FWIW, I thought the Barron's article was deceptive. VERT, and several other of the companies which were shown in several charts to be close to running out of money, have actually already secured more financing. The article mentions this in the text, not on the charts. VERT recently got $100M more from Microsoft.
Also, they list 207 companies, branding all of these as problem companies. Yet in one chart they show how long each could last at present rates. Companies from 154 up can last 4 years or more at current rates, and from 187 - 207 can all last for 10 YEARS or more! Those don't sound like problems to me. Yet, they all get colored by the same brush.
Finally, where's YHOO, LCOS, GNET, EBAY, etc?? Barrons would never want to admit that many internet companies have become tremendous growing concerns. And will soon be joined by others.
Of course some of these companies will die. But this magazine seems to me to have had a strongly biased editorial policy against this sector from day one. The rise of the internet represents a loss of power to the good-old-boy network of Wall Street and they don't like it.
Regards,
Tom |
