AMZN

The bad news is that the stock market, as measured by the S&P 500, sits at 1,131, a low point it hasn't traded near consistently since late 2009. The worse news is that there's every reason to believe it will decline further to below 900, back to levels it hit around March 2009.

Best Buy is taking its best shot at stealing some online market share from Amazon.com with a completely new service meant to challenge the world's largest e-commerce company. Best Buy Marketplace will substantially increase the number of products available at the Best Buy website.

It's a sign of just how far and wide demand for Apple products has grown: the consumer-electronics store is about to open a store in Anchorage, Alaska. The new retail outlet, along with another one in Murray, Utah, brings the total number of U.S. Apple stores to 240.

Amazon (AMZN) boss Jeff Bezos doesn't take the usual approach to sales, technology or even competition. At this week's ShopSmart summit, he spoke with candor about his idiosyncratic strategies, growth opportunities, and how digital technology is still reshaping retailing.

Apple has sued Amazon over the term "App Store." Apple says it holds the trademark and claims that an Amazon Appstore will confuse customers who will wonder if it is part of Apple.

Stocks fell sharply Friday as investors fled to safety amid disappointing economic data, mixed corporate earnings reports and escalating violence in Egypt. A soft start for equities only got worse as the day progressed. [Video]

The tablet market is expect to dominate PC sales for a number of years to come, but forecasts about consumer electronics products are often wrong. It was only two years ago that the industry and researchers expected netbooks would become the growth sector of the market. That turned out to be way off.

Google is joining the fray, finally entering the crowded world of e-books alongside Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple. It is a little late to the party, but the world's largest search company has an inherent advantage over its competition.

Despite continued high unemployment rates and other economic concerns, Internet spending this holiday season is expected to rise a whopping 11%.

Holiday sales this year are expected to start well before the traditional start of the shopping season -- Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. Will the early sales rob activity from the week before Christmas?