Crossword Puzzle

April Puzzle
    

ACROSS 3. The type of tax in place since the Spanish- American War. 5. A popular form of high speed, low cost connection DOWN 1. Court decision used as basis for sales tax exemption 2. State recently exempting in-state internet fulfillment 4. The body proposing a VAT be imposed on internet transactions

Many years ago, Harry Von Zell appeared in TV commercials on the eastern U.S. pitching interest rates as high as (can you believe it?) 5 1/4 % for deposits with savings and loan institutions in California, where a building boom was soaking up capital. My old Webster's dictionary (from the same period) defines disintermediation in exactly those terms, withdrawing funds from banks in order to invest them at higher rates elsewhere. Businesses making up the old economy, reliant upon bricks and mortar, fear the disintermediation of the internet in drawing away customers for goods and services. But a lot of what's new is just an internet version of something that was already underway, but just went unnoticed. The National Association of Recording Merchandisers is suing Sony Music Entertainment, Inc. for placing hyperlinks on their audio compact discs that direct consumers away from the retailers and into Sony's online stores. (Imarketing News 2/7/2000 p.1) But this tactic is hardly new. For years, our parent company took telephone orders for music catalogs published by EMI, Angel Records, and others who had placed an '800' number on their CDs. Buyers of the CDs could call, for free, to order a catalog. The catalog sales were handled directly by the record company. Relationships between vendors, suppliers, and distributors have always relied upon cooperation and mutual interest. If Sony isn't careful, they could find all of their point of sale displays removed from every mall in America. Consumers are extremely fickle, and the more sophisticated they become with relation to a product, the more price sensitive they become, and willing to seek out alternate suppliers.(OTE 3/00:Trends In Wireless). Suppliers to the auto industry, by comparison, are embracing the formation of a supersite for exchanging business to business information with Chrysler, Ford, and GM. In fact, the suppliers recognized their lack of market power with the big three, and insisted upon a single site to eliminate duplicate forms and infrastructure support.

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