Filed under: Bad news, Products and services, Launches, eBay (EBAY)

The uprising against eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) by its sellers is now scheduled to last an entire a week from February 19 to February 25. According to CNNMoney, “Sellers state eBay’s new policies are apt to cost them more money, but what’s really inspired an outpouring of wrath is an adjustment to eBay’s feedback system: sellers will no longer be able to leave negative commentary about their buyers.”

Under the new system, egregiously bad behavior by buyers will not be shown to other customers coming to the auction site.

The action does not come at a particularly good time for the massive on the internet auction company. Its shares have fallen from a 52-week high of $40.73 to under $28, fairly near their period low. Investors do not need another reason to be tempted to sell the stock.

Why management made the move is still something of a mystery. Obviously the company believes that over time it will make more money with the new system, but the bad PR and loss of some business from sellers may offset that.

A company that’s already in the dog house with Wall Street would be superior off waiting for good news and a recovery in its shares before making a move which risks harming its top line.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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Filed under: Management, Economic data, Housing

Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) believes that the global credit crisis will bottom in a few months. Brady Dougan, the bank’s CEO, said in an interview in the Neue Zuercher Zeitung that “he was an optimist and it could take three, four, five months before the crisis bottomed out,” according to Reuters. He indicated that an improvement in housing prices in the U.S. would help matters.

Credit Suisse management carries some weight with its predictions. It is one of the few huge global banks that has not taken large write-offs due to the subprime crisis. Its leaders are therefore viewed as being “smart” compared to most of their counterparts at other banks.

The problem with the prediction is that it relies to some significant extent on improvements in the U.S. housing market. This could take some pressure off the subprime lending market. But, many experts believe the real estate problems here could extend well into 2009.

In other words, Mr. Dougan could be off by more than a year.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.

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Euler points out a story about art created through mathematics. The Science News article covers selections from a current exhibit, where over 40 artists gathered to show their work and the math behind it. The rest of the pieces are also viewable at the exhibit’s website. “Michael Field, a mathematics professor at the University of Houston, finds artistic inspiration in his work on dynamical systems. A mathematical dynamical system is just any rule that determines how a point moves around a plane. Field uses an equation that takes any point on a piece of paper and moves it to a different spot. Field repeats this process over and over again–around 5 billion times–and keeps track of how often each pixel-sized spot in the plane gets landed on. The more often a pixel gets hit, the deeper the shade Field colors it.”

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Euler points out a story about art created through mathematics. The Science News article covers selections from a recent exhibit, where over 40 artists gathered to show their work and the math behind it. The rest of the pieces are also viewable at the exhibit’s website. “Michael Field, a mathematics professor at the University of Houston, finds artistic inspiration in his work on dynamical systems. A mathematical dynamical system is just any rule that determines how a point moves around a plane. Field uses an equation that takes any point on a piece of paper and moves it to a different spot. Field repeats this process over and over again–around 5 billion times–and keeps track of how often each pixel-sized spot in the plane gets landed on. The more often a pixel gets hit, the deeper the shade Field colors it.”

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Socguy brings us a story from CBC News about a recently developed crystal that can soak up carbon dioxide gas “like a sponge.” Chemists from UCLA believe that the crystals will become a cheap, stable method to absorb emissions at power plants. We discussed a prototype for another CO2 extraction device last year. Quoting: “‘The technical challenge of selectively removing carbon dioxide has been overcome,’ said UCLA chemistry professor Omar Yaghi in a statement. The porous structures can be heated to high temperatures without decomposing and can be boiled in water or solvents for a week and remain stable, making them suitable for use in hot, energy-producing environments like power plants. The highly porous crystals also had what the researchers called ‘extraordinary capacity for storing CO2′: one litre of the crystals could store about 83 litres of CO2.”

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In Africa, she explores a different side of herself
Boston Globe - I have the ability to build my own life, and make my own decisions,” she states. But in Nigeria, “if a child goes into a profession, they can make enough money to help the family. . . . What you do with your future is going to affect the entire family and sometimes

Lifeboat station in running for pair’s cash assistance
Chichester Observer - Marathon is to run it’. Laura added: “RNLI is the number one emergency service for our coastline and waters. “Can you only envision what it is like on the coast when these guys are going off to work to save someone’s life? The RNLI receives no money u

Renter takes plunge ‘to grow up and make a life’
Atlanta Journal Constitution - “I was tired of throwing money into a hole renting,” laughs Jeremy Hannah, 27, “and decided it was time to grow up and make a life for myself.” A pharmacist, Hannah works 6 miles from his new home at Carlyle Woods condominiums. “My number one

Pa. county to Sorvino: Where’s the film?
Kansas City Star - And he resents any implication that he has been less than forthright.

“To have my honesty impugned has never happened in my life,” the burly character actor said in a phone interview. “The record of how the money was spent was always available

‘I’ve Lived My Life on Top of Orange Trees’
The Ledger - By Kevin Bouffard & Yesenia Mojarro “I’ve lived my life on top of the orange trees,” Samora, a native of Veracruz, Mexico, stated during a break picking citrus Feb. 7 at a Lake Alfred grove. Three years ago he heard how he could make more money in the

Man gets 25 years to life for murdering 98-year-old man
Boston Globe - I hope you can find a way to do some good in what seems like a sorry and miserable life so far.” Prosecutors state Indelicato murdered Powell to obtain money to purchase drugs. Assistant Attorney General Susan Morrell said Indelicato started drinking early

Is decision not to give money to panhandlers the right choice?
Orange County Register - All Money Real Estate Small business Guides Technology Archive Columns Life Science/Tech All Science & Technology Technology Columns Thought it clear that his town does not have “a significant problem with beggars” asking for money

You can bet your life this policy will end in tears
The Independent - US money men are making a fortune out of buying and selling life insurance. Should we worry? Oh yes, states Stephen Foley Should you be worried if a hedge fund manager you have never met has an interest in seeing you dead? Should we all be worried when

like her life depends on it
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True grits: Paula Deen conquered a passel of troubles to become a
Miami Herald - Tropical Life True grits: Paula Deen conquered a passel of troubles to become a cooking superstar Serial killer Dexter cleans The margarine people, they had some money. But I’m known as the butter lady, so I wasn’t gonna do that,” Deen states. “I

Terrorists manipulating stock mkt, suspects BJP
Daily Pioneer - Party President Rajnath Singh stated that his concern stems from the fact that up to 40 per cent of investments in the stock markets were by the Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) through Participatory Notes (PN) system. “What kind of money, whose

LeapFrog Announces New Licensing Partners and Properties for Its Web
MSN MoneyCentral - Market Wire PrimeNewswire PRNewswire News by Topic Companies Stock Market Economy Industry Commentary This Week Index MSN Money Experts Each time parents connect their Leapster2 or Didj system, they can see how education comes to life for their child-the

The benefits of Social Security can be surprising
Baltimore Sun - Most of us know the basics of Social Security. The government takes money out of each paycheck and then we receive a monthly retirement check for life, starting as early as 62. Eileen Ambrose Current columns But Social Security is much more than that

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Hugh Pickens writes “Scientists at Stanford University have shown for the first time that the process of natural selection can act on human cultures as well as on genes. The team studied reports of canoe designs from 11 Oceanic island cultures, evaluating 96 functional features that could contribute to the seaworthiness of the vessels. Statistical test results showed clearly that the functional canoe design elements changed more slowly over time, indicating that natural selection could be weeding out inferior new designs. Authors of the study said their results speak directly to important social and environmental problems. ‘People have learned how to avoid natural selection in the short term through unsustainable approaches such as inequity and excess consumption. But this is not going to work in the long term,’ stated Deborah S. Rogers, a research fellow at Stanford.”

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eldavojohn writes “Weighing in at a mere 20 billion trillion watts per square centimeter and containing a measly 300 terawatts of power, the University of Michigan has broken a record with a 1.3-micron speck wide laser. It’s about two orders of magnitude higher than any other laser in the world and can perform for 30 femtoseconds once every ten seconds — some of the researchers speculate it is the most powerful laser in the universe. ‘If you could hold a giant magnifying glass in space and focus all the sunlight shining toward Earth onto one grain of sand, that concentrated ray would approach the intensity of a new laser beam made in a University of Michigan laboratory … To achieve this beam, the research team added another amplifier to the HERCULES laser system, which previously operated at 50 terawatts. HERCULES is a titanium-sapphire laser that takes up several rooms at U-M’s Center for Ultrafast Optical Science. Light fed into it bounces like a pinball off a series of mirrors and other optical elements. It gets stretched, energized, squeezed and focused along the way.’” And … cue the evil chortling.

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Gerard Boyers writes “Some members of the US National Academy of Engineering have predicted that Artificial Intelligence will reach the level of humans in around 20 years. Ray Kurzweil leads the charge: ‘We will have both the hardware and the software to achieve human level artificial intelligence with the broad suppleness of human intelligence including our emotional intelligence by 2029. We’re already a human machine civilization, we use our technology to expand our physical and mental horizons and this will be a further extension of that. We’ll have intelligent nanobots go into our brains through the capillaries and interact directly with our biological neurons.’ Mr Kurzweil is one of 18 influential thinkers, and a gentleman we’ve discussed previously. He was chosen to identify the great technological challenges facing humanity in the 21st century by the US National Academy of Engineering. The experts include Google founder Larry Page and genome pioneer Dr Craig Venter.”

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Commonwealth Bank dispatches ‘debt doctors’ to corporations
News.com.au - Mr Norris declined to confirm whether one of the two was the stricken Allco Finance Group Ltd. “I don’t really want to discuss individual customers or clients but I think that the market is pretty well aware of those particular corporates,” Mr Norris

AP Business NewsBrief at 12:29 a.m. EST
CNBC - In a statement Friday, FGIC stated would like to organize a new domestic financial guarantee insurer in New York to “provide support for public finance obligations previously insured by FGIC.” Industrial Output Posts Weak Gain news://newsclip.ap.org

Inflation, shortages stalk Pakistan’s tigerish economy ahead of
International Herald Tribune - The boom was built on cash sent home by Pakistani expatriates, privatization proceeds, foreign investment and cheap consumer credit, stated Shahid Hasan Siddiqui of the Research Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance. But there are complaints the

Obama tries to head off Clinton comeback in Wisconsin
International Herald Tribune - Since he took a commanding lead in the delegate count, McCain has been working to solidify his support from a Republican base unhappy with his unorthodox positions on some tax cuts, immigration, campaign finance laws, global warming, stem cell

Super-rich weigh up cost of deserting treasure island
Guardian Unlimited - After all, in a world driven by unimaginable flows of capital, London is international finance’s sluice gate. If you want to make it as banker, insurer, shipping broker, hedge fund manager or private equity deal maker, you have to be here. It is why

Browsing for a superior auto insurance deal
Boston Globe - A&E Things to do Travel Cars Jobs Real Estate Local Search Technology Healthcare Markets Small business Personal finance Columnists Drivers, start your engines. For the first time in 30 years, Massachusetts motorists can today begin comparison shopping

Are Castro’s writings subtle jabs at Raúl?
Miami Herald - Business Monday | National | International | Personal Finance | Technology | Small Business | Friday Business Report Food | Health | Home BY FRANCES ROBLES frobles@MiamiHerald.com About the time last year that Cuba announced plans to plunge into the ethanol

VLCC plans 2009 IPO for Mideast expansion
Reuters India - DUBAI (Reuters) - Indian healthcare and beauty firm VLCC stated it plans to sell shares to the public next year to finance expansion in the Middle East. VLCC, which operates seven beauty centres in the United Arab Emirates, plans to spend 200 million

Quinn: Investors Guided by Conscience
Washington Post - We all bring more than pure monetary values to our money choices, says Meir Statman, a professor of finance at Santa Clara University in California . Products carry expressive characteristics as well as useful ones. They tell our neighbors about our

Democrat surrogates stump in Hawaii
Miami Herald - Personal Finance Chelsea Clinton munched chili at a popular Hawaiian restaurant Saturday while urging hundreds of enthusiastic supporters

Orange get a boost with upset of Hoyas
Miami Herald - Business Monday | National | International | Personal Finance | Technology | Small Business | Friday Business Report Food | Health | Home Paul Harris scored 22 points and freshman Donte Greene added 18 to lead Syracuse to a 77-70 victory over No. 8 Georgetown

LOOKS LIKE THE PARTY IS OVER FOR MR. SCHWARZMAN
New York Post - Yes, it’s been a tough 12 months for the titans of leveraged finance. Even its well-known standard-bearer, Republican Mitt Romney , went down to a quick and pricey primary defeat. Some politicos are betting that Mitt will be back in 2012, superior

Giving the US a good telling off
Guardian Unlimited - At the time we [in London] are the number one world finance centre you’re saying to Dubai “you can’t run our ports”. Do not be surprised if the world goes straight past you Globalisation gives choice - it means “if you don’t want me I’ll go

Paychecks raise eyebrows
Baltimore Sun - Everson told the Senate Finance Committee last month. The IRS is stepping up examinations of abuses in the nonprofit world, including pay and perks. Nationally, nonprofit hospitals and health care systems in particular are coming under fire for

Retirees ponder tuition for kids
Baltimore Sun - Paying for college while working is tough enough. Juggling tuition bills on a fixed income can be a more difficult feat. There’s financial aid, of course. But will schools anticipate older parents to crack open a retirement nest egg to finance college

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