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'Cyber monday' gets off to a fast start

By Times Wires
Published November 27, 2007

Retailers kicked off the official start to the online season, dubbed "Cyber Monday," with lots of come-ons as consumers returned to work after the holiday weekend. The incentives seemed to work, with many sites reporting surges in traffic. Ice.com, an online jewelry site that offered 20 percent-off coupons, reported that traffic soared more than 70 percent and sales were up 82 percent as of Monday afternoon. Ebags.com, which offered a 20 percent discount on merchandise Monday, reported an almost 49 percent increase in sales compared with a year ago. Raul Vazquez, chief executive of Walmart.com, expected 7-million visits to the site Monday, up from more than 5.5-million a year ago. By midafternoon, soldout items included $448 1-carat diamond earrings, $38 toy workbenches from Step2 and $10 Thomas the Tank Engine toys.

Clearwater

Tech Data names U.S. marketing boss

Clearwater-based Tech Data Corp. has a new boss for its U.S. marketing division. Joe Quaglia was appointed senior vice president of the division Monday. Quaglia will oversee the operations and strategic direction of the IT distributor's product marketing and marketing services divisions. Quaglia, who joined Tech Data in May 2006, has nearly 20 years experience in the IT industry, the company said.

DUBAI,United Arab Emirates

Arab company buys piece of Sony

Dubai International Capital, an investment company owned by the ruler of this booming Persian Gulf city-state, has acquired a stake of undisclosed size in the Japanese electronics and media company Sony Corp.United Arab Emirates-based DIC described its investment in Sony as "substantial" in a statement posted on its Web site, but did not give a percentage.

WASHINGTON

T-bill rates decline

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Monday's auction, with rates on six-month bills dipping to the lowest level in more than two years. The Treasury Department auctioned $22-billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 3.175 percent, down from 3.390 percent last week. Another $20-billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 3.340 percent, down from 3.460 percent last week. The six-month rate was the lowest in two years.

[Last modified November 27, 2007, 01:36:19]