To: Chuck Williams who wrote (71101 ) 3/3/2001 11:35:11 AM From: KymarFye Respond to Software sector in the bear market: What you say about the differences between ORCL and the newer/smaller enterprise software co.'s makes sense, but, leaving aside problems and negative perceptions that on the other hand uniquely afflict the newer B2Bs you mentioned, it's a mistake to presume that the market is going to make the same sense out of things as you do. Just as the Nasdaq chart for the last several months is a virtual mirror image of what it looked like a year ago, attitudes are likewise completely reversed. The market has been seeking excuses for sell-offs. A high-profile warning is one such excuse. (In a bear market, another good excuse for a sell-off is a rally. The next best excuse for a sell-off is a sell-off. The last best excuse for a sell-off is a quiet market.) Usually, the warning company gets hit the worst, as followed by its sector siblings - without as much attention to the nuances as you might like. That market sentiment and deflected perceptions about business conditions override company-specific attributes shouldn't be surprising: It happened on the way up just as exaggeratedly.
