EBay makes bigger move into e-commerceOnline marketplace operator eBay Inc. said it will pay $2.4 billion for GSI Commerce, which operates websites for retailers like Toys 'R' Us and Bath & Body Works. EBay, which runs its namesake site where users buy and sell items through auctions and fixed-price "Buy it Now" formats as well as online payments service PayPal, hopes the acquisition will bolster its ability to connect buyers and sellers around the world. It could also help it become more of a threat to Amazon.com Inc. GSI runs websites, packs and ships products and offers interactive marketing services to a variety of retailers.
Consumer spending, personal income riseAmericans earned a little more and spent a little more in February, thanks to a tax cut. But a big part of the extra money went to cover higher gas prices. Consumer spending jumped 0.7 percent last month and personal incomes rose 0.3 percent, the Commerce Department said. Both gains reflected a Social Security tax cut, which boosted take-home pay. Still, high gas prices soaked up much of the spending increase. Once inflation was removed, the rise was a more moderate 0.3 percent.
Pending home sales up 2.1% in FebruaryMore Americans signed contracts to buy homes in February, but sales were uneven across the country and not enough to signal a rebound in the housing market. Sales agreements for homes rose 2.1 percent last month to a reading of 90.8, according to the National Association of Realtors' pending home sales index. Sales rose in every region but the Northeast. Signings were 19.6 percent above the low point since the housing bust.
Anheuser-Busch to buy Chicago's Goose IslandLooking to tap deeper into the fast-growing craft beer market, Anheuser-Busch is buying Chicago-based brewer Goose Island Beer Co. The $38.8 million deal is set to close by June, pending regulatory approval. Goose Island's beer will continue to be brewed in Chicago, where Anheuser-Busch plans to invest $1.3 million to boost production capacity by 10 percent, Anheuser-Busch President Dave Peacock said. Anheuser-Busch is a subsidiary of Belgium's Anheuser-Busch InBev NV.
Another airfare increase falls apartThe airlines' latest effort to broadly raise U.S. fares by $10 per round trip has crumbled as discount carriers like Southwest decided not to raise their prices. United and Continental started the push for another fare increase last week and were joined by Delta, American and US Airways. But low-cost airlines never went along. FareCompare.com CEO Rick Seaney said the price increase began to unravel when Delta and American rolled back the increase on some routes.
T-Mobile deal 'anticompetitive,' Sprint saysSprint Nextel Corp. urged federal regulators to block a proposed acquisition that would create the nation's largest wireless carrier and leave two competitors in control of 75 percent of all cellphone subscriptions. AT&T Inc.'s proposed $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile USA Inc. would be an "anticompetitive acquisition," Sprint said. If the deal goes through, Sprint would find itself a distant third behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T.
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