A higher-than-expected quarterly profit on solid growth in its online marketplaces and an increase in transactions processed through its PayPal electronic payments business was reported by EBay Inc.

The shares of the e-commerce company were up nearly 2 percent in after-hours trading, even though the company offered a cautious outlook for first-quarter profit and revenue.

EBay reported fourth-quarter net income of $2 billion, or $1.51 a share, compared with $559 million, or 42 cents a share, a year earlier. The company forecast first-quarter profit of 50 cents or 51 cents a share and revenue of $3.05 billion to $3.15 billion and added profit for 2012 will be $2.25 to $2.30 a share and revenue will be $13.7 billion to $14 billion.

Tags: e-commerce company, EBay, PayPal electronic payments

In this YouTube video on collecting glassware, an expert reveal tips on how an antique collector can find discontinued cookie jars from the past in easy ways. This video is a good piece of knowledge for all those admirers of antiques and collectibles who want to stay close to antique collection tips.

Tags: antique collection tips, antique collector, antiques and collectibles, collecting glassware, YouTube video

Banks and financial institutions have been warned by the RBI to strictly follow its fresh guidelines on credit cards. These guidelines have been issued for creating and maintaining charging interest rates and levying other fees on customers and any contravention can invite penal action.

An RBI circular said that all banks and financial institutions are advised to strictly adhere to the guidelines, both in letter and spirit.

From Economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Besides, complaints like charging annual fee on what were being offered as free cards, issuance of loans over phone, disputes over wrong billing, difficulty in accessing the credit card issuers and poor response from the call centres, it said.

Giving detailed guidelines for credit card operations, the RBI had earlier asked the banks to declare upfront the interest rate, various charges and the methodology of calculation of finance charges with illustrative examples.

As per an RBI circular issued in 2007, card companies should prescribe a ceiling rate of interest, including processing and other charges in case of small value personal loans and loans similar in nature.

There should be transparency in levying differential interest rates, it had said, adding, the banks should publicise through their website and other means, the interest rates charged to various categories of customers.

The circular also advised banks to indicate to the credit card holder upfront, the methodology of calculation of finance charges with illustrative examples, particularly in situations where only a part of the amount outstanding is paid by the customer.

These fresh directives have been issued by the RBI in response to numerous complaints by holders of credit cards, particularly with regard to excessive finance charges and issuance of unsolicited cards.

Tags: credit card operations, disputes over wrong billing, free cards, guidelines on credit cards, small value personal loans, unsolicited cards

According to the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, online shopping reached its highest growth since June 2008. This massive boost is attributed to the warm weather and the World Cup.

IMRG spokeswoman Tina Spooner said the e-retail market in the United Kingdom has grown 14 percent that is in line with predictions for the year.

From Thescotsman.scotsman.com:

The index shows a 3 per cent sales increase in May, compared to April this year.

Preparations for the World Cup appear to have played their part, with alcohol sales up 23 per cent compared to last year and electrical goods up 13 per cent.

Online clothing sales rose in May, up 32 per cent compared to last year, fuelled by sportswear buying and warmer weather.

Capgemini spokesman Chris Webster said: “Throughout the history of the index we have seen a noticeable rise in sales of certain goods whenever there is a major sports tournament on.

“This year’s World Cup is no exception, with online retail as a whole growing by the highest level in two years and sectors such as clothing, alcohol and electricals rising rapidly.

E–retailers have already started to benefit from an increase in consumer spending as consumers are now confident of the economy as recession is now almost over.

Tags: e-retail market, Online clothing, Online Shopping, recession, World Cup

Big-budget disappointments and the lack of a single blockbuster comedy has put off grumpy moviegoers, a truth which is evident from the fact that Memorial Day weekend attendance was the lowest since 1993.

Sony’s remake of “The Karate Kid” surprised many with collections of $56 million in North America over the last few days and Toy Story 3 is expected to help cash counters go ringing.

From Economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Kevin Goetz, chief executive of Screen Engine, a marketing and research consulting firm that specializes in entertainment, says viewers increasingly reserve their ticket purchases for pictures that promise something truly special, whether that means amazing visual effects or extraordinary reviews.

“If you don’t have a product that delivers in a unique and powerful way, then certainly the messaging has to do that,” Mr. Goetz said.

A variety of other factors may be holding back the box office, including blowback from consumers over higher ticket prices. Perversely, the improving economy may have taken the edge off ticket sales that were buoyed last year, when filmgoers sought a relatively cheap diversion from financial woes.

But the primary reason is most likely ho-hum movies. In the last few weeks, Hollywood’s offerings have lacked luster. “Sex and the City 2” got some of the worst reviews in memory for Warner Brothers, while “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” from Walt Disney was received with a collective shrug.

Dennis Rice, a marketing consultant who previously ran Disney’s publicity operation, said it is all about changing the mood in context of the entertainment business.

Tags: entertainment, Marketing, marketing consultant, Memorial Day, research consulting, The Karate Kid, Toy Story, Walt Disney

Introduction of online facilities such as Online shopping and Internet banking surely have simplified things besides adding to the comfort and convenience of people. However, things are not as safe as their appear in the first place as the World Wide Web is full of individuals trying to steal critical information for mischievous purposes. Read on!

Online shopping and Internet Banking are quite popular with consumers of today. This is also the reason why hackers target them to gain easy money through fraud and identity theft. Though illegal, computer hacking does exist and you are surely fooling yourself if you think that you cannot be a victim of hacking.

Believe it or not, hacking is a universal concept and no PC in this world is an exception. It does not matter if you are rich or average your critical info can still be hacked as hackers do not make discrimination though they obviously prefer the rich. There are ways to guard your PC and information from getting hacked, especially if you make use of shared PCs.

Remember, things can be made easier and safe by following some easy and effective tips. Let us read about some good tips to keep your bank account, credit cards, and other financial information secure from all types of hacking activities.

Buy only from trusted retailers and do not forget to verify authenticity of the retailer by visiting online forums and sites such as PissedConsumer.com
Never choose to save your card number, CVV, or other info while transacting on the web

Do not shop from shared PCs. The risk of getting hacked is extremely high, to say the least

Do not share your passwords and keep them tough to crack. This means that while a password such as “@125%45555$998*” can be termed as good, a password such as “123456789″ is easy for the hackers to crack

Make sure that the checkout page where you are about to enter your payment or personal information has an “s” after the “http” in the address page. This means that a checkout page with the address “https://www.abc.com/” is more reliable and safe than “http//www.abc.com/” If you are using Mozilla Firefox as your Internet browser, the secure site status will also be reaffirmed in green just before https://www.abc.com/, for example: 

Do make sure that the payment is made before you and the card is not swiped more than once while using your ATM, debit, or credit cards to make payment for groceries

It is always recommended to spend quality time analyzing your credit card or bank statement

Make use of a good (preferable paid) antivirus and activate Firewall. Also, allow your PC to install critical update patches from MicrosoftNever click on an email or attachment from an unknown source

Do not submit your personal or payment information to emails suggesting that they have originated from your bank or card issuing authority and redirecting you to other site

In case you lose your card, report the loss immediately to the issuing authority besides lodging a formal complaint with the law authorities

If your card has expired, destroy it in the best possible manner. This can be done by cutting it in half through the magnetic strip

Remember that the onus of creating and maintaining high standards of data privacy lies solely with you and it is always better to follow safety in the first place itself rather than trying to comply with the safety standards it after being made a victim of fraud or identity theft.

Tags: computer hacking, data privacy, Hacking, identity theft, Internet banking, Online Shopping