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Technology Stocks : How high will Microsoft fly? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: t2 who wrote (30259)	9/29/1999 1:07:00 AM
From: ed	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

T2, Once the w2k is released, the stock will jump big time , that is a huge event for Microsoft and the computer industry. Personally, my speculation is Ballmer knew that Microsoft is very undervalued, otherwise he won't have the gut to talk down the stock in public, and no CEO will ever do that , including Ballmer. The reason he talked down the stock in public is because he knew that Microsoft is very undervalued, and his negative talk won't have much impact on the stock price. But I still do not like the CEO manipulate its company's stock in public, either talk it up or down !!!!

To: t2 who wrote (30259)	9/29/1999 3:34:00 AM
From: Jim Lamb	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

Analysts Fear Heavy Microsoft Regulation Most Full Coverage Microsoft Antitrust Trial By David Lawsky WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Analysts would be unhappy if the judge in the Microsoft antitrust trial considered breaking up the company, but some feel the alternative of a tough regulatory remedy would be even worse. Of course, there is no ruling at all yet in the trial. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson is now considering what facts were proved during 76 days of testimony and will issue his ``findings of fact' sometime in the coming weeks. After that, the judge will hear further arguments before reaching conclusions of law. Most observers believe the judge will find against Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news), opening the question of what remedies he would apply. The Justice Department and 19 states charge that Microsoft has used monopoly power in personal computer operating systems to illegally muscle other companies, in order to preserve and extend its monopoly. Microsoft says it holds no monopoly. Should the judge impose a remedy, legal scholars and economists say he could choose either to break up the company or to regulate it. Analysts say they would need to see the details before making a judgement, but they know they do not like the idea of major regulation. ``Significant regulation makes investors get real nervous real quick,' said Erik Olbeter, senior Internet analyst for the Schwab Capital Markets and Trading Group in Washington. He said a continuing overview of Microsoft could make the markets ``really skittish.' A judge or other regulator could throw a monkey wrench into the kinds of speedy changes the company needs to make in an industry where three-month periods of time are sometimes referred to as ``Internet years,' the analysts say. Olbeter said investors do not trust the government to run things, a view that resonated with Steve Shepich of Olde Discount in Detroit. ``The government can't even run itself, let alone one of the most robust industries we've had in this country,' said Shepich, adding: ``I don't think the government wants to do it.' Shepich said while a mild regulatory regimen might work, heavy regulation ``would be bad for the industry.' On the other hand, Olbeter said, ``Markets will be able to figure out very quickly the value of a divestiture.' Shepich said that investors could even be advantaged by a Microsoft break-up. ``If you did split it up by product line, when all is said and done, investors could even be better off, because it would free up some of the value they have in the company,' Shepich said. He said if the company's products were licensed to all comers, that would be a different matter: ``It would be bad for investors.' Olbeter said his investors would be troubled by the prospect of a break-up until they knew the answers to such specific questions as: ``Who gets to keep calling themselves Microsoft, or Windows? Who gets the logos?' And how would the company's people -- from Chairman Bill Gates down -- be assigned to each company? Other analysts were uncomfortable even talking about the issue. In some cases, they simply disbelieved the possibility that Microsoft could face stern measures from the judge. Others said appellate court decisions were likely to make whatever the judge found irrelevant. However, two large firms have been broken up in this century. In 1911, the Supreme Court ruled to break up Standard Oil. And in 1984, AT&T agreed to be broken up. Regulatory aspects of the AT&T break-up were overseen by a judge for years.