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To: Bill Harmond who wrote (113780)	12/31/2000 11:45:12 PM
From: GST	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 164684

"I think it's safe to invest in the leaders. I don't see how you could get killed over the intermediate term now. Yahoo is a screaming bargain" Lets see you analysis Einstein. Yahoo's pe far exceeds their forward growth rate -- what is your basis for believing they can hold there own in a downturn? What is an appropriate pe for yahoo? 20? 40? 60? 80? 100? "If ever there was a group ripe for the January effect it's tech." Do bear markets have a "January effect"? "There aren't enough growth investments outside technology to satisfy inflows." Inflows? What inflows? Please quanitify this unfounded statement. The trend is to outflows. What basis do you have for saying there will be inflows? "Tech has to participate again because that's where most growth is." Prove it.

To: Bill Harmond who wrote (113780)	1/1/2001 2:54:37 PM
From: H James Morris	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 164684

>Yahoo is a screaming bargain. I think eBay will be a huge winner. VeriSign priced in line with drug stocks! What about your "catergory killer Amazon.com"? Did you know the Casino's in Las Vegas started taking bets on what date Amzn files its bankruptcy papers? Btw I like Vrsn too. I guess we finally have something in common. But, if someone on this thread were to run out and buy Vrsn based on what we think...I think they should read this, then make their own conclusion. >December 29, 2000 SAN FRANCISCO -- No longer content with being the Internet's leading real-estate agent, the company in charge of registering ".com", ".net" and ".org" addresses now has empire-building on its mind. Network Solutions Inc. aims to become one of the Web's business barons by transforming itself from a mere broker and directory for Internet domain names into a one-stop shop for e-commerce services. "The name of the game is much bigger than domain names now. It's all about building a greater Web presence," said chief executive Jim Rutt. A lot is riding on Network Solutions' expansion plans. Mountain View-based VeriSign Inc., a leading maker of security software, bought Network Solutions for $19.6 billion six months ago with the hope that the name-registration business would serve as the foundation for an Internet powerhouse. "We want to create something in the mold of Cisco Systems, General Electric and Intel," said Anil Pereira, a VeriSign senior vice president who oversees the company's Internet services division. "We think we are barely scratching the surface now." VeriSign and Network Solutions together plan to offer companies and entrepreneurs all the tools to name, build, promote and protect their Web sites. Network Solutions also positioned itself to resell Web sites with the recent acquisition of GreatDomains.com, which brokered such high-profile name deals such as the $3 million sale of loans.com and $823,000 sale of drugs.com. Merrill Lynch analyst Mark Fernandes views VeriSign as a rising star, largely because of Network Solutions. VeriSign is Merrill Lynch's top-ranked software stock for 2001, topping more established names such as Microsoft, Oracle, PeopleSoft and Siebel Systems. Network Solutions "is already taking the tickets at the entry to the ball, so they have a great opportunity to sell even more once people are inside the door," Fernandes said. Other analysts are more doubtful about VeriSign's vision. The critics say Network Solutions' name-registration business has about the same chance of selling more services to Web sites as an auto dealer would have making deals with car owners walking into a Department of Motor Vehicles office to do paperwork. Investors have lumped VeriSign with other questionable Internet business models. The company's closing price of $79.62 yesterday was more than 60 percent below the stock's value at the time of the Network Solutions purchase. The slide left VeriSign with a market value of about $16 billion -- less than what the company paid for Network Solutions. VeriSign remains a long way from joining the business elite. Last year, the company made a $4 million profit on revenues of $85 million. Sales have soared this year with the contribution of Network Solutions' business, which accounted for more than half of VeriSign's third-quarter revenue of $173 million. Accounting for the Network Solutions deal wiped out VeriSign's profit this year. Goodwill and other costs produced a $1.3 billion loss in VeriSign's quarter ending Sept. 30. Although it is little known or understood outside technology circles, Network Solutions has played an integral role in the Web's rapid development. In 1995, the U.S. government put Network Solutions in charge of registering the Web addresses ending in .com, .net and .org. The monopoly ended last year when the government required it to let other companies register names, but Network Solutions still controls the Web's master directory of some 25 million addresses and has ample room to grow, given that only 17 percent of U.S. businesses have a domain name. The landscape will change even more in 2001 with the creation of seven new domain suffixes -- ".biz," ".info," ".aero," ".coop," ".museum," ".name" and ".pro." The expanded menu is expected to open the door even more for other rivals looking to make a dent in Network Solutions' market share. By spring, Network Solutions also must sell its controlling stake in either the registry or its registrar business. VeriSign expects to disclose its plans during the first quarter of 2001, Pereira said. Network Solutions has been preparing for the changes by expanding its reach. Besides snapping up GreatDomains.com, Network Solutions also expanded its domain menu to include ".tv" in anticipation of Webcasting improvements that will make video transmission a staple of the Internet experience. VeriSign holds a small stake in Pasadena-based DotTV. In a controversial move, Network Solutions also began registering domain names in Japanese, Korean and Chinese characters effective Nov. 10. The move has exceeded expectations with the registration of 700,000 Asian-language addresses in the first 30 days. But the expansion also has outraged the Chinese government, which views Network Solutions as an unwelcome trespasser trying to wrest control of the country's language. In response, China has established a competing registry to accept Chinese-language domain names, raising the prospect that Web surfers typing in the same address could be routed to entirely different sites.