| Iraqi government scraps wireless auction plans, reaches deal with ...
Iraq has scrapped its long-delayed cellular auction and instead decided to license the three national mobile phone carriers in June under an arrangement calling for revenue-sharing and an upfront cash payment of at least $250 million from each operator, according to Iraqi government and industry sources.
The decision removes a cloud of uncertainty over Iraqi national carriers, GSM wireless vendors and investors on arguably the most successful reconstruction effort since the U.S.-led invasion to overthrow Saddam Hussein began in March 2003. Iraq, with effectively no cellular market under Saddams iron-fisted regime, now has nearly 10 million mobile phone subscribers. In addition to the three national cellular carriers, there are two smaller mobile phone operators in Iraq.
The Iraqi government action is not welcome news for U.S.-based Qualcomm Inc., the global CDMA leader, which has tried to make inroads in the GSM-dominated Middle East.
Web traffic to eBay and Yahoo continues to grow
Web traffic to Yahoo has increased by 3 percent since last year and eBay has seen a 12 percent rise in the same time frame, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. Yahoo parent company increased three percent year over year, from a three-month average monthly unique audience of 104.7 million unique visitors in Q1 2006 to 107.5 million unique visitors in Q1 2007. In online advertising, estimated revenue from image-based impressions on Yahoo grew 54 percent from Q1 2006 to Q1 2007. Sponsored links on the Yahoo property grew 16 percent in the same time period. Web traffic to the eBay parent company increased 12 percent year over year, from a three-month average monthly unique audience of 60.9 million in Q1 2006 to 68.2 million in Q1 2007. EBay brands eBay, PayPal, Shopping.com Network, and Skype all ranked number one in subject categories in March 2007, including classifieds/Auctions, Financial Tools, Shopping Directories and Guides and Long Distance/Local Carriers.
Brazil's Central Bank Buys Dollars At BRL2.024
SAO PAULO (Dow Jones)--Brazil's Central Bank bought U.S. dollars at a snap auction Monday for 2.024 reals per dollar, the bank said. The bank did not reveal the volume of dollars purchased. The bank said it is purchasing dollars to build up foreign reserves. In the minutes before the auction, the real traded at BRL2.023 per dollar. Moments after the auction, the real was trading again at BRL2.023 per dollar. -By Tom Murphy, Dow Jones Newswires; 55-11-3145-1478; brazil@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires April 23, 2007 11:57 ET (15:57 GMT) Copyright 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. .
Fire district begins taking bids on truck
The Strafford Fire Protection District is seeking bids for the sale of a 1980 GMC 1 ton duel-wheel truck. The truck is two-wheel drive with automatic transmission and a diesel motor. It can be seen at Station No. 3, next to the post office. .
Burlco eyes Web auctions
Burlington County plans to join other local governments in auctioning government surplus items on the Web. The Burlington County Freeholders authorized its treasurer's office to sign an agreement with GovDeals Inc., which operates an Internet auction site called www.govdeals.com. The freeholders said they will sell vehicles and office equipment to the public online to make more money, save time and attract more bidders. Sharon Brauckmann, county purchasing agent, said the auction would be held later this year and not until the state Department of Community Affairs gives its approval. She said the state must approve a county application to waive the normal local public auction using an auctioneer. Kurt Brock, the county's chief financial officer, said the state is approving Internet auctions of government property only on eBay and GovDeals.
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