Tom Taulli

AT&T always had the reputation for being solid, dependable and status quo. The reception to the AT&T Wireless (AWE) IPO was also spectacularly sober. Shares were priced at $29.50 and ended the day at $31.68a respectable 7.4 percent rise. It ended the week virtually unchanged. Why was the largest IPO in U.S. history so lackluster? […]

What’s on tap for the IPO market? Reply: It is definitely dark times for the IPO market. The IPO calendar has dwindled to almost nothing. What’s more, for those companies that have gone public, most had to reduce the number of shares and the offering price. Bleakness in the IPO market is likely continue for […]

Even the biggest IPO in US history was a nonevent this week. AT&T Wireless went public. The company set aside 10 percent of the IPO stock for all employees of AT&T. Reported stories, such as from the Wall Street Journal, indicated that some of these employees borrowed large sums in order to get shares. Well, […]

With the market valuations being trashed, companies are trying to find creative ways to boost values. One is to announce some type of “wireless” deal. Wireless does represent a huge market opportunity for Net applications. Of course, not all these companies will be winners. What’s more, wireless is still a nascent market. Expect lots of […]

On Friday, it is likely that the stock price of MP3.com (MPPP) will either soar or plunge. It is on this day that a federal judge in New York will hand down a decision on the merits of the massive lawsuit against MP3.com from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Basically, the RIAA is […]

As many companies before them, ClientLogic strives to help businesses to expand their Internet capabilities by managing their customer relationships. As for ClientLogic, it wants to do virtually everything: marketing, customer contact management, and fulfillment. The price range is $14-16, the lead underwriter is Salomon Smith Barney, the eManager is DLJdirect and the proposed ticker […]

Last week, the worst nightmare struck Official Payments (OPAY). Not only did the company miss its quarter — but did so by a huge margin. In an environment that is hostile to Net stocks, it was no surprise that Official Payments plunged, falling $11-1/2 to $5-1/4. Yesterday, I met with the CEO, Tom Evans. His […]

Nothing seems to work for e-tailing stocks. Yesterday, AutoWeb.com (AWEB) announced that Lycos agreed to buy 10 percent of the company. In the old days (i.e., late last year), such news would have catapulted the stock. Instead, AutoWeb.com was actually down 3/32 to 3-7/8. But is AutoWeb.com a buy? Is the market missing the boat? […]

Tom’s readers e-mailed him with questions about ON Semiconductor, Quest Software and dropping CFOs. What looks hot in the IPO market? Reply: Take a look at ON Semiconductor. Previously known as the Semiconductor Components Group, the company is a division of Motorola. Basically, the company develops semiconductor components for wireless, networking, consumer electronics, cable, DVD, […]

For the first part of the year, the Nasdaq was gas ‘n’ go. All that the momentum investors heard was the siren song of tech stocks. That came to an end when these investors’ nerve failed and they panicked. The result was the 25 percent drop in the Nasdaq. This last week, buyers were back. […]

As has been seen with many examples, transitioning from brick-and-mortar to the Web frontier is no easy task. Yet, brick-and-mortar companies realize they need to do it. To get companies on the Web, there is a new profession: e-consulting. These are high-end, one-stop shops for branding, e-commerce, customer service and content. As with any high-growth […]

Can you remember what you were doing when you were 11 years old? (Maybe not!) Playing in the playground, riding bikes, looking for ways to get in trouble? James Demetriades — Chairman, CEO, and Founder of Software Technologies Corp. — was at CalTech in the Computer Science Department. He was so fascinated by programming he […]