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

To: MarkC who wrote (909)	5/17/1999 8:24:00 PM
From: Rick	Respond to of 1188

Mark - Investment Banks do 2 things: 1) arrange corporate financing 2) merchandise stocks to investors On the corporate financing side, a well known analyst is important in bringing in business. Part of bringing in business, say in an IPO, is creating a relationship with the owners that are selling shares to the public. Part of a successful transaction is getting a good price on the IPO and seeing it rise with the succesful execution of the business over time. All of these things can create a conflict of interest. Of course, there are i-banks that may not have participated in any financing, but you always need to remember that the i-banks business does not rely on you being happy with their reccomendations. It doesn't work for you. If it doesn't work for you and you are not paying it a salary, and it's paycheck doesn't rely on your portfolio going up, it's best to be very skeptical. Also, in a rising stock market, all analysts look like geniuses. But even in a rising market, the street is littered with bad investments pushed by analysts. Anyway, use the analysis and information for what it's worth, but to buy or sell a stock based on analyst recs is pretty foolish. If you can't make your own judgement or don't have the time/desire to do the homework, buy a mutual fund. Regarding hidden agendas: My ideas cannot influence in any meaningful way the day to day trading price of USWB. My perspective is based on many years of investing experience and direct experience in MIS consulting. Take it for what it's worth - it's one man's opinion. rick. p.s. if you want an interesting excercise in the silliness of much of the commentary on Silicon Investor or Yahoo, take a look at similar stocks with diverging fortunes, and you will find longs accusing shorts of hidden agendas, and shorts spreading false rumors, longs spreading false rumors, etc. If you concentrate on using what little information is actually exchanged about financial or business strategy information, you will get better use. Silicon Investor's clientele is better than most, but has more than it's fair share of empty headed investors that desire nothing more than confirmation that they have made a good investment. When they see something they don't agree with or don't understand, many retreat into childish name calling, rather than provide pertinent perspective about the business - unfortunate but true.