FBI investigates cyber attack on Citigroup, WSJ reports

Reuters

Published: 7:02AM GMT 23 Dec 2009

“There has been no breach and there have been no associated losses,” Citigroup
said in a statement.

“Occasionally, as with virtually all financial institutions, there are
instances of fraud or breaches of third-party systems that result in our
taking actions to protect our customers and Citi,” the bank added.

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eBay faces hefty compensation bill after website crashes following massive pre-Christmas surge

By
Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:58 PM on 23rd November 2009

The eBay website crashed over the weekend but has now been restored
The eBay website crashed over the weekend following a surge in the number of items for sale.The technical issue resulted from a huge increase in live listings as sellers ramped up for Christmas.Millions of online shoppers were left unable to search for items on the website following the computer system failure.Yesterday, eBay said it had restored the search function after the glitch led to searches returning either limited or no results throughout Saturday.The global e-commerce and payments company said it has more than 200million live listing - 33 per cent more than at this time a year ago.The technical issue, once identified, was easily fixed and implemented
across the site’s servers on Saturday afternoon and evening, eBay said.But the firm could be left with a hefty bill to compensate sellers for losses caused by the outage.A spokesman for the eBay told the Financial Times: ‘Rest assured that we will assess the economic impact of this issue and will be compensating sellers appropriately.’In the meantime we will be issuing full fee credits for affected listings.’Geoffrey Holland, a Vancouver-based merchant who sells CDs and DVDs, estimated his losses at $500-$600 (£302-£363).He told the newspaper: ‘I would normally have expected to sell more than 100 items. Yesterday I sold 11.This year eBay has encouraged large firms to sell more items on the site and smaller sellers claims this has put a strain on the system.

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Ebay closes in on sale of Skype

EBay’s sale of Skype to an investment group for $1.9 billion is set to close
within a month as a deal to settle a bitter legal battle over the future of
the internet telephony company neared completion.

Skype’s original founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis are likely to take
a stake in the company again in return for dropping various lawsuits against
eBay.

But Index Ventures and its partner Mike Volpi are likely to withdraw from the
investment group which will take a majority stake in Skype.

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Christmas post chaos ahead as Royal Mail workers vote for national strike

By
Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 4:04 PM on 08th October 2009

Royal Mail workers have backed a series of national strikes in a bitter row over jobs and pay which threatens to cripple the Christmas post service.Unions announced the national walkout today after a ballot of 120,000 workers. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said 76 per cent of those who took part in the ballot voted for a strike.The move could mean millions of presents and cards are not delivered in the lead-up to the festive period. The CWU said its members backed a nationwide walkout in protest at the ‘imposition’ of changes to working practices as well as cuts in their pay and job losses.But critics have said that a strike when the economy is just emerging from recession is a ‘death wish’ that ‘defies logic.’CWU general secretary Billy Hayes at the TUC conference last month, left,  and Royal Mail chief executive Adam Crozier. 76% of CWU members voted to strike

The union will have to give seven days notice of a strike, raising
the threat of industrial action across the country by the end of the
month, just two years after the last national stoppage.

It comes after online retailer Amazon and eBay said they were searching for
‘contingency measures’ as the bitter row over jobs, pay and services at
the postal service escalates.Auction site eBay have also temporarily suspended the option allowing customers to rate sellers on how quickly their goods arrived due to the possibility of strike delays.Royal Mail condemned the CWU’s plan for a national strike as
‘deplorable and irresponsible’ and said the union’s action would drive
customers away from the business and undermine confidence in the entire
postal services industry.
Royal Mail managing director Mark Higson said: ‘It is clearly
reprehensible for the union to continue to hold strikes when Royal Mail
is not planning any further efficiency changes for the rest of the 2009
calendar year and the priority facing everyone in Royal Mail is to
deliver the best possible service to customers in the run-up to
Christmas.
‘We have held more than seven meetings with the CWU over the last
few months and we call on them now to stop the strikes, get back round
the table and talk.’Robert Hammond, post expert at Consumer Focus, said: ‘It’s hugely
disappointing to watch a great UK institution tear itself apart.
‘We call on Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union to urgently ask for Acas intervention to resolve this dispute.
‘A prolonged strike over Christmas could cripple the service and
will lead to a miserable time for consumers and businesses alike.
‘The bottom line is that there are no winners in this dispute’And Dr Adam Marshall, director of policy at the British Chambers of
Commerce, said: ‘This strike announcement defies logic at a time when
businesses and Government are working hard to move the UK economy back
to growth.
Amazon packages wait to be delivered at the firm’s distribution centre near Milton Keynes. Amazon is to stop using Royal Mail for larger packages

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Scrap car on sale for £300 on eBay fetches £140,000 after bidders discover it’s actually an historic racer

By
Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 10:59 PM on 22nd September 2009

A simple eBay auction turned into an epic bidding frenzy when a car thought to be scrap turned out to be one of the world’s rarest vehicles.The rusty car – which has no engine or transmission – was initially put up for sale in the U.S. with a starting bid of $500 (300).But after one eBay user realised the battered 1963 Pontiac LeMans Tempest was in fact one of six specially-made Super Duty versions, it eventually sold for nearly $227,000 (140,000).
Secret past: The battered 1963 Pontiac LeMans Tempest turned out to be one of just six Super Duty editions

Notice anything missing? The car was missing an engine and transmission. The first bidder offered just 300
What helped boost sales even more during the nine-day auction was that it also appeared to be one of the cars driven by American drag racing legend Stan Antlocer.The car’s plexiglass windows, unusual suspension setup and a dash board bearing the name of a racetrack tipped bidders to its racing history.But it was all a shock to the seller, 123eclin, who hadn’t expected to get more than a few hundred dollars for the rusting classic.Reading through the questions on the auction gives us reason to believe the seller truly didn’t know the car’s provenance.
Suspicion: Eagle-eyed eBay users noticed the suspension set up was different to a regular Tempest LeMans

Final clue: Bidders discovered its racing history by the dash board which bears special dials and a track name
In his answers, he seems both surprised by the car’s potential value as well as overwhelmed by the attention. With only seven minutes remaining, the highest offer was $95,000. When the virtual gavel fell, eBay user ccsi2000 had bought a very rare, if a little rusty, LeMans for $226,521.
Historic: The car back in 1963 being driven by American drag racing legend Stan Antlocer (also seen below)

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US car sales soar during cash for clunkers

The US government’s popular ‘cash for clunkers’ programme for new car buyers,
sent vehicle sales soaring in August, although some of the biggest winners
were foreign companies.

At Ford, sales of cars and trucks rose to 181,826 in August, up 11 per cent on
July and a rise of 17.2 per cent compared to August 2008.

General Motors saw sales rise to 246,479, up an impressive 30 per cent on
July’s figures but still 20 per cent lower than August 2008. Year on year
retail sales were down 17 per cent while fleet sales declined 29 per cent.
The company said it was extending its sales partnership with eBay, selling
cars online, until the end of September.

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eBay makes $1.1bn loss on Skype sale to investors$

eBay, the internet auction giant, is to sell the bulk of its Skype internet
calls business for $1.9 billion to a private investor group that includes
one its earliest backers.

The deal values the entire company at just $2.75 billion.

eBay brought Skype four years ago for $3.1 billion. It paid $1.3 billion in
cash and $1.3 billion in stock for the online communications company - and
then made a further payout of $530 million to the company’s founders. The
deal could have cost another $1 billion if certain financial targets were
met.

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Putting my make-up tips on YouTube made me a millionaire

By
Liz Thomas
Last updated at 11:45 AM on 15th August 2009

She was stuck in dead-end jobs, having dropped out of school at 15 after she had a baby.
But thanks to the power of the internet - and a little initiative - Lauren Luke is on her way to becoming a millionaire.
The 27-year-old has made a career out of her passion for cosmetics and make-up artistry.
Magic wand: Lauren Luke turned her love for make-up into a career
She has her own make-up brand and is using her expertise to publish books and video games.
Miss Luke said: ‘I can’t believe how things have taken off. It feels like a dream. At school I was bullied and had no friends. I used to sit at home in my bedroom and try out different bits of make-up and styles.
‘Then I fell pregnant and dropped out of school and did dead-end jobs. So to have this success doing something I love, and really making something of myself, is brilliant.’

She’s come a long way: The launch party of the By Lauren Luke range of make-up in Sephore, Times Square New York
Miss Luke began by selling popular-brands of make-up on internet site eBay. At the request of customers she recorded ten-minute videos on how to use the products and posted them on YouTube. The clips proved incredibly successful, with 54million hits worldwide.
On the strength of that, she was approached by Anomaly, a company that finds new ideas and helps develop them into brands.
They put her in touch with cosmetics firm Zorbit which helped her create and launch the By Lauren Luke make-up range.
The company is co-owned by her, Anomaly and Zorbit and Miss Luke sits on the management board.
She has now signed a book deal with publishers Hodder & Stoughton, created a Nintendo DS Game called Supermodel Makeover and is in talks about a TV show.

Lauren with her son Jordan and her partner Ken Taylor
Miss Luke also recently signed an agreement with retailer Sephora which will see her products sold in 135 stores across the U.S.
And earlier this year, she also secured a deal with YouTube’s owners Google, which entitles her to earn revenue from adverts displayed on the bottom of her videos.
It is understood the deals are together worth close to a million pounds.
Despite her new-found fortune, Miss Luke still lives in a tiny one-bedroom flat in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, with son Jordan, now 11, and partner Ken Taylor, 40.
‘There’s no space and what I want the most is to have somewhere with more room so I can sit and think about new ideas for my range, and so we aren’t crammed in,’ she said.
She is also in talks with Boots about selling her make-up in the UK. ‘Things are going well in America but I would really like to be able to walk into a British high street store and see my make-up sold here.’
Video site YouTube is increasingly creating international stars because of the ease in which clips can be viewed and shared.
Earlier this year, a clip of Susan Boyle’s audition for Britain’s Got Talent received more than 100million hits worldwide. Within weeks she had become a global celebrity.

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GM plan to sell cars on eBay starts

Car buyers in California will be able to name their price tomorrow when a new
sales partnership between General Motors and eBay, the internet auction
site, goes live.

GM, which first announced the scheme to its plans to expand its showrooms from
the parking lot to the laptop last month, said that 225 dealers in
California would take part in the trial, offering up to 20,000 cars and
trucks, from tomorrow.

Vehicles will be offered through eBay Motors’ traditional formats such as “Buy
It Now”, where shoppers agree to pay the advertised price, and eBay’s
innovative “Best Offer” option, where buyers indicate the price
they are willing to pay and can negotiate online with the dealer for the
vehicle.

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GM joins with eBay to test online car sales

AP

Published: 7:41AM BST 10 Aug 2009

General Motors and eBay are expected to announce on Monday that hundreds of
the carmaker’s California dealers will let consumers haggle over the prices
of new cars and trucks through the online marketplace, as part of a
previously disclosed trial.

About 225 of California’s 250 GM dealers are set to take part in the program,
which will begin on Tuesday. They will be selling Buick, Chevrolet, GMC and
Pontiac vehicles on co-branded websites through eBay’s online auto
marketplace, eBay Motors, until September 8. The cars will also be
searchable through eBay Motors and eBay’s main site.

The trial is part of Detroit-based GM’s turnaround plan, making more official
a practice some of its dealers had already participated in on their own. It
expands an existing partnership covering GM certified used vehicles sold
through eBay.

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