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Call Me Crazy If You Want To
I just off'd a bunch of old school tech stocks, csco, rfmd and orcl to name a few. Then I got into stem cell research and nano-technology. stem, gern, astm, avii, arwr and arwrw is what I bought. I figure these couldn't do worse than what I have already experienced. "If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all" when it comes to investing. Any of you have any knowledge of these companies or the technology? Any tips or opinions or just gut feelings are appreciated.
Aloha
I second that DB and Meme and of course Dej.
Have a safe healthy happy wonderful holiday.
"Rumors of Comcast/Disney Merger this a.m. .... !! "
Hey, thats old news!!!! Oh yeah, that was an old post. Anyone still drop by this place?
Aloha
"Sorry if I sound positively dismal, totally off topic (what the heck is the topic of this board anyway?), and otherwise preoccupied. <G>"
Meme
Now that the season approaches I hope you are feeling better.
What's the topic? Why DIG, of course. I DIG a pony. Can you DIG it? I DIG rock and roll music. Can you tell me what songs these DIG lines come from?
Good to see some folks still here.
Aloha
"... No, I give up! I can't explain it... I just feel it... It has some sort of "sterility" over it..."
I thought you explained it extemely well, KD!!!!!
Hey Meme
I too, am deeply saddened with the demise of hand drawn animation and thank you for your kind words. The good news is that I am not an animator and I am still here.... coming on 15 years with the mouse. But with centralization, outsourcing, cutbacks etc no one is secure these days.
Because of the law of supply and demand, I still believe hand drawn will make a comeback some day. Post Lion King everyone opened an animation studio and novice artist were commanding 6 figure salaries. Now that all the studios have shuttered and there is a large pool of available animators, one could actually hire a crew at a reasonable rate and make a feature with a smaller budget. I believe Steve Jobs is already planning to do just that at Pixar.
Thanks for the best wishes and back to you from me. Sorry I'm late but I've been on a much needed vacation. Have a safe, happy and healthy New Year with good fortune to all.
Peace
Aloha
Thanks dejgaard!!!!!!
Dej NMPS
What's up with that stock you mentioned a couple months ago? I've been watching it and it is skyrocketing today!!!
Aloha
Hey dpb5
The colors are slightly more soothing and some rough edges filed down. The changes are far from dramatic.
aloha
Hey DoubleBuy
"I told you that Rum & Diet Coke would clog up your pipes, see it's beginning to happen....;)....LOLLLLLLLLL"
The key to preventing that from happening is a twist of lime.
"Miramax is now planning on releasing its newest film, "Buffalo Soldiers" which purports to be a satire depicting the U.S. military as a criminal enterprise."
The movie is almost 2 years old. It was held from release "purportedly" in respect to the 9/11 sentiment.
They ask why we are so hated abroad while they produce this anti-American propaganda.
You yourself said the key word, satire. Did you ever see Catch 22? Apocolypse Now? The satirical movies poking fun at the military or even the President are common place. Do you get uptight every time one of these movies is released or are you uptight because it is Miramax releasing it?
"This, and other policies of Walt Disney Co. are undoing the work of Walt Disney in creating a haven for the entire family."
Walt Disney Pictures still is a haven for families. Miramax is known to do arthouse fare. Assuming you are an adult, you should know that and chose your movies accordingly.
"From Mickey Mouse and "Snow White" Disney has decended to political propaganda and pure filth."
Since the movie was not released at the time of your post (ergo you have not seen it), I must assume you are just blindly following Matt Drudge's lead.
"Can this be in the long-range interests of Disney stockholders?"
Miramax is known to be a profitable division within the Walt Disney Company. As a stockholder I guess that means the answer is yes.
"Does anyone really trust Disney enough to put its stock into their children's college fund?"
My opinion is once again yes, definitly. It seems you have an additional agenda as to what's good for your kid's college fund. It must be, in your eyes, squeaky clean and 100% family friendly. You must have a VERY hard time finding stocks then. Certainly you have no entertainment stocks in your portfolio, as Disney is the most family friendly of the lot.
"To me, that's like urinating in your pants to get warm on a freezy day... (It helps, briefly, but then it gets much worse...)"
KD, what a graphic description. What is this board coming too?
BTW the nudist link still works.
Thx for the clarification KD!!!!
Hey KD
I did a little research and got somewhat confused by an article which stated
"Tomera's research also studied the accuracy of cytology, a laboratory-based urine test. Cytology correctly identified only 18 percent of the individuals with bladder cancer, missing 15 patients with the disease. Cystoscopy combined with cytology did not improve the detection rate of bladder cancer."
Is this the NMPS test? Or am I confused? What I read here does not compel me to buy the stock. Sorry if this is a dumb question. Biotech is not my forte.
Hey KD
I clicked your Hedge Fund link but got no story. Anyway I hope they are right.
Dej
Just got back from InterOp in Las Vegas and Wi-Fi had the largest space at the convention. They were demonstrating the technology and it really looked cool and operated very well.
I just worry about all the invisible radio/microwave signals flying around the world. Might they be slowly cooking our brains?
WE BEAT THE USA IN ICEHOCKEY!!!
DENMARK BEAT THE USA IN ICEHOCKEY!!!
THIS IS TOO DAMN FUNNY!
I'm happy for you Dej although I never considered the USA a powerhouse in that sport. Maybe they're becoming one of the elite but I'd say that is primarily due to getting players from other countries.
HOW ABOUT THOSE MIGHTY DUCKS!!!!!!!!
:)
Nice DIS day for longs Up 9.33%
I have noticed that go.com is already advertising search is powered by google.
Aloha Satori
How come you never visit the bunker anymore
Hey Ridi
Wish I was on the Islands...actually rainy S.Cal.
"there are a pretty good number of classic cars"
Hey ridi
I'm originally from Minneapolis and I can tell you that people who take their classic cars out in winter are crazy. They'll rot away in a blink of an eye.....unless of couse they quit using salt on the roads...which I doubt
"Did you ever wonder what happened to GO.COM...."
Not me...I knew it was still there. In fact just last week it was working well enough for me to get 1 email sent.
I don't know about the rest of you but I am encouraged by DIS only giving back $.05 or 0.29% after the run-up Friday that seemed to be based on so-so quarterly financial data.
Happy day and good luck trading.
Aloha
Happy New Year
Wow, there are still people here. Hope you (we) all have a better investment year. And hope you all are healthy/happy.
Aloha
Happy New Years to All you Disney investors. Let us hope 2003 is a bit better for our investments.
Anyone still checking this board?
Sign in please :)
Hi Everyone
Anyone know why Dis is popping today? Thanks
Aloha Friends
Disney is moving up today. Anyone have a guess as to why?
Thanks
I guess that shows us what a smart exec Mr E is. I still have my DIG....Doooooh ;)
Meme - I'd never a thunk any of this would have happened but it did. What's remarkable is that with a moderate spurt by DIS, I could get out of DIG even or maybe even some extra spare change. My life's pattern would indicate that I WILL get burnt but what the hay!!!! You only live once. (Unless you believe in re-incarnation)
I'm with you Health. I'll hang on to my 1K shares until the bitter end...Maybe we will get burnt but it's that
adrenlin rush each day when I check the prices that keeps me going. Today we are fairing quite well.
Oh well, the net has hardened my heart and tempered my armor. Oh, and let's not
forget the whip that it's fostered. <G> This is a good thing...right?
Wrong. (except maybe the whip part) :) It is unfortunate that evil and mean spirited people being fostered by this society cause otherwise kind and sensitive people to need to build a shell to protect themselves. More and more, this world is becoming a dog eat dog, cut-throat existence where everyone is out for themselves, irregardless of who they might hurt in the process. It makes me sad. The thicker the shell becomes is one step further towards the erosion of humanity.
We are lucky. This board is filled with good people who can co-exist and even with differing opinions and remain friends. Lets hope it remains that way. Thanks to FattMatt for providing tools to help in this endeavor.
Hey Rollin
"Easy Come"?
Care to share your secret? :)
Hey McDuck
No need to thank us for letting you vent cuz we have all been venting. On a lighter note, I made $250 bucks on DIG today...ain't it ironic?
Let's Buy Infoseek
NOT!!!!
Within a handful of months after Disney bought Infoseek, most of the intellectual property (people) had left. Disney in effect bought a bunch of servers running Infoseek developed software. The problem was the C writen software was so huge and spread out that not enough qualified people were left who could properly maintain it and more important, enhance it. This has not changed.
Mr. E Speaks
Dear Fellow Cast Members:
As you are no doubt aware, the past year has seen extraordinary changes in the world of the Internet. Today, our company is recognizing these changes by announcing changes of our own.
First of all, The Walt Disney Company is converting all outstanding shares of Disney Internet Group (NYSE: DIG) common stock into Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) common stock. This will be effective on March 20, 2001. We are taking this action because it has become clear that the optimal way to manage our strong branded on-line sites -- such as the category-leading Disney.com, ESPN.com, ABC.com and ABCNEWS.com -- is to align them more closely with our traditional off-line businesses. Doing so should significantly enhance the ability of the Walt Disney Internet Group to work seamlessly with Disney's established Media Networks, Consumer Products, Studio and Theme Parks & Resorts units. This is consistent with the long-held synergistic approach of our company to all of its businesses.
Secondly, we will be discontinuing the operation of the GO.com portal. Several months ago, I wrote you about the re-launch of GO.com and I continue to believe it is an outstanding site. However, market realities have led us to conclude that the GO.com portal is an ancillary business, and the best thing for our company is for us to focus on our branded sites, which represent core Disney holdings. This represents a particularly difficult decision, since it will impact approximately 400 employees, most of whom work in Sunnyvale, California. Their dedication and creativity have been an asset for our company and we will do everything we can to assist them during this transition.
Let me emphasize that the Internet remains a strategic priority for our company. As a result of the actions we are taking today, our company should be in a stronger position to make the most of the important Internet assets we already have and take full advantage of the emerging opportunities of this still-young medium.
Quite frankly, the biggest challenge of the Internet is that there's really never been anything quite like it before. And so, like the two skiers who are crossing Antarctica, we have to keep adjusting our strategies as conditions keep changing so that we can reach our ultimate goal of success and profitability in this extraordinary new electronic space.
Michael
P.S. Following you will find the press release that was issued today, which will provide you with more details about this announcement.
THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY TO CONVERT COMMON STOCK OF
DISNEY INTERNET GROUP TO DISNEY COMMON STOCK,
DISCONTINUE GO.COM PORTAL
Disney Internet Group to focus on its content Web sites,
including top-ranked ESPN.com, Disney.com and ABC-branded sites,
which will be more closely aligned with Disney's media and entertainment
businesses to fully leverage strength of brands and creative content
BURBANK, Calif. (January 29, 2001) - The Walt Disney Company today announced that it will convert all outstanding shares of Disney Internet Group common stock (NYSE: DIG) into shares of Disney common stock (NYSE: DIS) effective March 20, 2001.
The company will continue to focus on its top-ranked content Web sites and their related commerce businesses, further aligning them with its other media and entertainment businesses to take better advantage of their considerable creative and technological strengths. As part of this strategic shift, Disney will discontinue the operation of its GO.com portal.
"The Internet continues to be a central focus of our company's business strategy," said Michael D. Eisner, chairman and chief executive officer. "We believe this action should help us gain greater competitive advantage as we leverage Disney's creative content, brands and other assets."
The Walt Disney Internet Group will continue to operate under its current management structure as a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. "I am very pleased by the way this group has developed our strong content sites and I am confident they will maintain a leadership position in this dynamic industry," Eisner said.
"The competitive factors that initially compelled us to establish a separately traded class of common stock tied to our Internet operations have fundamentally changed," Eisner added. "Furthermore, we believe that our core assets will reap some of the greatest benefits of the Internet going forward as we exploit new opportunities in areas such as video on demand, interactive television, broadband, wireless and content repurposing. By converting Disney Internet Group and returning to a single class of common stock, all shareholders will be able to realize the full value of these new opportunities."
Steve Bornstein, chairman of Walt Disney Internet Group, added, "This is a difficult decision, as it impacts both our employees and GO.com users. However, the Internet environment has continued to shift and change, and therefore our strategies must also change. Our investment in Starwave, followed by the Infoseek acquisition, allowed us to build a single, scalable platform for our Internet businesses. Upon this platform, we have demonstrated that we can create and operate innovative, highly popular content sites. We will continue to invest in those properties and intend to achieve long-term growth and success by managing them in a way that more closely aligns them with Disney's established Media Networks, Consumer Products, Studio and Parks and Resorts units. This is consistent with Disney's long-held synergistic approach to all of its businesses."
The Walt Disney Internet Group Web properties command strong leadership positions in their respective categories. Disney.com is the top-ranked site for entertainment, family entertainment and kids, ESPN.com is the number-one sports site, the ABC-branded sites are among the leaders for their news and entertainment content and Zoogdisney.com is a highly popular convergence site for Disney Channel programming. Disney also has a strong record of integrating its Internet properties with its "traditional" media content to create entirely new entertainment offerings, such as its Enhanced TV version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football. In addition, DisneyStore.com and Disney Stores are closely integrated with common merchandising, marketing and promotion. DisneyVacations.com, with its brand association, blends an online travel capability for Disney's theme parks, resorts and cruise line, focusing on creating new ways to enhance the guest experience before, during and after their trip via guest recognition, travel tips and experiencing virtual rides online.
Walt Disney Internet Group will continue to operate Disney.com, DisneyAuctions.com, DisneyStore.com, DisneyVacations.com, Family.com, ESPN.com, NFL.com, Soccernet.com, ABC.com, ABCNEWS.com, ABCSports.com, Mr.Showbiz, Movies.com and Wall of Sound. Walt Disney Internet Group also produces Enhanced TV telecasts in conjunction with select ABC TV and ESPN programming.
The closure of GO.com will affect approximately 400 employees, the majority of whom are based in Sunnyvale, Calif.
"We regret that this decision will impact our GO.com employees," Bornstein said. "However, our ultimate objectives are to be highly competitive and profitable, and we believe this is the decision we must make in order to achieve those goals."
Added Eisner: "GO.com employees have contributed a tremendous amount of technical skill and creativity to our company. Like our other 120,000 cast members, they are a key source of the Disney 'magic,' which makes decisions such as this one particularly difficult."
A streamlined version of GO.com will continue to operate for a period of time to allow for the transition of its users. The company will continue to operate and support the Infoseek search engine and associated traffic during this time. Some of GO.com's more popular content and services will be migrated to other sites. For example, Astrology Zone by Susan Miller will move to ABC.com. E-mail users will be able to continue service at ABC.com. Disney is evaluating various alternatives for the GO.com assets, including the sale of the Infoseek search engine and site traffic.
The GO.com Web site was created in connection with Disney's acquisition of Infoseek Corporation. In November 1999, shareholders of Disney and Infoseek approved the creation of an additional class of Disney common stock to reflect the performance of the new Internet business called GO.com - later renamed Walt Disney Internet Group. The GO.com Web guide was repositioned in October 2000 to focus on entertainment, recreation and leisure.
Conversion of Disney Internet Group Shares
In accordance with the terms of the company's certificate of incorporation, each outstanding share of Disney Internet Group common stock will be converted into 0.19353 of a share of Disney common stock as of March 20, 2001. The conversion ratio is based upon the relative market values of Disney and Disney Internet Group common stock averaged over the 20 trading days (December 7, 2000 through January 5, 2001) ending 15 trading days prior to today's announcement, and includes a 20 percent premium on the value of Disney Internet Group stock, all as required by the terms of the certificate of incorporation. The conversion is expected to result in the issuance of approximately 8.1 million new shares of Disney common stock.
No fractional share interests will be issued. Shareholders who would otherwise be entitled to a fractional share will instead be paid cash for such fractional interest in an amount based upon the market value of a share of Disney common stock as of the fifth trading day prior to the March 20 conversion date.
Shareholders holding certificates for shares of Disney Internet Group common stock will need to surrender their certificates, properly endorsed or assigned for transfer, to the company's shareholder services department, which is acting as conversion agent. The conversion agent will shortly be distributing transmittal documents to holders of Disney Internet Group shares with further instructions relating to the conversion.
No dividends on shares of Disney Internet Group common stock will be paid on or after the conversion date. Holders of options or other securities convertible or exchangeable into or for Disney Internet Group common stock will be entitled to receive shares of Disney common stock as of the conversion date only if they properly exercise, convert or exchange such securities on or prior to the conversion date. However, options or other convertible or exchangeable securities that are not exercised, converted or exchanged prior to the conversion date will be adjusted to become exercisable, convertible or exchangeable, as the case may be, for shares of Disney common stock in accordance with the terms of the company's certificate of incorporation and the relevant option or other plan or agreement.
Following the Conversion Date, Disney Common Stock will be the only outstanding common stock of The Walt Disney Company, and will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol DIS.
There are currently 2,086,258,193 shares of Disney Common Stock outstanding, and an additional 158,509,549 shares of Disney Common Stock are issuable upon exercise of outstanding options.
Financial Reporting Changes
As a result of the conversion of the Disney Internet Group Common Stock to Disney Common Stock, The Walt Disney Company will no longer report separate financial statements for the Disney Internet Group. The financial results of the Disney Common Stock will reflect the consolidated operations of The Walt Disney Company, including the Disney Internet Group, which will be reported as a separate business segment.
The closing of the GO.com property will result in non-recurring charges in the second quarter of the current fiscal year. Such charges are expected to include a non-cash write-off of intangible assets (estimated at $790 million, $0.37 per share) and costs related to severance, fixed-asset write-offs and other items (expected to total between $25 million and $50 million).
On a pro forma basis for fiscal year 2000, which assumes that the acquisition of Infoseek Corporation, the sale of Fairchild Publications, the issuance of the shares for the conversion of the Disney Internet Group Common Stock, the closing of the GO.com property and the adoption of new film accounting rules occurred at the beginning of the period, and excluding the one-time impact of those events, consolidated earnings per share excluding the amortization of intangible assets would have been $1.01. Pro forma earnings per share with amortization would have been $0.73.
Sorry D'Bear...missed your post or it came in right under mine....Sorry for the redundancy
More of the Same
News Search
Disney Reportedly May Cut Back Internet Operations, Abandon Go.com
January 28, 2001
NEW YORK -- Walt Disney Co. reportedly is likely to cut jobs and abandon the Go.com portal as part of an overhaul of its Internet operations.
According to the Financial Times, Disney (DIS) officials declined to comment on the potential cutbacks, but Disney Chairman and Chief Executive Michael Eisner said in an interview that "the advertising community has abandoned the Internet" and questioned the viability of operating a Web portal.
Officials at Walt Disney Co. and Walt Disney Co. Internet Group (DIG), weren't immediately available for comment late Sunday.
Disney Internet Group, which completed an initial public offering in November 1999, is the tracking stock for Disney's Internet and direct-marketing business. Disney Internet Group operates several Web sites including ABC.com, Disney.com, Go.com and ESPN.com.
Walt Disney President Robert Iger expressed concerns over whether the portal was a long-term sustainable model, the Financial Times said.
Until a few weeks ago, Mr. Eisner had said he planned to stand behind the company's Internet investments, even as other media companies were cutting back, the Financial Times said.
For the fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 30, Disney Internet Group posted a loss of $65.2 million, or 42 cents a share, excluding amortization, charges and a gain. Revenue was $82.4 million for the quarter, compared with pro forma of $87.5 million in the year-ago quarter.
Copyright (c) 2001 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.