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To: eichler who wrote (76620)	5/7/2001 6:49:29 PM
From: puborectalis	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 99985

Ariba to focus on 5 industries Targets include auto, finance, new CEO says BY MICHAEL MEEHAN AND LEE COPELAND (May 07, 2001) Las Vegas Ariba Inc., sporting a fresh CEO after a bad quarter, announced at its annual user conference here last week that it will concentrate its development efforts in five vertical industries, even though some users in those fields have already chosen competing vendors. The market-leading e-procurement software company has targeted financial services, automotive, pharmaceutical, high-tech and consumer packaged-goods firms. CEO Larry Mueller said he believes that customers' allegiance is up for grabs and that they will switch to technologies that can deliver a solid return on investment. But customers were skeptical that Mountain View, Calif.-based Ariba could obtain the critical mass it seeks. The market for purveyors of online procurement software is extremely diverse: Ariba holds an 18% market share in a space with more than 90 vendors, according to Framingham, Mass.-based research firm IDC, and many users have already committed large sums of money to disparate technology paths. "What I want to know is, Will the major vendors be able to put aside their egos and do something that's good for the market?" said Melissa Spangler, director of e-marketplaces at Ariba customer FleetBoston Financial Corp. The auto sector is one industry that's already largely committed. Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. bought 14.4 million shares each in Ariba rival Commerce One Inc. in January as part of the equity structure of Covisint LLC, the massive automotive exchange founded by the Big Three automakers. Southfield, Mich.-based Covisint picked Oracle Corp. and Pleasanton, Calif.-based Commerce One as its lead technology providers. However, Ariba claims Volkswagen AG, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and Honda Motor Co. among its customers, as well as Toledo, Ohio-based Dana Corp., the largest supplier of drive shafts and piston rings. Mueller argued that the Big Three seem more interested in operating Covisint "as a manipulated puppet." He said he believes that they will drop their support of the exchange if they see competitors getting better value with other models. "I think ultimately, GM will use technology to do their own thing, and Ford will use Oracle to do their own thing, and they'll go their separate ways," Mueller said. Covisint spokesman Dan Jankowski said the perception that the marketplace has stalled is incorrect. He said Covisint has been building an infrastructure "that can serve an incredibly large industry," and it hopes to be operational before the end of the year. No Clear Winners In the pharmaceutical industry, Ariba has captured several high-profile customers, including Merck & Co., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Pfizer Inc. But some players have gone elsewhere. GlaxoSmithKline PLC in London decided to throw its business to FreeMarkets Inc. because of the premerger relationship SmithKline Beecham had with Pittsburgh-based FreeMarkets, dating to 1999. In January of last year, Eli Lilly and Co. in Indianapolis chose Commerce One to automate the purchasing of goods and services throughout the company. "What this means is you're going to see some real fights for dominance in those areas, and the winners will set the standards," said Hari Srinivasan, an analyst at Banc of America Securities LLC in San Francisco. Srinivasan added that it will likely leave customers searching for the best of breed in a dogfight with no clear winners. Mueller, who last week replaced Chairman Keith Krach as CEO, said Ariba will be offering better business-to-business network connectors and extensions to help link trading partners in the coming months. Ariba is coming off a quarter in which it lost $48.3 million from operations. Revenue came in well below expectations, at $90.7 million.

To: eichler who wrote (76620)	5/8/2001 9:22:20 AM
From: Keith Feral	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 99985

You are absolutely right about day trading massive spikes in volume that often accompany news related events. It provides a great way to make a couple extra dollars. My only point is that exiting "core" positions on these events can be a disaster. "The trend is your friend," as the saying goes. The lows for bond prices have not really held up at the long end of the curve thus far, following the FED rate cuts. Yields have climbed on each successive rate cut. The steepening of the yield curve has been a very positive event, since money is no longer flooding to bonds as a safe haven.

To: eichler who wrote (76620)	5/10/2001 2:21:53 PM
From: eichler	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 99985

I've been taking a breather the last couple of days. I just can't understand why I'm the only one on all 14 threads I'm reading who can see the rising wedge forming on the daily index charts. No mention anywhere but the posts I made right here. What am I missing? Don't rising wedges crack to the downside? Gold, utilities, financials...defensive stocks breaking to the upside... none of this familiar to anyone? anyone? Tuesday cometh. Nasty surprise for all. ho ho ho IMO...... As always, I reserve the right to be wrong. Eichler