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PayPal is aiming to launch an improved micropayments service by the end of this year. It hopes a bigger volume of tiny online purchases will be unleashed if buyers can pay as they go, instead of making a big upfront payment to be debited down.

Amazon has been one of the most resilient Internet stocks. But now, with the iPod, iTunes and iPad, Apple is seriously threatening Amazon's key strength -- its control over online sales of media. That's why the tumble in Amazon's stock could mark a turning point.

Lots of people are saying that Amazon (AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos got a great deal when the online e-tailer purchased Tony Hsieh's online shoe company Zappos.com in an $847 million cash and stock deal announced last week. But was it really a great deal? That's very hard to tell from the analysis of...