Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Linda - "Sell in May and go away."
There's more to life than the market :) Enjoy it.
We're on the road and my file on DMLP is at home. I'll write more sometime next week.
It will be fun to watch GE at expiry this Friday. A close at 29.95 would be fine, thank you.
One other advantage I should have mentioned is that GE options are very liquid. Volume in my May 30s was 21,185 contracts today and open interest is 47,905 contracts, with a spread of .05 at the high volume points and .10 for most of the others. You can find a buyer or seller at any reasonable price.
ljk - fwiw I too expect a summer swoon...
simply too many risks and uncertainties. I'm taking profits in my trading portfolio and building a large position in GE to sell CCs. Nice trading range. Good premiums. Basis about 30.10. Company is so big that news just sort of bounces off.
I'd be very happy if I could have a CC run with GE like I had with AAPL.
BTW picked up another dividend monster, DMLP. Worth a look for an income investor.
ljk - from briefing.com fwiw
15:53 Nasdaq gives back day's gains; talk is profit-taking into this morning's short-covering driven rally, exacerbated by lack of liquidity
Trading desks indicating that there is no conviction to step in with bids given continued political uncertainty, as well as lack of visibility into rate picture and economic impact of sharply higher oil prices. Institutions also focusing on the poor historical performance of equities during the summer months, which is leaving many accounts shackled to the sidelines.
lango - I just can't hold on any longer.
Whar a bunch of arrogant b-------s. I can understand spin. Been there done that. But underneath the spin the raw data should be maintained so that academics and historians can reconstruct what "really" happened.
Once you start to redefine the underlying data, there is no essential difference from the old Soviet system of rewriting history to support current policy.
Conspiracy? At least conspirators will at least try to hide what they are doing. These arrogant b------s don't even try.
Splutter... splutter. Dump Bush! Draft McCain!
Where is my blood pressure medicine?
Figures lie because liars figure. Briefing.com today
07:16 Investors should not get too excited about the recnt labor report given last Friday - NY Post
The New York Post discusses Friday's labor report and suggests that investors should not get too excited about all those new jobs that were supposed to have been created in April. According to the article, the bottom line is that most of the 288K jobs that the Labor Department says were created last month may not really exist and they could be figments of statisticians' optimism. Back in the March employment report, the government added 153K positions to its revised total of 337K new jobs because it thought (but couldn't prove) loads of new co's were being created in this economy. That estimate comes from the Labor Department's "birth/death model." As staggering as the assumption about new co's was in March, the Labor Department got even more brazen in April as it was disclosed that these imaginary jobs had been increased by 117K to 270K for the latest month. Without those extra 117K make-believe jobs, the total growth for April would have been just 171K, which is sub-par for an economy that's supposed to be growing at more than 4% a year
Scott streamer working here. IE 5.2.3. X 10.3.3. 4/27/04. 1146.
Mac dvds for kids...
We have our three nephews (boys, 8-10-12, very smart) for the day and it looks like we will be rained in. Can anyone recommend some dvds that run on a mac and have some educational value... games, nature, science, etc.
TIA
Mike Hugo
Briefing.com: "Analysts astonished..."
07:02 AAPL Apple Computer: Earnings Color (26.64 )
Analysts astonished by the magnitude by which Apple managed to surpass their expectations as strong iPod and iBook sales kicked in. We are seeing firms raise their FY04 and even FY05 estimates significantly as they see iPods becoming significant contributor to Apple's revenue stream, accounting for about 22% of sales in 2Q04 vs. about 13% in the prior quarter and only 2.0% in 2Q03. Among the more positive firms, UBS is raising their FY04 EPS estimate to $0.65 from $0.46 with FY05 going to $0.80 from $0.60. Price tgt goes to $35 from $30. Yet, we think it's also worth noting the co saw weakness in its PowerMac line with the long-awaited upgrade cycle still lagging expectations. As the most important source of long-term profits for Apple, one would expect market participants to take note. Prudential among the more negative one's out noting that if one strips out excess cash and interest income from the operating earnings calculation, at $29 Apple is trading 29x FY05 EPS estimate. By point of contrast, Dell is currently trading at 28.5x current FY06 (CY05) earnings estimate. They would expect the shares to trade back down once the euphoria and the momentum begins to subside. Firm sees fair value at $25... AAPL shares traded up to $29.16 in after hours action.
Tom - Exactly. Very nice.
I got out of Banks about one step ahead of the Fed and am about 25% cash. I don't trade bonds, but regard RYJUX as a hedge against the Fed's apparent determination to repeat the destructive policies of 2000.
In fact, when I hear the words "terrorists" and "weapons of mass destruction" the first things I think of are the Fed and interest rates.
U.S. Fighter Jet Could Die to Help Fund War
Sun Apr 11, 1:19 PM ET
By Jim Wolf
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon (news - web sites) may have to scrap its premier fighter jet program to help pay for the war in Iraq (news - web sites), Sen. John McCain, an influential member of the Armed Services Committee, said on Sunday.
"It's obvious that we're paying a heavy price, I think, for not having had enough troops there from the beginning," the Arizona Republican said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
McCain said both the U.S. Army and the Marine Corps must be expanded overall, a position at odds with President Bush (news - web sites)'s administration. The United States has about 135,000 troops in Iraq, a number that McCain, an influential member of the Armed Services Committee, said must rise.
As part of a broad overhaul of U.S. priorities, he said, the Pentagon may have to scrap the $71 billion Air Force program to buy F/A-22 air-to-air fighters built by Lockheed Martin Corp. .
"We may have to cancel this airplane that's going to cost between $250 million and $300 million a copy," said McCain, floating what could become a major new legislative hurdle to a top Air Force priority.
McCain led a drive that stalled what has become a $23.5 billion plan to lease up to 20 and buy up to 80 modified Boeing Co. 767s as mid-air refueling tankers. The plan is on hold pending reviews due next month at the Pentagon.
"We've got to change the way we do business and put the priority where it belongs," McCain said. "And that is making sure that we succeed in Iraq."
Republican Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas, chairman of the Intelligence committee, said the United States needed more specially trained forces in Iraq.
"People that are in there have to know what the heck we're doing," Roberts said on the CBS program Face the Nation. "If we do have those troops, yes, let's send them."
The Air Force hopes to buy at least 277 F/A-22 fighters, which it describes as key to dominating the skies in future combat. It is about to enter operational testing en route to replacing the F-15C.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has resisted calls for any lasting increase in the U.S. occupation force in Iraq and argued against permanently boosting the size of U.S. armed forces unless sought by military commanders themselves.
Last week, Rumsfeld said the Pentagon may postpone the departure of some troops supposed to be heading home now. The Pentagon originally had planned to decrease the numbers to about 115,000 in coming months.
cotton - We have just relocated and resettled. Happily. We took the time to find our comfort zone and then just did it, leaving all of the material and psychic rewards of the Washington DC culture. Know your underlying values and go with them.
Renting can be a nightmare unless you can find and keep a good agent.
F-22? There are so many unknowns that it would be hard to count them all. Bush or Kerry, the entire mission and force structure will be different 12 months from now.
Crapshoot, indeed. Let them roll someone else.
dileet-I'll take your salmon to your politics anytime :)
Since moving to Maine we're pratically living on fresh salmon and haddock.
Yet another way the government hides inflation
Contrarian Chronicles
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/P73981.asp
The government may be the only institution that can say a price increase isn’t a price increase. Here’s how it masks the inflationary pressures building.
By Bill Fleckenstein
As we continue to shell out for higher prices, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is working overtime to crank out its inflation-is-tame data, picking from an arsenal of abracadabra. An inflation-busting device known as "substitution" is particularly effective (though for premium-brand ice cream lovers, as you'll soon see, it may be totally unpalatable).
The statistical minimization of inflation
I have long known that, in addition to hedonic adjustments (which I wrote about in "How the government manufactures low inflation"), government statisticians relied on "substitution." But until recently, I was unaware to what absurd degree. Their methodology is inaccurately labeled "geometric mean estimator," which it turns out is applied to about 61% of total CPI (consumer price index) spending. As my friend Joanie recently opined:
"Basically, this approach allows the BLS mathematicians to substitute lesser price items for those that might have had price increases. They assume, for example, that if tuna is pricey, you might just switch to cat food."
But don't trust us. Here, in the government's own words, is an example of the "geometric mean estimator" at work:
Substitution can take several forms corresponding to the types of item- and outlet-specific prices used to construct the basic indexes. . . . Thus, in response to an increase in the price charged by a store for a certain brand of ice cream, a consumer could respond by:
Redistributing purchases:
o To another brand of ice cream whose price had not risen.
o To a larger package of ice cream with a smaller price per ounce.
o To ice cream at a different store where ice cream is on sale.
o To a brand of frozen yogurt.
The consumer also could respond by postponing the ice cream purchase until a later date.
Finally, the consumer could substitute from the ice cream brand to a specific alternative dessert item, such as cupcakes or apples, which is another CPI category.
This latter form of substitution, although across CPI categories, would still have the effect of reducing the quantity consumed of the higher-priced ice cream brand relative to the quantities of other items within the ice cream stratum. . . . In the same way, the use of the geometric mean formula within categories does not address the issue of whether consumers can, or do, respond to a general increase in the price of ice cream products by, for example, forgoing dessert.
-- Quotes are from a BLS document, "Incorporating a geometric mean formula into the CPI." The emphasis is mine.
This is how the BLS keeps the CPI in check at all times. By using hedonics, price increases can be deemed quality improvements and therefore wiped away with the government's magic wand. If that doesn't work, the bureau uses the substitution technique to banish the price increase.
Pricier Kleenex nixes the 'no inflation' myth
In that spirit, the BLS will have no trouble wiping away -- though not with a Kleenex-brand tissue -- the prospective 6% price increase just announced by Kimberly-Clark (KMB, news, msgs). The maker of Kleenex said the increases were necessary to "offset inflation in key raw material inputs, particularly fiber, as well as higher energy costs."
This buttresses a point I have made before (most recently in my March 15 Contrarian column), that the high price of oil will work its way through to lots of different products, thereby increasing their prices, though that does tend to take some time.
Bottom line: The inflation statistics don't come close to capturing price increases accurately, and it's particularly absurd to strip out the offending components, as gets done every month.
As the government loses credibility on this subject, which I expect (the process takes time, but is almost impossible to repair), the erosion of confidence will impact financial markets bearishly and precious metals bullishly. It's part and parcel of the change in psychology that occurs in bear markets generically. And it is all the more likely in this bear market, given the insanity that's been perpetrated and perpetuated by the Fed and the statisticians in the government. That erosion of confidence will bring about a transformed environment, in which stocks bypass being "fair-valued" on the way to being downright cheap.
cotton - Your picture is pretty accurate. I'll add a story from my time on the hill.
During one of our periodic spasms of interest in tax reform, a reporter asked Dan Rostenkowski, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, what the chances were. He replied. "Niney five percent of the American people are in favor of tax reform. The other five percent are lined up outside my office."
The corruption of the tax system and the corruption of the campaign finance system are deep and enduring, affecting the entire process of public policy, and thriving under Democrats and Republicans, although the specific winners and losers may change.
I wish I could visualize a set of political circumstances which are plausible and could bring about real change. I can't.
No problem with 10.3.3. 17' Al G4 PB.
07:06 AAPL: Apple's iTunes to fall short on song sales -- WSJ (26.45 )
The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple said its iTunes Music Store has sold 50 mln songs since its debut, but the co expects to fall short of its 12-month forecast of selling 100 mln songs by the end of April. But with just weeks left until the end of April, Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive, said Apple won't be able to sell 100 mln songs by then. "We're not going to make that number," he said in an interview. "At the rate we're at right now, we'll probably have sold 70 mln to 75 mln songs" by the end of April. According to the article, the online-music market is becoming increasingly crowded with new entrants like Wal-Mart, Sony and, later this year, Microsoft.
10:10 AAPL strength attributed to revival of Sony buyout rumor (27.01 +1.85)
Also hearing that co seen as a play on strong bond prices today, with one contact calling company a bank with a music and computer division.
briefing.com
Re: blinking text, thanks to all for the tips.
I have Pith Helmet for Safari and am trying the JS hacks for FireFox. IMO FF is the first of the alternatives to Netscape to be enough faster so as to make a real difference over the course of the day. And it retains the Netscape implementation of contextual menus, which is far more efficient than Safari. And so far FF works with all my sites, including Fidelity, which is always the standard.
Firefox is very nice, but...
can I somehow block blinking text? This was *for me* a fatal weakness of Safari.
For all our sinophiles....from Briefing
08:31 Piper says pullback in China Interent stocks is a buying opportunity
Piper Jaffray sees the pull back in China Internet stocks as a buying opportunity. These stocks have been coming down from their mid-Jan highs and were further pressured by SOHU's results, which fell short of expectations. The firm believes investors are waiting for the two remaining companies to report: NTES in mid-Feb, and CTRP in early March. The firm urges investors to have a solid exposure to the Chinese Internet sector, as China is posed to be the largest Internet market in the world and is already a highly profitable market. The firm expects new cos to emerge in the public markets during 2004, offering investors a more comprehensive segment to invest in.
23 of 24 in the green!
I can't remember having a day like this. I expected some red from closing positions over the weekend, but absolutely steady.
Reporting for the Old Folks Portfolio...
It warms my heart to have started something light and humorous. Thanks to all who kept it going.
Lango - Who are you to presume to judge who is concerned about the average American?
People here have a very high level of tolerance for your pathological political pontification. But when you start to question the character of those who simply post information that is at variance with your political agenda, then you are simply indulging in arrogant nastiness for its own sake. That tells us nothing about the person you're insulting, but tells us a great deal about you.
Cotton, TSC is not "the market". Try Briefing.com. Over time they are the most careful and balanced.
08:59 S&P futures vs fair value: +1.1. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +4.5.
Futures trade backs off its earlier highs, but continues to point to a higher open for the indices... The January nonfarm payrolls figure did fall short of the consensus estimate, but was still good enough - at +112K - to support the slow recovery in the jobs market... Foreign markets are also showing gains this morning, and this has contributed to the positive bias.
ljk - In this context, it's cashet
Report from Pennyland...
LOUD up .35 (15%) on Buy rating from Roth Capital.
COVD down .73 (17.6%) on negative outlook.
Kevin - Yes. I waited over the weekend for the other shoe to drop in the form of more bad publicity on the iBook or iPod battery. Yet this morning reading all of the AAPL news on Yahoo since Friday we seemto have dodged that bullet.
My basis (22.7) is not nearly as good as yours, because I bought too soon. But I still expect to start the year with a profit of 10K from my 4K shares. Which for us old folks is OK.
Credit Ratings in China--WSJ--From SI
( Are you sure you know China)
Can Be Mere Guesswork
By JOEL BAGLOLE
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
HONG KONG -- International credit-rating companies charging into China are operating in such darkness that many investors question the value of their work in the country.
Demand for credit ratings -- an assessment of how willing and able a borrower is to repay debts -- is growing as more Chinese companies raise capital from international investors. But faulty accounting, poor corporate governance and a lack of disclosure hamper the raters' efforts.
China doesn't adhere to international accounting standards, and publicly listed companies can be controlled by private parent companies that aren't required to disclose financial information. To make matters worse, the government issues misleading statistics.
Whether rating companies succeed in enhancing transparency among Chinese companies is a key test as the nation attempts to develop world-class capital markets.
If Fitch Ratings, Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's can push companies into releasing more information and their ratings are seen as reliable, that could help bolster confidence in China as it looks to foreign investment to fuel its growth.
Though China is opening, it's a slow process. Brian Colton at Fimalac SA's Fitch Ratings in Hong Kong, rates China's sovereign bonds. Part of his job is to assess China's economy. But Mr. Colton says he's never sure how reliable the data are. He often tallies the gross domestic product figures of China's 23 provinces and seven administrative regions and finds the total is different than the national GDP figure issued by Beijing. "Sometimes you have a column of figures that don't add up to the total at the bottom. It's that bad," he says.
However, China is a potentially lucrative market, with more than eight million corporations and 130 banks hungry for capital to expand. Since 1998, the annual value of initial public offerings in China has increased nearly 50% while bond issuance has doubled, according to financial data provider Thomson Financial.
So far, the international ratings companies combined have rated fewer than 100 Chinese enterprises. Ratings companies charge as much as $80,000 for an initial rating and up to $40,000 a year to maintain surveillance on companies and adjust ratings as needed.
Critics say the raters' work in China is useless because it's based on limited information. They are also alarmed by the willingness of the companies -- which have been criticized in recent years for failing to spot trouble at Enron Corp. and other accounting blowups -- to work around big problems. "If you have any credibility, you would probably be rating everything junk in China," says Scott Kennedy, an assistant professor at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., who specializes in China's political economy.
Brad Aham, an Asian equities portfolio manager at State Street Corp., who has $2 billion invested in emerging Asian markets, puts it this way: "Credit rating agencies can keep the markets abreast of ongoing structural problems in China, but in terms of data that affect markets on a daily basis, rating agencies aren't that useful."
Fitch, Moody's and McGraw-Hill Cos.' S&P are focusing on the Chinese government's sovereign bonds and companies listed on stock exchanges outside the mainland, where disclosure is better than at nonlisted enterprises. Publicly listed companies such as China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd. and Huaneng Power International Inc. have had their bonds rated investment grade.
Charles Chang, an associate director at Fitch Ratings in Hong Kong, was able to rate a Chinese retailing company that was considering a bond issue in 2002, despite the fact that there was little information available about China's retail sector or the company's finances. To compensate, he constructed "stress scenarios," and hypothesized about the company's ability to cope if retail sales fell sharply or the economy slowed suddenly. "It wasn't easy," he says.
Fitch and Standard & Poor's have begun conducting public-information ratings, which use publicly available information and media reports to evaluate a company rather than consultations with management. Fitch and S&P say such ratings are necessary in China, where company cooperation is hard to get. But in China such ratings can rely on censored media reports. Moody's has stopped public-information ratings, saying they're inaccurate.
Indiana University's Mr. Kennedy says the rating companies give Chinese institutions inappropriately high ratings because they weigh favorably the country's huge economic growth and government support of state-owned enterprises. Fitch, Moody's and S&P each tie their ratings on China's banks to the ratings on the government's bonds. But executives say they have to do this because the country's banks are insolvent, with nonperforming loans accounting for as much as half the total loan portfolios.
Ratings companies say problems are inevitable as China moves from a state-planned economy to a free market economy. They add that they are more critical than China's domestic credit-rating firms. And they say that China is making efforts to improve corporate governance, making it mandatory for public companies to report financial data on a quarterly basis rather than every six months and opening two national accounting institutes to train people in international accounting.
"You'll never have all the facts," says Wei Yen, a China bank analyst at Moody's, a unit of Moody's Corp., in Hong Kong. "You get what information you can and make a decision based on your logic."
Lango - The S&P rating, below, is what decided me. I should add that CHT is in that portion of my portfolio which I hold for dividend income, and not for capital gains, although there have been some nice suprises there lately - ASO, HUBB, LYG, UU, POM. Us old folks have a somewhat different perspective.
S&P says affirms ratings on Chunghwa Telecom
Reuters, 12.15.03, 2:26 AM ET
(News release provided by the ratings agency)
HONG KONG, Dec 15 - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said on Monday it had affirmed its 'AA-' long-term corporate credit rating on Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd. <2412.TW> (CHT). The outlook on the corporate credit rating is stable.
"The rating reflects the company's superior market position in the Taiwanese telecommunications industry and its very strong financial profile. These factors are partially offset by increasing competition. As the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, which currently owns 63.8% of CHT, plans to reduce its shareholding to less than 50% by the end of 2004, no government support is assumed in the rating", said credit analyst Jonathan Lee.
CHT, the former monopoly operator in Taiwan's telecommunications sector, still enjoys a dominant market position despite industry liberalization over the past few years.
Competition began in early 1998 when several new mobile phone operators entered the wireless telecommunications market, causing CHT's share of the mobile phone market to fall to 35% to date from 100% in 1997.
However, robust demand, stimulated by falling tariffs and handset prices, has helped mitigate the effects of competition and has allowed the company's subscriber base and mobile phone revenue to grow.
Following the granting of new licenses by the Taiwan government to three fixed-line start-ups, which launched commercial services in August 2001, competition from these new entrants has led to heightened pressure on tariffs, especially within the international direct call market.
Accordingly, Standard and Poor's expects CHT's revenue and earnings mix to change gradually. Contributions from CHT's fixed-line business are expected to decrease, while wireless and data-related services are likely to take on a more important role.
Also, despite the competition in the industry, Standard and Poor's expects CHT to retain its dominant market position, supported by its well-established customer base, strong brand franchise, and high-quality network, which offers direct connections to most households in Taiwan.
CHT has maintained a very strong financial profile. Its total revenue in the first three quarters of 2003 grew to Taiwan dollar (NT$) 134 billion from NT$132 billion during the same period a year earlier.
The company's operating margin (before depreciation and amortization) increased to 58% in the first nine months of 2003 from 55% in full year 2002, mainly because of lower personnel costs.
CHT has also used minimal debt, as its strong operating cash flow has been able to cover most of its capital expenditures and cash dividend payouts. Consequently, CHT's total debt to capital was only 3.5% at the end of September 2003, while its EBITDA interest coverage was more than 1,000x.
As Taiwan's telecommunications market has become saturated, the company faces the challenge of maintaining its revenue and earnings growth rates. Nevertheless, Standard and Poor's expects the company to preserve its very strong financial profile.
Copyright 2003, Reuters News Service
Tom - Suggest you look at CHT.
Taiwan telecom company. Recent IPO, AA rating by S&P, 8% divy. Friday close 14.93, +.43. No volume yet. Still undiscovered, but IMO it's just a matter of time. I'm long 1K.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=CHT
Lango - Well done. Thank you. Sent it to my son who works in NYC.
I have a free account. And I'd pay for an AAPL board, as I did on SI. But I'm not about to pay for the "priviledge" of sorting through political rants and raves. In Peanuts the insults were free. Here they expect you to pay for them.
Linda - Which "Mail" program? If you mean the OS X Mail, we have that working on two machines on a network.
Court Says Net Music Subpoenas Not Authorized
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a surprise setback for the recording industry, a U.S. appeals court said on Friday its methods for tracking down those who copy its music over the Internet are not authorized by law.
The Recording Industry Association of America, a trade group, has sought to force Verizon Communications and other Internet service providers to reveal the names of customers it suspects may be copying music without permission.
The recording industry says the widespread copying of music over the Internet is partially to blame for falling CD sales.
Verizon has argued that existing copyright law does not give the recording industry such authority and its customers' privacy was being violated.
A lower court earlier this year upheld the recording industry's tactics, which have served as the basis for hundreds of lawsuits filed against individual Internet users.
But in a strongly worded ruling, the appeals court sided with Verizon, saying a 1998 copyright law does not give copyright holders the ability to subpoena customer names from Internet providers without filing a formal lawsuit.
"In sum, we agree with Verizon that (the law) does not by its terms authorize the subpoenas issued here," Chief Judge Douglas Ginsburg wrote.
Neither Verizon nor the RIAA was immediately available for comment.
? Reuters 2003. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
Carter and the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.
Yup. 5K.
Loudeye & MSFT
http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/031215/media_loudeye_microsoft_1.html
Reuters
Loudeye, Microsoft offer online music store set-up
Monday December 15, 3:04 pm ET
By Sue Zeidler
LOS ANGELES, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Digital media firm Loudeye Corp. (NasdaqSC:LOUD - News) and Microsoft Corp (NasdaqNM:MSFT - News) on Monday said they will jointly offer businesses a fast and relatively cheap way to jump into the digital music game.
The aim of the software offering is to allow companies to create digital music services much more cheaply, capitalizing on the success of groundbreaking Apple Computer Inc. (NasdaqNM:AAPL - News) iTunes online music store without as much initial investment, officials for the companies said.
Initial customers for the application include AT&T Wireless Services Inc. (NYSE:AWE - News), Gibson Audio, a new consumer electronics division of Gibson Guitar Corp., and Eyetide Media.
ATT Wireless plans to be the first wireless carrier in North America to offer a mobile music offering in 2004, the companies said.
Analysts have estimated that Apple spent about $35 million to $40 million to build the iTunes technology platform.
Roxio's acquisition of Napster, Pressplay and its integration of these services, which resulted in the relaunch of Napster, cost the company over $65 million, according to public documents.
The Loudeye Digital Music Store, which is based on Microsoft's Windows Media 9 Series platform, provides the infrastructure for setting up a digital music offering.
"We offload the burden of capital expense for anyone trying to enter the digital music arena," said Jeff Cavins, chief executive of Loudeye.
Terms of the initial deals were not disclosed, but Cavins said the deals may be structured in such a way that customers could pay Loudeye to be an operator of the service, or Loudeye can serve as a revenue-sharing partner.
Cavins said Loudeye has early access to certain Microsoft technologies that are unique and necessary to launch these services.
"overall store receipts up 40% over same period last year"
Would you please issue a press release to that effect?
Somebody's gopt to help the shareholders. :)
5 day turnaround from Apple swapping the logicboard on my new 17. Nice work. Nice to have a gig of memory, too.
Bill Joy on OS Linux & OS X.
"For kids who ae 20 years younger than me, Linux is a great way to cut your teeth.... Mac OS X is a rock-solid system that's beautifully designed. I much prefer it to Linux."
December issue of Wired.
There's no one in the world of information technology that I respect and admire more than Bill Joy.