Favorable economic data pushed stocks near a 100-point gain Tuesday morning. One of the positive reports came from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), which noted that its service-sector index increased to 53.2 during September. This reading easily outpaced August's reading of 51.5 and handily trumped the Street's estimate for a reading of 52.0.

This reading is good because any readings above 50 signal growth in the service sector. This sector is considered the area where the most jobs are created; ergo, growth in this sector suggests that there will be more hiring on the horizon. On a yearly basis, the index shows that service companies have expanded every month this year.

Here's one trend investors can count on in the "new normal," post-financial crisis economy that's racked state and local budgets: service cuts. State, municipalities, and special taxing districts, many of whom have seen receipts plunge amid mostly fixed-cost and mandatory obligations, are trimming almost every discretionary program possible, often to bring budgets back in balance.

For example, New York state governor David Paterson on Tuesday proposed 2011 another $3 billion in budget cuts to come from education, health care, and state agency programs. These cuts are part of a plan to close a $7.4 billion deficit in the state's $136 billion 2011 budget, Reuters reported.

It seems that when I've discussed service levels of global retailer Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in past posts, comments came flying in from just about every corner of the nation regarding how Wal-Mart associates don't really seem to care about customer service or assisting the customer in stores any longer.

I rarely experience this myself as I'm not an avid Wal-Mart shopper, but yesterday I broke my own rule and visited a Wal-Mart store in my hometown to buy a few things. Wal-Mart Supercenters that I've visited are generally so packed with people that it's hard to navigate the aisles, let alone wait a looooong time at the cashier's to complete your purchase. In that respect, thank goodness for self-checkout machines -- but even those are full sometimes.

I had a newly purchased wristwatch with me when I went into Wal-Mart; I was actually planning to drop by a local jeweler to have the band re-sized after my foray into the jungle that is usually Wal-Mart. I packed my metaphorical machete and ventured into the retailer's discount cave.

Having posted all week about eBay and getting a tirade of in depth responses from sellers who feel mistreated, deceived, disrespected and financially punished, I feel that this issue will not go away. Not because of my continuous posts and not because sellers feel so passionate about the issues they raise.

The real reason the fire continues to burn is that eBay has not sent in the fire brigade and chooses to ignore the fire. It may be a small fire now but small fires turn into big fires if the fuel is not removed (objectionable business practices) or the fire is not overwhelmed by a fire retarding agent -- better communication, more transparency, more warning of changes and seeking seller input as to how improvements might be made for mutual benefit.

In the case of eBay they hope the fire will burn itself out. Will it? The problem is that they are bullying the "little guy", but absolute power corrupts absolutely and eventually they will meet their match. It may be Google, it may be the SEC or FTC, it may be a large law firm that identifies a class action opportunity or a foreign company. As a kid I always enjoyed Popeye the sailor man, who brought us true "everyman" perspective. One of my favorite sayings of his was "that's all I can stands and I can't stands no more!"

Well, this sums up what I have been hearing all week from sellers. I have learned a lot and I'm sure others have as well. There is some pettiness on the part of some sellers that were conveyed in the comments. And, as always is the case, a few rambled on beyond reason, but I will let readers sort that out for themselves. I am closing out the week with the following message to eBay.

EBay Clean-up Procedure:

1) Better communication: eBay must give all of their vendors proper and timely notice of changes in their policies and practices. They must also take into consideration the time it takes to make adjustments by the sellers so that if they choose to stay with eBay they are not devastated.