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Technology Stocks : InfoSpace (INSP): Where GNET went! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sarkie who wrote (26387)	7/25/2001 6:12:44 PM
From: Roger Sherman	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 28311

And consider this "hypothetical"... Let's say that InfoSpace had just taken the +/-$400 million CASH it "acquired" from Go2Net (aka: Paul Allen), when they "merged." It does seem sort of an ironic coincidence that the GNET "cash" was about the same amount that Jain "profited" from his past dumping of his INSP shares. Anyway, that GNET "cash" essentially belonged to all of us shareholders at that point. Then let's say they deposited all that GNET (aka: Paul Allen) "cash" into a conservative money market fund. And then let's say InfoSpace canceled ALL their fancy "partnerships" and contracts, sold ALL their assets and ALL their technology, canceled ALL their office leases, laid off EVERYONE...and completely shut down ALL business operations. Yep, shut down the whole dmn thing, closed the doors, and everyone go home! Well...the shareholders would NOW be considerably better off, having a considerably larger TRUE "profit," just from "interest" alone on the GNET cash being deposited in a simple money market fund, then this company has managed to do with ALL their (best???) efforts...EVERY SINGLE QUARTER there'd be "real" profits, and a "real" return on the investment. Yep, MANY TIMES more "return" from a simple money market fund, then this company can manage to do. Just unbelievable!!! And there would be no "Pro Forma" bllshit, no constant hype...and just think of all the trees that would be saved from all those constant press releases, and annual reports etc...not to mention Pro Forma "office expense" of all that toilet paper. And Jain would be...oh, I really couldn't give a sh*t. Yep, IMHO a classic case of one of the most incredibly mismanaged companies that I've ever seen in my entire lifetime. They've blamed GNET, they've blamed the economy...they seem to blame everyone but themselves, and their own complete incompetence in running a successful business, using shareholders money. Of course, that's all Just My VERY "Humbled" Opinion. Roger PS. CNBC has been doing several reports today on this "Pro Forma" ("hypothetical") earnings reporting crap. Apparently it started to gain popularity among the Internet DotBombs, when Yahoo and Amazon made it popular in the late 90's. They said that ONLY about 260 companies use this reporting method, and it's coming under increasing scrutiny by Wall Street, the SEC, analysts, and investors. So many of the companies that have made this earnings reporting method their "standard," have completely tanked when the over-hyped tech bubble finally completely blew up in everybody's faces. BTW, each company uses its own "accounting rules" for reporting Pro Forma earnings.