| KOREA: Bidding to build giant IT media tower to open soon
Seoul City will open bidding early next month to build a skyscraper in an information technology and media industry center under construction in western Seoul. The bidding for the high-rise building fell through in late 2004 as all bidders failed to pass the evaluation. The building, named Land Mark, will be the centerpiece for the Digital Media City complex in Sangam-dong to be established by 2010. Seoul City will resume the bidding process in May, officials said. The city government will collect project plans from the bidders between July and August and will select a preferred negotiator by the end of the year, city officials said. Seoul City officials are looking into lowering the height of the building from the previously proposed 540 meters (about 130 stories) and increasing the number of residential spaces.
Net auctioneer's profit jumps
EBay Inc., the world's largest online auction company, says its first-quarter profit soared 52 per cent after the company raised fees on items for sale and held more auctions outside the United States. Net income climbed to $377.2 million (U.S.), or 27 cents a share, from $248.3 million, or 17 cents, a year earlier, eBay said yesterday. Excluding some expenses, eBay earned 33 cents, three cents more than analysts estimated. Revenue increased 27 per cent to $1.77 billion as a weaker U.S. dollar and demand in western Europe boosted results internationally. Last year, eBay chief executive officer Meg Whitman more than doubled fees for merchants selling goods at fixed prices. A higher percentage of listings are now leading to sales. "They're still the gorilla," said Rachel Wakefield, portfolio manager for Coldstream Capital Management in Portland, Ore.
Man auctions speeding ticket on web
Wellington - In a strange example of Internet madness, a New Zealander has sold a NZ$130 (about R500) speeding ticket on a local online auction website, a newspaper reported on Friday. Nearly 30 000 people viewed Bob Grieve's ticket on the Trade Me site before Allan Hearn, an insurance assessor from Pukekohe, bought it for 51 New Zealand dollars. Hearn said he had never had a speeding ticket - a gap in his life that is now filled, The Press of Christchurch reported. "For 50 bucks, who cares?" he asked. "I told my missus about it, and she called me an idiot." Grieve, a TV cameraman from Christchurch, posted his photograph holding the ticket on the site and said he had fielded a flurry of amorous comments as well as bids. One woman asked if the holder came with the ticket and bid four times, he said.
Ritchie Bros. Continues to See Worldwide Participation in its ...
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(CCNMatthews - April 2, 2007) - Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (TSX:RBA)(NYSE:RBA), the world's largest auctioneer of industrial equipment, announces the results of three large unreserved auctions held last week. The largest was a two-day auction in Edmonton, Alberta that generated over CA$58 million (US$50 million) in gross auction sales - beating Company records for the largest Canadian auction ever held by Ritchie Bros. in more than 40 years of business. The other two large auctions were held in Atlanta, Georgia and Houston, Texas, generating over US$29 million and US$33 million in gross auction sales (respectively) - also breaking a number of Company records in those regions.
Ritchie Bros. continues to attract buyers from around the world to its auctions, including those who are bidding live and on-line, using the Company's online bidding service rbauctionBid-Live.
Traders see US March core CPI up 0.2 pct in auction
NEW YORK, April 17 (Reuters) - Traders were betting on Tuesday that the U.S. government's gauge on core consumer inflation rose about 0.2 percent in March, according to the implied median market forecast of a derivatives auction. The result on the core rate of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which excludes volatile food and energy prices, was in line the median forecast among economists polled by Reuters. The core CPI rose 0.2 percent in February. The U.S. Labor Department will issue its March CPI data including the core rate at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT). Investors use the auctions to hedge against surprises in the report. Traders also use the auctions to speculate on the outcome. The economic derivatives auctions run on a system owned by the International Securities Exchange (ISE.N: Quote, Profile, Research), and the trades are cleared by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME.N: Quote, Profile, Research).
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