iknowthe.net | Internet and Ecommerce Consultant

Cendant to buy ebookers for $415m – WSJ | The Register

I had a couple of meetings with Dinesh Dhamija a few years ago. Very nice chap. Sure this is good news

Cendant, the US travel giant, is to buy ebookers for $415m, the Wall Street Journal claims. This works out at around $6.17 (320p) per share, a modest premium on yesterday’s closing price of 312p.

ebookers, the UK’s biggest online travel business, also has a big longhaul bricks and mortar travel business. It has grown through acquisition, and has sought cost synergies by migrating more sales onto the web, cutting jobs and by consolidating back offices functions in India.

But ebookers has not mastered the knack of actually making money on a regular basis. And it has had a torrid time this year, with shares falling as low as 115p in the summer. Its current share price is underpinned largely by the bid speculation that has surrounded the company since September.

That was when it anounced it was in talks with a number of potential bidders. In October, InterActive Corp, owner of Expedia.com, announced that it was not prepared to make a bid, sending ebookerS shares down 4.7 per cent on the day from 216.50p to 195p.

The Apple Store (U.K.)

I want this for christmas. Don’t get me some crap album that’s in the charts that you know I won’t even listen to, let alone pollute my ipod with AND you’ve already opened it and ripped it so I can’t take it back and get some proper music – no, band together and get me an isight.

Thanks.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Microsoft gets the blogging bug
More blogging news – microsoft catches on..

Software giant Microsoft is taking the plunge into the world of blogging.

It is launching a test service to allow people to publish blogs, or online journals, called MSN Spaces.

Microsoft is trailing behind competitors like Google and AOL, which already offer services which make it easy for people to set up web journals.

Blogs, short for web logs, have become a popular way for people to talk about their lives and express opinions online.

MSN Spaces is free to anyone with a Hotmail or MSN Messenger account.

People will be able to choose a layout for the page, upload images and share photo albums and music playlists.

The service will be supported by banner ads.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Why 2004 was the year of the blog

Year of the blog. Ok then, so it is.