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

To: levy who wrote (26957)	4/26/2002 12:47:34 PM
From: mikiespeedracer	Respond to of 28311

Why do you suppose The Bathroom message board keeps popping up on the INSP page instead of any of the INSP boards. Is SI trying to tell us something? BTW -- How's it going levy??

To: levy who wrote (26957)	4/27/2002 1:26:16 PM
From: sandintoes	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 28311

Come on, Levy, after all, Merrill said they were sorry! Doesn't that count for anything? Merrill apologizes to shareholders Firm changes its tune; says emails were 'distressing' By Nicole Maestri, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 5:06 PM ET April 26, 2002 PLAINSBORO, N.J. (CBS.MW) -- Merrill Lynch's top executive offered an apology to shareholders Friday over the e-mails that its equity analysts sent denigrating Internet stocks in private while at the same time pushing them to the public. "The e-mails that have come to light are very distressing and disappointing to us," Merrill Chairman and Chief Executive David Komansky told shareholders at the company's annual meeting. "They fall far short of our professional standards, and some are inconsistent with our policies." The e-mails were uncovered as part of New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's 10-month investigation into the equity research practices at the brokerage. Spitzer is contending that Merrill (MER: news, chart, profile) analysts hyped "junk" stocks to gullible investors during the great bubble of 1999 and 2000 in order to get lucrative investment banking business for their firms. To settle a court order last week, Merrill agreed to provide greater disclosure to investors about potential conflicts of interest that might exist involving its equity research reports. Read more. "We have failed to live up to the high standards that are our tradition, and I want to take this opportunity to publicly apologize to our clients, our shareholders and our employees," Komansky said. That sentiment was a stark contrast to the firm's statement issued the day it learned of the attorney general's court order. "There is no basis for the allegations made today by the New York attorney general," Merrill said in a statement April 8. "The allegations reveal a fundamental lack of understanding of how securities research works within the overall capital-raising process." With the ongoing investigation hanging over the broker's head, Moody's Investors Service said it was maintaining its negative outlook on Merrill's long-term ratings. "The negative outlook is primarily a function of Merrill Lynch's lower profitability and higher earnings volatility, relative to its peers," the credit ratings agency said. But Moody's said the probes into its equity research could result in increased litigation and settlement costs, and delay the recovery of its private client activity. "While these investigations are an issue for all firms with large investment banking and retail operations, the issue is more acute for Merrill Lynch," Moody's noted. "If Merrill Lynch were criminally indicted, this would prompt a one-notch downgrade of the long-term debt ratings." Komansky stood behind the integrity of the firm's research Friday, saying it has "served investors well for many decades." Merrill will "redouble" its enforcement of existing policies and will take strong actions against anyone who violates them, Komansky pledged. But the brokerage remains in discussions with the attorney general to settle other outstanding issues, including broader changes for the way analysts rate stocks as well as the payment of a fine. Merrill is also talking with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Association of Securities Dealers and the New York Stock Exchange that are all in the process of setting new industry wide standards for research. Thursday, the SEC announced a formal investigation into the practices of Wall Street stock analysts. Read more. "We will continue to work with them and do everything we can to advance this process in the interests of our clients and all investors," Komansky said. Shares closed up 88 cents, or 2.1 percent, at $43.38. Nicole Maestri is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com in New York.

To: levy who wrote (26957)	4/28/2002 1:25:37 AM
From: Roger Sherman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 28311

IMO, this company is becoming an even sadder joke... Most likely no one on this board really gives a damn anymore, but the reasons this stock trades at about $1.25/share appear to be getting clearer and clearer every day. Just imagine what will happen to this stock's price if Judge Thomas Zilly, of the U.S. Western District, finally rules that there is enough evidence against INSP, Naveen Jain, Henry Blodget, Merrill Lynch et al...for the big class action lawsuit against INSP to proceed? Well, I guess there just isn't that much farther it can fall. Remember how Jain has always boasted about how INSP has partnership agreements with over 80% of the wireless carriers in the U.S.? Two of the biggest of those are Verizon and AT&T Wireless. And remember, the truth is that 80% of INSP's total (gross) revenues (before the losses are added in) currently come from NON-Wireless sources (Wireline and Merchant). Not only that, but I'm not sure many people realize that over 90% of INSP's revenues from 2001 still came exclusively from U.S. sources (can found near the end of their recent 10-K), despite their seemingly endless press releases in the past about all the hot deals they were signing with companies outside the U.S. And not only that, but it now appears that if a wireless subscriber signs up as a "user" of INSP's services, they apparently only have to use the service ONCE in an entire quarter, to be listed as an "active wireless data user" by INSP. Just amazing! In the most recent CC, INSP indicated that income from Verizon would NOT be included in there next years earnings projections of $126 million. I suppose if any of us really cared, Levy, KLP, or I would have stumbled upon the article below from last November. It seems to give a big clue about the true nature of INSP's much-flaunted "partnerships," especially in regards to Verizon...their largest wireless client. VERIZON ("partner" of INSP): Verizon Launches Text Messaging Service But some warn vtext service could spell doom for wireless content relationship with InfoSpace. By Tech Live staff November 16, 2001 techtv.com (just two excerpts) However, the new vtext service duplicates some of the functionality offered by My VZW, Verizon's mobile portal telecommunications service, which is powered by InfoSpace. Some industry watchers have suggested the launch of vtext suggests Verizon could be moving away from InfoSpace as a wireless content partner. However, Verizon spokesman Jeffrey Nelson said the company never intended to have an exclusive partnership with InfoSpace. The new vtext site, he said, offers Verizon customers a different content experience. ***************** And then there's... AT&T Wireless ("partner" of INSP): We've all been reading about the new AT&T Wireless (AWE) launch of their new "mMode" wireless services, as part of their "mLife" program (which is really just the marketing name for their new wireless publicity campaign). You all may remember that INSP boasted in a big press release way back on November 15, 1999 that "AT&T to Offer Wireless Services Built on InfoSpace.com's Wireless Portal Platform"? That was AWE's previous "PocketNet" service. It turned out to be a big bust! Out of AWE's approx. 18 million wireless subscribers, only 1 million (1/18) signed up for PocketNet. It apparently took forever just to get a local weather report to come up on your tiny little cellphone screen. Me..I just stick my head out the window and say, "Yep, it's still raining." And now we get another big press release from INSP this week proudly proclaiming: siliconinvestor.com InfoSpace Powers Mobile Shopping on mMode** And yet, it is my understanding, that you can select many website options in mMode, and in fact don't have to use any single site or portal at all. Not only that, but what really amused me in the above press release was the following statement: The new services enable mMode subscribers to check prices and availability for millions of products offered by over 50 merchants* and to make purchases...* "Offered by over 50 merchants!" I thought that MUST be a huge typo in the press release, thinking they must mean 500,000 or 50,000 or 5,000 or maybe at least 500...but NO, it says just FIFTY! So, because I was hungry, just for the hell of it I checked the Seattle phone book yellow page listings under "PIZZA." Would you believe there was over 50 "merchants" selling pizza just half way through the alphabet in one city's phone book...and I still hadn't gotten to the N's thru Z's. There must have been over 100 "merchants" selling pizza alone. Although I must admit, I did find a couple of Pizza joints I hadn't checked out before, including "Hot Mamma's Pizza." Yep, that's it. This has made me famished. I'm off to have a "Hot Mamma" right now. ;) Pleasant dreams... Roger