posted 03-23-2001 06:02 PM         

Micron Electronics is exiting the PC business and merging with Web hosting company Interland in a $130 million stock deal that will transform the company into a hosting firm. The all-stock deal will combine Micron’s HostPro Web hosting subsidiary with Interland, creating a new firm that will use the Interland name. (source: CNET) http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-5230490.html

Who would be crazy -- or desperate -- enough to try to push through an IPO in a market like this? Lu, that's who. (source: Money.com) http://www.money.com/money/depts/techinvestor/archive/010322.html

posted 03-22-2001 06:06 PM         

Trying to make money off their Internet offspring didn't turn out as well as some old-economy companies had hoped. Now what? (source: Red Herring) http://www.redherring.com/index.asp?layout=story&channel=20000002&doc_id=1270018327

Stock prices are the lowest in years, but few companies are repurchasing shares. Here's why -- and 8 ways you can tell if a buyback is for show or for real. (source: MoneyCentral) http://moneycentral.msn.com/articles/invest/extra/6503.asp

The next stage in the multimedia revolution is streaming video for handhelds. Sound useless? Think again. (source: Forbes) http://www.forbes.com/2001/03/22/0322mpeg.html

posted 03-20-2001 06:20 PM         

Institutional investors are upping their stakes in some downtrodden e-commerce stocks, which remain fairly volatile despite the conventional wisdom that such large investors as mutual fund and pension managers can stabilize a stock. (source: CNET) http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-5195495.html

posted 03-16-2001 05:58 PM         

Napster users were downloading 50% fewer files after the company beefed up its screening technology Wednesday, according to Webnoize, a firm that has followed Napster usage closely. Napster officials continue to disagree with the recording industry about the burdens the company must bear in policing its system for unauthorized content. (source: CNN) http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/internet/03/16/napster.ap/index.html

posted 03-15-2001 06:04 PM         

Nokia said on Thursday that unlike its major competitors, it expects better than anticipated first quarter margins and earnings in line with expectations. However, at the same time the world's biggest maker of mobile phones cut its forecasts for global mobile phone sales. (source: MarketWatch) http://www.ftmarketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid={c79739e4-7c13-4b21-9313-9a5b0d50710f}

Today, the storage market is hot. With $13.5 billion in sales last year and an eye-popping 35 percent increase year-over-year, folks are paying attention. SANs (storage area networks) represent half that market and all of the growth. SANs may not be sexy, but this columnist explains why investors would do well to get interested. (source: CNET) http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1273-210-5122648-1.html

After a few roller-coaster years, even the savviest of online players have found solace in hooking their wagons to the very business models they once decried as passe. As for investors, the bumpy online ride has offered a lesson most of them should have learned a long time ago -- diversify your portfolios and spread the wealth. Under the high-risk column, make some educated guesses, study the market, and continue to take some chances on dot-coms. Then, wait for the inevitable market correction. (source: E-commerce Times) http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/8155.html

In Brief:
- Applied Materials announced plans to have up to 1,000 employees leave the company voluntarily. The chipmaking equipment leader cited the slowing economy and weak orders from semiconductor customers.

posted 03-13-2001 04:36 PM         

A tiny company teams up with a corporate giant to get a chunk of spectrum. But in the partnership between Alaska Native Wireless and AT&T Wireless, who should be thanking whom? (source: The Standard) http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,22702,00.html

posted 03-13-2001 09:49 AM         

Microsoft and eBay announced a broad alliance to support each others’ internet technologies and services. The relationship could have important implications, as eBay seeks to expand its sphere of influence beyond its mainstay Internet auction site. It also represents one of the biggest endorsements to date for Microsoft’s broad new internet initiative, dubbed .Net. (source: MSNBC) http://www.msnbc.com/news/542951.asp

As the Nasdaq dipped below 2,000, Cisco shares fell under $19 Monday after the network gear company said it will slim down by up to 8,000 jobs. Explaining that the slowing global economy is now a real roadblock, Cisco will take a fiscal fourth-quarter charge of $300 - $400 million for the job cuts. (source: MarketWatch) http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B25C6BBB2%2D40E8%2D48B9%2D82F9%2D8739F66F505C%7D

The Nasdaq may be drastically down from its peak of March 10 last year, but such market volatility is not new. The tech sector has taken a beating before and came back swinging. (source: Red Herring) http://www.redherring.com/index.asp?layout=story&channel=20000002&doc_id=1770018177

posted 03-12-2001 02:50 PM         

On the way to Nasdaq 5000 and beyond, a lot of people made a lot of errors as they tried to figure out what stocks were worth. Sell-side analysts, investors and, yes, even reporters goofed up with optimistic assumptions, dubious yardsticks and shaky comparisons. In 20/20 hindsight, the methods people employed to price tech stocks were rationalizations at best and ridiculous at worst. But kicking the nasty habit will be hard. (source: The Street) http://www.thestreet.com/tech/internet/1330822.html

posted 03-09-2001 10:07 AM         

Not even one full business cycle. That’s all it has taken to put the pox of desperation on the ultimate dot-com blue chip of them all: Yahoo! Inc. No sooner did Nasdaq halt trading in Yahoo’s shares early Wednesday than the wildest of rumors began sweeping Wall Street as to what was going on behind the scenes. But this columnist argues, Yahoo’s troubles have been in plain sight from the very moment the company went public in April 1996. (source: MSNBC) http://www.msnbc.com/news/540803.asp

Chipmakers Intel and Advanced Micro Devices have slashed prices on some of their processors, again. The cuts earlier this week are the second time this year. They could be evidence of a price war or a mere effort to kickstart demand, depending on which analyst you ask. (source: Upside) http://www.upside.com/texis/mvm/hardwareSoftware/story?id=3aa6abf7a