May 07 2013 19:21 BST Battle rages over US online taxA drive by Walmart and other retailers for the US Congress to end tax-free internet shopping is heading for a collision with Grover Norquist, the anti-tax activist, as both sides compete to sway Republicans over the proposal. The House of Representatives is taking up the Marketplace Fairness Act, which allowsBy Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington |
May 07 2013 19:06 BST Industrials help S&P 500 touch intraday recordsUS stocks extended a rally and broke intraday records, supported by upbeat corporate reports such as leather goods retailer Fossil, which raised its full-year earnings guidance. After mixed trading in the morning session, the S&P 500 index was trading 0.2 per cent higher at 1,619.91 by midday in New York.By Jason Abbruzzese and Arash Massoudi in New York |
May 07 2013 04:47 BST Setback for online retailers in US sales tax battleWalmart and other big retailers cleared a significant hurdle in their efforts to force internet retailers to collect US state sales tax, after a proposal that would essentially end tax-free internet shopping was passed by the Senate. However, the Marketplace Fairness Act, which went through by 69 votes to 27By Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington |
May 05 2013 17:20 BST Gay couples gloomy over US immigration reformsA year ago, Martin Chavez married his British partner Adam Norbury in New York. Months later, he was promoted to Goldman Sachs's management committee. It should have been a time of unbridled celebration. Instead, the 49-year-old Mr Chavez, one of the top equities executives at the Wall Street firm, wasBy Anna Fifield in Washington |
May 01 2013 18:06 BST Stanley Gibbons boosted by rise in stamp collectingStanley Gibbons, the stamp and rare coin dealer formed in 1856, has reported a 12 per cent rise in first-quarter revenues as more people across the world have turned to stamp collecting. The group, whose shares are traded on the Alternative Investment Market, has been riding high on the increasedBy Kate Burgess |
Apr 30 2013 21:17 BST Airbnb plans ID verification systemAirbnb plans to verify the real-world identity of all its 4m members by asking them to upload passports or driving licences, in an attempt to increase trust between strangers who rent each others' homes online. The move may mark Airbnb's first step towards becoming a wider provider of trustworthiness andBy Tim Bradshaw in San Francisco |
Apr 22 2013 16:43 BST An insider's warning for the tech industryTen minutes into our conversation, Jaron Lanier has a problem. In the echoey restaurant where we are meeting, the sound of the one other diner is unnerving this pioneer of the internet world. "This space might not work . . . ." he says. "Sometimes I have trouble talking whenBy Ravi Mattu |
Apr 22 2013 12:28 BST Online retail faces US tax loophole voteBrian Bieron, eBay's senior director of federal government relations, said the Senate majority leader's decision to take the bill to a vote without it going through the finance committee suggested a desire to avoid "full scrutiny". Amazon has broken ranks with its online rivals and supports the bill. Analysts sayBy Barney Jopson and Stephanie Kirchgaessner |
Apr 21 2013 20:25 BST Ebay calls on sellers to fight tax billEbay chief executive John Donahoe has called on the online marketplace's sellers to help lobby against a federal internet tax bill that could go to a vote in the Senate as early as Monday. The tax bill is mainly aimed at Amazon, which has been exempt from sales tax forBy By April Dembosky in San Francisco |
Apr 18 2013 19:52 BST Verizon shines while US stocks slumpUS stocks fell while Verizon Communications touched its highest level in over a decade as investors embraced defensive telecommunications stocks amid the downturn. The S&P 500 lost 0.5 per cent to 1,544.64 by midday in New York. The losses came as investors were looking to the latest batch of companyBy Arash Massoudi in New York |
