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80 Percent of E-Commerce Sites to Fail Within 5 Years
The dramatic prediction by StrategyWeek.com says the current boom in e-commerce will soon be followed by an equally significant slump in the number of sites, causing a reduction in the number of e-commerce sites to about 20 percent of their current level by 2005.

• Computer User
• http://www.currents.net/newstoday/00/04/17/news7.html 

A Hosting Solution for Small Business
Richard identified nine essential systems a small business web site needs to have in place to do e-commerce like the big guys. Now he's going to build those systems with off-the-shelf components and within a $6,500 budget.

• ClickZ
• http://www.clickz.com/cgi-bin/gt/g2/sboa/sboa.html?article=1611 

Analysts see hard times for e-commerce firms
The business-to-business e-commerce market, expected to be the next big Internet windfall for investors and technology firms, is rapidly losing steam.

• CNET
• http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-1676269.html?tag =st.ne.1430735..1007-200-1676269 

AOL Usurps Amazon as Leading E-Merchant
America Online displaced Amazon.com in March as the leading online merchant for the first time since September of 1999, according to new figures from the NextCard eCommerce Index.

• Internet News
• http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0%2C2171%2C4_339131%2C00.html 

Bidding for auction success
At stake is a huge market for surplus assets and excess inventory.

• Upside
• http://www.upside.com/Ebiz/38ea6c420.html 

Building E-Commerce to Cost $350 Billion By 2003
The balance-sheet benefits fueling the business-to-business avalanche aren't going to come for free. In fact, the analysts at Jupiter Communications Inc. say building the infrastructure behind e-commerce on the Net will run up an annual tab of $350 billion by 2003.

• Computer User
• http://www.currents.net/news/00/04/21/news7.html 

Canadian E-Commerce Faces Hurdles
When it comes to expanding the e-commerce frontier, Canadian business have been lagging behind their U.S. counterparts.

• New York Times
• http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/cyber/articles/07canada.html 

Consortium Pushes Net Ethics
Personalization Consortium of businesses considers privacy and ethics standards for Web commerce.

• PC World
• http://www.pcworld.com/pcwtoday/article/0%2C1510%2C16056%2C00.html 

Consumers Will Flock To Wireless Mall
Will millions of Americans be saying, "Have your store call my cell phone" within a few years?

• Inter@ctive Week
• http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/news/0%2C4164%2C2550403%2C00.html 

Don't write off Barnes & Noble just yet
It's not hard to understand why some might want to write off BarnesandNoble.com as a footnote in the history of Amazon.com. But don't judge this bookseller by its cover -- or by comparisons to Amazon.com. A careful read of the company's strategy, financials and vision for the future shows that Bn.com is no mere footnote.

• Upside
• http://www.upside.com/Ebiz/38fceae10.html 

Drkoop latest dot-com to run low on cash
Health site Drkoop.com has filed regulatory documents that raise "substantial doubt" about its business, news that sent its stock plummeting 41 percent.

• CNET
• http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-1616737.html?tag=st 

Gender Specific E-Commerce: Help or Hype?
In an effort to make e-commerce more personal, a growing number of Internet businesses are targeting such specific population segments as minorities, children and women.

• E-Commerce Times
• http://www.ecommercetimes.com/news/articles2000/000406-3.shtml 

Here's what Web users really want
The top 10 'special interest' sites in March.

• ZDNet
• http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0%2C4586%2C2550798%2C00.html 

Instant messaging latest trend in e-commerce software
Email just isn't good enough anymore. Today, communications must be instant, particularly for businesses. Enter instant messaging.

• CNET
• http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-1648626.html?tag=  st.ne.1430735.1007-200-1648626 

Is the IPO Insanity Over?
For the first time in Internet history, stock analysts are using the words "IPO market" and "calm" in the same sentence. Is it a sign of Armageddon or a much-needed slowdown?

• Wired News
• http://www.wired.com/news/business/0%2C1367%2C35330%2C00.html 

Maybe the End Can Wait
After forecasts of doom and gloom for Internet retailers, other studies are suggesting consumers keep going online to spend, revenues keep growing, and all is fair in love and war. Well, maybe not that last part, but the "glass is half full" reports are now making the rounds.

• CyberAtlas
• http://cyberatlas.internet.com/markets/retailing/article/0%2C1323%2C6061 _343161%2C00.html 

Online B2B Set to Soar
The online business-to-business B2B market across the world is increasing in value rapidly, but there are some hurdles and limitations to be met in the near future, a new study says.

• Computer User
• http://www.currents.net/news/00/04/21/news4.html 

Penney, Fingerhut Crack Top 20 Internet Merchants Chart
While Amazon.com and cdnow.com battle for the number one spot, two newcomers to PC Data Online's top 20 Internet retailers for March include Fingerhut and J.C. Penney.

• CatalogAge
• http://www.catalogagemag.com/Content/Weekly/2000/2000042004.htm 

Report: 80 Percent of Online Travel Sites Will Fold
According to a new report by investment bank Bear Stearns, 80 percent of online travel sites are destined to fail over the next five years.

• E-Commerce Times
• http://www.ecommercetimes.com/news/articles2000/000420-1.shtml 

Sites Give Cash a Run for Its Money
Web-based currencies offer incentives, but can they make the dollar disappear?

• PC World
• http://www.pcworld.com/pcwtoday/article/0%2C1510%2C16320%2C00.html 

Study: More retailers offer online shopping
The percentage of retailers selling merchandise over the Internet has doubled in the past year, according to a new survey released at the Retail Systems 2000 conference.

• Computer World
• http://www.computerworld.com/home/print.nsf/all/000419D6C2 

Study: Online car buyers save big
A J.D. Power and Associates' survey says consumers saved an average of $490 on each new car purchased over the Internet.

• ZDNet
• http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0%2C4586%2C2522821%2C00.html 

Survey: Spam perceptions may be hurting e-commerce
To help increase support for national legislation, congressional advocates of an antispam bill have released a survey that suggests public perception of e-mail spam may be hurting legitimate e-commerce businesses.

• Computer World
• http://www.computerworld.com/home/print.nsf/all/000413D4F2 

Top E-Tailers of March 2000
Amazon.com reasserted its authority as the top online retailer among US home Internet users, according to PC Data Online. Despite rumors of its imminent demise online music retailer CDNow was the second most popular online retailer.

• CyberAtlas
• http://cyberatlas.internet.com/markets/retailing/article/0%2C1323%2C6061_ 341031%2C00.html 

Web Competition Shakes Up U.S. Firms
Companies throughout the United States are starting to change their structure, business models and strategic plans in response to sharpening competition in the Internet marketplace, according to a survey released Wednesday.

• TechWeb
• http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/reuters-finance/REU20000419S0003 

Where the E-Shoppers Are
According to Internet measurement service Nielsen//NetRatings, for the week ending April 2, the top site for female surfers at-home was Lancome.com, the official Lancome Web site providing makeup, fragrance and skincare. Of those Web surfers visiting the site, 92.4 percent were female.

• Internet News
• http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0%2C2171%2C4_337431%2C00.html 

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• ZDNet
• http://cgi.zdnet.com/slink?30672:4326407 

• ZDNet
• http://cgi.zdnet.com/slink?28795:4326407 

EDS takes wireless to the bank
EDS this week will announce nationwide wireless banking services for users of Palm VII handhelds.

• ZDNet
• http://cgi.zdnet.com/slink?30670:4326407 

• ZDNet
• http://cgi.zdnet.com/slink?30677:4326407 

• Upside
• http://www.upside.com/News/38f9fa950.html 

Browser Wars Redux?
The Wired News headline - "Netscape 6: Does Anyone Care?" - was odd, considering that the story about the new version was one of three the site ran.

• The Industry Standard
• http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,13876,00.html?nl=dnh 

ConsumerREVIEW.com Launches Seasonal Buyers Guides
ConsumerREVIEW.com launched the first in a series of seasonal buyers guides featuring product recommendations, how-to information, directories and original articles.

• Internet News
• http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0%2C2171%2C4_338301%2C00.html 

Estée Lauder Expands Web Sales
In a shift that will bring highly sought after merchandise to a host of online retailers, Estée Lauder, the leading prestige cosmetics maker, will allow its traditional offline retail partners to begin selling its products online starting later this year.

• New York Times
• http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/cyber/articles/13lauder.html 

MasterCard Offers Virus Repair Service
MasterCard has taken the unusual step of offering a free virus repair service as a key feature in its small business card package.

• Computer Currents
• http://www.currents.net/newstoday/00/04/05/news5.html 

Medical distributors open e-market
Five major health care distributors say they will invest more than $100 million to establish an electronic exchange aimed at cutting medical costs.

• Computer World
• http://www.computerworld.com/home/print.nsf/all/000419D6CE 

Network Solutions Wants 2 More Top-Level Domains
A paper sent to ICANN recommends the creation of '.shop' and '.banc' to ease Net gridlock.

• The Industry Standard
• http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,14338,00.html?nl=dnh 

New Intelligence Tool Evaluates E-Commerce Performance
@plan. Inc., an online B2B exchange for optimizing Internet advertising and merchandising strategies, launched its E-Tailgraphics System, a new market research planning system.

• Internet News
• http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0%2C2171%2C4_334541%2C00.html 

New Real-Time E-Commerce Survey Service Launched
Active Research, a provider of Web-based market research automation services, launched ActiveFlash, a custom outsourced service that surveys e-commerce consumers as they decide what products to buy across the Internet.

• Internet News
• http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0%2C2171%2C4_337601%2C00.html 

Prime Retail Closes eOutlets.com; 48 Workers Terminated
Prime Retail Inc. late Wednesday said it was unable to transfer its wholly-owned subsidiary, Primeoutlets.com Inc., also known as eOutlets.com, to an investor group. Because of the failure, Prime Retail closed the Web concern and fired 48 employees.

• BizReport
• http://www.bizreport.com/daily/2000/04/20000414-6.htm 

Siebel Jumps Into E-commerce
The front-office market leader launched Siebel eBusiness 2000, the Internet-laden upgrade to its flagship CRM package, and bought e-commerce auction vendor OpenSite for $444 million in stock.

• TechWeb
• http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20000418S0014 

Speech-Driven Telephone E-Business App Launched
NetByTel.com launched its Telephone e-Business Platform that "lets online retailers and other e-businesses extend their Web-based marketplaces to anyone with a telephone."

• Internet News
• http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0%2C2171%2C4_344461%2C00.html 

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AOL Subscriber Spending
America Online Inc., the world's largest Internet service, said its subscribers spent $3.9 billion online during the first quarter, more than the $2.5 billion they spent during the 1999 holiday season.

• LA Times
• http://www.latimes.com/business/cutting/20000420/t000037231.html 

CompUSA's Paid Support Goes Online
Dial-a-Tech's chat and e-mail functions not as helpful as phone support.

• PC World
• http://www.pcworld.com/pcwtoday/article/0%2C1510%2C16289%2C00.html 

E-tailers: Only One Chance to Survive
AC Nielsen reports that e-tailers only have one chance to survive. One bad experience almost guarantees a customer won't return for more. Not so for bricks-and-mortar businesses, which can sometimes get away with bad service repeatedly without losing a customer.

• ClickZ
• http://www.clickz.com/cgi-bin/gt/wi/bm/bm.html?article=1576 

Few in online auctions use escrow services
Despite the rise in online auction fraud, few users are taking advantage of the one sure-fire way to protect themselves: escrow services.

• CNET
• http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-1639332.html?tag=  st.ne.1430735.1007-200-1639332 

Fill Your Own Communication Gap
Over the last year, a bunch of consumer product review sites have sprung up to fulfill a need that had long been felt by consumers... and ignored by online retailers. Sites like ePinions.com, ConsumerReview.com and Shopserve.com all enable consumers to post raves and rants about their experiences at stores, both on- and offline. Clearly customers have a lot to say. Isn't it time you gave those customers an opportunity to speak where their voices will be valued the most?

• ClickZ
• http://clickz.com/cgi-bin/gt/cz/cz.html?article=1551 

Go configure
Configurators such as Calico Commerce try to make buying complex products easier.

• Upside
• http://www.upside.com/Ebiz/38ea69410.html 

Internet Customer Service Lessons
Last month, Priceline.com scaled back expansion plans for its WebHouse Club grocery shopping service because it was too busy digging out from an avalanche of unexpected customers. Like Priceline.com, many e-commerce sites are finding too much success -- enjoying exponential Web growth, and growing pains.

• New York Times
• http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/cyber/articles/12price.html 

It's Feeling A Lot Like Christmas
Toysrus.com bombed in a big way during the last holiday season because it couldn't fulfill orders. The company is hard at work making sure it won't happen again.

• Wired News
• http://www.wired.com/news/business/0%2C1367%2C35565%2C00.html 

Online Automobile Shopping Increasing
Use of the Internet by potential and actual automobile consumers has increased significantly from the 1998 to 1999 model year, according to the findings of a study released by The Polk Company.

• Computer User
• http://www.currents.net/news/00/04/20/news13.html 

Online Shoppers Go For Big-Ticket Items
Online shoppers are spending more on big-ticket items, according to new research.

• TechWeb
• http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20000420S0004 

Rushing the buy
E-tailers need to rethink the online buying process.

• Upside
• http://www.upside.com/Opinion/38f3750e0.html 

Site Brings Comparison Shopping To Shipping
GoShip.com on Wednesday rolled out a new service that lets Internet merchants gather and distribute package shipping information.

• TechWeb
• http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20000405S0012 

Spree.com is the Shopper's Shopper
According to exclusive data from Nielsen//NetRatings, more people are turning to spree.com than other surrogate shopping sites.

• AnchorDesk
• http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/story/story_4689.html 

Staples integrates catalogs with electronic procurement software
Staples.com today announced that its online contract customers can access their personalized catalogues and pricing at the StaplesLink.com e-commerce site via several major vendors' electronic procurement systems.

• Computer World
• http://www.computerworld.com/home/print.nsf/all/000403D19A 

Study peeks into worldwide wallets
E-commerce may be spreading across the globe, but Americans are still highly overrepresented among online shoppers, according to a new study.

• Computer World
• http://www.computerworld.com/home/print.nsf/all/000411D45E 

Survey Says: Net Shopping is Convenient and Cheap
A report due to be published later this month says that more than nine out of 10 UK customers who have purchased on the Net find it more convenient than buying in a store, while 75 percent found it cheaper.

• Computer User
• http://www.currents.net/newstoday/00/04/10/news7.html 

The Better You Know Me.
If you really want to build a long-term relationship with me, you may want to add another layer to your knowledge of who I really am.

• ClickZ
• http://gt.clickz.com/cgi-bin/gt/g2/sboa/sboa.html?article=1525 

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• ZDNet
• http://cgi.zdnet.com/slink?30671:4326407 

Angara Launches E-Commerce Targeting Service
Angara, a start-up provider of online marketing services, began operations with the launch of the Angara E-Commerce Targeting Service, a hosted application service for lowering customer acquisition costs by targeting content to unknown site visitors in real-time.

• Internet News
• http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0%2C2171%2C4_338331%2C00.html 

AOL pairs with photo retailer for online snapshots
America Online announced today a marketing alliance with photo chain store Ritz Camera and Web site network Phobo.com.

• CNET
• http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-1635631.html?tag=  st.ne.1430735.1007-200-1635631 

Are You Writing Enough Checks?
With any kind of performance marketing, if you're not writing checks, your cash register isn't ringing. Setting your commission schedule and payout rates can be a real source of angst. The tendency across a wide spectrum of programs is to either pay too little, or worse, to pay for the wrong things.

• ClickZ
• http://clickz.com/cgi-bin/gt/cj/am/am.html?article=1545 

Companies Pouring Cash Into Net Ads
Spending on online advertising keeps doubling year every year, according to a new study.

• The Industry Standard
• http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,14270,00.html?nl=dnh 

How to pry that personal data loose
To stay competitive, Net firms are collecting huge volumes of data about their customers. Here are the three secrets to successfully coax this valuable information from your site's visitors.

• ZDNet
• http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0%2C4586%2C2530140%2C00.html 

Net Advertising May Slow, but it Ain't Over Yet
Some ad execs say the dot-com spending feast could turn to famine, but not all dot-coms think the party's ended.

• The Industry Standard
• http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,14364,00.html?nl=dnh 

Net companies go to extremes to be noticed
Net companies are resorting to guerrilla ad tactics in the very real war to pull in customers, turn profits and satisfy investors.

• CNET
• http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-1660765.html?tag=  st.ne.1430735..1007-200-1660765 

Online-Coupon Companies Battle Over Patents
Failure could be too high a price for firms sparring over the right to promote products and offers on the Web.

• The Industry Standard
• http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0%2C1151%2C13560%2C00.html 

R&D Goes B-to-B
Could it be an e-commerce business model that no one's shot full of holes yet? A new business-to-business exchange, Yet2.com, seeks to play matchmaker for patent-holders and companies that need new technology.

• The Industry Standard
• http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0%2C1151%2C13889%2C00.html 

RocketCash sets up currency exchange
Somewhat like airlines that accept other carriers' frequent-flyer miles, this new program lets users combine online rewards from various sites.

• ZDNet
• http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0%2C4586% 2C2504612%2C00.html?chkpt=zdnntop 

The Luxury of Selling Online
How to determine the best way to integrate your catalog operations and your Website

• I-Merchant
• http://www.catalogagemag.com/content/imerchant/2000/20000403.HTM 

Web companies take sales into their own hands
Affiliate programs are under attack. A crop of e-commerce service providers such as Vitessa, Escalate and Iconomy are telling some content providers that they are losing money by sending customers to another site.

• CNET
• http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-1681740.html?tag= st.ne.1430735..1007-200-1681740 

Web Sites Gamble on Giveaways
Forget e-mail, online bookselling and digital pornography. For the next big thing to attract customers, the Internet's entrepreneurs have turned the clock back to one of the oldest tricks in the book: sweepstakes.

• LA Times
• http://www.latimes.com/business/20000414/t000035111.html 

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Amazon's Lovely Mortar
There are times when a warehouse can look awfully good. For Amazon.com, this is one of those times. That's because outfits like CDnow and Peapod are learning to their chagrin that the biggest problem in e-commerce is picking, packing and shipping the stuff at the lowest possible cost. But Amazon's Bezos has been a visionary in this area. Should Amazon spin off that distribution advantage?

• ClickZ
• http://gt.clickz.com/cgi-bin/gt/cz/ebr/ebr.html?article=1541 

Food.com delivers dinner to your door
Food.com is cooking up plans to offer takeout delivery over the Internet starting May 1, company executives said.

• CNET
• http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-1722809.html?tag= st.ne.1430735..1007-200-1722809 

Lack Of Application Integration Hinders E-markets
Electronic marketplaces may be the next big thing, but companies seeking to tap this potentially lucrative channel are encountering an obstacle -- the yawning gulf between their own IT systems and those of the potential suppliers and customers they meet on exchanges.

• TechWeb
• http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20000404S0004 

Major Plastic Companies to Form Online Marketplace
Five major thermoplastics companies want to efficiently serve the $50 billion global market for plastics injection molders.

• The Industry Standard
• http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0%2C1151%2C13753%2C00.html 

Mall Developers Fight Back
With investors fleeing Web merchants en masse, malls are vying to fill the gaps left by traditional and online retailers in areas like ordering and customer service.

• New York Times
• http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/cyber/commerce/10commerce.html 

Online Sales Transform Antiquarian Book Market
With financial resources totaling more than $60 million in venture capital, Alibris is a mix of Internet start-up and industry upstart, a two-year-old company with a cheeky national advertising campaign aimed at building a mighty brand on the spines of old books.

• New York Times
• http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/15book.html 

Online computer products retailer Outpost.com launched a new, same-day delivery service in selected markets.

• Internet News
• http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0%2C2171%2C4_342831%2C00.html 

Priceline.com, the Web site that allows customers to name their own price for products, has extended its push into auto services nationwide, a company spokesman said.

• CNET
• http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-1722838.html?tag= st.ne.1430735..1007-200-1722838 

Sony Pledges Online Music Sales Via Retailers
The music-publishing arm of Sony Corp., today demonstrated its interface for selling digital music online, technology it said would go live later this month with the help of some Web retailers.

• Computer User
• http://www.currents.net/newstoday/00/04/11/news15.html 

Walgreen to Join 11 Retailers in Exchange
Walgreen Co., the largest U.S. drugstore chain in terms of sales, said on Tuesday it is joining 11 other U.S. and international retailers to start a business-to-business online retail exchange.

• The Industry Standard
• http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0%2C1151%2C13737%2C00.html 

• ZDNet
• http://cgi.zdnet.com/slink?28798:4326407 

Web shopping for the very impatient
Instant gratification is the way of the Web. Not only can you get just about anything online -- an e-mail account, a home loan, the answer to a pressing question about the Taft administration -- but you can get it in minutes. There is, however, one vast exception to the Web's no-wait policy: Online shopping can often be painfully slow.

• CNN
• http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/04/13/web.impatient.idg/index.html 

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• The Industry Standard
• http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,14412,00.html?nl=int 

• ZDNet
• http://cgi.zdnet.com/slink?30669:4326407 

• Computer World
• http://www.computerworld.com/home/print.nsf/all/000404D202 

Atom Films and IFilm Go Beyond the PC
Two Web sites that solicit and screen short films have deals to bring content to television and beyond.

• The Industry Standard
• http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,14283,00.html?nl=dnh 

B2B Exchange Madness
E-commerce was supposed to eliminate middlemen. But the emergence of business-to-business exchanges promising to streamline the process has created the need for yet another middleman.

• Forbes
• http://www.forbes.com/tool/html/00/Apr/0403/mu3.htm 

Can Napster's Week Get Any Worse?
Only a Netco could get smacked by both a rapper and an Ivy League university within two days.

• The Industry Standard
• http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,14346,00.html?nl=dnh 

Can Net markets survive the squeeze?
Industry giants are bullying their way into b-to-b ventures, but some independent exchanges find ways to prosper.

• Upside
• http://www.upside.com/News/38ee6a990.html 

How Much Should I Pay My Affiliates?
One query keeps rising to the top of Joel's email box: How much to pay affiliates? If only it were that simple. The answer, unfortunately, is: It depends. Joel takes a stab at demonstrating how some merchants have answered this question.

• ClickZ
• http://www.clickz.com/cgi-bin/gt/cj/am/am.html?article=1617 

Nexus from Affiliate Programs
If an online retailer runs an affiliate program, will that company have nexus for sales tax in any state in which affiliate program members are located? This is a chilling prospect for e-commerce, where affiliate programs are sometimes key elements of online marketing plans.

• E-Commerce Tax News
• http://www.ecommercetax.com/doc/040900.htm 

Safeguard ends stakes in B2B firms
Safeguard Scientifics, a venture capital company that invests in Internet businesses, said it will stop investing in business-to-business firms, according to reports.

• CNET
• http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-1674158.html?tag= st.ne.1430735..1007-200-1674158 

Survey Shows Few Trust Promises on Online Privacy
The Internet industry may believe that self-regulation is the best way to handle online privacy, but consumers apparently do not. According to a new survey by Odyssey, a market research firm, 82 percent of online households agree strongly or at least somewhat with the statement, "The government needs to step in and regulate how companies can use personal information."

• New York Times
• http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/17data.html 

Worldwide retail Web exchange formed
Kmart and Target are part of a group of 11 leading retail companies from four countries forming a Web-based retail exchange with combined sales of $300 billion, the companies said today.

• CNET
• http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-1616995.html?tag=st 

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Attack on Net Tax Commission
More than two-thirds of the nation's governors will deliver to Congress a scathing bipartisan attack on the Internet tax commission, denouncing it as a forum for special interests seeking tax breaks.

• New York Times
• http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/12tax.html 

Business patents threaten Web
Aggressive patenting of methods or ideas will tamp down innovation.

• Upside
• http://www.upside.com/Upshot/38fb5fba0.html 

Consumers Still Wary of Online Info Gathering
Research released this week by Odyssey L.P. will not sit well with e-marketers and retailers. According to Odyssey's January 2000 Homefront study, online users overwhelmingly support government intervention to set standards for how companies may use personal information gathered through the Internet and the Web.

• Computer User
• http://www.currents.net/newstoday/00/04/19/news19.html 

E-Commerce Bill Passes in Maryland
The Maryland General Assembly gave final approval to complex legislation creating a legal framework for electronic commerce and other commercial transactions of the Information Age.

• Computer User
• http://www.currents.net/newstoday/00/04/11/news14.html 

E-Commerce Tax Commission Issues One-Sided Final Report
Disregarding the views of opponents, Governor Gilmore of Virginia last week presided over a final vote that sends to Congress the report of the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce. The report, which was approved 10 to 8, comes from a Commission no closer now to agreement on the issues plaguing taxation of electronic commerce than when it was formed a year ago.

• E-Commerce Tax News
• http://www.ecommercetax.com/doc/040200.htm 

EU Privacy Pact Held Hostage by Powerful Few
Just when it appeared that several years of negotiations between the U.S. Commerce Department and the European Union would lead to a new international privacy pact, a coalition of U.S. businesses is voicing strong opposition to its ratification.

• E-Commerce Times
• http://www.ecommercetimes.com/news/viewpoint2000/view-000407-1.shtml 

European E-Commerce Threatened By Rapid Growth
A report published this week says that the early success of Internet-only retailers is now being threatened as Western Europe's online market is predicted to grow dramatically by 415 percent over the 1999 to 2001 period.

• BizReport
• http://www.bizreport.com/news/2000/03/20000331-1.htm 

Government 'fails to encourage e-commerce
Half the UK's small businesses believe the government is not doing enough to help them buy and sell online.

• BBC News
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/newsid_701000/701543.stm 

House leaders embrace plan for no Net taxes
A federal commission report urging Congress not to permit taxes to block the Internet's growth got a warm welcome from House Republicans despite lingering claims that the report is one-sided.

• CNET
• http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-1657063.html?tag= st.ne.1430735..1007-200-1657063 

Is It Curtain Time For Online Retailers?
As surely as spring follows winter, the symbol of online retailing has turned from a wired Santa Claus to the grim reaper pulling the plug on dot coms. Everyone expects many more victims this year to follow CDnow Online and Peapod into desperate bailout efforts - and some of them to fail altogether.

• Inter@ctive Week
• http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/news/0%2C4164%2C2530222%2C00.html 

Japan settles on e-commerce certificate standard
A group of 15 major Japanese electronics companies and digital certification companies has agreed to adopt a common standard for verification of e-commerce transactions, the companies said Friday in a joint statement.

• Computer World
• http://www.computerworld.com/home/print.nsf/all/000417D65E 

Lawmakers Promise Action On Net Tax Report
A national commission delivered its report on Internet taxes Wednesday to House and Senate leaders, who vowed to get legislation passed this year to keep cyberspace tax-free.

• TechWeb
• http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20000412S0010 

Net Tax Key to EU Directive
As the European Union finalizes a massive e-commerce directive aimed at allowing freer movement of goods and services across the continent, some observers fear one provision will actually constrict growth by establishing onerous online taxes.

• Wired News
• http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0%2C1283%2C35405%2C00.html 

Party Politics Heats Up E-Tax Debate
The Internet tax din grew even louder this week as members of the U.S. House of Representatives weighed in along predictable partisan lines.

• E-Commerce Times
• http://www.ecommercetimes.com/news/articles2000/000407-2.shtml 

Rated FG, for "Federal Guidance"
The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act hits the books today, sending government agents online to search for sites that ask kids too many questions.

• The Industry Standard
• http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,14382,00.html?nl=dnh 

The freewheeling world of electronic commerce may soon face additional red tape, tangling up more Texas companies. Attorneys, lobbyists and industry experts say that within 18 months, and possibly sooner, federal and state agencies will increasingly clamp down on everything from antitrust and privacy issues to online gambling, hacking and access to cable lines.

• Retailing & Restaurants Journal
• http://www.bizjournals.com/journals/retailing_restaurants/doc/ 2000/04/10/dallas_story2.html 

The chairman of a congressionally appointed group to study whether to tax sales over the Internet told lawmakers Thursday that government must change its policies as well as the way it operates, instead of relying on old rules and structures.

• TechWeb
• http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20000406S0015 

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said that two of the biggest Internet auction sites have agreed to new safeguards to protect people from buying dangerous second-hand products via the web.

• New York Times
• http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/01recall.html  

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• Entrust, EnCommerce To Merge
• Dutch Firm Rescues Peapod from Brink
• Safeway invests $30M in dotcom grocer
• CD Warehouse Partners With Half.com
• Drowning in dot-coms

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Entrust, EnCommerce To Merge
Internet security company Entrust Technologies said Wednesday that it will merge with enCommerce, a supplier of customized software and services for e-business portals.

• TechWeb
• http://www.techweb.com/wire/finance/story/INV20000419S0005 

Dutch Firm Rescues Peapod from Brink
Holland-based Royal Ahold plucked beleaguered online grocer Peapod from the edge of bankruptcy Friday, pledging to buy 51 percent of the Skokie, Illinois-based firm. Peapod will remain a stand-alone company, while Ahold will supply goods and services, including the use of its network of warehouses and distribution centers.

• E-Commerce Times
• http://www.ecommercetimes.com/news/articles2000/000417-3.shtml 

Safeway invests $30M in dotcom grocer
Seeking to ramp up its Internet strategy, grocery store giant Safeway Inc. is investing $30 million in GroceryWorks.com, an upstart online grocery delivery service.

Drowning in dot-coms
Sm@rt Reseller's Ed Sperling says the only way for B2Cs to survive the coming slaughterfest is by cementing relationships that will drive e-business.

• ZDNet
• http://cgi.zdnet.com/slink?30676:4326407 

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ToC

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• The Industry Standard
• http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,13813,00.html 

Sony Online Entertainment's President Quits
EXCLUSIVE Lisa Simpson's departure for CBS is the latest in a string at the company, leaving Sony wondering how to stop the brain drain.

• The Industry Standard
• http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,13855,00.html?nl=shg 

Tom Unterman's Long Road to VC
Tom Unterman wanted to be in business all along. He invested in stocks as a child, and he calls his current post, head of an Internet-focused venture fund, his dream job. But he didn't get there on a straight path.

• The Industry Standard
• http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,14082,00.html?nl=ias

Idealab Files for IPO, With Jack Welch on Board
The VC firm says GE's chairman and CEO has served as a company director since March.

• The Industry Standard
• http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,14360,00.html?nl=dnh 

Sony Online Entertainment's President Quits
Lisa Simpson's departure for CBS is the latest in a string at the company, leaving Sony wondering how to stop the brain drain.

• The Industry Standard
• http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,13855,00.html?nl=dnh