Just like the banks own Congress, the card companies own Beckett. The only credible pricing seems to come from auction results and online shops, and the only credible news seems to come from blogs and message boards run by actual collectors.
As far as the cards themselves go, I can't tell anything has changed. Topps is making sure to fill any and all voids in the market with their own flood of products. It doesn't feel like we're being subjected to any fewer sets without Upper Deck in the mix.
Beckett still doesn't make any attempt to cover minor league cards or foreign sets, and the Standard Catalog has now been cut in half, both situations because the companies let most of their staff go in an effort to increase profits.