TICKER.(Business)

ONLINE FRAUD

A growing number of Internet users have fallen prey to unauthorized checking-account withdrawals, a new report says, costing upward of $2.4 billion during a recent 12-month period. The report, published by Internet research firm Gartner Inc., estimates that one in five Internet users has been defrauded online.

EBAY'S BAAZEE BUY

$50 million: What online auction giant eBay is paying for Baazee.com, India's most popular online shopping site.

Baazee, based in India's financial hub, Bombay, says it has 1 million registered users. In the Hindi language, baazee means the prize for a contest or race.

Source: Associated Press

HIGHER HOTEL RATES

Average room rates in domestic hotels will rise by 3 percent this year.

* The reason: A higher-than-anticipated proportion of business travelers to leisure travelers, who are more likely to be bargain hunters.

Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers

FEMALE HOMEOWNERS

From 1994 to 2002, unmarried women accounted for 30 percent of homeowner growth in the U.S., climbing to 17.5 million from 14 million. That's according to the 2004 State of the Nation's Housing report released this week by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University.