According to a survey released on Wednesday, Netflix Inc and Gap Inc were among the worst performers in customer satisfaction among the largest online retailers this holiday season.

The survey by ForSee found Overstock.com Inc came last out of the 40 largest online retailers, with a rating of 72 out of 100 and was down 4 points from last year. Amazon led ForSee’s survey for the 14th consecutive time.

ForSee said customer satisfaction is important for retailers as it leads to higher sales, more loyalty, and increased word-of-mouth recommendations.

“Netflix totally misread its customer base and is paying the price, damaging its brand among both consumers and investors,” said Larry Freed, chief executive officer of ForSee.

Tags: Amazon, customer satisfaction, Netflix, online retailers

On Tuesday, gold held steady with prices struck in a narrow $15 range over three sessions as investors stayed on the sidelines amid the year-end holiday season watching for developments in the euro zone debt crisis.

Spot gold edged down 0.1 percent to $1,603.29 an ounce by 7:32 p.m. EST and U.S. gold was little changed at $1,605.20.

Gold and silver speculators cut their bullish bets for the third running week in the week to December 20, with silver net long positions down by more than half, according to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The largest gold producer of the world, China, churned out 31.75 tons of gold in October, bringing the output in the first 10 months of the year to 290.752 tons, up 4.96 percent from a year earlier.

Tags: Commodity Futures Trading, debt crisis, euro zone, gold, holiday season, spot gold

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Tags: Internet marketing, marketing, online marketing strategies, online marketing strategy, YouTube, YouTube video

Suggesting a further strengthening of the economic recovery, the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell to a 3-1/2-year low last week and factory activity in parts of the Northeast gained speed in December.

“It looks like we have just hit a clear patch on the road to recovery, where things are going to speed up a little bit,” said Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Labor Department said that initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 19,000 to 366,000, the lowest since May 2008. Firming tone of the economy was also emphasized by data showing acceleration in factory activity in New York State and the Mid-Atlantic region this month.

Tags: economic recovery, jobless benefits, unemployment benefits

Apple failed to convince a U.S. judge to block Samsung Electronics from selling some Galaxy smartphones and tablets in the United States market. The rejection will deprive the iPhone and iPad maker of crucial leverage in a global patent battle between the two companies.

Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction against Samsung was rejected by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose in a ruling released late Friday.

Apple sued Samsung in the United States in April remarketing the Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets of the South Korean company “slavishly” copies the iPhone and iPad.

“It is not clear that an injunction on Samsung’s accused devices would prevent Apple from being irreparably harmed,” Koh wrote.

The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is Apple Inc v. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd et al, 11-1846.

Tags: Apple, Galaxy smartphones, iPad, iPhone, Samsung Electronics

On Wednesday, Asian stock markets fell as improved economic data out of the U.S. failed to overcome worries about Europe’s festering debt crisis.

Nikkei 225 index of Japan lost 0.1 percent to 8,529.98 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 1.7 percent to 19,025.92; Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan, Australia and mainland China also fell.

From in.news.yahoo.com:

Stocks in Asia didn’t follow through on the momentum from Wall Street, where a session of big swings ended with modest gains. The Dow rose 0.1 percent to 12,096.16. The S&P 500 gained 0.5 percent to 1,257.81, and the Nasdaq added 1.1 percent to 2,686.20.

Data on retail sales showed Americans spending more on autos, electronics and building supplies in October — the fifth straight month of increases.

Sales increased 0.5 percent from the previous month, a faster rate than economists expected and the latest indication that the U.S. economy is likely to avoid another recession.

Europe could head back into recession over the coming months, according to many economists.

Tags: debt crisis, recession, retail sales, S&P 500, stock markets

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Tags: bank loan, cash advance online, credit history, online loan, online loan market

Global Fund, the world’s largest backer of the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, recently said it was cutting new grants for countries battling the diseases and bringing in a new manager to ensure better administration.

“Substantial budget challenges in some donor countries, compounded by low interest rates, have significantly affected the resources available for new grant funding,” the Global Fund said in a statement after its board met in Accra, Ghana.

From Reuters.com:

The public-private Global Fund, based in Geneva, accounts for around a quarter of international financing to fight HIV and AIDS, as well as the majority of funds to fight TB and malaria. Founded in 2002, it raises money from donors every three years.

To date, it has committed $22.4 billion in 150 countries to support large-scale prevention, treatment and care programs against the three diseases. But in recent years it has struggled to persuade international donors to pledge enough money for its work, and has faced accusations of lax regulation of money.

The Fund commissioned a review of its procedures in March after reporting “grave misuse of funds” in four recipient nations, a move that prompted some donors such as Germany and Sweden to freeze their donations.

“As a result, the Global Fund will only be able to finance essential services for on-going programs that come to their conclusion before 2014,” Global Fund added.

Tags: AIDS, care programs, Global Fund, malaria, tuberculosis

A portfolio of 16 office buildings for about $800 million would be purchased by private equity firm Blackstone Group (BX.N), according to the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter.

The buildings, spread across six U.S. cities, are presently owned by a Morgan Stanley real-estate fund that acquired them when it bought Glenborough Realty Trust in 2006.

From Reuters.com:

The real estate fund decided to transfer the remaining buildings to Blackstone rather than repay some $820 million in loans due in December, the paper reported.

Blackstone is talking to lenders to arrange financing for the acquisition, the Journal said.

Blackstone is buying more assets and attracting new money from investors, flexing its muscle as losses pile up at private equity firms. Last month, it agreed to buy 82 suburban office properties for $1.08 billion from Duke Realty Corp (DRE.N).

A request seeking comment was not immediately responded by Blackstone.

Tags: Blackstone, Morgan Stanley, private equity, real estate