Perfect match? Ex-eHarmony CEO joins venture capital firm

Greg Waldorf

The toughest breakups are the ones you don't see coming.

That was the case two weeks ago, when Greg Waldorf announced that he was stepping down as CEO of matchmaking site eHarmony. The move came as a surprise both inside and outside the company, where Waldorf had served as founding investor before taking the executive reins five years ago.

eHarmony immediately installed president and COO Greg Steiner as interim CEO, MORE

Energy M&A cools down as oil prices heat up

Colin Barr today wrote that Egypt could be a case study for peak export theory, under which oil prices would rise steadily until major importers like the U.S. plunge into recession.

If he's correct, then we're about to see a major decrease in U.S. energy sector M&A activity. Buyers will get scared off in an environment where crude barrel prices regularly top $100 (or more), particularly if they believe that a major MORE

Former eBay executive Rajiv Dutta passes away

Rajiv Dutta, former president of both Skype and PayPal, has passed away. He had beaten back colon cancer several years ago, but recently experienced a severe recurrence.

Dutta began his career with a 10-year run at Bio-Rad Laboratories, after which he spent a short time with chip-maker KLA-Tencor. He then would join eBay (EBAY) as its finance director in 1998, just before the online auction company went public. Dutta later served in a MORE

4 reasons why Ireland's roar will return

Ireland's stringent austerity measures will almost certainly slow its growth in the coming years. But the country is better positioned than most troubled European nations to grow its way out of the crisis.

As the debt crisis continues to unravel in parts of Europe, world leaders and global investors speculate which country could be next. European leaders have already been forced to bail out Greece and Ireland, where leaders have agreed MORE

Mubarak rallies on Intrade

Is there a bull market in brutal Egyptian dictators?

There is Monday. The odds of an imminent departure by Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak, declined on Intrade, which makes a market in bets on political, sports and entertainment events.

Trading at distressed levels

The bulls aren't exactly running wild, mind you. The market is putting the odds at 3 in 5, or 60%, that Mubarak will depart by Feb. 28, Intrade shows. That's MORE

How Egypt spells oil spike

Egypt may not cause an oil shock this week. But trends that have been playing out there for decades show why another bruising bout with sky-high prices may be unavoidable.

Let's assume that unrest in the world's No. 27 exporter will be contained, keeping the current U.S. price of a barrel of crude nearer $90 than $100. For now, that's good news for a global economic expansion that's addicted to the MORE

Can Obama help start up America?

Lots of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists are gathering at the White House this morning, to help launch what is being called the "Startup America" initiative. The effort seems to have three primary goals:

Shine a spotlight on entrepreneurs, in an effort to encourage more of them
Advise Obama and others in D.C. on policy initiatives that could help foster entrepreneurship
Foster collaboration among private entrepreneurship mentoring/incubation groups

My initial reaction to the White House's MORE

Geopolitical unrest and the impact world oil markets

For insight into how developments in Egypt and the broader region will impact oil prices, it's worth remembering the Suez Crisis of 1956.

By James Hamilton, Econbrowser

Change is on the way in the Arab world, with Egypt the latest focal point. Here I review recent events and their implications for world oil markets.

I begin with a timeline, if not to connect the dots, at least to collect the dots in a MORE

Pre-Marketing 1.31.11

* John Maudlin: We're in a bubble of complacency

* Andy Kessler: What world economies can learn from Google

* Of Davos and Egypt: Felix Salmon staples his tongue to his cheek

* Morning Call: U.S. futures flatten on Egyptian unrest, crude oil futures rise, London falls early, European shares retreat and the Nikkei hits a 1-month closing low.

* Yves Smith: How banks influence people in high places

* Thomas Lee: Why does Uncle Sam heart drugs but not med devices?

* Is Tyler MORE

Fannie and Freddie's biggest deadbeats

Leaning on the megabanks can pay off, if you've got a little muscle and a lot of patience.

Banks had paid $21 billion through this past summer to repurchase souring home loans from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the taxpayer-backed mortgage companies, under contracts that oblige lenders or loan servicers to buy back loans that aren't up to snuff.

Have the banks had their fill?

That covers about 13% of the mortgage MORE