posted 01-31-2001 06:08 PM         

Thinking that software leaders Siebel, BEA Systems, Veritas or Check Point are bargains? These companies may be strong market leaders, but that doesn’t necessarily mean up, up and away for these stocks, no matter what those pesky analysts say. (source: MarketWatch) http://cbs.marketwatch.com/archive/20010131/news/current/techwatch.htx

posted 01-29-2001 06:50 PM         

Ariba will pay a 26% premium for Agile Software in a $2.6 billion deal to unite the two business-to-business software players. Ariba expects the purchase to add to earnings in fiscal year 2002. (source: CNNfn) http://cnnfn.cnn.com/2001/01/29/deals/ariba_agile/

posted 01-29-2001 05:43 PM         

Alberto Vilar has run institutional emerging tech portfolios and private accounts for more than 20 years. He says the B2B industry, companies that help businesses transact with other businesses on the Web, is where Net investors will make money over the long term. (source: The Street) http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/funds/fundjunkie/1268199.html

Perhaps more than any other dot-com debacle, the rise and fall of eToys parallels the treacherous ups and downs of early e-commerce. Portrayed as a superstar of the new medium in 1999, the toy retailer's market valuation soared to $7.7 billion the day it went public, 35% more than long-established rival Toys “R” Us. But despite a boardroom full of Harvard and Stanford MBAs and blue-chip backers, eToys wildly overestimated the size of its potential market and the speed at which it would materialize. (source: The Wall Street Journal) http://public.wsj.com/sn/y/SB980113514634649993.html

Several dot-coms that were universally thought to have bitten the dust have since risen from the ashes, in most cases with new management intent on rebuilding their once (and often, much) maligned brands. Now that they have received the breath of new life, they're charged with figuring out how to make sure their brand name doesn't stand for insolvency in the minds of consumers, vendors, or investors. (source: Business 2.0) http://www.business2.com/content/channels/marketing/2001/01/23/25020

According to venture capital research firm VentureOne, there was not a single venture-backed e-commerce initial public offering in the last three quarters of 2000. So, can the market for e-commerce IPOs possibly can get any worse? This columnist thinks it can. (source: E-commerce Times) http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/6978.html

Did you Yahoo? The stock has been rattled quite a bit over the past year, but it remains the online destination of choice. Will it bounce back? Have we yet to see the worst? These two columnists face off with bullish and bearish predictions for Yahoo’s future. (source: The Motley Fool) http://www.fool.com/duelingfools/2001/duelingfools01012400.htm

A slowdown in PC sales may be compounded as more attention is focused on Internet appliances, handhelds, cell phones and other gear. Only Microsoft, Intel and, to a lesser extent, Apple Computer seem intent on promoting the PC-centric vision of the world. (source: Forbes) http://www.forbes.com/columnists/2001/01/22/0122dvorak.html

It's become increasingly clear that the online ad boom was largely a mirage, one created by the unfettered spending of the dot-coms themselves. Flush with venture funding and IPO cash, Internet companies had been only too happy to ring one another's Websites with flashing banners. Now, the big advertisers are finally coming to the Web. That's bad news for dot-coms. (source: Fortune) http://www.fortune.com/fortune/2001/02/05/ona.html

The nebulous field of nanotechnology, freighted with as much hype as legitimate promise, boils down to the process of manipulating matter on a molecular scale. Scientists foresee a day when they can churn out virus-size computers, cancer-munching robots swimming through arteries and desktop factories assembling watches out of dust. Nanotechnology has lured the likes of IBM, Motorola and Dow Chemical, as well as new entrants like Zyvex, to the pursuit of efficient, miniature materials. (source: Forbes) http://www.forbes.com/futuretech/forbes/2001/0205/124.html

posted 01-26-2001 06:08 PM         

PMC-Sierra's terrible earnings report where it met estimates but gave a horrible outlook for the next quarter is certainly going to haunt shareholders (the stock dropped 22% on the day, but opened down more than 30% before recovering). But the news also presents problems for tech momentum funds, as this columnist points out. (source: TheStreet.com) http://thestreet.com/funds/smarter/1277575.html

Until recently, makers of fiber-optic network equipment seemed all but immune from the slowdown in technology spending that began to surface late last year. That’s because these high-capacity pipes and switches for light waves can move more bits — and move them faster — than anything else known to man. But amid a widening slowdown in telecom spending, the once-dazzling outlook for the makers of optical components is starting to flicker. (source: MSNBC) http://www.msnbc.com/news/521066.asp

posted 01-25-2001 06:10 PM         

For those PC investors that stuck out the frustrating fourth-quarter confessions, only to have their confidence restored by better-than-expected earnings reports from Compaq and IBM, this columnist has some advice: don't pat yourself on the back just yet. (source: Forbes) http://www.forbes.com/2001/01/25/0125mu1.html

posted 01-24-2001 05:42 PM         

AOL Time Warner plans to cut between 2,000 and 2,500 jobs in an effort to trim costs, according to published reports. The cutbacks will come from the company's music business, its online division and New Line Cinema; reductions at other divisions also expected. (source: MarketWatch) http://cbs.marketwatch.com/archive/20010124/news/current/aol.htx

Lucent is expected to announce 10,000 job cuts and plans to take a restructuring charge of more than $1 billion, which could include write-offs for inventory, plant closings, discontinued products and defaults on debt. (source: CNNfn) http://cnnfn.cnn.com/2001/01/23/news/lucent/

Corvis has made a big thing out of being first to market with a package of technologies for building all-optical networks, which slash carrier costs. Now, however, Corvis has gotten some direct competition. A U.K. startup called Ilotron Ltd. has developed a similar (and possibly better) package of technologies with exactly the same goal. (source: Light Reading) http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=3349

posted 01-24-2001 10:14 AM         

In Brief:
- Corning announced it would acquire Tropel for $190 million. The acquisition will improve Corning's specialty materials division.
- SAP AG warned that it would miss its 2001 sales target by three months and that it planned to repurchase up to 1.5% of its preference shares.

posted 01-22-2001 06:38 PM         

Internet banking has plenty of appeal. It allows people to pay bills, transfer funds and apply for mortgages, loans and credit from the convenience of their homes. Most of today's e-banks also offer lower fees and higher interest rates on deposits than their brick-and-mortar counterparts. So what's wrong with Internet banking? (source: Forbes) http://www.forbes.com/2001/01/22/0122sf.html

In today's world of pre-announcements, earnings shortfalls, and "challenging" economic climates, you would think investors would be thrilled that Sun Microsystems met its fiscal second-quarter earnings estimates of 16 cents a share and that revenue increased by 44 percent over the same period last year. But you would be wrong. (source: Red Herring) http://www.redherring.com/investor/2001/0122/inv-sun012201.html

In Brief:
- eBay and London-based icollector.com announced that they would jointly offer eBay's Live Auctions technology to a worldwide alliance of auction houses, dealers and galleries.

posted 01-19-2001 06:10 PM         

George Scalise, president of the Semiconductor Industry Association, said he expects the SIA will lower forecasts for 2001 chip sales growth to 10% from 22%. In this interview, he discusses the short-term future of the industry in more detail. (source: MarketWatch) http://cbs.marketwatch.com/archive/20010118/news/current/soapbox.htx

George Scalise, president of the Semiconductor Industry Association, said he expects the SIA will lower forecasts for 2001 chip sales growth to 10% from 22%. In this interview, he discusses the short-term future of the industry in more detail. (source: MarketWatch) http://cbs.marketwatch.com/archive/20010118/news/current/soapbox.htx

While the competition is crying economic slowdown, i2 Technologies's "one-stop shop" strategy sets the provider of supply-chain management solutions apart. Indeed, in beating Wall Street's fourth-quarter expectations, i2 appears to be gaining traction at a time when others are slipping. (source: Red Herring) http://www.redherring.com/investor/2001/0119/inv-itwo011901.html

posted 01-18-2001 07:33 PM         

After a year that saw Microsoft lose a landmark antitrust case, shed 63 percent of its stock value and issue a rare warning about disappointing earnings, some analysts argue that the software giant at last has hit rock bottom. (source: MSNBC) http://www.msnbc.com/news/516789.asp

The Internet's explosive growth rode the back of the mighty economic expansion of the '90s. Today, a slowdown in PC buying, along with economic softness and rising credit card debt, may have a negative impact on online subscriptions. This columnist predicts that shrinking demand for internet subscriptions will spill over to hinder the development of new technologies and the profitability of online advertising. (source: Forbes) http://www.forbes.com/2001/01/18/0118simons.html

Up until last Friday, the middlemen between networking giants like Cisco Systems and the end customer were largely shrouded under a veil of privacy. But the IPO filing of value-added distributor the Westcon Group -- only the fourth filing this year -- promises to give investors a leading barometer of demand for networking equipment and, in turn, a preview of the operating results of companies like Cisco. (source: Red Herring) http://www.redherring.com/ipo/2001/0118/ipo-west011801.html

posted 01-16-2001 06:02 PM         

In Brief:

- Shares of Motorola dropped nearly 4% Tuesday after the electronics giant said it will no longer make cellular phones at one of its American factories and will lay off about 2,500 plant employees.