ECMgt.com: Oct2000: Volume 2, Issue 10 - M&A activity escalates
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Subject: Oct2000 ECMgt.com: M&A Activity
Escalates
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October 1, 2000 *4,100 subscribers* Volume
2, Issue 10
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Subject: M&A Activity Escalates
Thank you for your comments, suggestions and responses to our survey question. Please keep them coming. Let us know what you think by e-mailing us at mailto:ecmgt.comments@ecnow.com. We currently have over 4,100 subscribers. If you like what you read, please let your friends, clients and co-workers know about our free newsletter.
Our November issue deals with B-to-B Growth Continues
its Dramatic Pace, we would like your opinion on the following: 1. After the
April dot.com correction, what is your current feeling on B2B growth? 2. Where
do you foresee B2B growth activity taking place over the next 6-12 months? 3.
Do you expect the B2B exchanges to start demonstrating significant cost savings
and increased liquidity? If so, please explain and give an example or two.
To respond to this question, please go to http://ecmgt.com/bulletinboard.htm or send e-mail to mailto:ecmgt.survey@ecnow.com. When you send your response, please list the city and country where you are located. If you want us to publish your name, company, and title please expressly state that desire.
Thanks for taking the time to respond.
Buyers of web properties spent $6.4 billion in 1998 and roughly $47 billion in 1999, for a total of $53.4 billion over the two-year period. Dollar spending increased 700% from 1998 to 1999, while the total number of deals tripled from 140 in 1998 to 450 in 1999. Traditional companies have remained on the sidelines while Internet acquirers accounted for more than 70% of the spending during the two-year period. However, merger and acquisition spending by Internet portals declined significantly as a percentage of all such activity in 1999.
The first major signs of industry consolidation appeared in the second half of 1999. Buyers have steadily increased their spending in vertical markets such as investment & finance and health, with Healtheon's acquisition of WebMD one of the more notable. The value of America Online's acquisition of Time Warner was more than three times the total 1998-1999 merger and acquisition spending. Discounting the Time Warner deal, Webmergers.com predicts that Web mergers and acquisitions will reach $250 billion in 2000.
Surpassing any previous quarterly or even yearly total, Web merger and acquisition activity in the first quarter of 2000 reached an astronomical $212 billion. Excluding the $157 billion pending purchase of Time Warner by AOL, Q1 2000 rose 17 percent over the total for all of 1999. Including the AOL-Time Warner deal, the quarter's increase over last year's total is a whopping 448 percent.
Driven by B2B companies, e-commerce deals led first-quarter activity with $41 billion, or four times Q4 1999's e-commerce total of $11 billion. In Q1 2000, $12 billion was spent on B2B exchanges or supply-chain management firms, and twice that amount went into e-commerce service companies, including VeriSign's $20 billion purchase of Network Solutions. Content-related deals took second place, with a total of $12.5 billion.
Ninety percent of Q1 2000 acquiring firms were Internet companies, with the health sector most prominent among the $1 billion deals, as Healtheon/WebMD and Neoforma acquiring six firms for $13.5 billion. Health-related acquisitions accounted for half of the top 20 deals. Mergers and acquisitions also dominated the telecommunications field, especially the long haul Internet providers. WorldCom, Sprint, GTE and Cable & Wireless were all involved in regulatory affairs related to proposed acquisitions. Today, the mergers of Bell Atlantic and GTE, and of MCI and Sprint add further to the concerns by AT&T and others that two or three large carriers could dominate the Internet backbone, both domestically and later globally. France Telecom said it will buy Orange from Vodafone AirTouch for 26.9 billion pounds ($40.36 billion) and combine the U.K. wireless company with its other mobile units by early next year.
Web Merger and Acquisition activity by Internet Category ($M):
| Category | 1988 | 1999 | 2000 Q1 | |
| E-commerce | 956 | 10854 | 41245 | |
| Content | 4036 | 24838 | 12469 | |
| Distribution | 12 | 5798 | 0 | |
| Community | 296 | 5025 | 115 | |
| Communications | 418 | 220 | 887 | Marketing | 465 | 151 | 30 |
| Services | 43 | 214 | 282 | |
| Distance Learning | 67 | 238 | 112 | |
| ASPs | 0 | 20 | 125 | |
| Total | 6292 | 47358 | 55263 |
NTT in Japan recently purchased
Verio, a network of ISPs and the largest Web hosting firm in the United States,
with 300,000 hosted domains. Verio grew from its purchases of Highway and Best
Internet, along with roughly 50 Tier-2 and Tier-1 ISPs. NTT Communications, the
international unit of Japan's Nippon Telegraph & Telephone, will merge Verio's
U.S. Web site hosting services, data center facilities and other application hosting
services with NTT's own Internet Protocol-based network services in the Asia-Pacific
region. Key acquisitions have also been made by CMGI, whose business model
is to purchase companies whose core competency adds value to CMGI's portfolio
of firms, often interlinked as ASPs or BSPs, and hosted in CMGI's data centers.
CMGI purchased AdForce in September 1999 and Flycast in March 2000. CMGI also
owns the Adsmart Network, with the reach and power to conduct network ad serving.
Some of the consolidation in this space has occurred in the past nine months,
and this sector vertical remains very competitive. "Focusing on ROI is important,
but the companies that only focus on a piece of the solution will likely be absorbed
by the companies that do more, or they will just go away." This quote was made
by Chuck Berger, CEO of ad serving company AdForce, now the latest
on the acquisition roster:
Coming from relative obscurity, the Internet Venture firm CMGI has become one of the dominant forces in the web business. With ownership of Lycos (LCOS), and recent high publicity acquisitions of AltaVista, AdForce, and Flycast, CMGI has grown beyond being an incubator of Internet companies, and now uses integration to maximize value of its acquisitions. The latest Flycast acquisition is strategic for CMGI in that Flycast will complement the existing network of online advertising and marketing properties with full services for both online advertisers and web publishers.
In wireless news, Phone.com has made strategic acquisitions to quickly add functionality to its e-commerce offerings. Phone.com agreed to acquire the WAP (wireless application protocol) assets and technology of Northern Ireland-based software developer Apion. The acquisition was designed to help U.S.-based Phone.com, which makes microbrowsers for smart phones and other connected handheld devices, accelerate its business in Europe. Phone.com's multiple acquisitions (Paragon, OneBox, @Motion, and Apion) combine to create a complete package of technology integrated with Phone.com's browser/server product suite.
WebMD and Healtheon, which now process 2 billion healthcare transactions annually, have continued to make acquisitions. Healtheon/WebMD assimilated Medcast and their Networks Internet Broadcast News Center, which delivers a daily broadcast to the desktops of physicians to enhance their ability keep current and connected with what's going on in medicine.
New acquisitions for new business models:
Webmerger's research suggests that some of the highest merger and acquisition price premiums will go to applications that act like content: they provide services to customers and expose users to advertising or e-commerce messages. This new business model has been named "apptent", to mean the merging of application and content, similar to Forrester's transactive content, and the newly emerging field of contextual commerce. NBC Internet Inc. (NBCI) bought Flyswat Inc., a San Francisco-based firm, to help NBCi diffuse its content far beyond its existing web sites, as well as to provide more sell-through for its current e-commerce partners. BizRate.com, a provider of user-ranked e-commerce referrals, acquired eBoodle.com, whose "browser companion" allows web users at the point of purchase to receive merchant ratings, comparison shopping information and other content about the merchant in question.
In the new world, M&A activity is a key growth opportunity and will continue to accelerate in the next couple of years.
America Online / Time Warner- http://www.aol.com/ / http://www.twtelecom.com/
VeriSign / Network Solutions - http://www.verisign.com/ / http://www.networksolutions.com/
Healtheon / WebMD - http://www.healtheon.com/ / http://www.webmd.com/
Medcast - http://www.medcast.com/
First E-group - http://www.first-egroup.com/
Neoforma / Eclipsys - http://www.neoforma.com/ / http://www.eclipsys.com/
Phone.com / Onebox.com - http://www.phone.com/ / http://www.onebox.com/
Paragon / Apion - http://www.paragon.com/ / http://www.apion.com/
MedicaLogic / Medscape - http://medicalogic.com/ / http://www.medscape.com/
VerticalNet / Tradeum - http://www.verticalnet.com/ / http://www.tradeum.com/
CMGI / Ubid.com - http://www.cmgi.com/ / http://www.ubid.com/
Medicalogic / Total eMed - http://www.medicalogic.com/ http://www.totalemed.com/
Cahners Business Info. / CMD Group - http://www.cahners.com/ / http://www.cmdg.com/
NBC Internet / AllBusiness.com - http://nbci.snap.com/ / http://www.allbusiness.com/
E-Trade / Card Capture Service - http://www.etrade.com/
GoTo.com / AuctionRover - http://www.goto.com/ / http://www.auctionrover.com/
BizRate.com / eBoodle.com - http://www.bizrate.com/ / http://www.eboodle.com/
NTT / Verio - http://www.ntt.com/ / http://www.verio.net/
Webmergers - http://www.webmergers.com/
GTE - http://www.gte.com/
Sprint - http://www.sprint.com/
Flyswat.com - http://www.flyswat.com/
Geocities - http://geocities.yahoo.com/
Lycos - http://www.lycos.com/
AltaVista - http://www.altavista.com/
AdForce - http://www.adforce.com
DoubleClick / NetGravity - http://www.doubleclick.com/ http://www.netgravity.com
Let me leave you with a few of my favorite quotes this month:***
The main reasons for
M & A to happen have been the companies' trend into focus and core competence.
One more reason that could be added to the list is that companies today want to
eliminate competition that is unjustified with the results got on spending time
and effort and hence tend to acquire these competiting firms so as to strengthen
their stand. The less mortal-infant companies budge to this under pressure.
(L.
Suresh, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India)
***
I expect the current M&A activity
to continue through the next12 months. There are still a lot of non-sustainable
companies out there that received significant funding last year and haven't blown
through it yet. Also, a number of "late-comer" investment groups are still being
formed. Their initial desire, no doubt, was to cash in on the dot-com bandwagon.
But, too late for that, I expect they will support funding for M&A's by some of
the more viable entities looking to expand.
(P.N., Milpitas, Silicon Valley,
CA)
I hope you enjoy this eZine.
See you in cyberspace,
Mitchell Levy
Executive Producer, ECMgt.com <http://ECMgt.com>
President, ECnow.com <http://ecnow.com>
Founder and Coordinator, SJSU-PD ECM Certificate Program <http://ecmtraining.com/sjsu>
Chair, ECMsym.com ECM Symposium (Oct 4-5, 2000) <http://ecmsym.com>
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FEATURE ARTICLE
Web
mergers and acquisitions activity heats up Dollars
and deals multiply Advertising and IPOs fall from grace Accompanying this accelerated activity
in the M&A arena in Q1 2000 has been the dramatic shift away from content-oriented
models driven by advertising revenue, and toward business-to-business and other
e-commerce models supported by fees and commissions. This trend seems to be driven
by push-and-pull forces redirecting interests across Internet sectors. Doubts
about the advertising-revenue model are driving activity and dollars toward brighter
opportunities within B2B markets. Buyers are spending most of their money acquiring
line extensions to existing products, entering entirely new lines of business,
and buying up enabling technologies. And as stock from many recent Internet IPOs
continue to perform poorly, many startups have become more interested in becoming
acquired than in going it alone with a public stock offering. Internet enterprises
still have deep pockets About 200 buyers spent $52 billion in the first quarter
of 2000 to buy more than 230 properties. Using still-richly-valued stock as currency,
publicly traded Internet companies continued to lead buying activity in the quarter,
continuing the trend driving the last several quarters. These companies have paid
the most attention to, not to mention money-, on, service businesses rather than
on more traditional retail plays. Business exchanges, procurement services, and
supply-chain integration services have been hot sellers in B2B sectors, while
services such as online stock trading and travel bookings have been attractive
on the consumer side. Healtheon/WebMD was particularly active in Q1 2000, spending
nearly $8 billion in the health-care services marketplace. (See our market research
covering the health care industry). Trailing the Internet buyers were telecommunications
plays, with Telecom Italia's activity accounting for much of the sector's
21% of all spending. While Webmergers predicts that M&A activity will continue
to be strong through the end of 2000, they predict that the pace may slow a bit
as Internet-company stock valuations cool in the coming quarters. 1999-2000
DeepCanyon Company. All rights reserved
Peter Harrington
Deepcanyon
The past two years have witnessed an explosion in Web
merger and acquisition activity (M&A), with spending amounts skyrocketing and
areas of activity shifting. Leading this trend, of course, was the $157 billion
acquisition of Time Warner by America Online in the first quarter of this year.
But even excluding that landmark deal, industry observer Webmergers.com reports
that M&A spending from Q1 2000 eclipsed that for all of 1999. And that first quarter
of 2000 tallied almost double the number of deals than were closed in all of 1998.
Our bulletin board allows readers to comment on trends and issues throughout the month. Please stop by to add your comments and see all the responses at http://ecmgt.com/bulletinboard.htm
Thank you for your comments, suggestions and responses to our survey question. Please keep them coming. Let us know what you think by e-mailing us at mailto:ecmgt.comments@ecnow.com. We currently have over 4,100 subscribers. If you like what you read, please let your friends, clients and co-workers know about our free newsletter.
Our November issue deals with B-to-B Growth Continues
its Dramatic Pace, we would like your opinion on the following: 1. After the
April dot.com correction, what is your current feeling on B2B growth? 2. Where
do you foresee B2B growth activity taking place over the next 6-12 months? 3.
Do you expect the B2B exchanges to start demonstrating significant cost savings
and increased liquidity? If so, please explain and give an example or two.
Are you ready for wireless data explosion
This red-hot technology is poised to reach 1.3 billion subscribers by 2004,
according to the experts at Cahners In-Stat Group.
Net
Rivals Papers, Tops TV, As Key Info Source
Broadband's value will come
from building enriched data, presentation, and function into Web browsers, but
users will be impatient with animation, audio, and video that don't support their
goals.
61% of Large U.S. Sites Have Multimedia Content
The online industry's
pay practices are maturing and are starting to mirror those of traditional offline
firms.
Car
dealerships with Web sites
Car dealerships with Web sites since 1995 generate
13 new-vehicle sales a month, while those that launched Web sites in 1999 or 2000
generate only five new-vehicle sales a month from Internet leads, according to
a survey from the National Automobile Dealers Association.
Online
Training 'Boring'
Businesses are enthusiastic about online learning,
but whether many are actually seeing any real benefits from their Net-based education
programs is unclear, according to a recent study.
Internet
Jobs Out There, Workers Are Missing
The Internet continues to create
new jobs both directly and across other industries, according to a study by Andersen
Consulting, which found the US continues to have the world's most advanced digital
economy, with Europe starting to close the gap.
Web
Sites aid Test Marketing
Retailers are using the Internet to push product
lines too extensive or odd for stores, as well as to revive popular brands.
Home
Computers Move In and Stay
Half of the U.S. households with home PCs
have owned a computer for more than five years
IDC
Predicts Strong PC Demand
Computer-related stocks shot forward encouraged
by words from research firm IDC.
Analysis
to Publish Major New Report on Mobile Portals and Wireless ASPs
A major
new report focusing on mobile portals and wireless application service providers
(ASPs) will be published next month by Analysis.
New
Devices too Limiting for Online Retail
European retailers' ambitions to
sell goods through mobile phones, interactive television sets, and PDAs will not
meet expectations, according to Forrester Research
Study Shows Huge Surge In DSL Wave
The latest TeleChoice digital subscriber line study dramatically underscores how popular DSL has become.
Kid's Place Still Is At The Mall - Study
Online shopping is growing more popular with young people, but the mall is not dead yet, according to a new study released today.
IDC Expects
the Market for Next-Generation Operational Support Systems to Double by 2004
NextGen OSS Critical to Service Providers' Success.
Internet
Figures Positive For US And Europe
The US is still ahead in terms of Internet
penetration, with over 51 million households connected, while the UK leads the
way in terms of home PC Internet access in Europe.
The
Forsaken Dot-Coms
As many dot-coms are losing the name as there are people
racing to claim it.
Asian
Internet Tigers
According to the French research firm NetValue, many Asian
countries refuse to be stuck on the wrong side of the global digital divide.
Net
Drives Me-Commerce, Free-Agent Growth
Look for the Internet to spur the
emergence of "me-commerce" and a major exodus of full-time workers from their
corporate jobs into free-agent/free-lance roles
Strong
Growth in the LAN Switching Market
IDC Forecasts LAN switching market
is one of the few remaining bright spots in the enterprise hardware market.
Domain
Hosts reach 72 million
The Internet now carries 72 million domain hosts,
according to a new domain survey, a 67 percent rise over last year's count of
42 million.
European
E-Shoppers Choose Price Over Security
Despite the popular conception that
Europeans distrust e-commerce, a new survey by Jupiter Communications reveals
that lower prices, not tighter security, would motivate European e-shoppers to
spend more online.
Fraud
No Threat to E-Commerce
Despite widespread public concern over Internet
fraud, shopping on the Internet is a secure way for both individuals and businesses
to conduct business
Web
Safari for surfing seniors
The number of Americans over the age of 55
will increase from almost 60 million this year to around 66 million by 2005, according
to the Census Bureau.
Tracking
the elusive business user
For a number of reasons, workplace internet
use has long been under reported. Companies were hesitant to have tracking software
installed on their computers and workers weren't eager to tell interviewers how
much they surfed on company time.
Online
Bill Pay Set for Boom
A report released by Jupiter Research predicts that
by 2005, more than 40 million U.S. households will pay at least part of their
bills using online bill paying services...
E-PRODUCTS NEWS
Sales Force Automation Solutions
Today's sales-force automation tools are easier to use and more powerful than
ever.
Ariba, IBM, Microsoft: New B2B Standard
Thirty-six technology companies,
led by Ariba Inc., IBM and Microsoft Corp., unveiled plans to create a universal
Internet standard designed to accelerate e-commerce. * ZDNET
MS 'Whistler' to Support Interactive TV
The next consumer version
of Windows, due in 2001, will not only let users watch television on their personal
computers but also support what is being touted as the next big thing in home
entertainment - interactive TV technology.
WAP or I-Mode: Which Is Better?
As far as James Salsman is concerned,
WAP is nothing but a flop. The California software engineer contends that wireless
application protocol, which allows cellphone access to Web content, is over-hyped
and overpriced.
Sony Launches Much-Anticipated Palm Device
Sony and Palm unveiled
the Clie, the first fruit of their previously announced alliance and the Japanese
electronics giant's much-anticipated entry into the handheld computing market.
Athlon Passes One - Gigahertz Mark
Is AMD's new 1.1 GHz chip all show
or does it really perform?
MegaPixel
Mania
3-megapixel digital cameras offer great picture quality - so great,
in fact, that you may even consider replacing your traditional film camera for
one of these new high-tech models
Right
PDA
PDAs are becoming standard hardware for many companies. Giga Information
Group reports on the importance of choosing the right PDA.
Red Hat holds huge Linux lead
Red Hat holds huge Linux lead, rivals
growing Red Hat has more of the Linux market than its next five competitors combined,
but those competitors all are increasing their share faster.
Pretty Good Bug Found in PGP
A bug in newer versions of Network Associates'
popular PGP software exposes purportedly scrambled communications to prying eyes.
The glitches allows malicious attackers to hoodwink Windows versions of PGP into
not encoding secret information properly.
Oracle offers sales force software for free
Oracle plans to offer
its sales force automation software to customers free of charge in a bid to grab
market share away from arch rival Siebel Systems.
A router
monopoly?
The largest technology company in the world won't touch your
desktop, but if you access the Internet you can't avoid its products. It's Cisco,
the San Jose, Calif. company that control 85 percent of the router market.
Wireless Network Slugfest Continues
Call in the reinforcements! In
the wireless networking industry's long-running civil war, two groups of vendors
have stepped up their fight over incompatible technologies.
Gigabit Over Copper: Bandwidth To Burn?
Gigabit over copper delivers
speed but may come up short on reliability. Four vendors took our ISP Rack Collocation
Challenge to display their complete copper-gigabit solutions. See who won the
competition at:
UnixWorld Review: StarOffice 5.2
Sun Microsystems recently released
version 5.2 of its office suite software. Should your Unix IT managers consider
StarOffice in their future software deployment plans?
BroadVision
Goes One-To-One With IBM
IBM and BroadVision today announced an agreement
that will supply e-business software for IBM servers.
Commerce One and Intershop Announce Plans For Internet Selling Channel
Commerce One and Intershop Communications today announced an agreement to
strengthen their global alliance in the e-commerce market by constructing a new
strategic business channel.
Breaking through the B2B Babel
A common standard is essential in online
streamlining business transactions. Can the XML-based language being developed
by industry group Rosettanet really make sense of the babble of companies' varying
e-commerce systems?
Novell says good-bye to proprietary past
The curtain is finally falling
on Novell's aging NetWare 3.x and 4.x platforms as the company says goodbye to
its proprietary networking roots and sets its sights on the future.
Tool provides open window to firewalls
WebTrends' Firewall Suite
3.0 is a great fit for small and large shops alike that need to know what's going
through their firewalls and what their users are up to,
Intel
dials up gadgets
Intel has used its influence to guide technical development
of personal computers in the past, and now it's trying the same thing with cell
phones and handhelds.
Informix breaks up operations into two separate companies
The struggling
software vendor is splitting into two companies -- one focused on databases, the
other on business intelligence and other applications -- in a move that effectively
erases its March acquisition of Ardent Software.
Security software vendor develops Carnivore alternative
Network ICE
Corp. is developing an e-mail sniffing program called Altivore. The company said
Altivore can be used as an alternative to the FBI's controversial Carnivore surveillance
system, although it hasn't been accepted yet by law enforcement officials.
This Email Will Self-Destruct
The latest product to promise email
with an expiration date is Safe Message. Eliminating the email server from sensitive
communications, the company hopes it can appeal to litigation-sensitive corporate
email users
Palm Wars Begin
Palm and Pocket PC makers will wage a bruising battle
this fall to sell you a PDA. They'll crow about cool features and lower prices.
E-SERVICES
Cisco Pact
Set To Spur Content Delivery Networks
Cisco Systems Inc. has formed an
alliance that will have more than one survivor and payoffs that make a million
bucks look like chump change.
Nortel
Shows Off Fiber-Optic Breakthrough
The world's No. 1 supplier of optical
transmission gear, show off technology that allows carriers to isolate the individual,
hair-thin strands of fiber that are inside fiber-optic networks, opening new avenues
for high-speed data services
Wireless Industry: Cell Phones Are Safe
Despite reports linking cell
phone use and brain cancer, the federal government and the wireless industry insist
that until scientific research shows otherwise, cell phone use is not a health
hazard.
Syndicating
Online Before There Was an Internet
Web syndication is just now starting
to grow into a significant industry, and online content producers are slowly starting
to earn decent revenues from licensing their content to a clientele of Internet
sites and online publishers eager to get low-cost content.
Cracks in Inktomi's Content Bridge
The content-distribution group,
led by Inktomi and AOL, tries to catch industry leader Akamai if it doesn't unravel
first.
U.S. government agencies get poor grades for security
In a report card
released today, federal agencies received mostly poor and failing grades on their
ability to protect their computers from hackers. Federal CIOs challenged the validity
of the results and cited a need for more funding and oversight.
AmEx Introduces Service for Safe Online Buying
American Express Co.,
New York, unveiled the first in a series of privacy products last week that the
company claims will allow consumers to browse and buy anonymously online.
Expert
Advice for Bouncing Back
Looking for some advice from experts in startups?
Look no further! Read the latest expert advice here.
Luck and the last mile
High-speed, always-on Internet access is what
consumers want. But getting broadband down the last mile to homes and businesses
is fraught with difficulty.
Back to
School, Back Online
When it comes to the internet, teachers are still
being led by their students. But more and more, web-savvy instructors are taking
advantage of a rapidly increasing amount of online educational resources.
Going Up in Flames
From the dark side of internet-age customer service:
a self-confessed corporate hatchet man discusses how he's made a career out of
e-mail flaming
Futurists
Look at `Fiberless Optical' Network
TeraBeam systems can send signals
more than a mile through the air, using a proprietary combination of laser and
telescopic technology.
P2P Companies Thrive or Die?
Will companies specializing in peer-to-peer
e-commerce find a path to profitability, or will they and their investors stagger
down a path to privation?
E-Tailers Avoiding Advanced Web Technologies
Less than 20 percent of
online retailers use Web technologies such as Java, Flash, or chat functions to
enhance the shopping experience
Compuware turns on Service
Compuware is set to unveil its application
services strategy, with the introduction of a package of testing and performance-monitoring
services called Point Forward.
3COM Spin-Off goes after Metro Giga Bit Ethernet Market
3Com has spun
off a company called Atrica to sell Gigabit Ethernet products to carriers for
metropolitan area networks.
Veritel Wins ICCM
Customer Support Award
The award went to Veritel's VoiceCall, which uses
a caller's voice, rather than calling cards, passwords or personal identification
numbers (PINs), to enable companies to automatically verify a user's identity
before allowing access to telephony-based applications...
Auto insurer rolls
out wireless Web access for policyholders
The Progressive Corp., the country's
fourth-largest automobile insurer, is starting to open its Web site to customers
who want to use wireless devices to get price quotes and report claims and to
process other transactions.
Out on a Limb with M-Commerce
"Consumers don't think they want the
wireless Web yet, but they will." So said Forrester analyst Patrick Callinan,
explaining his firm's recent conclusion that there is "latent demand" for Internet-enabled
mobile phones in the United States...
Free Net Calls ... For a Price
Free Internet phone calls are on the
horizon, but telecom industry experts warn that next-generation broadband service
charges will mean they still won't be cost-free.
Net Transforming Real Estate Biz
The number of unique visitors to
online real estate sites this summer increased by 75 percent over the same period
last year
E-MARKETING NEWS
Intel's
Chip Recall Sparks Concern
Analyst says chip maker puts bragging rights
ahead of sales.
103
Million new online users
IDC Research, US To Gain 103 Million New Online
Users
Form
Follow E-Fashion
Neiman Marcus hopes to build a strong Internet presence
with technology that's as fashionable as the $1,000-plus articles of clothing
it peddles.
No Magic Bullet
For Partnering
There's No Magic Bullet For Partnering Trying to make
sense out of partnering programs is getting tougher by the minute. It seems that
everyone-vendors, integrators, consultants, VARs and end users-is in a constant
state of revamping or fine-tuning a business model.
One On One - venture
capitalist and Web integrator
A venture capitalist and a Web integrator
transcend their coach/player relationship into a professional give-and-go. Mentoring
can pay off in ways you never dreamed possible. Care to give it a shot?
Insurers stroll toward
e-commerce
For the most part, insurance is still a face-to-face business.
Home
Depot builds hopes on the Web
Will consumers flock to the Web to buy
shovels, brooms, and bags of cement mix? Home Depot (NYSE: HD) thinks so, at least
in Las Vegas.
Low-blow
campaign tactics online
Republican-run sites like Gorewillsayanything.com
(featured on a national TV spot) and Democratic efforts such as Millionairesforbush.com
are bringing traditional low-blow campaign tactics online. If nothing else, they're
an alternative to the bland positivism of the candidates' official websites.
Internet - Hosts with the most
While the number of connected host computers
is usually cited as an indication of the internet's size, the data vary substantially
even at the most aggregated level. eMarketer senior analyst Nevin Cohen crunches
the numbers.
Wireless
gaming worth USD6 billion by 2005
Internet games on mobile phones are
set to become a massive market in Europe and the US, with 200 million people playing
these games by 2005
Six Greatest Barriers to mCommerce
In the wake of the unbridled optimism
that surrounded the launch of the wireless web, many analysts are beginning to
take a hard look at the prospects for mobile commerce.
How
sites build traffic
Traffic is what sites want, but how do sites build
traffic when there are so many sites out there soaking up that eyeball time ?
Secret
of eBay's Success
The online auction giant's huge network of sellers
and buyers -- the approximately 16 million people who buy and sell on eBay are
behind both its present success and future outlook
Readers
Hunger For Media News
Readers now demand coverage about how the changes
in media are going to affect not only our everyday consumption of it, but also
the individual businesses.
Amazon's Friendly
Deception
Marketing tests are nothing new. But there are two big problems
with Amazon's approach. In the brick-and-mortar world, customers rarely cross
over geographic boundaries and discover the price inconsistencies. When they do,
they attribute them to regional differences.
Online Advertisers Targeting Parents to Reach Kids
Targeting kids has
always been a challenge to marketers. According to AdRelevance, online advertisers
are shifting their focus toward families, and away from the kids, while Nielsen//NetRatings
found kids 2 to 11 have the highest click rates.
Streaming
Media Apps Popping Up Everywhere
Data from PC Data and Media Metrix found
that streaming media applications, instant messaging software, and even Napster
are growing in popularity among home Internet users in the US.
E-mail
marketers form alliance for anti spam protocols
A group of 15 companies
will form a coalition with the intent of designing e-mail standards to limit unsolicited
e-mail, or spam.
Navy
poised to award $16 billion intranet contract
The huge outsourcing pact,
which is expected to be awarded, could change the face of the government / industry
partnership.
Selling
Students
Campus Pipeline's powerful intranet software costs universities
nothing -- except access to the students, that is. Never mind the discreet banner
ads -- will the intensely targeted e-commerce and marketing to college students
be too high a price to pay?
Checking
out Online Payment and Security
Business is booming for internet person-to-person
payment systems. PayPal has signed up nearly 3 million users, and new sites crop
up all the time. But while it's easy to put your money into these services, getting
it out again can be less-than-convenient
DaimlerChrysler Chooses E.piphany for Customer Analysis
Auto giant DaimlerChrysler
has selected the reporting, analysis and data mining software of E.piphany to
gain a better insight into its 40 million U.S. customers.
2 Travel Sites Take
the Road Less Traveled By
Two new Web sites are planning to enter the
already crowded online travel market with new twists on discount ticketing.
Public
Telephone Network Problems
The public telephone network's problems, and
possible solutions
SUPPLY CHAIN NEWS
This section
sponsored by - Sameday.com, please visit them at http://www.sameday.com
FTC
gives go-ahead to auto-industry exchange
The Federal Trade Commission
today said it was ending an antitrust-related investigation into the online exchange
being developed by the Big 3 auto makers, although the matter could be reopened
in the future.
Contact Center ASP Market Shows Rapid Growth
The ASP (application
service provider) market for U.S. contact centers is expected to be among the
highest-growth markets in the industry over the next five years.
Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing
Customers want to know the truth
about whether a product on a website is in stock. Real-time inventory is the best
way to tell them.
Home Shopping
Network
In the old days, realtors held the keys to a massive database
of property listings. Then the Web came along, shifting power to consumers and
reshaping the industry.
iXL Restructuring
To Cause 350 Job Cuts
iXL is planning to cut 350 consulting and support
positions as it moves to restructure its organization and streamline operations
in the wake of slowed revenue growth.
Eddie Bauer Tests Children's Line on Internet
Eddie Bauer Inc. on
Oct. 15 will test a full children's apparel line only on the Internet -- a first
for the 80-year-old retailer.
Ebay
To Tap Auction Service Site For Partnership
eBay is picking sides in
the battle of the auction service sites.
Satisfaction Guaranteed
Customer service is the name of the game for
e-commerce sites. And it's even more important for Web-based businesses. But today's
customer-relationship management products fall short.
Interfacing is hard to do
E-marketplaces are pushing small- and mid-sized
businesses toward a more dynamic market model in which, buyers and sellers meet
in real time, communicating via a single, transparent interface. But connecting
a supplier's back-end systems to the Web presents significant technical challenges.
The Last Company on the Web?
More than 99% of Fortune 1000 companies
have corporate Web sites, setting up an awkward race for being last to the Web...
The Straight Scoop on E-Holiday Fulfillment
Last year's holiday season
exposed some troubling weaknesses in e-commerce fulfillment infrastructure. Frustrated
consumers levied blame on overwhelmed e-tailers who found much criticism in their
outside vendors and distributors, as well as overworked carriers...
E.piphany Partnerships Bring CRM to B2B
E.piphany Inc. announced a
set of alliances to bring its CRM software to the business-to-business (B2B) market.
French Smart Card Firm Plans Wireless CRM Foray
Marseille, France-based
Gemplus announced plans to acquire Paris-based SLP InfoWare in a move to capitalize
on the wireless CRM applications market.
Engage and Compaq
Commit to Multi-Millon Dollar Deal
Engage said its solutions will provide
Compaq's customers with sophisticated profiling and personalization capabilities.
Engage will also enable CRM solutions such as promotions, analytics...
Winstar and Cyntergy Court Hospitality Industry
Broadband services
company Winstar Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: WCII) has entered a distribution
partnership with Cyntergy, a provider of technology integration services for the
hospitality, food service and retail industries.
Smaller ISPs Threatening
Dominance of Big Boys
A study by J.D. Power and Associates looked at consumer
satisfaction with ISPs and found that regional providers are using broadband to
their advantage.
Appetite for food/beverage exchanges shrinking
Many of the 70 B2B
exchange players trying to capture part of the multibillion dollar global food
and beverage market are being forced to shift strategies and pursue niches.
E-Commerce Sees Seasonal Shift
Reflecting a seasonal pattern, apparel
and sports Web sites topped the list of Internet categories viewed most by home
computer users last month, according to Nielsen//NetRatings...
E-tailers turning extra inventory into extra cash
Struggling e-tailers
looking to make fast money and put up a good front to the public have a secret
friend in Overstock.com. The online discount site lets companies quietly dump
slow-selling goods.
AOL
debuts Netscape Netbusiness
The Internet giant on Wednesday announced
a service intended to help small businesses build free storefronts on the Web
to reach more customers.
Boeing, Commerce
One complete trial run of aerospace exchange
The Boeing Co. and software
vendor Commerce One said they have finished a pilot project for linking the aircraft
manufacturer's suppliers to an online exchange being developed by a group of aerospace
and defense companies.
Dell announces online marketplace for customers and suppliers
Dell
Computer Corp. is opening its first online business-to-business marketplace for
its customers and suppliers next month.
Xenos Extends Business Alliances
Software firm Xenos announced new
partnerships with several firms, including The Guardian Life Insurance Co. in
North America, and NatWest Bank, Banif (part of Banco Santander), Royal Mail,
La Caixa and Allianz in Europe. Xenos plans to unveil a data-to-e-content strategy
next week to help organizations move toward eCRM applications.
Other tech firms not singing Intel blues
Although Intel's revenue
warning has sent shockwaves through the tech industry, many companies chimed in
today to say their business is on track. Among PC makers, Compaq Computer and
Hewlett-Packard said today that business is in line with expectations. Dell said
yesterday that it remains on track to reach its goal of 30 percent sales growth
this year.
CONTENT, PORTAL & COMMUNITY
KEY Wins Ease - Of - Use Race
Key Bank's Web site unlocks the secret
to ease of use, according to new data from WebCriteria.
Must Net Radio Pay to Play?
Yahoo's deal with the Recording Industry
Association of America didn't receive nearly as much coverage as MP3.com's crushing
loss
Broadband To Boost Interactivity
Broadband's value will come from
building enriched data, presentation, and function into Web browsers, but users
will be impatient with animation, audio, and video that don't support their goals
Lucent, Start-up Bring Streaming Video to cell Phones
Wireless video
start-up PacketVideo struck a deal with communications equipment giant Lucent
Technologies this week, agreeing to jointly develop better streaming video technology
for high-speed wireless devices.
Europeans Seeking Work on the Web
An increasing number of Europeans
are using the Web to look for a job, according to a survey released Monday by
market research firm MMXI Europe...
Content Sites At CrossRoads
Content sites are facing a rather perplexing
dilemma: to syndicate or not to syndicate. Though the model for reselling content
has worked well in the offline world, content creators are quickly discovering
that the Web poses different challenges.
Go2Net to beef up HyperMart Marketplace
The Net portal will add auction
and reverse-auction capabilities to its HyperMart Network with an eye toward driving
leads to small businesses. A direct-buy feature is also on tap.
The net as one giant Brain
Napster's music-sharing system has hogged
the spotlight. But the more powerful use of peer-to-peer networking - individual
computers exchanging data without a central server - may be to combine the processing
power of thousands of networked PCs to create a virtual supercomputer.
Olympics Look Like
A Web Winner
The Sydney 2000 Olympic games could prove a huge opportunity
and challenge for web sites conveying news about events around the world in near-real
time.
PaySys takes aim at online credit-card processing
PaySys unveiled
new Web-enabled software and an enabling platform that translate back-end data
in credit-card processing applications from one system to another -- in real time
and on a multinational level.
Next internet arbitage frontier : Carbon, not silicon
While immigration
laws prevent domestic firms from exploiting the vast wage differences between
countries, creating a way to hire workers in developing countries at local wages
while having them work in the West (tele-communting, perhaps?) could reap huge
benefits.
Information
does not equal knowledge
In the age of tech, it's easy to confuse information
with knowledge. But, as programmer Daniel Kohanski argues, the two are distinct.
And, so far, the ability to acquire knowledge is what distinguishes humans from
computers.
The Day the IPO Died
The stigma haunting startups that fail to go
public can taint their credibility and force them to refocus. And those are the
lucky ones.
Pirates Invade Book Publishing
At least one website offers free downloads
of entire texts of copyrighted books by famous authors. What can the publishing
industry do about this Napster-ization of books?
First Palm virus raises questions about security
The first virus targeting
Palm users has been discovered by antivirus software makers, raising new questions
about the security of handheld computers and wireless devices.
Whose
Credit Is It Anyway?
When a company that produces credit reports pressured
E-Loan to stop allowing customers to see their scores, folks stood up and took
notice. The FTC is among those backing a congressman's bill to give customers
the right to know where they stand
Internet Radio Boxes Debut
New hardware devices try to take the geek
out of listening to Web music. The consumer-friendly boxes enable you to remotely
control music and listen to MP3s through home stereos.
E-Satisfy Expands Online Customer Survey Network
Customer experience
measurement company e-Satisfy has added several sites to its Site Monitor network,
which uses online surveys to identify Web site visitors and determine whether
the site is meeting customer needs, both online and offline.
GOVERNANCE & GOING GLOBAL
How to protect yourself from Auction
Fraud
Shocking new statistics show auctions are the leading source of
fraud online. Don't be a victim. Protect yourself with my guide to safe online
auctioning.
Education Called key to Bridging Digital Divide
Information technology
has led to greater efficiencies between businesses, higher labor productivity,
lower costs and improved living standards around the world.
Open Source Licensing Battle Comes to an end
Open source licensing
battle comes to an end
Bills Would Protect Against Net Surveillance
Shocked at how simple
it is for law enforcement to get court permission to see the telephone numbers
people dial, legislators Wednesday discussed new bills aimed at tightening surveillance
laws and put final touches on a plan to address workplace privacy.
Trading Net Privacy at E-Checkout
Signs are multiplying that online
privacy is fast becoming a moot point - at least for shoppers.
Indicators Coming
Up Short
Financial experts say it's time to throw out old economic indicators
and install updated measures that more closely track the vitals of the new economy.
E-Biz Seal Of Approval
The nation's largest association of accountants
is finalizing standards for companies engaged in Web commerce. But earning its
seal of approval might prove too costly for the very e-businesses that stand to
gain the most.
Antitrust, consumers: Incompatible goals
To a layman, it seems clear
that antitrust law doesn't always protect consumers, says John Dodge.
In Defense Of WAP
Lately, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) has
been criticized for being too slow, too expensive and on the verge of obsolescence.
Time Running Out For High Tech Legislation
School's in, but Congress
is almost out of session. With a few short weeks left, how are the kids on Capitol
Hill doing with the assortment of high-tech bills on their desks?
FCC Delays Open Access Inquiry
Inquiry into what federal regulations
should govern high-speed Internet access over cable television systems.
EU Says It Must Be Decisive On Tech Mergers
Regulators must act decisively
to prevent the emergence of a small group of dominant companies in hi-tech sectors
of the economy
Anti Piracy Features
FCC to Require Anti-Piracy Features in Digital
TVs, VCRs
Restricting SPAM
Despite Outcry, Existing Laws Already Restrict Spam
Net
Tax Would Cost Jobs
An expansion of Internet sales taxes could cost the
state of California 100,000 jobs by 2002, according to a report released by a
privately funded think tank.
At privacy conference, government regulation starts to look inevitable
There was little doubt among most attendees at Global Privacy Summit that
comprehensive legislation governing online data privacy is on the way.
Art of Global recruiting
So your US-based company is ready for overseas
expansion. Be careful -- what many Americans consider standard hiring practices
can be irksome or downright rude outside the United States.
White House launches new federal government Web site
FirstGov.gov,
a new Web site that provides a single point of access to some 27 million government
Web pages, went online today. But analysts said its value to business users is
by no means certain.
House subcommittee votes to ban Internet fees
The telecommunications
subcommittee makes a surprise move to bar federal regulators from imposing any
fees on Internet traffic, including voice services.
Digital Cash Can Thwart Us
A confidential Treasury Department report
wants to force insurers and travel agents to report 'suspicious' financial activities.
The feds fret that the Net and e-cash will interfere with agents' ability to monitor
Americans' activities.
NASA Hackers Go Down In Flames
Two hackers who allegedly entered the
National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) and other government and university
computers are feeling the real-time pinch of the long arm of the law...
PARTNERS & DEALS NEWS
Microsoft, Soft bank
each to pay US$153mln for JV IPO
Software giant Microsoft Corp and Internet
investor Softbank Corp will each pay US$153.9 million to maintain their respective
9.5 percent stakes in Asia Global Crossing as part of the company's planned Nasdaq
IPO later this year.
Former Prodigy Executive To Join Virginia Start-Up
Gilat-To-Home
Inc. of McLean, a newly formed provider of high-speed Internet service using satellites,
tapped former Prodigy and MCI WorldCom executive David Trachtenberg to be the
company's president and chief marketing officer.
Yahoo Shares Slips On Advertising Worries
Yahoo Inc. shares slipped
9 percent Monday after a research note from Lehman Brothers analyst Holly Becker
echoed recent concern about the impact of the slowdown in advertising spending
on the company.
Check Free May Be Worth Second Look
Shares of online-billing company
Check Free Corp., though considerably off their 52-week high, are still higher
than where they were a year ago. The stock is currently in limbo after the company
warned on fiscal first quarter earnings, but given the soundness of CheckFree's
overall prospects, the shares should pick up the pace to head higher.
WorldCom Acquires Intermedia and ASP Digex
In a move designed to accelerate
its Web-hosting strategy by 12 to 18 months, WorldCom has announced that it has
signed a definitive merger agreement with Intermedia Communications.
MasterCard aims to master big-ticket B2B
The credit-card company is
teaming with TradeCard to create a system for processing large domestic and international
transactions on the Internet.
SCO/Tarantella Gets New Money, New Life
SCO's Unix kingdom may belong
to leading Linux vendor Caldera, but Tarantella, SCO's remaining product line,
has been given a $13.1 million boost by Security Research Associates Inc., with
a private stock purchase of 3,275,000 shares of SCO and SCO owned shares of Caldera
Systems
Great Plains To Preview Co-Built Software
At its partners conference
in Fargo, N.D., Great Plains Software will roll out four new financial software
and service offerings collaboratively created with various ISV allies. The previewed
products will range from the Great Plains Supply Chain Series, for B2B trading
communities, to a time-and-expense (t&e) reporting application for Palm handhelds.
Two exchanges form steel alliance
Two online steel exchanges, MetalSite
and MetalSpectrum, on Tuesday announced a business alliance that they say will
further improve supply chain efficiencies for metal buyers and sellers.
HP's buyout of PwC would be no easy deal
The two companies are still
likely weeks away from completing a deal. But it's a move fraught with perils
that could test the strength of HP's recent reorg.
SBC, Covad Mark DSL Acquisition Trend
Weeks after Verizon Communications'
proposed acquisition of NorthPoint Communications, SBC Communications has signed
a deal with Covad Communications that further tears down the wall between incumbents
and competitive exchange providers.
Servistream Gains
CRM Credits with eSplice
Navarre Corporation, the parent company of eSplice,
said that Servistream will provide instant messaging, chat sessions, e-mail, voice-over
IP, collaborative browsing and traditional toll-free...
SPSS and Informix Partner for Customer Analysis
The companies said
SPSS' CustomerCentric Web-based customer analysis software will be integrated
with Informix's Red Brick Warehouse, a specialized database technology for data
mart applications.
Listen.com Lands
WiredPlanet
Two San Francisco companies combine technologies to simplify
finding and storing music online. Listen.com adds streaming to prepare for the
post-Napster world. By Brad King.
ADC to buy Broadband Access for $2.25 billion
Fiber-optic maker ADC
will acquire Broadband Access Systems in a deal that ADC hopes will speed the
company's broadband development efforts.
Barnes & Noble's online store becomes Yahoo's featured bookseller
Online
portal Yahoo and online retailer Amazon.com end their partnership, and Barnesandnoble.com
moves in as the featured bookseller on the portal site.
Triversity Teams with TPS To Expand Retail Services
The integration
of Triversity's and TPS's applications is expected to provide retailers with enhanced
capabilities for combining transaction processing and customer relationship management
across all points of interaction.
Universal Inks Digital Licensing Pact
Universal Music Group (UMG)
has entered into a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Loudeye Technologies
to digitally store and encode its entire U.S. catalog of audio and music titles...
Sitel To Deliver CRM to Canadian Energy Company
Sitel said it will
provide data collection, customer enrollment and customer care for Ontario Hydro
Energy for Onsource, a Web site that will offer electricity, long distance phone,
natural gas, water heater rental, Internet access and wireless access...
Answerthink and i2 Partner to Build B2B Marketplaces
Answerthink will
create transaction-based trading systems using i2's software and Web services.
The resulting applications will give partners a single platform that uses i2's
supply chain management technology...
MOVERS & SHAKERS NEWS
AMD Files to Sell $1.5 Billion in Securities
Advanced Micro Devices filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
to sell $1.5 billion in debt securities, preferred and common stock, and equity
and debt warrants.
MP3Board Sues AOL-Time Warner Over Gnutella
MP3Board.com filed a complaint
against AOL-Time Warner for responsibility of the file-swapping system Gnutella
that was originally developed by AOL's Nullsoft division.
SEC Targets Alleged Web Pyramid Scheme
Federal regulators filed suit
to stop an allegedly fraudulent pyramid scheme they said was masquerading as an
Internet investment club and had bilked some 2,000 investors of $5.6 million.
Micron Sues Rambus
Chip maker charges competitor with antitrust violations,
invalid patents
California Judge Allows Class-Action Case Against Microsoft
A judge
allowed the first class-action suit to proceed against Microsoft Corp. on allegations
that the software maker's monopoly harmed California consumers. Dozens of similar
suits linger nationwide.
SafetyTips.com Unit Buys APBnews.com for $575,000
The fate of crime
news Internet site APBnews.com was finally determined after SafetyTips.com Inc.
bought the assets of APB Online Inc. for $575,000 cash.
AOL Defends Time Warner Merger at EU Hearing
America Online Inc.,
yielding few concessions and dismissing critics, defended its plan to merge with
Time Warner Inc. in a tense standoff today before European Union regulators.
CMGI Hatches A New Version Of Itself
CMGI, the prototypical high-flying
Internet incubator, is going to the ground game.
RSA's Patent Expiration May Spur Competition
RSA Security is stealing
some of its competitors' thunder by releasing its encryption algorithm to the
public domain two weeks early.
Monumental Battle looms over Spectrum
While European operators charge
eagerly ahead, pledging to spend billions of dollars for third-generation wireless
licenses, the U.S. hasn't yet figured out which frequencies can be used for operating
such networks.
Patent Infringement Case against 3DFX
NVIDIA Files Patent Infringement
Suit Against 3dfx Corporation NVIDIA Corporation the leader in advanced graphics
processing technology
Gates, Allen to Sell Millions in Stock
Microsoft Corp. co-founders
Bill Gates and Paul Allen plan to sell a total of $109.3 million of stock in the
company, the world's largest provider of software
Government Warns Investors of 'pre-IPO' Fraud
Federal regulators say
they are seeing a number of companies that claim to offer "pre-IPO" stock sales
online to give investors a jump before the firms go public
Auto Mega-Site Adds Key Supplier
Automotive-systems supplier Visteon
said Thursday that it will participate in Covisint, the giant online auto purchasing
exchange being built by Ford, DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, Nissan and Renault.
Enemies Unite Against Microsoft
In a big move to fend off the influence
of Microsoft in the OLAP market space, an unlikely group of vendors have teamed
up to support a new Java-based interface for OLAP servers.
Sun Acquires Cobalt Networks
Sun Microsystems and Cobalt Networks
announced that they have entered into an agreement in which Sun will acquire Cobalt
in a stock-for-stock merger.
Facing the Music in Europe
The planned merger of EMI and Warner Music
is shaking up the continent. And some new thinking is emerging.
Pseudo Meets The Real World
Does the downfall of Pseudo mark the end
of the new-media heyday in New York? Or is Silicon Alley just sobering up from
Josh Harris' party?
Webvan To Delay Expansion
Online grocer Webvan (Nasdaq: WBVN) announced
Friday it will delay its scheduled expansion and a planned distribution center
move in order to concentrate on obtaining profitability and integrating its systems
with those of acquired rival HomeGrocer.com...
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Southern Pacific/Union Pacific Merger
Top 10 Names for the Southern Pacific
Railroad and Union Pacific Railroad Merger. (note: ac4400cw is a type of locomotive)
10)Soup
9) How many ac4400cw's do we have?
8) Onion Pacific
7)
Pacific Squared
6) Suffering Pacific
5) Southern Union Pacific
4)
Pathetic Lines
3) Southern Fried Chicken Pacific
2) Line to Nowhere
1)
Union Pacific
Did you hear about the merger of Xerox and Wurlitzer?
From
now on, they're going to make reproductive organs!
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