Alibris Inc

Alibris Inc., an Emeryville, Calif.-based online marketplace for used books, withdrew its initial public offering because it was unhappy with the prices being offered by bidders. The company had planned to use an open-auction process for the offering, allowing investors to bid on the price they wished to pay for the shares. From Dow Jones / Associated Press

Alibris Inc., an Emeryville, Calif.-based online marketplace for used books, withdrew its initial public offering because it was unhappy with the prices being offered by bidders. The company had planned to use an open-auction process for the offering, allowing investors to bid on the price they wished to pay for the shares. From Dow Jones / Associated Press

In an online eavesdropping case with potentially profound implications, a federal appeals court ruled it was acceptable for a company that offered e-mail service to surreptitiously track its subscribers' messages. The case involves a now-defunct online literary clearinghouse, Interloc Inc., which was acquired in 1998 by Alibris Inc., an Emeryville, Calif.-based online rare-book broker. Interloc made copies of the e-mails sent to its subscribers by rival Amazon.com Inc.