Xoom Com

Xoom.com Inc., an Internet-based direct marketing company, and Exchange Applications Inc., a business marketing software developer, completed larger-than-expected initial stock sales Tuesday--indicating both may surge when they begin trading today. Xoom.com, based in San Francisco, sold 4 million shares at $14 each. That was at the high end of the $12-$14 range set by lead underwriter Bear, Stearns & Co., which had raised the range Monday from $9-$11.

NBC formally entered the cyberspace land-grab on Tuesday with its launch of NBCi, a new company wrapping together several of the network's online assets as well as the Snap portal site and the e-commerce company Xoom.com. NBCi, which will be based in San Francisco, also announced a deal with Clear Channel Communications Inc. to promote NBCi's services on the Web sites for Clear Channel's 425 radio stations. NBC will contribute to the venture several of its Web sites including NBC.

NBC formally entered the cyberspace land-grab on Tuesday with its launch of NBCi, a new company wrapping together several of the network's online assets as well as the Snap portal site and the e-commerce company Xoom.com. NBCi, which will be based in San Francisco, also announced a deal with Clear Channel Communications Inc. to promote NBCi's services on the Web sites for Clear Channel's 425 radio stations. NBC will contribute to the venture several of its Web sites including NBC.

Striving for a greater share of the ever-nebulous online audience, NBC on Monday announced that it plans to merge several of its Internet properties with Xoom.com Inc., a rapidly growing but so far profitless online direct marketing company, to create a new company known as NBC Internet. In addition to Xoom.com, the new entity would encompass Snap.com, a Web search and portal site NBC owns jointly with CNet Inc.; a 10% stake of the financial news-oriented CNBC.

Striving for a greater share of the ever-nebulous online audience, NBC on Monday announced that it plans to merge several of its Internet properties with Xoom.com Inc., a rapidly growing but so far profitless online direct marketing company, to create a new company known as NBC Internet. In addition to Xoom.com, the new entity would encompass Snap.com, a Web search and portal site NBC owns jointly with CNet Inc.; a 10% stake of the financial news-oriented CNBC.

Xoom.com Inc., a company that lures computer users to its Internet site with free services and then tries to sell them products, more than doubled in its first day of trading Wednesday. It was further evidence that investors are rushing to the shares of "e-tailers," new companies peddling goods online. Xoom.com sold 4 million shares, a 31% stake, at $14 on Tuesday, raising $56 million and valuing the company at $183 million. On Wednesday, the shares surged $20.44 to close at $34.44 on Nasdaq.

NBC Internet Inc. unveiled a restructuring and warned of lower-than-expected earnings and sales for the second quarter and the remainder of 2000 because of a soft advertising market from "dot-com" companies. Under the restructuring, all of NBC Internet's Web sites and products, including Snap.com, Xoom.com and VideoSeeker, will be combined under a single banner, NBCi.com. The site will debut in the fall.

Advertisers spent $19.1 billion pitching their products in the first quarter, a 4.6% increase over last year, a survey found, as the U.S. economy remained strong and Internet companies advertised more. General Motors Corp. was the leading advertiser, spending $622.7 million, a 16.4% increase, Competitive Media Reporting said. Pampers and Crisco oil maker Procter & Gamble Co. was the second-biggest advertiser, even though it cut its spending 10% to $393 million.

Today * 10:35 a.m.: Dodgers vs. Astros. The game is in Houston, but you can hear it broadcast live. http://www.dodgers.com/ Click on "Game Information." Saturday * 10 a.m.: "Pet Talk America." Hosted by Bob Vella, Pet Talk America introduces animal lovers to veterinarians, trainers and other animal experts. http://www.broadcast.com/shows/pettalk/ Sunday * 3 p.m.: Dealing with Difficult Bosses. Do you work for Attila the Hun? Find ways to cope on this live chat. http://www.ivillage.

It seems as if every self-respecting technology aficionado has a Web site these days. Although I have been writing about Web sites for several years now, I have resisted building my own. Until now. I'm no high-tech wizard. I curse the network and whack my computer monitor when programs unexpectedly crash. Still, I didn't expect it would be difficult to hang my own cybershingle. After all, there are more than 3 million "homesteaders" on GeoCities alone.

Xoom.com Inc., an Internet-based direct marketing company, and Exchange Applications Inc., a business marketing software developer, completed larger-than-expected initial stock sales Tuesday--indicating both may surge when they begin trading today. Xoom.com, based in San Francisco, sold 4 million shares at $14 each. That was at the high end of the $12-$14 range set by lead underwriter Bear, Stearns & Co., which had raised the range Monday from $9-$11.

In the past few weeks, it has seemed as if initial public offerings are to the stock market what Furby is to the toy market this holiday season.

General Electric Co.'s NBC television unit will buy the rest of NBC Internet Inc. it doesn't already own for about $85 million and fold it into the company as NBC seeks to cut losses at the Web site. NBC, owner of the top U.S. TV network among young adults and 38.6% of NBC Internet, will pay $2.19 for each share of NBC Internet, or NBCi, said spokeswoman Rebecca Tompkins. That's 46% more than San Francisco-based NBCi's price Friday.