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

To: johnd who wrote (41157)	4/4/2000 7:46:00 PM
From: Captain Jack	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

Apr 04, 2000 (Tech Web - CMP via COMTEX) -- Microsoft will turn its focus to wooing the public and politicians now that a federal judge ruled the software giant had broken U.S. antitrust law, said a former appellate judge Tuesday who also represented Netscape interests during the trial. Judge Robert Bork, who formerly served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and filed a friend of the court brief on behalf of the state attorneys general in the case, said he doesn't expect the appellate court to overturn Monday's ruling. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson found that Microsoft (stock: MSFT) violated antitrust law by wielding its operating system monopoly against its competitors and customers, impeding innovation, and harming consumers in the process. Microsoft will try to win the case in the arena of politics and public relations, Bork said. The software giant said it was going to be meeting with members of Congress, he said. "We're going to see an enormous public-relations campaign. I've never heard of a case that has been politicized as much as this has," Bork said. Microsoft tried to elicit congressional support to reduce funding for the Justice Department antitrust division earlier in the year and e-mailed lawmakers about its efforts to settle the case. Some have said Microsoft is hoping that a new administration would benefit its case. "I don't think so. A Democrat administration wouldn't. I hope a Republican administration wouldn't settle easily or dismiss it," Bork said. "This is a question of economics not politics. It would look very bad if a Republican administration dropped it. I don't think they would do it," he said. Bork said that he, like many of the members of the appellate court in D.C., were of the Chicago school of antitrust law, which encourages minimalist government intervention in matters of competition and applies the law based on economic theory. Lawmakers said they will be monitoring how the case progresses. "If left unchecked, some of Microsoft's practices would choke further innovation and consumer choice," said Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Hatch summoned Microsoft Chairman and then-CEO Bill Gates before his committee to examine competition in the software industry in March 1998. "I respect Bill Gates and the company he has built, and think Microsoft is a great company with brilliant, hard-working people. I was surprised that Microsoft did not heed the advice of so many to seize the opportunity to admit to its wrongdoings, recognize that the law does apply to Microsoft, and put its past behind them," he said. The Judiciary Committee will examine the policy implications of various remedy options to ensure the interests of the public and marketplace, including a new site on the committee's website to post information and solicit public comment, he said. U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas), criticized Justice's case for dwelling on the past. "The government's case stands on the shifting sands of a rapidly changing marketplace. Their premise is quickly becoming antiquated. Dwelling on the past only prevents the development of new technologies that bring benefits to consumers," Armey said. Consumer activist Ralph Nader said he doesn't trust Microsoft. "Microsoft doesn't respect the antitrust laws, and it has amply demonstrated that it can't be trusted," he said. "The company has shown its contempt for any court-imposed changes in its conduct. If the government ends the antitrust case by seeking changes in its conduct, but not in its structure, Microsoft can be expected to creatively evade the thrust of such agreements," the consumer advocate said.

To: johnd who wrote (41157)	4/4/2000 9:07:00 PM
From: Hal Rubel	Respond to of 74651

P/E RE:"It is 12 trading days to earnings release. I think people who buy here will be very happy when the stock trades at ~115 the day after earnings." John D John, it may take more earnings than before to support any given target price. Microsoft is no longer a Blue-Sky investment opportunity now that we can see a ceiling. Its prospects are no longer unlimited. This is a natural stage in the progression of maturity for all corporations. Microsoft is now middle aged but will continue to prosper. The P/E ratio will adjust along the way. Hal