From the New York Times, Fascinating look at the managerial and technical issues that can make or break retailing on the web: “...the rate at which electronic merchants turned browsers into buyers—the so-called conversion rate—was only 3.2 percent, nearly unchanged from last year. And the rate at which customers abandoned filled shopping carts before completing the checkout process grew to 49 percent, from 47 percent in 2001.”
States See Credit Ratings Erode: “The decline in creditworthiness has also been reflected in the secondary market for municipal bonds, where the trading value of some state’s debt has fallen to the lowest level in a decade”--which is to say that state debt carries a default premium. Only the federal government has the right to legally counterfeit without limit.
The Flight to Canada: The Canadian Dollar is the lastest beneficiary of the tumble of the U.S. dollar. It has advanced 15 percent against US dollar since last year. Meanwhile, the Euro is fast approaching the height of its debut.
