Articles by Clare Saliba

As one of the largest global payment systems, Visa has looked to the Internet to boost its family of branded financial products, credit cards, smart cards, stored value cards and check cards Among its online promotional campaigns designed to enhance its brand with consumers, Visa supports an ongoing rewards program that provides discounts andexclus...

Although many financial services firms have revamped their marketing campaigns around "fear-inducing" messages, in an effort to attract and retain clients, a study released Wednesday by Forrester Research finds that these companies need to take a markedly different approach when dealing with affluent investors, including fully integrating their online and offline offerings...

European Union (EU) regulators cleared the way for the wide-scale implementation of electronic signature initiatives Wednesday, approving a global network set up by financial institutions worldwide to authenticate digital signatures and other aspects of e-commerce transactions Meeting in Brussels, Belgium, the European Commission gave the green lig...

In a move that it says reflects an "aggressive focus" on growth and profitability, online brokerage Ameritrade (Nasdaq: AMTD) announced Tuesday that it has inked a deal to acquire Deutsche Bank online subsidiary National Discount Brokers (NDB) for US$154 million in common stock "It's a reasonable price they're paying," Morningstar.com analyst Harry...

National discount retailer Kmart (NYSE: KM) and its online unit, BlueLight.com, announced Monday that they have teamed up to launch a new unlimited access Internet service plan for US$8.95 per month San Francisco, California-based BlueLight said the service, which is aimed at both new users and its 7 million-plus subscribers, is the lowest-priced m...

Although online gambling sites have flooded the Internet in a bid to capture a portion of the potentially lucrative market, many users have hedged their bets over concerns that the sites might not be legitimate, according to a study released Wednesday by Greenfield Online Underscoring the slow adoption rate, the Wilton, Connecticut-based research f...

Although the globalization and localization (G&L) services industry has just begun making inroads with some e-commerce firms, it is already transforming the e-business economy worldwide, according to a report released Wednesday by IDC According to the research firm's survey of 20 G&L leaders, these vendorsforecast their service revenues will double...

Although small businesses have had ample opportunity to tap a wealth of available resources designed to help them sell their products and services online, many are still sitting on the sidelines when it comes to e-commerce, according to a report released Tuesday by IDC The Framingham, Massachusetts-based research firm said that of the 5 million sma...

Defunct online grocer Webvan (Nasdaq: WBVN) was slapped with its second class action lawsuit in as many weeks Monday, over allegations that its initial public offering (IPO) violated federal securities laws. The latest complaint was filed against former Webvan chairman and chief executive officer George T. Shaheen, former chairman Louis H. Borders...

Mega-travel site Orbitz and online discount travel firm Hotwire, both backed by a consortium of the largest airline carriers in the U.S., said Thursday they have inked a marketing agreement that will provide each company's customers direct access to the other's fares and hotel rates As part of the deal, Orbitz will link to Hotwire's directory of "o...

Although European e-tailers are facing their own wave of closures and consolidation, a study released Tuesday by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found that the continent's online retailing industry is "far from dead," but rather that consumers are growing increasingly enthused about purchasing from brick-and-click merchants Underscoring the "prof...

While companies continued to increase their online business-to-business (B2B) adoption rate during the second quarter of 2001, most organizations still report that they are in the early stages of full-scale Internet-based buying, according to a study released Monday by the National Association of Purchasing Management(NAPM) and Forrester Research "...

Dutch supermarket giant Royal Ahold (NYSE: AHO) announced Monday that it is set to acquire all outstanding shares of U.S. online grocery unit Peapod (Nasdaq: PPOD), saying that it sees a "growing and strong" demand in the home delivery market As part of the estimated US$35 million transaction, Ahold said it will offer $2.15 for each remaining share...

Saying that its recent efforts to aggressively streamline expenses and boost sales are paying off, Internet postage firm Stamps.com (Nasdaq: STMP) reported Thursday that its net loss from continuing operations for the second quarter beat Wall Street estimates "We have done a tremendous job of cutting costs over the last couple of quarters, greatly ...

Although American consumers increasingly view themselves as the "first line of defense" in the fight to safeguard personal information online, firms conducting business on the Internet need to offer stronger privacy protections, according to anew study released Tuesday by the Privacy Leadership Initiative(PLI) and Harris Interactive "People are tel...

The shutdown of long-struggling Webvan (Nasdaq: WBVN) on Monday leaves several major U.S. areas without any online grocery service, as well as with no clear indication of how quickly the sector's remaining competitors will rush to fill in the gaps In particular, large pockets of the South appear to have been at least temporarily abandoned by Intern...

Brick-and-click retailer Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) announced Monday that is purchasing technology products vendor 4Sure.com and the businesses of its two online outlets, Computers4Sure.com and Solutions4Sure.com, for an undisclosed amount Delray Beach, Florida-based Office Depot, which has taken a number of steps in recent months to augment its onli...

Online travel company Expedia.com (Nasdaq: EXPE) was slapped Thursday with another in what has become a series of class action lawsuits against the company alleging violations of federal securities laws The latest complaint contends that Expedia, its president and chief executive officer Richard N. Barton, chief financial officer Gregory S. Stanger...

Defunct e-tailer eToys became the latest company that will have to face off against shareholders in court, as investors filed a class action lawsuit alleging that the former online toy seller's initial public offering (IPO) prospectus was "materially false and misleading." Specifically, the suit charges that a portion of the e-tailer's IPO registra...

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Monday that Netpliance (Nasdaq: NPLI), which manufactures a low-cost Internet access and e-mail device, has agreed to settle charges that its sales and billing practices violated a host of federal laws According to the agency, Netpliance employed deceptive advertising tactics when pitching its "i-op...