VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is launching a cloud computing hub in Silicon Valley on Wednesday, the e-commerce giant's first outside of China, underscoring its global ambitions in the face of stiff and entrenched competition.

XPO Logistics Inc (XPO.N) has bought home delivery company UX Specialized Logistics for $59 million in cash to tap into the booming e-commerce market in North America.

Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O) plans to spin off its 15 percent stake in China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N), responding to pressure to hand over to shareholders its prized e-commerce investment valued at roughly $40 billion.

Packaging companies Rock-Tenn Co (RKT.N) and MeadWestvaco Corp (MWV.N) agreed to form a combined $16 billion company to take on market leader International Paper Co (IP.N) in the United States and abroad.

United Parcel Service Inc (UPS.N) and FedEx Corp (FDX.N) are rolling out new pricing systems to curb online retailers' large package sizes, but industry experts warn many small firms are unprepared and could pay up to 50 percent more for shipping.

Major U.S. retailers missed fewer Christmas deliveries this year, according to two small, early surveys released on Friday, partly reflecting a year's worth of investments made to avoid 2013's last-minute shipping debacle.

Volvo Car Corp said it will start selling vehicles online as it rolls out new models to compete with German luxury rivals such as BMW (BMWG.DE).

Wal-Mart Stores Inc promoted Judith Mckenna, a 20-year company veteran, to the post of chief operating officer in the retailer's latest reshuffling of senior management under U.S. chief Greg Foran.

Amazon.com's launch of its own private label brand of consumer goods, starting with diapers and baby wipes, underscores the website's maturity as a grocery retailer and the migration of grocery shopping online.

U.S. shoppers spent slightly less money at brick-and-mortar stores on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday than across the same two days in 2013, while online sales surged to record highs, data showed on Saturday.

Dubai-based Souq.com, one of the Middle East's largest e-commerce businesses, aims for high double-digit revenue growth as it introduces "Black Friday"-type discount events to help lure shoppers from the city's retail malls.

China should support its e-commerce industry with preferential policies, given the role it plays in stimulating domestic consumption and economic growth, China's State Council said in a paper released on Sunday.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) said more than $6 billion of goods have been sold so far during its annual Singles' Day online shopping frenzy, as customers jumped on heavily discounted goods to send sales surging past 2013's record high.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's (BABA.N) first full quarterly report card to Wall Street investors on Tuesday will be scrutinized by the hopeful seeking validation for lofty stock price targets and studied by the few skeptics searching for inauspicious signs.

Japanese telecom and media group SoftBank Corp has agreed to buy a $627 million stake in Indian online retailer Snapdeal, seeking to tap into potentially huge e-commerce growth in the market with the world's third-biggest Internet user base.