| EBay results bolstered by newer businesses
NEW YORK: EBay posted better-than-expected profit in the first quarter as several of its newer businesses compensated for disappointing results in its mainstay auction service. The faster-growing units include shopping.com, a price comparison site; some classified listing sites; a service to let online merchants accept credit cards; and Skype, the online voice chat service. "We are on track with our well-crafted portfolio," Meg Whitman, eBay's chief executive, said in an interview after the earnings report Wednesday. The results sent eBay's stock up about 3 percent in after-hours trading. Overall, the company earned $377 million in the first quarter, up 52 percent from a year earlier. Excluding charges related to stock-based compensation and some other items, the company earned 33 cents a share, above the 29 cents that analysts had predicted.
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PropertyRoom.com Signs 900 th Contract, Inking Houston Police ...
MISSION VIEJO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PropertyRoom.com, the largest site for online police auctions, today announced the signing of the police department of Houston, Texas, the fourth largest city in the US and the company's 900th contract. "It absolutely thrills us to bring the Houston Police Department on board," said Rob Hagen, CEO of PropertyRoom.com. "And of course, we find it exciting to book our 900th contract. Given the acceptance of PropertyRoom.com as the standard for online police auctions, we see accelerated growth and expect to ink our 1,000th contract sometime this summer." "PropertyRoom.com helps us to minimize time and labor," said Houston Police Chief Harold L. Hurtt, "And an opportunity to maximize efficiency strongly appeals to us. We look forward to a long and productive relationship." With the Houston contract, PropertyRoom.com now counts three of the top five US police departments as clients, spanning the country from New York to Los Angeles.
FOCUS ABN Amro break-up looms on eve of bidding war; Barclays ...
AMSTERDAM (Thomson Financial) - The Royal Bank of Scotland Group consortium move on ABN Amro Holding NV has thrown open the possibility that the Netherlands'' leading bank could be split amid a looming bidding war, but Barclays has not been eliminated from the battle just yet, analysts said.
Fox-Pitt Kelton analyst Jon Peace said Barclays still stands a good chance as ABN Anmro management would prefer a deal with the British bank.
He said ABN Amro would want to avoid a break-up, cost cutting and job losses resulting from a takeover bid by a large consortium and could then decide such a deal is not in the interests of shareholders.
A bidding war, however, remains a strong possibility.
After the RBoS consortium invited ABN Amro to enter "exploratory talks" last week, analysts at Keefe Bruyette & Woods said they expect further joint bids for the Dutch bank.
Brown accused of gold bungle
BRITISH finance minister Gordon Brown faces claims he ignored Bank of England advice and sold half the country's gold stocks at the bottom of the market. Senior central bank figures expressed misgivings about the decision to auction 400 tonnes of bullion between 1999 and 2002, according to the Sunday Times. Officials reportedly warned the Treasury in correspondence that there was a risk of losing money because the price of gold was at a low level. However, there was no formal consultation and Brown went ahead with the move. Since the auctions the value of gold has trebled, allegedly leaving the public purse STG2 billion ($A4.8 billion) worse off. The Treasury issued a robust denial of the claims, insisting the decision had been scrutinised carefully and the taxpayer received value for money.
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