The weekly newsletter for everyone interested in barter--the world's most versatile business tool!

• Success Summit held by Ubarter
• Carnival Cruise Lines and Fairfield bartering inventory
  
• Here and there. . .

Here And There. . .

• VP Al Gore is calling for the creation of an internet auction site to sell government surplus to the public. Dubbed "G-Bay" it will be implemented, he says, if he's elected president.
  
  
• MOLbarter.com is a new internet portal specializing in barter from Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur). The site isn't operative as of yet, but US$590,000 has been raised to develop the portal.
  
  
• Saks Direct and Dickson Cyber have agreed to barter 3% of the equity in their respective businesses. Saks Direct, which comprises the direct-to-consumer businesses of Saks Fifth Avenue, is creating its web site this summer. Dickson Cyber plans to launch a new "clicks and bricks" concept, offering items such as toys, cosmetics, books, and music by late October.
  
  
• Ebix.com has been named the exclusive insurance portal for ecomecom.com, a provider of e-commerce infrastructure services. They also offer an online Merchant Mall which includes barter and classified ad venues.
  
  
• The bartering of phone cards may be on the way out, according to Probe Research. They report that over 3 billion minutes of internet calls will be made this year. Which is still a pittance compared to the 5.7 trillion minutes of traditional phone calls.
  
  But technology is changing rapidly and with some complications, even phone-to-phone calls over the Net are now possible. It's a simple matter to call from a PC to a regular phone, quite a step-up from the early internet telephony when calls could only be made between two computers.
  
  
• Thailand, the world's largest exporter of rice, is considering a rice-for-gemstone trade with South Africa in order to clear its stockpiles. The size of the trade would involve 100,000 tons of rice for gemstones. (Jewelry is one of Thailand's top export earners.)
  
  
• Stephen L. Geller, founder of his own media-buying and corporate barter company in 1969, has been named to CBQ Inc.'s (www.cbq.com) Board of Directors.
  
  One of CBQ's several subsidiaries, China Partners, focuses on facilitating trade and investment opportunities between companies in the United States and China through its trade portal, chinapartners.net.
  
  
• American Airlines is using its barter currency, frequent flier miles, to settle two law suits brought by American passengers. One suit was for breach of contract restricting seats available to AAdvantage members, and the other suit challenged an increase in mileage needed to earn a free ticket.
  
  The nation's second-largest carrier has agreed to award as many as 5,000 frequent flier miles to more than 4 million AAdvantage program members. The settlement, payable in miles rather than cash, is valued at a minimum of $50 million!
  
  
• TradeRewards.com continues to attract and bring in new products and services to their all-encompassing web site, including dozens of cars.
  
  They have instituted a rating system for each and every transaction, and recently upgraded their user feedback system to include classified ads. Offering such feedback, on the quality of service from the seller, offers a valuable protection from the few who misrepresent. Plus it is reassuring to the traders using the site.
  
  
• To increase its foothold in Latin America, AOL-LA (the Latin American arm of America Online) has entered into a marketing alliance with one of the largest banks in that area.
  
  AOL-LA is bartering 31.7 million shares of stock to Banco Itau in exchange for a commitment to achieve various subscriber revenue levels during a five-year period.
  
  
• Announcement: The yearly review for the administrator and technical support for the International Reciprocal Trade Association (IRTA) Universal Currency program will be up for renewal. If you would like to submit a proposal, contact IRTA at (312) 461-0236.