, SI ...
BloggingStocks — ... ) with a Buy and a $65 target price and eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) with a Sell and a $10 target. EBAY shares were down 3% in premarket trading. ...

Earnings highlights: Citigroup, Intel, JPMorgan, Alcoa, Apple and others
BloggingStocks — ... Upcoming earnings releases include IBM (NYSE: IBM), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Abbott Labs (NYSE: ABT), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Burlington Northern (NYSE: BNI), Coach (NYSE: COH), US Bancorp (NYSE: USB), UAL Corp. (NASDAQ: UAUA), Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), Capital One (NYSE: COF), Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), Microsoft ...

The week in preview: Financials, techs lead off earnings crunch
BloggingStocks — ... for health reasons. Shares have fallen 49.3% in the past year. Other expected significant earnings decliners include eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: ...

Sales of used goods increase
BloggingStocks — ... Welcome to the "used" economy. By many measures, a new car losses 30% of its value the minute it drives off the lot. Most watches are marked up 40% when they are sold new. That premium disappears once it goes onto a buyer's wrist. If that seems hard to believe, go to the watch section on Ebay (NASDAQ: ...

Sales of used goods increase
BloggingStocks — ... Welcome to the "used" economy. By many measures, a new car losses 30% of its value the minute it drives off the lot. Most watches are marked up 40% when they are sold new. That premium disappears once it goes onto a buyer's wrist. If that seems hard to believe, go to the watch section on Ebay (NASDAQ: ...

Before the call: eBay expected to report lower Q4 earnings
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, eBay (EBAY) eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is scheduled to release fourth-quarter 2008 results today at 5:00 PM Eastern. To listen in to the webcast of the conference call, visit eBay's Q4 2008 Earnings Call (registration required), or sign up for eBay's E-mail Notification to receive the results. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect eBay to report that its profit for the quarter fell 13.3% from a year ago to $0.39 per share. Revenue for the quarter is expected to total $2.1 ...

Before the call: eBay expected to report lower Q4 earnings
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, eBay (EBAY) eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is scheduled to release fourth-quarter 2008 results today at 5:00 PM Eastern. To listen in to the webcast of the conference call, visit eBay's Q4 2008 Earnings Call (registration required), or sign up for eBay's E-mail Notification to receive the results. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect eBay to report that its profit for the quarter fell 13.3% from a year ago to $0.39 per share. Revenue for the quarter is expected to total $2.1 ...

EBay Profit Plunges 31 Percent
AOL News — ... Online auctioneer eBay shows signs that it is being hurt by the recession as it reports a fourth-quarter profit drop of 31 percent. Quote: EBAY ...

eBay beats estimates: Buy or Sell?
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Earnings reports, Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO), eBay (EBAY), Amazon.com (AMZN), Stocks to Sell eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), an online site for auctions and sellers whose colleagues include Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), reported Q4 and full-year earnings on Wednesday after the bell. Net sales decreased 7% to $2 billion for the quarter, and adjusted income dropped 9% to $0.41 per diluted share. The bottom line actually beat ...

Before the Bell: Stocks headed for a lower opening
BloggingStocks — ... financial institutions will hit $3.6 billion. Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) may jump after the maker of the iPod and iPhone reported better-than-expected quarterly results yesterday. Investors had been spooked by concerns about Chief Executive Steve Jobs' health and weakening consumer spending. The enthusiasm for the company may be tempered by an SEC investigation into how the company disclosed information about Jobs' health. Conversely, eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) posted disappointing results. Growth in the company's ...

eBay beats estimates: Buy or Sell?
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Earnings reports, Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO), eBay (EBAY), Amazon.com (AMZN), Stocks to Sell eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), an online site for auctions and sellers whose colleagues include Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), reported Q4 and full-year earnings on Wednesday after the bell. Net sales decreased 7% to $2 billion for the quarter, and adjusted income dropped 9% to $0.41 per diluted share. The bottom line actually beat ...

Before the Bell: Stocks headed for a lower opening
BloggingStocks — ... financial institutions will hit $3.6 billion. Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) may jump after the maker of the iPod and iPhone reported better-than-expected quarterly results yesterday. Investors had been spooked by concerns about Chief Executive Steve Jobs' health and weakening consumer spending. The enthusiasm for the company may be tempered by an SEC investigation into how the company disclosed information about Jobs' health. Conversely, eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) posted disappointing results. Growth in the company's ...

Closing Bell: Dow down over 100 points; MSFT, EBAY, STX, C down, AAPL, LUV up
BloggingStocks — ... eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) fell sharply and the losses held after the online auction giant posted a drop of 31% in earnings and its first time that it has seen a revenue decline. Shares were down a sharp 13% at $11.56 right before the close. ...

Closing Bell: Dow down over 100 points; MSFT, EBAY, STX, C down, AAPL, LUV up
BloggingStocks — ... eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) fell sharply and the losses held after the online auction giant posted a drop of 31% in earnings and its first time that it has seen a revenue decline. Shares were down a sharp 13% at $11.56 right before the close. ...

Earnings highlights: eBay, Google, IBM, Southwest, UAL, AMR, Northern Trust and others
BloggingStocks — ... earnings coverage from BloggingStocks: Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) reported dismal Q4 results due to lower demand. AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) reported a bigger-than-expected Q4 loss, sending shares lower. Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP) earnings prospects led to an upgrade. eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) posted Q4 and full-year results with ...

Earnings highlights: eBay, Google, IBM, Southwest, UAL, AMR, Northern Trust and others
BloggingStocks — ... earnings coverage from BloggingStocks: Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) reported dismal Q4 results due to lower demand. AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) reported a bigger-than-expected Q4 loss, sending shares lower. Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP) earnings prospects led to an upgrade. eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) posted Q4 and full-year results with ...

Amazon had a great Q4, but don't buy just yet
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Earnings reports, eBay (EBAY), Amazon.com (AMZN) Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), whose competitors include eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) and Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS), is up today after the online retailer released its Q4 numbers yesterday after the bell. And when I say "up", I mean amazingly up. The stock was in the green by well over 17% at the time of this writing. According to Stocks in the News, both revenue and net income beat Wall Street's view. Sales rose 18%, and net income came in ...

Amazon had a great Q4, but don't buy just yet
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Earnings reports, eBay (EBAY), Amazon.com (AMZN) Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), whose competitors include eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) and Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS), is up today after the online retailer released its Q4 numbers yesterday after the bell. And when I say "up", I mean amazingly up. The stock was in the green by well over 17% at the time of this writing. According to Stocks in the News, both revenue and net income beat Wall Street's view. Sales rose 18%, and net income came in ...

Growth Matters: StumbleUpon filters the web
BloggingStocks — ... In Growth Matters, I look at consumer technology companies that point the way to growth trends -- and in the process introduce services and products you may want to explore. With all the content on the Web, wouldn't it be nice if your friends could sort through it all and let you know which ones are worth viewing? That's the idea behind StumbleUpon, which its General Manager, Michael Buhr, described to me as follows, "StumbleUpon -- which eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) bought for $75 million in May 2007 -- is an internet ...

eBay (EBAY) shares hit a seven-year low
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Major movement, Bad news, eBay (EBAY), ScandalsShares of online auction giant eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) have dropped sharply today, pushing the stock down to lows not hit in seven years. The stock, which has dropped over 20% so far this year, is down 8% on the day to $10.54. One of the big reasons why the site has been struggling has been the lack of confidence among buyers stemming from rampart counterfeiting that has been taking place on the site. Continue reading eBay (EBAY) shares hit a seven-year ...

Skype Now Available on Apple iPhone
AOL News — ... Starting today, Apple iPhone users will be able to download a free application for Skype software to make phone calls. To avoid charges for most calls, you'll want to make sure you're in a Wi-Fi hot spot. DailyFinance has the story. Quotes: EBAY | ...

Skype founders look to make a deal with eBay
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Deals, eBay (EBAY) It's universally believed that eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) overpaid badly for its $3.1 billion acquisition of Skype, a revolutionary online phone company that, regardless of how cool it happens to be, doesn't generate a lot of income or fit with eBay's core business in any meaningful way. When Meg Whitman retired as CEO, John Donahoe replaced her and has said repeatedly that he is open to selling Skype. Continue reading Skype founders look to make a deal with eBay Skype founders look ...

eBay's spring cleaning
BloggingStocks — Filed under: eBay (EBAY) As for M&A, eBay's (NASDAQ: EBAY) strategy has been mostly helter-skelter. In some cases, the deals were brilliant, such as for PayPal. But in other cases, the transactions have been wacky. Well, it looks like eBay is cleaning up the M&A mess. And the first action-item: getting rid of StumbleUpon. In the overall scheme of things, the transaction wasn't very material -- coming to $75 million (two years ago). But the site - which allows for the recommendation of sites -- did have lots of ...

eBay announces spin-off for Skype
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Deals, eBay (EBAY), Initial public offerings eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) has been trying to figure out what to do about its failed acquisition of Skype and the company has finally come up with a solution -- sort of. In a press release, the company said that it plans to spin-off Skype sometime in the first half of 2010. "Skype is a great stand-alone business with strong fundamentals and accelerating momentum," CEO John Donahoe said. "But it's clear that Skype has limited synergies with eBay and PayPal. We believe ...

Entrepreneur's Journal: How using PayPal can boost revenues
BloggingStocks — Filed under: eBay (EBAY), Small business For some time, I've used PayPal, which is owned by eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY). For example, I recently paid a contractor in India using the service. It was extremely easy. Well, I had a chance to talk to the Small Biz folks at PayPal and found out that there is much more to the service. In fact, PayPal can be a great way to boost your business. Of course, PayPal makes it easy to leverage ecommerce. And the costs are competitive, with transaction fees ranging from 1.9 percent to 2.9 percent, ...

Amazon, eBay, other e-retailers may be forced to collect sales tax
BloggingStocks — Filed under: eBay (EBAY), Amazon.com (AMZN) Even though most states require their residents to pay sales tax on internet purchases, none have figured out how to enforce it, and companies such as Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) have benefited hugely by the public's perception of the 6-10% cost advantage they realize by not paying the tax. Not surprisingly, states suffering from tax shortfalls are screaming foul, and Washington is listening. According to the New York Post, a bill could be introduced ...

eBay (EBAY) first quarter earnings preview
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, Products and services, Management, Internet, Competitive strategy, eBay (EBAY), Technology, RecessionOnline auction giant eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) is going to be reporting its first quarter earnings today following the market close, and analysts are looking to see the company show 33 cents per share for the quarter. eBay has been working hard to weather the current economic storm, but has a lot of work ahead of it. Continue reading eBay ...

EBay Beats Estimates, Shares Climb
AOL News — ... Shares of online auctioneer eBay reports better-than-expected earnings, boosted by its payments unit PayPal. The news sends shares higher in after-hours trading. Quote: EBAY ...

eBay jumps following first quarter earnings
BloggingStocks — Filed under: After the bell, Major movement, Earnings reports, Good news, Products and services, Competitive strategy, eBay (EBAY), Technology, RecessionShares of the popular internet auction site eBay, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) are moving strongly higher today following its first quarter earnings numbers that came in well above analyst estimates. As we discussed in our earnings preview, we knew that it was going to be a tough quarter for the company, which had sales drop in the ...

Earnings highlights: Bank of America, Amazon, Coke, eBay, UPS, Yahoo!, IBM, and more
BloggingStocks — ... expectations. Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings, helped by home refinancing. Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) reported its first quarterly loss since 1992 and cut its revenue outlook. Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) posted Q1 earnings that were in line with expectations, but shares fell. eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings ...

eBay wins a round in L'Oreal legal battle
BloggingStocks — Filed under: eBay (EBAY)A French court said today that eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) cannot be held liable for the sale of counterfeit perfumes on its website. The court found that eBay had fulfilled its duty to make a reasonable effort to prevent sales of counterfeits, and could not be held responsible beyond that. In a press release, eBay said that "This is a clear legal victory for eBay and important victory for French consumers. We are delighted that eBay's meaningful efforts to fight counterfeits online have been recognized by the court, as has our ...

eBay: Almost an 'empty shoe box' play
BloggingStocks — ... This pronounced recession and market slump represent either the end of American capitalism as we know it, or the beginning of a new era for American capitalism, starting with the biggest fire-sale on stocks in decades. And with that in mind, eBay, Inc. (NASDAQ: ...

Skype IPO on the rocks?
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Law, eBay (EBAY), Initial public offerings So far this year, there are hopeful signs for the IPO market. Some of the standout offerings include Changyou (NASDAQ: CYOU) and Medidata (NASDAQ: MDSO). Now, investors are waiting for other deals. Facebook? Twitter? Or, how about Skype? In fact, the website's parent, eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), has indicated its intention to take it public. Continue reading Skype IPO on the rocks? Skype IPO on the rocks? ...

General Motors to partner with eBay on new car sales
BloggingStocks — Filed under: eBay (EBAY), General Motors (GM)General Motors is in talks with eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) to expand the pair's partnership to include new cars. The Associated Press reports that "GM CEO Fritz Henderson said the company is working on an "innovative new partnership" with eBay Inc. to let consumers in California bid on vehicles as they would in a normal eBay auction or choose a 'Buy it Now' option to purchase the car at a set price. Dealers would still distribute the cars." Nothing has been finalized yet, but there are a ...

EBay Narrowly Tops Earnings Estimates
AOL News — ... Online auctioneer eBay reports a drop in second-quarter earnings and revenue, but the results, excluding items, beat Wall Street expectations by a penny a share. Quote: EBAY ...

General Motors, eBay partnership kicks off on Tuesday
BloggingStocks — Filed under: eBay (EBAY), General Motors (GM)General Motors and eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) will kick off their car-selling partnership on Tuesday, according to gm.ebay.com, the website that will serve as the storefront for the program. Consumers will be able to browse cars offered by GM and either buy them at a fixed price or make an offer and haggle. They will also be able to research financing options and find out whether they qualify for the Cash For Clunkers program. The actual sales and servicing will be handled by individual GM ...

General Motors' deal with eBay leads to few sales
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Competitive strategy, eBay (EBAY), General Motors (GM) The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that "An effort to sell General Motors Co. cars through eBay Inc.'s (NASDAQ: EBAY) online market is generating some leads for participating auto dealers but hasn't yet sparked a spurt in sales, dealers said." In the program's first week, there were 2,400 offers that led to negotiations, but the companies declined to say how many of those actually culminated in sales -- which is never a good ...

Investor group prepares bid for Skype
BloggingBuyouts — Filed under: Deals, Rumors While eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) said earlier this year that it was planning to spin off Skype in an initial public offering in 2010, it is now being reported that eBay is looking for a buyer willing to pay $2 billion or more for the internet telephone service provider. Those interested in a buyout may include Andreesen Horowitz and Index Ventures, which were early investors in Skype before its eBay acquisition in 2005. A group of well-known venture capital and large private equity firms are pooling ...

eBay seeks a buyer for Skype
BloggingStocks — Filed under: eBay (EBAY), Private equity While eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) said earlier this year that it was planning to spin off Skype in an initial public offering in 2010, it is now being reported that eBay is looking for a buyer willing to pay $2 billion or more for the internet telephone service provider. Those interested in a buyout may include Andreesen Horowitz and Index Ventures, which were early investors in Skype before its eBay acquisition in 2005. A group of well-known venture capital and large private equity firms ...

Wal-Mart boosts online offerings in bid to boost sales
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Wal-Mart (WMT), Amazon.com (AMZN), Walt Disney (DIS)Shares of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) slipped slightly Monday despite news that the world's largest retailer has boosted its online offerings in a bid to compete with the likes of Amazon.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) and eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) for online sales. Shortly after markets closed in New York, Wal-Mart stock were off by 26 cents, or 0.5%, to $50.87 a share. The retailer's shares followed a market-wide ...

FedEx & UPS challenged by USPS flat rates
BloggingStocks — ... it's flat rate deliveries based on the the size of the box instead of the weight in an attempt to retrieve some of the business that it has lost to Federal Express Corp (NYSE: FDX) and United Parcel Service.(NYSE: UPS) over the years. The increasing use of the internet has reduced snail-mail traffic, hurting USPS revenue, while the internet has increased the traffic of package delivery services as sites like Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) and eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) continue to expand their businesses and new enterprises and existing ...

eBay may be selling Skype -- can it get what it wants?
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Deals, Rumors, eBay (EBAY) It looks like Skype is going to wind up with a new owner. Internet auction company eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) owns Skype now but is said to be selling the online telephony provider to private investors. Andreessen Horowitz, a recently formed venture capital fund with Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen at the helm, is said to be a likely participant in a transaction. Index Ventures of London and Silver Lake Partners are also rumored to be ...

eBay to sell 65% of Skype in deal valuing Skype at $2.75 billion
BloggingStocks — Filed under: Deals, eBay (EBAY) eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) announced Tuesday it has reached a deal to sell most of its stake in Skype in a deal that values the online telecommunications service at $2.75 billion. eBay will get $1.9 billion in cash and a $125 million note from the buyer. An investment group led by the private-equity firm Silver Lake, including Index Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board will buy the 65% stake in the company. eBay, which will retain a 35% stake, ...

eBay strikes $2.75 billion deal for Skype
BloggingBuyouts — Filed under: Deals, Silver Lake Partners eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) announced Tuesday that it has reached an agreement to sell most of its stake in Skype in a deal that values the online telecommunications service at $2.75 billion. eBay will get $1.9 billion in cash and a $125 million note from the buyer. An investment group led by the private-equity firm Silver Lake, including Index Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, will buy the 65% stake in the company. eBay, which ...

Questions linger about Skype deal
BloggingBuyouts — Filed under: Deals, Rumors, Silver Lake Partners The question that I haven't seen answered in any of the articles relating to the partial acquisition of Skype from eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) by a team of private investors is, who will own the underlying IP that runs the Skype P2P communications network? That question must somehow have been answered if savvy investors such as Silver Lake Partners and Netscape founder Marc Andreesen's investment fund, felt comfortable forking over $1.9 billion to ...

Skype soap opera ends as founders set to regain stake ahead of $2B sale
BloggingBuyouts — ... , the tech heavyweights fighting over Skype are set to announce a deal in which the founders of the popular Web-calling service would regain a stake in the company they sold to eBay (NASDAQ: ...