[CLUE-Talk] FW: [NBLUG/talk] Microsoft agreed to buy rights to Unix technology

[Kirk Rafferty]

On Mon, May 19, 2003 at 08:45:57AM -0600, David Willson wrote:
> What I don't get is this: SCO's stock was $1.50 three months ago, and
> now it's $7.50.  Isn't that rewarding bad behavior?  Don't investors
> realize that by doing this, they are ~encouraging~ dis-honorable
> business strategies?

Sadly, no.  We live in an economy where you are only as good as your next
quarterly predictions.  Whereas stockholders used to understand that
earnings are a long-term prospect, and that a solid business plan was the
important thing.  The dot-com boom conditioned modern investors (read:
Etrade jockeys) into wanting instant gratification and quick bucks.

Investors no longer care about SCO's viability as a company.  They're
gambling that SCO's tactics work, and that they'll soon be IBM
shareholders.  It doesn't matter to them that the fundamentals of SCO's
"business plan" are a house of cards, it only matters that there's a chance
of making money.  This is what's driving SCO's stock price.  If the '80s
were the "Greed is Good" era, this must be the "Get rick quick" era.  And
we all know how "Greed is Good" turned out.

Kirk