October 26, 2011 at 5:39am
Mobile sales are helping eBay, but is it enough?
eBay said Wednesday that the value of goods sold in the U.S. through its mobile applications surged 133% to $100 million during the month before Christmas. Globally, the growth was even stronger: Up 166% to $230 million worth of goods.
That is good news from one angle. eBay is having success using mobile devices to sell goods during the busiest retailing period of the year. But it obscures another fact: Mobile sales may be a growing market, but it’s a tiny portion of eBay’s overall sales. And overall sales don’t appear to be growing nearly as fast.
eBay’s Gross Merchandise Volume (the total value of all goods sold through eBay) was $48.3 billion in 2009, excluding car sales, and that figure is likely to top $50 billion in 2010. The $230 million GMV of mobile sales is equal to only 0.5% of eBay’s total GMV last year.
Put another way, the volume of goods sold through mobile devices during the holiday season is about 6 percent of the average volume of goods sold each month on eBay.
Overall, eBay’s holiday business grew but not as fast as other online retailers. According to ChannelAdvisor, a software company working with online retailers, eBay’s holiday business increased 11% during the busy Thanksgiving weekend, lagging the 68% growth rate for Amazon and the overall e-commerce growth rate of 27%.
eBay has a chance to use the growing popularity of its mobile apps to boost that growth rate in coming years. But if it wants to grow as fast as the rest of the e-commerce industry does during the Christmas season, it needs to find some additional incentives.
October 18, 2011 at 6:32am
UPDATE 1-Greece braces for shutdown as austerity vote nears
* Blow to government after deputy resigns in protestBy Harry Papachristou and James MackenzieATHENS, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Greek ships were harboured and
garbage rotted in the streets of Athens on Tuesday as angry
workers built momentum for “the mother of all strikes” expected
to bring the country to a halt in protest against a new package
of tax hikes and wage cuts.Unions representing around half of Greece’s 4 million-strong
workforce have called a 48 hour general strike for Wednesday and
Thursday to protest against a sweeping package of austerity
measures due to be passed in parliament this week.A wave of smaller strikes over recent days by groups ranging
from rubbish collectors to tax officials, journalists and seamen
has given a foretaste of this week’s protest which will
culminate in mass demonstrations in front of parliament, the
scene of violent clashes in June.The protest, dubbed “the mother of all strikes” by the daily
Ta Nea newspaper, is expected to be the biggest since the
financial crisis began two years ago, shutting state offices,
shops and even providers of everyday staples like bakers.Prime Minister George Papandreou, battling to satisfy
demands from international lenders for even tougher action, has
appealed for unity, saying the package, due to be passed on
Wednesday or Thursday, must pass to allow Greece to emerge from
the crisis.”The nation is at a crucial moment and we have to be united.
In this battle, we need everyone,” Papandreou told a cabinet
meeting late on Monday. “Everyone must assume their
responsibilities.”“Our main goal is to end the uncertainty over the country’s
future. Because this uncertainty undermines our efforts and
sacrifices,” he said.His struggling Socialist government, trailing badly in the
opinion polls, is being squeezed between the escalating street
protests and pressure from lenders dissatisfied with the pace of
reform.As European Union leaders race to put the foundations of a
new rescue plan in place in time for a summit on Oct. 23, there
was growing talk of more direct intervention that would restrict
Greek sovereignty in return for more aid.Some euro zone countries have been pressing for a European
Commission taskforce to be given direct powers to intervene in
areas such as overseeing the sale of state assets.The Greek government declined to comment on Tuesday but any
outside taskforce would need to be ready to counter resistance
from a society deeply disillusioned with its own political
leaders but also increasingly hostile to outside intervention.RECESSIONLate on Monday, Papandreou suffered a blow when PASOK deputy
Thomas Robopoulos resigned in protest at the cuts, although
parliamentary rules allow him to be replaced by another member
of the ruling party, leaving the government’s 4-seat majority
intact.Two other PASOK deputies have also threatened to vote
against part of the package but, with one of the smaller
opposition parties possibly offering support, the package is
still expected to pass.The bill includes tax hikes, wage cuts, public sector
layoffs and changes to collective bargaining rules.It follows a series of painful austerity measures that have
so far failed to halt a steady rise in Greece’s mountainous
public debt and have been attacked by the opposition for
stifling any prospect of growth in the stricken economy.Trapped in deep recession for the past three years, Greece
is choking on a public debt that amounts to around 162 percent
of gross domestic product and there are growing doubts that it
will be able to emerge from the crisis without defaulting.Underlining the problems facing an economy that is already
forecast to contract 5.5 percent in 2011, data on Tuesday showed
headline unemployment rising to 16.5 percent in July, a month
when summer tourism normally boosts job numbers. Youth
unemployment was running as high as 42 percent.An EU and IMF inspection team left Athens last week,
recommending approval of a vital 8 billion euro loan tranche but
said Greece was falling behind on its budget targets and should
move more quickly to cut spending and pass reforms.Parliament is due to open a three-day debate later on
Tuesday, after Papandreou meets members of the ruling PASOK
parliamentary group to rally support.He wants convincing backing for the measures in time for the
EU summit and is due to meet conservative opposition leader
Antonis Samaras in a bid to present a united front in Brussels.However government officials have dismissed rumours that
Papandreou might renew an offer for a coalition government,
which Samaras turned down in the summer.
October 12, 2011 at 3:17pm
UPDATE 3-Overseas growth boosts Casino as France slows
* Keeps 2011, medium-term sales growth goals* Acquisitions, new stores, demand boost overseas salesBy Dominique VidalonPARIS, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Casino reported a
slowdown in sales growth in its main French market on
Wednesday, joining the ranks of European retailers to warn
consumers are reining in spending against an uncertain economic
backdrop.Casino, which competes with Carrefour and
privately held French retail chains Leclerc, Intermarche and
Auchan, said on Wednesday it was able to offset the slowdown
thanks to strong growth and acquisitions in emerging markets.Casino finance chief Antoine Giscard d’Estaing told
analysts he saw no reason to change the group’s expectation
that trading profit in France this year would be similar to
2010’s level.Trading at the start of October had showed positive trends
in all geographies, he added on a conference call.”As of today we are on line with our objectives, we need a
good end of the year,” he said.Third-quarter sales jumped 21.2 percent to 8.71 billion
euros ($11.9 billion), broadly in line with the 8.72 billion
forecast in a Reuters poll of 11 analysts.Retailers are mostly struggling in Europe as disposable
incomes there are squeezed by rising prices, subdued wage
growth and government austerity measures.Tesco , the world’s third-biggest retailer, last
week posted one of its biggest-ever quarterly falls in
underlying sales in its main British market.Casino, with a network of around 10,000 stores in 10
countries, said it was protected by its expansion abroad.International sales climbed to account for 46 percent of
group sales in the third quarter from 37 percent a year ago,
helped by acquisitions in Brazil and Thailand, new store
openings and a strong performance from existing outlets.Underlying sales growth in France, however, slowed to 1.2
percent excluding fuel, down from 2.2 percent in the first half
and due in part to a 7.3 percent drop in sales of discretionary
non-food goods at the group’s Geant hypermarkets.Casino tied part of the decline in non-food sales to
exceptionally warm weather in September in France that weighed
on textile sales.That drop could increase jitters ahead of third-quarter
sales figures from bigger rival Carrefour on Thursday.CARREFOUR WORRIESCarrefour, the world’s second-biggest retailer behind
Wal-Mart , makes a larger proportion of sales from
hypermarkets than Casino, which also has a strong presence in
faster-growing convenience stores and Internet retailing.Carrefour is also exposed to other western European markets
like Spain, Belgium and Italy, where consumers — like in
France — are struggling.Casino reiterated a target to grow annual sales by over 10
percent over the next three years.Giscard d’Estaing also said he was “comfortable” with
forecasts from analysts who banked on a full-year profit of
1.540 billion euros.Casino reiterated a target to raise more than 1 billion
euros from asset sales this year as it looks to reduce debts.Another goal is to keep its net debt to EBITDA (earnings
before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) ratio
below 2.2 times at the end of 2011.Casino shares closed up 2.7 percent at 61.49 euros on
Wednesday. The stock has underperformed the STOXX Europe 600
retail index by 5 percent this year, but fared better
than Carrefour which has trailed same index by 28 percent.
10:02am
TEXT-S&P puts 23 rtgs on CW neg after assured guaranty rtg action
OVERVIEW— On Sept. 27, we placed our ‘AA+’ rating on Assured Guaranty and its related subsidiaries
on CreditWatch negative.— Assured Guaranty (Europe) Ltd. and Assured Guaranty (UK) Ltd. provide financial
guarantees for several European structured finance transactions.— Consequently, we have placed on CreditWatch negative 23 European structured finance
ratings as they are linked to the rating on Assured Guaranty and its related subsidiaries.Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services today placed on CreditWatch negative its ratings on 23
ratings in 14 European securitization transactions following the CreditWatch negative placement
of our ‘AA+’ rating on Assured Guaranty Corp. and its related subsidiaries (see “Assured
Guaranty Ltd. Operating Companies Placed On CreditWatch Negative,” published on Sept.
27, 2011).Specifically, we have placed on CreditWatch negative our ratings on:— Five tranches in eight structured credit transactions, and— 18 tranches in six asset-backed securities (ABS) transactions.For the full list of today’s rating actions see “European Structured Finance CreditWatch
Placements Following Assured Guaranty CreditWatch Placement-Oct. 12, 2011.”Today’s CreditWatch placements reflect the CreditWatch placement of our rating on Assured
Guaranty and its related subsidiaries. As Assured Guaranty through its subsidiaries provides
financial guarantees in each of these transactions, either for the payment of the underlying
debt obligations or for the repayment of the notes, the ratings on these tranches are linked to
the rating on Assured Guaranty or one of its subsidiaries.In each case, the rating on the tranche is the higher of the rating on Assured Guaranty and
Standard & Poor’s Underlying Rating (SPUR) on that tranche. A SPUR is our opinion of the
stand-alone creditworthiness of an obligation—that is, the capacity to pay debt service on a
debt issue in accordance with its terms—without considering the applicable guarantee, which in
this case is the guarantee from Assured Guaranty.RELATED CRITERIA AND RESEARCH— European Structured Finance CreditWatch Placements Following Assured Guaranty CreditWatch
Placement-Oct. 12, 2011, Oct. 12, 2011— Assured Guaranty Ltd. Operating Companies Placed On CreditWatch Negative, Sept. 27, 2011— Counterparty And Supporting Obligations Methodology And Assumptions, Dec. 6, 2010— European Legal Criteria For Structured Finance Transactions, Aug. 28, 2008
