American Express (AXP) followed in Visa's (V) steps and announced a digital payment and commerce platform dubbed Serve, which enables the consumers to make purchases and person-to-person payments online via mobile phones and at merchants that accept American Express cards. MasterCard (MA) is also planning to launch its own offering for personal payments.

We estimate that American Express derives 73% of our $49.61 price estimate from card transaction and execution fees while Visa derives almost 29% of its $85.03 Trefis price estimate from transaction fees.

When it comes to large acquisition deals, eBay (EBAY) has had a spotty history. Then again, the reason was usually that the transaction had only a tangential strategic connection (like Skype). But, when there were clear synergies, the results have been particularly strong. Just look at PayPal.

Well, it looks like eBay has learned this lesson. That is, the company's latest big deal is the $2.4 billion acquisition of GSI Commerce (GSIC).

It seems inevitable that our smartphones will become our wallets. After all, they have become a key part of our lives. And smartphones have the power to carry out secure and sophisticated transactions.

As is no surprise, many companies are scrambling to be winners in the e-wallet space. Take American Express (AXP). The company has launched a new e-wallet called Serve.

eBay (EBAY), which competes with other e-commerce sites like Amazon.com (AMZN), Walmart (WMT), Overstock.com (OSTK), and Blue Nile (NILE), recently held an Investor Day in which the company discussed future growth areas and presented its business outlook through 2013. One notable highlight of the presentation was the company's expectation of rapid growth from its PayPal, Bill Me Later and StubHub businesses.

Here we examine eBay's growth areas in detail and the potential upside that it could add to our $32.81 stock price estimate, which stands slightly below market price.

We've oft heard the saying: "We must reinvent ourselves." This is the new mantra at eBay. According to chief executive John Donahoe: "Clearly, I hope you see that we are starting to play offense."

EBay (EBAY) has long been a dominant player in the e-commerce industry. Started in 1995, it has brought together buyers and sellers in an auction format. Now, 16 years later and highly successful, the company finds a new competitor in Amazon.com (AMZN), which is grabbing market share. In the meantime, eBay has acquired Paypal, as a wholly owned subsidiary. Paypal, an online payment service, helped to propel eBay's business transactions.

When it comes to electronic payments, China is still in the early stages. But in light of its huge population and fast-growing economy, the potential is enormous.

So, eBay's (EBAY) PayPal is getting aggressive in the country. For example, the company has struck a partnership deal with China UnionPay, which is the biggest electronic payments provider in China.

For more than ten years, eBay's (EBAY) PayPal has made a fortune by having a singular focus on making it easier for people to send and receive money online. In fact, it is now grown into a global platform, which can transact in 24 currencies across 190 markets across the world.

But the payments market is undergoing another trend; that is, becoming an integral part of social networks. So this week, PayPal announced a deal to provide payment services to Facebook's massive user base, which now stands at 400 million.

The widely anticipated IPO for Tesla Motors is finally here. Based in Silicon Valley, the company designs and manufactures high-performance, fully electric cars. The investors include the co-founders of Google (GOOG), Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and the founder is Elon Musk, who helped create PayPal.

The company's first car, which came on the market in 2008, is the Tesla Roadster. It can go from zero to 60 MHP in 3.9 seconds -- without any tailpipe emissions. On a single charge, the car can also go 236 miles. However, the price tag comes to a hefty $109,000.

Look for eBay (EBAY) to more than hold its own this holiday season, which is one major reason I'm reiterating my buy rating for the company, first recommended on May 14, 2009, at a price of $16.84. If you bought EBAY in May, you're up about 40%.

Earlier this year, eBay sold a 70% stake in Skype for about $2.75 billion, enabling the company to focus on core operations at eBay and at PayPal.