New Yahoo CEO has tech knowledge

January 5, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

NEW YORK

Scott Thompson isn’t an obvious pick to lead Yahoo, but he brings to the struggling Internet company expertise in technology and operations.

Whether that’s enough will be determined in the coming weeks and months.

Thompson, the head of eBay Inc.’s PayPal online payments business, was named Yahoo’s CEO, effective next Monday. He replaces Carol Bartz, who was fired in September after less than three years on the job.

Focused on technology and operations rather than marketing or media, Thompson is “the guy who helps build the clock as opposed to tell the time,” said Gil B. Luria, an analyst at Wedbush.

Luria credits Thompson with turning PayPal into a “large, fast-growing and predictable payments company.”

Pay-phone owner sentenced for fraud

GREENBELT, Md.

A Washington-area pay- phone owner who rigged phones to automatically dial toll-free numbers, fraudulently ringing up $4 million in 50-cent fees, was sentenced Wednesday to three months in prison.

Nicolaos Kantartzis pleaded guilty in September to using more than 100 pay phones to make phantom calls. Because the calls are free to legitimate users, the party getting the call pays costs that include a cut for the pay-phone operator. Kantartzis, 63, was paid each time his phones rang the numbers, even though most calls lasted only a few seconds.

NJ voters may get say on Net gambling

TRENTON, N.J.

It may be up to New Jersey voters to decide whether to allow online betting in the state.

An Internet-gambling bill that was going to be fast-tracked through the Legislature is being held up because the state constitution may require the question to be put to voters.

Assembly and Senate panels have put off hearing the bill today, the final committee meeting day of the session.

Bills not approved by Monday must be reintroduced after the Legislature reorganizes Tuesday.

Gov. Chris Christie said Wednesday he supports Internet gambling if it complies with the constitution and is focused in Atlantic City.

The governor vetoed a previous online-betting bill.

This bill would let customers create online accounts with casinos. They would have to be in New Jersey when placing bets.

Bond markets give eurozone a respite

LISBON, Portugal

Europe won modest respite from its debt crisis Wednesday as Germany and Portugal borrowed with relative ease ahead of a hazard-filled few weeks for the 17 nations that use the euro.

But Greece’s new prime minister warned that his debt-crippled country has only three months to come up with new reforms needed for it to remain in the eurozone and avoid a default — a reminder that the crisis can flare up at any time.

Associated Press