I think we started talking about eBay, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:EBAY) endeavors in China months ago. Rumors kept surfacing every few months about eBay either getting out of China or making a deal with a local player. Just last week there were reports that Tom.com (NASDAQ:TOMO) and eBay EachNet were close to signing an agreement.

To hear, then, that eBay EachNet and Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) agreed on a partnership isn't surprising and what's more, it makes perfect sense.

With over 60% of the Chinese market, Baidu is China's largest portal and search engine. With this in mind, the cross-promotional partnership could greatly benefit EachNet. Baidu will promote, PayPal Beibao, PayPal's Chinese service, as a preferred payment method while eBay EachNet will use Baidu exclusively for its search advertising. The companies will be testing the search as early as the first quarter; implementing by the second. A special toolbar, co-branded, will also be developed by the two companies.

Despite the fact that on the face of it the deal seems like it would benefit EachNet more than it would Baidu, BIDU shares are up 2.8% while EBAY shares are flat (by 11:30 a.m.). All in all, I'd say this is a positive move for eBay as the company's starting to show a strategy for this market.

Finally, if you recall, rumors of Google, Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) or Yahoo!, Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) acquiring Baidu have also been floating around. If there is any truth to these rumors, this would be weird as Yahoo! holds a stake in eBay's competitor in China, Alibaba's Taobao.

eBay and Baidu sign a cross-promotional deal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 08 Nov 2006 13:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For general and main news here is the first morning post.

Sirius Satellite Radio, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) reported third-quarter financial results this morning. The company's loss narrowed as revenue more than doubled because of a surge in subscribers. Sirius reported a loss of $162.9 million, or 12 cents per share on revenue of $167.1 million, while analysts were looking for a loss of 14 cents per share. SIRI shares are up nearly 2.5% in pre-market trading. The company left its outlook unchanged.

TheStreet.com examines the different alliances and industry players when it comes to downloaded content. The possible talks between Verizon (NYSE:VZ) and Google, Inc.'s NASDAQ:GOOG) YouTube, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) offering TV shows and movies through its Xbox and Apple Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iTV platform. Microsoft, the article concludes, might yet be the winner despite competition from TiVO (NASDAQ:TIVO) and possibly from Sony Corp. (NYSE:SNE) as well.

Later yesterday we also heard of a deal between no. 2 chip maker, Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE:AMD), and no. 2 worldwide (no. 1 in the U.S.) computer maker, Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) to supply the latter with chips -- Athlon 64 X2 dual-core microprocessors to be exact --for its line of desktop PCs sold to medium to large business customers.

After rumors have been going around for months of what eBay, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:EBAY) strategy in China is, today we learned that eBay Eachnet (eBay China) and Chinese Internet search company Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) would collaborate. While Baidu will promote PayPal's China service, Beibao, EachNet will use Baidu exclusively for its search advertising. The companies will also develop a co-branded toolbar.

Reports today say that Germany's DaimlerChrysler AG (NYSE:DCX) plans to invest about 2.5 billion rupees ($55 million) to build a second auto plant in India. The move comes three months after General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM) announced a similar intention.

Someone else is investing in India, this time it's Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE:KO) which plans to invest $250 million in its Indian bottling arm, according to the Economic Times paper.

Still in India, Microsoft Corp.'s (NASDAQ:MSFT) CEO met with Indian Prime Minister, as Microsoft struck an alliance to provide Internet search to customers of one of the country's leading cell-phone carriers.

Google, Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) has decided to try the radio. It is hiring radio sales people and is spending heavily in a bid to expand its position in the $20 billion radio industry.

McDonald's Corp. (NYSE:MCD) U.S. comparable sales rose 5.6% in October due to its breakfast business, Snack Wrap products and the Monopoly game promotion.

Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) is now pulling out of China, ending a joint venture cinema in China it had opened four years ago, citing Beijing tightening restrictions on foreign investors.

Finally, Big Oil won the elections in California after Californians rejected a proposition that would have taxed oil companies and used the money to fund renewable energy.

Before the bell 11-8-06: SIRI earnings, Dell, eBay and Baidu, GOOG and more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 08 Nov 2006 08:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It seems that only yesterday we talked about these rumors. Actually, it was at the end of September.

Once again the rumors come from a source I'm not sure about, China TechNews.com (I guess that's why they're called rumors). Yet, when this same source reported about the resignation of eBay, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) China, or eBay Eachnet's CEO; a report that ended up being correct.

Now the Internet magazine is reporting (citing Chinese media sources) that Tom Online (NASDAQ:TOMO) has signed an agreement with eBay Eachnet to acquire it with a formal announcement coming soon.

Apparently, someone named Zhou Kaixuan, who is also a shareholder in eBay's Skype (which sounds a little odd to me), was the mediator in the negotiations. That's a pretty specific detail, I'd say.

eBay is denying the rumor.

Well, this doesn't sit well with me at all:

• First of all, Meg Whitman, eBay's CEO just recently said in the Q3 earnings call that eBay is committed to China.
• Second, after leaving Japan and having increasingly strong competition from Gmarket in Korea, selling eBay Eachnet would mean eBay is not only leaving China, but the whole of Asia pretty much (well, not India).
• Third, I also mentioned here the possible difficulties for Skype in China and PayPal already has a problem there with regulations as it cannot be fully owned by foreigners. What does that leave then?

I still hope that the rumors are wrong and that there is a strategy hidden in those sale rumors.

Have Tom.com and eBay China finally signed an agreement? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Nov 2006 17:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Perhaps a little scared by recent lawsuits from fashion makers, eBay has agreed to some form of policing on its site and has teamed up with the British Museum. Together, they are warning sellers and buyers about the legalities of treasure finds trading.

The British Museum has set up a team to monitor sales on eBay and make sure antiques are sold legally with the illegal listings reported to special police detectives. This is done under the English, Welsh, and Northern Irish law where failure to report "treasures" is deemed a criminal offense. Not all items that are considered treasures are even allowed to be sold. The team will ensure proper reporting, which in turn result in legal sales.

eBay, on its part, would stop illegal listings when asked to do so and educate customers, both buyers and sellers, who may not be aware of the law. eBay has posted a guide to buying antiquities.

While eBay signed a memorandum of understanding, the company isn't actually paying the British Museum to support the team. Some found that to be ironic.

I doubt today's 2.58%, or 71 cents gain in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) share price has anything to do with the above, though. The rumors of something happening in China are still floating around and that is what most likely has propelled eBay's recent (starting last week) rally. eBay closed at $28.18 today.

eBay after the bell 10-3-06: Some policing, but not by eBay originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Oct 2006 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Adding to earlier rumored possibilities I outlined this morning about eBay China's fate, AuctionBytes now adds another.

Up to now we had the two possibilities of eBay China being sold to either Tencent or Tom.com. AuctionBytes quotes Pacific Epoch, adding a third possibility of eBay actually negotiating the acquisition of Tencent, rather than the other way around.

This makes a little more sense to me as I don't see eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) just giving up on the whole Chinese market and withdrawing altogether from it by selling its operations there.

Looking at today's share price, eBay shares are up over 3.5%. The increase in share price could be attributed to a Goldman Sachs bullish note on eBay. Goldman lowered its eBay target price from $54 to $35, but reiterated its "Buy" rating on eBay at the same time. While Goldman is bullish, others predict eBay's Q3 to be "less-than-stellar."

Could eBay shares be up 3.5% solely on a Goldman note, or is there anything behind the rumors? And if so, what?

More on the eBay China rumors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 Sep 2006 13:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.