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Technology Stocks : USWeb (USWB) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SMALL FRY who wrote (848)	5/7/1999 11:45:00 AM
From: Rick	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1188

For anyone interested in the record, based on facts, rather than frustrated cheerleaders, check the following: 1) My comments about CATP were based in financial analysis and view of management team. Take a look at comments back to February of 1998 and you will see that my early warning on CATP's free fall was cogent, persistent, and played out nearly exactly as predicted. The stock fell from 60 to 12. Check the record. 2) My comments about USWB as a short sell were based in great part on the fact that it was run by an enthusiastic child entrepeneur in Firmage. If you will check the facts, I suggested well prior to Firmage's departure that the company could not succeed as long as he was in charge. When he was replaced I covered my short position and moved on to other things. 3) I have played USWB and CATP both long and short. Right now I have no position in USWB (covered a short recently; went long for a couple of points recently) and a long position in CATP. 4) My main point on USWB is that it is a trading stock, not a good long term investment. Even if it succeeds in it's ambitious goals the upside potential does not justify the downside risk. The services biz provides little downside safety, and you have to work too hard to make money. 5) Management does matter, and CEO's that do not perform should be raked over the coals. Running a public company is not a sissy's game and the CEO's know it. Those that seek to protect the record of weak CEO's tend to be weak investors. 6) Shaw is a very solid, credible, CEO. If I were inclined to make a long term investment in this industry, he would be the type of CEO I would be willing to bet with. He is the antithesis of Mr. Firmage who was predisposed to creating his own reality, rather than living in the one that most sane human beings understand. Regarding the question, what am I about ? It's quite simple: when it comes to investing, identify opportunities to make money, be ruthless if a stock or management team does not perform to the expectations it sets. It's not a sissy's game, folks. There's lots of money to be made and lost, and a great way to lose money is mindless cheerleading, without understanding how a company makes it's money, whether the valuation is reasonable, and how predictible are the returns. for what it's worth, Rick.