To: Teflon who wrote (22793 ) 5/17/1999 5:26:00 PM From: mauser96 Read Replies (1) | Respond to
Todays WSJ article was very informative. I think the odds are high that MSFT and the DOJ will settle. From the DOJ standpoint, what they really want is something that looks good in the media, that they can claim represents a victory by the Clinton administration on behalf of consumers. What it really does isn't important, because politics (like the stock market) is all about perceptions. From MSFT standpoint, even if they gave in to most of the feds requests it really wouldn't do serious long term harm to the company. The judge wants a settlement- if the case goes to it's end he will probably rule against MSFT. MSFT competitors who helped instigate the litigation now realize that they could be opening a Pandora's box of future regulation that will eventually involve them, so they want a settlement too. The most important reason for settling is that it takes the fate of MSFT out of the hands of judges. Who knows what future judges may be like. They could be be closet Marxists who don't even understand how a refrigerator works, and hate big business. If MSFT wants to keep it's future in it's own hands, it has to settle. MSFT stock is the same as money to the company, they can use it via options to pay employees, or to make acquisitions. As long as litigation is in process the value of this "money" is depressed, and the company management is being distracted from running the company. Litigation like this is like a chronic ulcer, draining strength from the company, and despite Bill Gate's hubris, I think it likely that he will do what it takes to heal the situation. There are plenty of future challenges to Microsoft as the world moves away from the PC centric model, and management needs to be spending it's time on more productive issues than courtroom tactics.
