posted 05-01-2001 06:45 PM         

Compaq Computer, the largest personal-computer maker, said No. 1 U.S. specialty-coffee chain Starbucks will buy $100 million of computer products and related services over five years. (source: Cnet) http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-5780973.html

This columnist says that while just about every tech company is announcing crummy results -- and projecting even worse numbers -- security-software firms are only in the beginning of their growth spurts. (source: Money) http://www.money.com/money/depts/techinvestor/archive/010501.html

In brief:

posted 04-30-2001 07:00 PM         

Just when it looked like e-retailing and selling Internet access were total busts, Wall Street has been getting back into the stocks. Some Internet firms, just last year burning cash and flirting with bankruptcy, are now getting traction as they cut costs and prove they can make money online. (source: USA Today) http://www.usatoday.com/money/stocks/2001-04-30-net-stocks.htm

Online brokerages have gone through a personality change in the last six months. Once extroverts -- building their brand names and customer bases with grand advertising campaigns -- they are now introverts, forced by slowing trading activity to cut costs. Faced with falling profits due to decreased revenues from inactive investors, these online brokerages are scrambling to diversify their business models in order to find alternate sources of revenue. (source: Red Herring) http://www.redherring.com/index.asp?layout=story&channel=20000002&doc_id=100019210

Don't expect any big changes when former Hollywood studio boss Terry Semel takes the reins of Yahoo on May 1st -- at least, not for a couple of months. Semel, who replaces Tim Koogle as chief executive officer of the suddenly struggling Internet portal, has already begun working behind the scenes to line up a far-flung empire of media alliances. (source: Newsfactor) http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/9332.html

posted 04-30-2001 10:24 AM         

This columnist says that if there is a sure bet in the tech sector, data storage is it. Here's his reasoning and 8 stocks that will take advantage of storage demand. (source: MoneyCentral) http://moneycentral.msn.com/articles/invest/company/6676.asp

posted 04-27-2001 05:51 PM         

With Cisco facing unprecedented financial woes, its smaller rivals look like they may finally grab a significant portion of the networking giant's market share. (source: CNET) http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-5744532.html

posted 04-26-2001 06:31 PM         

Microsoft and Qwest Communications announced a five-year deal today to market MSN Internet access to Qwest's phone customers in 14 western and midwestern states. (source: Upside) http://www.upside.com/HardwareSoftware/3ae843f91.html

posted 04-25-2001 06:31 PM         

A year ago, the telecommunications industry was as hot as it gets. Now, it's a shambles. In the past 5 months, telecom carriers and equipment makers have axed more than 130,000 jobs worldwide, with tens of thousands of the cuts in the USA. The worst may be yet to come. (source: USA Today) http://www.usatoday.com/money/bcovwed.htm

Internet companies have spent much of the last year repenting for the sins of rampant overspending. Budgets have been trimmed, workers laid off — all with the goal of surviving long enough to profit. But the well-intentioned fiscal prudence can come back and bite companies in their, er, business plans. And some companies are learning that sometimes cuts can go too far. (source: MSNBC) http://www.msnbc.com/news/563890.asp

In Brief:
- Sun Microsystems plans to halt operations worldwide for four business days this summer in an attempt to cut costs. Sun has been especially hard-hit by the recent tecnology crunch.

posted 04-24-2001 06:27 PM         

Sony and Ericsson confirmed on Tuesday that they are to create a new company that will incorporate their mobile-phone businesses worldwide. The company, to be named Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, will become a 50-50 joint venture and is expected to begin its operations in October. (source: TheStandard) http://thestandard.com/article/0,1902,23923,00.html

Don't kid yourself, the optical equipment sector looks pretty glum right now. But, it seems inevitable that demand will return to the market, perhaps driven by new technologies currently under development. One such technology is the "God Box" being developed by startup Inara Networks. (source: Red Herring) http://redherring.com/index.asp?layout=story&channel=10000001&doc_id=1230019123

He's been waiting for it. Jim Jubak said Lucent's earnings report would be an interesting one for investors, and now that its out. This column will help give you an idea of what might be of particular interest in Lucent's books. (source: MoneyCentral) http://moneycentral.msn.com/articles/invest/jubak/6572.asp

Fiber-optic industry leader JDS Uniphase reported fiscal third-quarter net income that met analysts' estimates, and announced a major restructuring that will include closing several facilities and eliminating 5,000 jobs, or 20 percent of its work force. (source: MarketWatch) http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7BE2EF72D2%2DDB97%2D416B%2D8983%2D36D1A36CA282%7D

In Brief:
- Intel announced that it will buy three privately-held optical networking equipment companies. The chip giant said this was a part of Intel's effort to extend its reach into the networking and communication arenas.

posted 04-20-2001 05:55 PM         

Dell surpassed Compaq in the first quarter to become the world's largest PC maker, the first time the rankings have shifted in about seven years. Along with becoming the largest PC maker, Dell re-established itself as the fastest growing--with a vengeance. Dell saw shipments of desktops, notebooks and Intel-based servers grow by 34.3 percent worldwide and 30.7 percent in the U.S. Nearly everyone else shrank. (source: ZDNet) http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5081472,00.html

AT&T is expecting to take a charge in its first quarter that will show a net income impact of $280 million to $320 million as a result of its 23 percent stake in troubled broadband provider ExciteAtHome. (source: MarketWatch) http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B108F22FB%2DA49B%2D4EE7%2D9F7C%2DABE77FBF0753%7D

Pay attention: Intel, Cisco and the Fed are showing you where to invest in tech. Jubak points out 4 key road signs -- and 3 tech stocks they lead him to. (source: MoneyCentral) http://moneycentral.msn.com/articles/invest/jubak/6573.asp

With depressed stock prices and, in some cases, assets worth more than their market valuations, many technology companies are feeling vulnerable to unwanted suitors. A growing number are beefing up their defenses against hostile takeovers, from drawing up shareholder-rights plans to staggering the terms of their boards of directors. (source: CNET) http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-5670618.html

In the wake of Cisco's earnings warning, Red Herring decided to look for some telecom-related stocks that are actually worth buying. While the screen yielded mostly foreign companies, they did find two U.S. firms that intrigued them. (source: Red Herring) http://www.redherring.com/index.asp?layout=story&channel=20000002&doc_id=760019076

posted 04-19-2001 05:47 PM         

Microsoft, the world's largest software supplier, reported a fiscal third-quarter profit Thursday of 44 cents a share that beat forecasts on sales that rose modestly over the same period a year earlier. (source: CNNfn) http://cnnfn.cnn.com/2001/04/19/technology/earns_microsoft/

Sun Microsystems edged a penny ahead of lowered analyst expectations Thursday, reporting pro forma net income of $263 million, or 8 cents a share, on revenue of $4.1 billion. (source: CNET) http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-5668499.html

posted 04-17-2001 09:10 AM         

This Red Herring columnist offers up ten tech picks. (source: Red Herring) http://www.redherring.com/index.asp?layout=story&channel=20000002&doc_id=1600018760

This columnist says tech companies want us to believe that the slowing economy was a much greater cause of their woes than it really was. (source: The Street) http://www.thestreet.com/markets/justinlahart/1387831.html

posted 04-16-2001 08:23 PM         

America Online said Monday worldwide membership for its AOL online service has surpassed 29 million and is up about one million in the last month. (source: MSNBC) http://www.msnbc.com/news/560059.asp

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced late Friday that it has cleared controversial travel site Orbitz to begin operations in June, despite complaints that it will pose an anti-competitive risk because it is backed by a consortium including the five largest U.S. airlines. (source: E-commerce Times) http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/8977.html