EBay rearranges deck chairs
EBay has two important properties outside its core auction business: PayPal and Skype. The former is a profitable enterprise now threatened (eBay thinks) by Google's new Checkout payment system — thus eBay's recent decision to ban Google Checkout as a requested payment system. The latter is a money-sucker some blame for the company's staggering stock.
Now PayPal president Jeff Jordan is stepping down to "spend more time with his family" (read: kicked out gracefully). He's being replaced by Skype president Rajiv Dutta, whose role will be filled by Skype VP of products Alex Kazim.
It's the sort of half-hearted swap made while biding time. Picture eBay as a treadmiller running backward to exercise different muscles — it may not see where it's going, but since it's headed nowhere, that doesn't matter.
