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To: Eric Wells who wrote (86251)	12/5/1999 9:01:00 PM
From: Jan Crawley	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

Got this post from the MDA thread. I think that the "common man" reference makes common sense. " Market is going up because, the common man has become interested in making the same money their friend is making. Historically, this has been the sign of getting out of the market. In the mean time, you have to put up with, "xyz is making so much money in the market, why don't you also day trade". This reminds me of the poem by Kipling called If...... Message 12189246

To: Eric Wells who wrote (86251)	12/5/1999 11:33:00 PM
From: Randy Ellingson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

Hi Eric, Randy - you're being a bit presumptuous. You have no knowledge of the investment returns or the amount of worry of those of whom you write - and as such, your suspicions may be wrong. One can certainly have long-term holdings and still be concerned that the market has gotten a bit over-extended. Sorry. The implication (as I inferred it) was that your friends and relatives would take some action based upon the market being "over-extended". Otherwise, what's the point of being concerned about the aggregate investment environment? I suppose the question of adding new money takes into account a particular asset's price, but even predicting a single stock price movement more often that not reduces that investor's return (the extreme case being day traders). And please tell me - what is "open-minded research"? I suppose you mean "good", "solid" or "well-grounded" research. I've done a bit of what I consider to be "solid" research that suggests that AMZN and YHOO are both over-valued. Open-minded research just means being willing to change your mind, being interested in learning more about new industries/markets that you feel may contain excellent companies, and being willing to ask why investors may feel positively about a particular company or set of companies (and to consider the "bullish" points as well as the "bearish"). While I feel that one should always invest within their realm of knowledge, incrementally extending that realm to new areas can be very useful for improving long term gains. I don't think any particular stocks have anything to do with this. That said, do you have an estimate by how much AMZN and YHOO are overvalued? Randy

To: Eric Wells who wrote (86251)	12/6/1999 7:47:00 AM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Respond to of 164684

FOCUS-Softbank posed to expand reach into China By Miki Shimogori TOKYO, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Japan's high-flying Internet investment company Softbank Corp <9984.T> said on Monday it plans to set up new funds to invest in Chinese firms, and said it expects China to become the biggest Internet market within five years. The investment push into China is aimed at diversifying risk in Softbank's hefty investment in Internet-related firms, which analysts have said relied too much on the United States. "We are diversify regions in which we invest," Softbank's Chief Financial Officer Yoshitaka Kitao told a business seminar in Tokyo. "We plan to float (venture) firms in Japan and Europe, while also setting up investment funds with our own money to invest in China." Kitao said Softbank had already interviewed about 10 candidate Chinese companies without disclosing their names. Softbank, which is headed by billionaire Masayoshi Son, is known for its aggressive investment in about 120 Internet-related firms, mostly in the United States. It owns major stakes in Yahoo! Inc <YHOO.O>, GeoCities Inc and Internet broker E*Trade Group Inc <EGRP.O>. SOFTBANK SEES CHINA TAKING TOP POSITION IN CYBERSPACE "In five years, China is likely to enjoy an overwhelming number-one position in the Internet world...China will have the biggest Internet user population in the world," Kitao said. He gave no time frame for the Chinese investment, nor the amount it plans to invest there. Kitao said Softbank also plans to raise 20 billion yen ($196 million) from investors to establish a separate fund to invest in non-Internet Chinese firms, with the aim of turning them into Web-oriented enterprises. "Non-Internet firms have low valuations, but by turning them into Web-based firms, their valuations will shot up...which can be called a secret to money making," Kitao said, adding that any type of business can go on the Web. In Japan, Softbank plans to raise an additional 50 billion yen for a venture fund, which has already raised 12.3 billion yen to invest in about 100 Internet-related companies there. SOFTBANK MOVES TO BOOST ASIAN CLOUT Last month Softbank appointed David Kim, former Chief Financial Officer of China.com Corp <CHINA.O>, as executive in residence for Asia operations. Kim helped oversee China.com's hugely successful public listing in July. The business diversification into China is aimed at easing concerns raised by some analysts that the recent stunning surge in Softbank's share price is not justified by its financial fundamentals and is based too much on the boom in U.S. Web stocks. Softbank's shares have risen more than 10-fold since the beginning of the year. Softbank ended on Monday at 71,000 yen, up 4,600 yen or 6.93 percent from Friday's finish. Kitao said Softbank shares are still undervalued if shares it holds in unlisted companies is taken into account. "After a relentless fall in the 1990s, the Japanese stock market has finally started to pick up, its upward potential is high and we will see a big boom in initial public offerings (IPOs) in the next two to three years," said Kitao. He added Japan will see 300 IPOs a year, up from around 100 now. Kitao also said he does not think Softbank's net debt of 100 billion yen poses a problem, as the company can raise cash easily by selling its stakes in other companies. ($1=102 yen) REUTERS Rtr 05:37 12-06-99