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To: let who wrote (5265)	2/18/1999 10:29:00 PM
From: Oeconomicus	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13953

With all due respect, this AOL comparison is getting a bit ridiculous. Comparing revenue per customer would be meaningful if they were in the same or even similar industries. They are not. Cost structures and capital requirements may not come into the calculations of most internut stock analysts, but in the long run, return on invested capital is what matters. Revenue means nothing by itself. Unfortunately, that seems to be the only number the analysts and many internut stock buyers bother looking at. Just my 2 cents.

To: let who wrote (5265)	2/19/1999 10:09:00 AM
From: Hollywood	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13953

Merrill To Buy Firm's Online Arm NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch and Co. Inc., the nation's largest brokerage, Friday said it would take over the Internet technology group of troubled investment firm D.E. Shaw to beef up its fledging online services. Merrill, which up to now had resisted offering Internet trading to its 4.9 million clients, is planning to make online trading available for 55,000 account holders by the end of March. The D.E. Shaw unit's acquisition will help Merrill develop banking and other commercial services online, spokeswoman Bobbie Collins said. ''Approximately 30 folks from D.E. Shaw will come to work for our technology group,'' Collins said. ''They will really rapidly put us where we want to be as far as E-trading, E-banking and E-commerce is concerned.'' The deal was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which said Friday Merrill paid about $25 million-35 million for the unit's assets. The brokerage would not confirm the acquisition price, saying the agreement is confidential. A source close to the situation, however, said the price is in the ball park. D.E. Shaw, founded in 1988 by computer whiz and former Columbia University Professor David Shaw, late last year cut 264 jobs, or a quarter of its work force, after its biggest customer BankAmerica Corp. cut its ties to the firm following last summer's financial turmoil. BankAmerica wrote off a $372 million loan to D.E. Shaw and took over its $20 billion beleaguered bond portfolio. D.E. Shaw has already sold its market making unit to Nasdaq's biggest market maker, Knight/Trimark Group Inc. (Nasdaq:NITE - news), and was peddling its online technology unit, D.E. Shaw Financial Technology of Cambridge, Mass. The firm now is focusing on trading stocks for its own account and financial institutions.