A TECHNICAL

A screen shot of books available through Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited subscription service on an iPhone. Credit   Associated Press In a  short blog post  meant to shed light on its   contract dispute with the publisher Hachette , Amazon argued this week that its data proved that lower e-book prices were better for everyone in the market for books. That includes authors, publishers, customers and Amazon itself. Amazon also said that in addition to looking for cheaper books, it was asking for just 30 percent of the price of an e-book — far less than many in the publishing industry had feared the company was seeking in its dispute with Hachette. At first blush, the retailer’s numbers, and its transparency, are encouraging. But when you compare the market for e-books with other thriving digital markets, a larger question emerges: Why should the price of books be contractually enforced at all? Amazon says its data shows that e-books are “price ela...

Quoting from the site wsj.com Posted by:Dr Ahmed.M.Shaban In  its latest filing  with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Alibaba disclosed in more detail why the Alipay payment business had to be separated from the Chinese e-commerce giant back in 2011. Bloomberg The additional disclosure came ahead of Alibaba’s U.S.initial public offering , which could happen as early as next month. When Alibaba founder Jack Ma separated the Alipay payment unit from Alibaba Group and took it under his control in 2011, the move prompted objections from major shareholders like  Yahoo   YHOO   +1.43% . At the time, Alibaba said the transfer ensured Alipay could get the license to continue its payment business in China. Yahoo at the time complained that it was blindsided by the transfer, while Alibaba said its board, which included Yahoo’s seat, had previously discussed the matter. Alibaba and Yahoo later reached an agreement on t...