Raj Sargule

eBay: Still Clouds over Skype IPO

Wonder how could eBay's claims that Skype business will be affected regardless of an alternative help them well with their plans to spin off Skype. With trial date set for June 2010, one would not expect a spinoff at least for a year. Guess eBay is confident that it will win this dispute. With 480 million Skype users all over the world, there is a lot to lose.

Regarding Amazon's 'New' PayPal Killer

Both Amazon and Paypal are reputed in their own businesses. One could see the benefits of integrating payment model with online retailing. However, given Paypal's extensive experience in payment operations (both domestic and international), it would have sophisticated risk modeling based on years of collected customer data. Amazon would take long to be where Paypal is today. Given the minimal switching costs for customers in this business, Amazon could get there. But then, would Paypal keep quiet and do nothing till then?