ebay

So far this year, there are hopeful signs for the IPO market. Some of the standout offerings include Changyou (NASDAQ: CYOU) and Medidata (NASDAQ: MDSO).

Now, investors are waiting for other deals. Facebook? Twitter?

Or, how about Skype? In fact, the website's parent, eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), has indicated its intention to take it public.

A wonderful 19th century writer offered observations in print from time to time. He remains one of our nation's best role models and minds, so accordingly the following economic insights and observations are offered, With Malice Toward None.

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First, why does it look like in this market all of good long plays have been bid-up to $47, and all short plays are trading near $8?

Craigslist is on the receiving end of an avalanche of bad publicity in the wake of the Boston University Medical School murders. South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster is threatening to charge the company with aiding and abetting prostitution if an ad on the site leads to a prostitution arrest in his state.

Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster is bucking McMaster, complaining on his company's blog that the company is being unfairly targeted. "Seriously?" he writes. "The craigslist adult services section for Greenville, SC, has a total of one ad for the last three days, featuring a photograph of a fully clothed person. The 'erotic services' section for Greenville, which we recently closed, has eight ads total which will expire in two days, and even for these ads the images and text are quite tame."

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) reported strong Q1 results easily beat expectations.
• Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings, helped by home refinancing.
• Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) reported its first quarterly loss since 1992 and cut its revenue outlook.
• Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) posted Q1 earnings that were in line with expectations, but shares fell.
• eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings despite a decline in sales.

eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) closed at $14.29. EBAY is scheduled to report Q1 EPS after the market close today. EBAY May option implied volatility of 56 is below its 26-week average of 61, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) closed at $46.09. AMGN Q1 EPS are expected on April 24. AMGN's Denosumab for treatment/prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis and for bone loss in prostrate or breast cancer patients on hormone ablation therapy has a FDA action date of October 19. AMGN May and July option implied volatility of 44 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Even though most states require their residents to pay sales tax on internet purchases, none have figured out how to enforce it, and companies such as Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) have benefited hugely by the public's perception of the 6-10% cost advantage they realize by not paying the tax.

Not surprisingly, states suffering from tax shortfalls are screaming foul, and Washington is listening. According to the New York Post, a bill could be introduced this week to put the burden of tax collection on internet retailers.

The U.S. census estimated that in 2008 retail sales hit $103 billion dollars. If we assume that local taxes will also be included in the bill, at 8% roughly $8.25 billion should have flowed into state and local coffers. Amazon alone, with sales of $19 billion, could have collected $1.52 billion. According to the Rockefeller Institute, during the recession sales taxes collected by the states have dropped by 6.1%, the worst decline in half a century.

For some time, I've used PayPal, which is owned by eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY). For example, I recently paid a contractor in India using the service. It was extremely easy.

Well, I had a chance to talk to the Small Biz folks at PayPal and found out that there is much more to the service. In fact, PayPal can be a great way to boost your business.

Of course, PayPal makes it easy to leverage ecommerce. And the costs are competitive, with transaction fees ranging from 1.9 percent to 2.9 percent, plus a 30 cent fee. What's more, there is no need to get a merchant account (which can be a painful and expensive process).

eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) has been trying to figure out what to do about its failed acquisition of Skype and the company has finally come up with a solution -- sort of.

In a press release, the company said that it plans to spin-off Skype sometime in the first half of 2010.

"Skype is a great stand-alone business with strong fundamentals and accelerating momentum," CEO John Donahoe said. "But it's clear that Skype has limited synergies with eBay and PayPal. We believe operating Skype as a stand-alone publicly traded company is the best path for maximizing its potential. This will give Skype the focus and resources required to continue its growth and effectively compete in online voice and video communications. In addition, separating Skype will allow eBay to focus entirely on our two core growth engines-e-commerce and online payments-and deliver long-term value to our stockholders."