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Technology Stocks : All About Sun Microsystems -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JDN who wrote (36645)	10/17/2000 6:15:00 AM
From: JDN	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 64865

To all: here is some interesting reading. JDN Conditions "perfect" for greater tech spending-report By Eric Auchard NEW YORK, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Conditions have never been better for stepped-up corporate spending on new technology, despite a bear market in computer stocks and a spate of recent dotcom blow-ups, a top market research firm said on Monday. Gartner Group Inc. , the world's largest technology consulting group, said a confluence of positive economic, social and technological trends have created the possibilities for what it calls "The Perfect Economy" in a new report. Ken McGee, Gartner's vice president of research, said new corporate technology spending has become a major source of revenue-generating business instead of simply a means of reining in costs in "back-office" record-keeping functions. But while most economists have accepted technology-driven productivity as driving recent global economic growth, the Gartner report runs counter to Wall Street fears that the rate of technology investment may be slowing in the near-future. "We have perfect conditions for technology breakthroughs, the only variable is the guts and conviction of business leaders in the wake of dotcom hysteria," McGee said in an interview. Gartner Group's outlook is used by many of the world's largest technology vendors and business customers to formulate capital spending plans over the next several years. Gartner estimates that more than $1 trillion will be spent on new computers, networks and information technology services in 2000 in North America, part of $25 trillion in total goods and services that will change hands in the business economy. The Stamford, Conn.-based market research firm, which advises 11,000 corporate clients on technology strategy, said uniquely favourable conditions have set the stage for an acceleration of spending on new networked business technology. The report was released at the opening day of Gartner's annual technology symposium in Orlando, Florida, where 7,500 corporate executives and technology buyers have gathered to hear forecasts of the latest business technology trends. A virtuous economic environment and the efficiencies of conducting business via the Internet are encouraging companies to invest increasingly in so-called "front office" functions such as sales and marketing software and electronic exchanges used to procure business products and services, Gartner said. Sustained economic growth, full employment and low inflation in the United States and other industrialised nations have created what Gartner considers the "perfect conditions for heavily investing in and deploying technology." Gartner said another rapid growth area would be so-called application service provider (ASP) industry -- companies that rent software-based business services to other firms over the Internet -- the collective revenues of which are poised to skyrocket to $25 billion in 2004 from $1 billion in 1999. This new target of corporate technology spending, which has taken off only in the past year, contrasts with traditional corporate strategy, which has been focused on automating work functions, cutting costs and bolstering corporate profits. McGee predicted that more than half of future corporate technology spending will be for functions beyond traditional "back office" bookkeeping, either for "front office" business activities or on technology to connect with other companies. Increased technology spending will come at the expense of some existing corporate activities, McGee said. He predicted that as much as 30 percent of corporate budgets spent on mass-market advertising, direct mail or other marketing would shift into technologies that allow pin-pointed customer sales. "Three years ago the value of goods and services bought and sold electronically was negligible," McGee said in an interview. "In three years (2003) the market will surpass the $1 trillion mark. By 2004, we expect another trillion dollars in goods and services to be sold over business networks," he said. Gartner predicted that governments will begin to impose taxes on businesses that buy and sell goods over the Internet once the value of electronic sales exceeds the $1 trillion mark. The U.S. government has so far upheld a moratorium on Internet taxes so as to foster the growth of the new medium. Soon technology spending will be seen as one of the handful of essential tools chief executives use in order to drive revenue and profit growth, as well transforming the very way a company and its investors track the firm's finances, it said. Within five years, for example, companies will begin to report quarterly earnings before the end of each quarter, Gartner predicted. By 2010, stock trading will not be based on Wall Street's ritual demand that a company meet financial analyst earnings estimates, but rather on the company's ability to close its books and announce earnings per share on a daily basis. Copyright 2000 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance

To: JDN who wrote (36645)	10/17/2000 10:08:36 AM
From: X Y Zebra	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 64865

I might add that the USA currency is such a bulwark in the Worlds economy that it also is an incentive for investors overseas to invest in the USA. JDN JD, You know, I was going to include exactly the same thing in my post, however I thought to myself... "Hmmm if I say that, surely there is going to be a hard core prophet of doom... er, no I mean, an economist that shall hound me to no end and point out that if the US$$ gets too strong, then our exports would be hurt --in the process trashing whatever company they decide that has "too much export business exposure"-- or something to that effect, [like the Euro HAHAHAHAHA, adreamgonesour.com !!!] However now that you mention it, I will add this... There are "on line brokers out there" (mainly Schwab) that make possible accessing (and trading), all US markets, from anywhere, provided you have access to the Internet. I can say without doubt in my mind, that in the near future, once more people outside of the US feel more comfortable about trading on line... they will ride the US markets simply because for the FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY OF HUMANITY, the rest of the world, (here I mean the ordinary people), will have access to assets that are about a million times stronger than what they have had available in their own countries in the past. In other words, they will have the opportunity to save in assets that their respective governments can not destroy by their local Robin Hoods, namely, politicians. What many do not understand is the magnitude of the above, personally I have never "quantify it", however, this is where the charts help me read which stocks seem to be under demand. Once again, my job is to identify and to manage the risk I incurr. The politicians have been crying "power to the people" while at the same time they have been "sticking it to them" in the name of "the common good" Well, here comes the Internet, yes I know there is a lot of wackos with their insane "dot.bomb" valuations. Those are real manias...[and boy ! have they paid the price for their crazyness!!], but when the dust settles The Internet will remain and the companies that truly will cater to the needs of a world-wide market will succeed (and the companies who provide the infrastructure for this "world-wide grid" will prosper even more). Does that mean everything is guaranteed ? Of course not, mistakes can be made (Read LUcretia McEvil). However, a doom and gloom scenario with world wide financial crises... I highly doubt it... Particularly if the US debt begins to (and continues to), be paid down and eventually eliminated. THIS IS KEY. If the debt is kept under control and personal savings is promoted... My condolences to the hard core "Gold Bug Randians" Galt's Gulch will become Dry Gulch... (and I say this in spite of the fact that I recognize the value of the libertarian thinking... but not as a cult of hard-core wide eyed gold bug or similar).