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

To: Gerald Walls who wrote (39697)	3/23/2000 8:44:00 PM
From: Jim McMannis	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

Gerald, Well, I suffered through the Corning Inc. breast implant lawsuit. This keep the stock major depressed for years. Finally they settled and channeled any pay outs through a newly formed company so the company could breathe again. Corning then had the ability to get aggressive, they pumped up the fibre optics and started making flat screen displays. The stock has moved from the 20's to a high today of 225. Another example of lawsuits destroying a company was Eagle Picher. The US government contracted with them during WW II to install asbestos into liberty ships. When it was all said and done, the US government got off scott free and Eagle Picher had to declare bankruptcy in the early 90's. It that case and in reality, the government is not necessarily your friend. They are out for themselves as much as any company...yet they have the power to destroy companies and the wealth they help create. Lawsuits run by the government especially are like a cancer. They have the resources and they don't go away easy. So when a company is under one of this magnitude, it has a major depressing effect on the stock. IMHO, of course. A University of Texas study about 10 years ago showed that litigation/lawsuits alone in the US costs the GNP 10% a year. It may be higher now. Now think of the power of the DOJ with unlimited resources. Again, major effect. Figuring out what's factored into the stock price is not such an easy task but comparing where Microsoft would be relative to the Nasdaq may give a clue. Another interesting thought would be what happens to the DOW if MSFT takes off... Jim