Weekend Cocktail Chatter
This was one of those weeks in the market that a couple
of decades ago, perhaps even a decade ago, would have seemed inconceivable. (I
know, every week these days probably would have seemed inconceivable.) Despite
some really impressive news on the inflation front--the Consumer Price Index
rose a weaker-than-expected 0.1 percent and the Labor Department issued a study
saying that states with the lowest unemployment rates showed no added
inflationary pressure--interest rates just kept rising, touching 6.4 percent at
one point on Thursday. Normally, those kinds of yields in the bond market would
pull money out of stocks. But at least when it came to the powerhouses of this
stock market, the big-cap tech names, no one even blinked. Y2K? Tax-selling
after the New Year? High p/e ratios? It does not seem to matter. So down the
egg nog and give shares in some Internet highfliers as gifts. It'll be just
like when my grandmother used to give us lottery tickets for our birthdays.
1. "The Justice Department is
investigating MTV for possible antitrust violations. I can hear the lawyers
talking now: 'Well, we could go after Exxon. But if we go after MTV, even if
nothing comes of it, we'll probably get to meet Serena Altschul and Jennifer
Lopez.' "
2. "Michael O'Reilly, the chief financial officer of
Linux software maker Corel , announced he was
resigning Wednesday. O'Reilly is the third exec to
leave the company in two weeks. Corel says they all left for 'personal
reasons.' As in, they were personally appalled at the direction the company was
taking, and could no longer work there in good conscience?"
3. "Sony Pictures announced that Amy Pascal, president of Columbia Pictures , was being promoted to
chairwoman, even though Columbia has been in a slump and had only one hit this year . On the other hand, Pascal was visionary
enough to green-light Adam Sandler's Big Daddy . So
give her a corner office, too!"
4. "Three antismoking groups
issued a report today telling tobacco farmers that their economic problems
stemmed not from antismoking efforts in the United States but from
cigarette companies' decisions to outsource
production and supply abroad. Surprisingly, the report did not add: 'Of
course, we do want you to go out of business. But we really aren't the ones who
are making that happen.' "
5. "Internet giant CMGI announced it was
spending $523 million to acquire yesmail.com , which
delivers targeted promotional messages to people's
e-mail boxes. Ah, the promise of the Web: half a billion dollars for the online
equivalent of telephone solicitors."
6. "Microsoft's stock soared
this week after the long-awaited Windows 2000 operating system was released
to manufacturing plants. Now, given that Windows 2000
wasn't exactly a secret , it's not clear why anyone who bought Microsoft
this week wouldn't have bought it a couple of weeks ago. Of course, maybe they
just thought it was never going to appear. I guess it's easier to underpromise
and overdeliver when no one believes in you to begin with."
7. "The Wall Street Journal
reported that Mahir Cagri , the Turkish man who
became a cyber-star because of his wiggy home page featuring the dreaded
photo of him in a Speedo and his inimitable slogan 'I
kiss you!' has gotten two offers from Hollywood studios to 'film his life
story.' Ms. Pascal, I think we've just found the next Adam Sandler
vehicle!"
