Overwhelmingly overwhelmed

Good morning, bookies. Stand by for news!

First, sorry about no blog yesterday. One of those days spent doing paperwork for the government.

It's an Ebay kind of day, as the chickens these people have been buying are streaming home to roost. I want to apologize to those of you who are bored with this topic. I think after today we'll just let things ride for a while, unless something major happens. Anyway, this week brings layoffs, stock lows, all kinds of good news. Let's start with an analysis from some guy I've heard of, but who probably hasn't heard of me, either.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/27049104/site/14081545?__source=aol

Falling into the category of 'they really want these people gone', we give you this infuriating look at corporate culture:
http://www.webguild.org/2008/09/ebay-layoffs-executives-to-get-4-years-pay.php

I had more links at this point, but it seemed like overkill.


And then there's this: Ebay is fighting Congressional restrictions on online selling. This blog is intended not to be political, however, it is the position of this blogger, me, that the more Congress sticks its nose into online sales, or anything, for that matter, the more it screws it up. So one tends to side with Ebay when they oppose something which is bad for everyone except those with the deepest pockets.
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-14/1223266542244890.xml&coll=1

And yet more. I'm starting to think this is just piling on. I'm even starting to feel somewhat sympathetic for Ebay. This first one is a firm cutting it's price target for their stock.

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINBNG20761820081007?rpc=44

Next up is an in-depth question of whether or not Ebay's acquisition of Bill Me Later is a good or a bad thing. Given the out-and-out vitriol generated by PayPal's sometimes heavy-handed implementation, it may well be a terrible thing. Only time will tell.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/98748-granting-credit-is-ebay-s-bill-me-later-part-of-the-solution-or-part-of-the-problem?source=yahoo

Then there's the real question of whether Ebay's recent moves are a moot point given the dissent and dislike they have generated this year among their once fanatically loyal seller base.

http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/89604/eBays-Acquisitions%2C-Layoffs%3A-Too-Little%2C-Too-Late%3F

*** Ted Briggs has died. Although not book related, I'm sorry to hear this. Ted Briggs was an 18 year old Signalman in 1941, serving aboard HMS Hood when she went into battle against the Bismark, pride of the Kriegsmarine. A shell from Bismark, reportedly a 5.9" secondary gun, penetrated to the Hood's secondary magazine and the Royal Navy's largest battlecruiser exploded, leaving only three survivors from a crew of more than 1500. One was Briggs.

*** Jerome Corsi, author of Obama Nation, has been detained in Kenya. Apparently Kenyans prefer the idea of an ancestral Kenyan becoming president to freedom of the press, reminding us once again that it is not one world.