Robert and others:
"Nope, I own the stock and love to chat and talk."
This in a nutshell explains the fantastic wild ride of the internut stocks. The internet companies, AOL beginning the grandfather but not the only culprit, are more than happy to take all this "easy money" from the public. Particularly when it's so damned simple to collect. People like Robert are lining up to give their money away, without even a concern as to profitability. The logic goes something like this.
"It's gone up a lot already, therefore it's gotta go up a lot more." Or, "I can always sell these shares for more tomorrow, and still have money left over for my Furbie!"
Never do we hear arguments such as "it's an incredibly profitable business!" or "If they can execute on X,Y, and Z, think of all the money they could earn for us shareholders!" Right now, amazing as it is, the market is still in a greed over fear mode. Tis the season to be giving, and nowhere is that more evident than with the internuts.
Unfortunately, investors inevitably want some return on their investment, and ask for their money to be producing. Exactly when people will stop viewing stocks as lottery tickets and as certificates for a slice of earnings is beyond me. I would never have believed the market to be so irrational and forgiving for so long. Must be the early effects of the millenium.
But even darlings such as AOL eventually have to produce earnings, rather than just play financial accounting tricks and tell investors that "even better things are coming. Just wait!"
In the meantime, I am sure that Steve Case is very appreciative of getting your hard earned dollars. He will spend them wisely, although you're likely to see few if any of the rewards.
JMHO.
Regards,
JC |
