Harold Maass of The Week The Best of Today's Business

NEWS AT A GLANCE

The IPO drought

In the second quarter, for the first time in 30 years, there were zero initial public offerings backed by venture capital. This follows a mere five venture-capital-backed IPOs in the first quarter. (The Washington Post) With the credit crunch and weak economy forcing small companies to put off IPOs, new specialized investment banks are stepping in to provide late-stage financing. (The Wall Street Journal) Overall, 333 companies went public in the first half of 2008, compared with 702 a year earlier. "People have become less interested in risk, and when it comes to the IPO market you're typically talking about smaller companies that people know less about," said Alex Vallecillo at Allegiant Asset Management Co. (Bloomberg)

Chrysler shuts down minivan plant

Chrysler LLC said it is shutting down a St. Louis-area minivan plant and cutting back production at another that makes full-size pickups as it grapples with falling demand for large vehicles. The company will cut 2,400 jobs in the process. Chrysler, which is expected to report a steep drop in June sales today, has seen U.S. sales slump 19.3 percent so far this year, compared with an industry-wide 8.4 percent drop. (Detroit Free Press) Chrysler depends on trucks, SUVs, and minivans for almost 70 percent of its sales. The minivan has been hit by high gas prices, but also a broad switch to SUVs. (Reuters) "Gen X isn't interested because their parents drove minivans, and they want crossovers," said Global Insight analyst Aaron Bragman. "Gen Y isn't ready yet." (Chicago Tribune)

France fines eBay over knockoff purses

A court in Paris ordered eBay to pay luxury goods brand LVMH about $61 million for allowing fake Louis Vuitton bags and Dior perfume to be sold on its site. EBay vowed to appeal the ruling, which also banned it from selling Dior perfume. (The New York Times, free registration) The monetary damages won't hurt eBay as much as the added costs of monitoring sales on its European site and an expected rash of similar lawsuits from other European brands. (BusinessWeek.com) This was eBay's third straight loss in Europe in two years. "This will be the bellwether to brand holders all around the world to file suit against EBay in France," said intellectual property lawyer Heather McDonald. (Bloomberg)

For rock bands, a new stage on the small screen

With CD sales on the decline and the music business in disarray, rock bands are taking their act to a new platform: videogames. Last weekend saw the launch of "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith," the latest installment of Activision's lucrative franchise. Fellow rockers Metallica will be featured in their own Guitar Hero game due out this year, and Van Halen is in talks with Activision, too. Guitar Hero was the best-selling videogame series in the U.S. last year, with $820 million in sales, and signing on with Activision or MTV Networks' rival Rock Band can be "much more lucrative than anything you can do in the record business," says Irving Azoff, who manages Aerosmith and other major artists. (The Wall Street Journal)

BEST COLUMNS OF THE DAY

The lesson of the petro-dollar

You've heard the reasons that oil is trading above $140 a barrel, says USA Today in an editorial. But aside from the usual suspects -- rising global demand, falling production capacity, bigger cars, and no meaningful U.S. energy policy -- the record oil prices are also a "no-confidence vote in the U.S. economy and currency." Take the dollar. If it hadn't weakened 45 percent against the euro this decade, oil would be at $100 a barrel. Investors are turning to oil as a sort of bet that the U.S. won't "face up to its problems," namely a "destructive borrow-and-spend habit" afflicting consumer and government alike. In that way, oil is now "a kind of alternative currency," like gold. And it will punish us until we shape up.

If not equities, what?

With the Dow just finishing its biggest first half percentage drop in 38 years, says David Bogoslaw in BusinessWeek.com, spooked investors have been turning to the safety of U.S. Treasury bonds. But while they're safe, Treasuries now have yields "near current inflation levels," so they aren't very profitable. "So, what should investors do?" These days your fixed-income needs might be best served by investment-grade corporate bonds and certain asset-backed securities, like from Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae. With inflation and other economic question marks looming, choose high quality debt, like corporate bonds in the energy sector. These should give you a good place to park until "the stock market stops looking so ugly."

GOOD DAY FOR: Road warriors, after the Transportation Security Administration said has approved new laptop bags that will let airline passengers pass through security without unpacking their computers. The new "checkpoint friendly" cases should hit the market in late September or October. More than 25 percent of air travelers carry laptops, the TSA said. (The New York Times, free registration)

BAD DAY FOR: Ian Usher, after the 44-year-old Australian's attempt to sell his entire life on eBay fell about $100,000 short of his target price. After a seven-day auction, Usher agreed to sell everything -- his three-bedroom home, a motorcycle and jet ski, a shot at his rug-store job, all his belongings, and his friends -- for $380,286. (Reuters)

NOTED: Bank of America takes control today of Countrywide Financial, the troubled mortgage giant founded by Angelo Mozilo 39 year ago. It is Mozilo's last day with the company, which crashed from its perch as the No. 1 U.S. home lender after embracing subprime and other questionable loan types. Mozilo and the firm face several lawsuits and state and federal investigations. Mozilo "was an admired and feared competitor," said National Mortgage News editor Paul Muolo. "But now his reputation is trashed." (Los Angeles Times, free registration)

This column was written by Peter Weber and edited by Harold Maass of TheWeekDaily.com.