| Online Priority: Dealership, Brand or Price?
Zag's CEO discusses how dealers can adapt their online presence to keep up with the ever-changing media landscape. Here's the truth that no automotive dealer likes to admit: the car has become a commodity. We've all heard the numbers. J.D. Power and Associates says that more than two-thirds of new-vehicle buyers use the internet in their vehicle shopping process. But what's changed over the past few years is the level and nature of the research that consumers can find online. Buyers have used the web for several years now to learn about the various makes and models, get detailed specs, research safety features and compare feedback from other buyers, mostly anecdotal product information. But today some services -- and some competing dealers -- go beyond informational tools to provide detailed price comparisons side-by-side with invoice, MSRP and Kelley Blue Book's New Car Blue Book value, which reveal what people actually are paying for a new car.
Vista can handleMicrosoft Office
Q. My teenager's computer with the Windows XP version of Microsoft Office has died. We bought a new computer for her and could not find one with Windows XP, so we ended up getting one with Vista. No one seems to know if we can load the Windows XP Office onto her computer or if I have to go out and buy Office 2007 for Vista. - Jackie Hall A. On the upside, there is no trouble loading earlier versions of Microsoft Office such as Office 2003 on computers running the Vista operating system, which are just about the only ones available in stores anymore. So while the computer industry is twisting your arm to acquire a Vista machine, you needn't fret over adding the expensive new Office 2007. On the downside, there are vexing compatibility issues because Microsoft added so many bells and whistles to Office 2007 that they can be contained only in a new file type, such as .docx in Word.
More Towne Center tenants are revealed
Kohls, Circuit City, Bed Bath & Beyond and Michaels will join Target as the main anchors at the Towne Center in Cleveland shopping center near the intersection of Paul Huff Parkway and Interstate 75. Tenants Phil Warren, Warren Commercial Real Estate of Brentwood, said in an e-mail on Friday the retail center will have many additional tenants that have not been announced. Warren said in March six other national retailers will locate at Towne Center with Target as major tenants, plus restaurants and banks on five out lots. Construction is scheduled to begin in June. The retail center will be open for business in March 2008. Target is the nation's second largest retail chain with more than 1,500 stores in 47 states. The 126,000-square-feet store will be Target's newest prototype.
Overseas performance drives strong first quarter for eBay
San Jose, California - Online auction house eBay posted a whopping 52 per cent increase in profits to 377 million dollars for first-quarter 2007, surpassing analyst forecasts and representing earnings per share of 27 cents. The surge was anchored primarily to strong overseas sales and robust performance by its PayPal online transaction segment, with domestic figures less stellar.
Also contributing to the healthy figures were strong performances from subsidiaries including price-comparison site shopping.com and online telephony provider Skype.
"This first quarter of 2007 was a very strong one for the company," said eBay president and CEO Meg Whitman in a statement released late Wednesday following close of share trading. "The strength of our core businesses, as well as the significant traction we are beginning to see across our newer businesses, helped us deliver great results across the board."
The company earned 377.2 million dollars or 27 cents per share for January-March 2007, up from 248.3 million dollars or 17 cents per share for the same period 2006.
Your Views: More on the US gun control debate
There has been considerable invective visited upon New Zealanders by American folk on this forum. Less than 10 per cent of Americans have passports.The majority of New Zealanders have travelled. We have a different perspective on world affairs because we are a small nation - and therefore tend look constantly beyond our own borders. What is out there is not pretty. Nor is a lot of what happens here. Insecurity and a questioning disposition tend to result in a more balanced world view. I am pleased that most of the world don't appear to know much about us including our location. Tragedy is part and parcel of everyone's life. It is not exclusive to Americans. This event was a tragedy - but has been blown totally out of perspective. For example more than 30,000 people in third world countries die from rabies every year vs one every two years in the USA.
America's Next Top Model Winner, Yoanna House Freshens the Face of ...
BOSTON -- Metrostyle, a brand of Redcats USA, a multi-channel leader in women's clothes and home shopping, is sporting a fresh face for spring, the winner of America's Next Top Model, Yoanna House. The new move by metrostyle to feature a winner from the highly successful reality television show, America's Next Top Model, is another step by the multi-channel brand to enhance their fashion authority in women's clothing trends. From updating their photography, collections and website, to launching a new $10,000 online sweepstakes giveaway game, metrostyle is actively pursuing innovative ways to entice their loyal customers and new shoppers looking for value-priced, trendy women's clothing. These initiatives follow a strategic name change in which metrostyle and metrostyle.com emerged out of the old names Lerner and LernerCatalog.com.
MIDDAY BUSINESS REPORT: Commerce makes first purchase in Colorado
Kansas City-based Commerce Bancshares Inc. agreed today to buy its Colorado-based namesake bank for $29.5 million. The deal to buy Commerce Bank in Aurora, Colo., a Denver suburb, gives the Kansas City company its first bank in Colorado, though it already calls on customers there. The Colorado bank has $96.8 million in assets. Commerce Bancshares said it intends to keep the bank's management in place, with Jim Lewien remaining as president. The sale requires regulatory approval, which the companies expect will come in June or July. Commerce Bancshares operates in Missouri, Kansas and Illinois and recently acquired its first bank in Oklahoma. It has $15.2 billion in assets. Commerce shares gained 67 cents, or 1.39 percent, to $48.81 in midday trading on Nasdaq.
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