Tom Taulli

What do you think of the upcoming Palm IPO? Reply: I recently purchased the Palm 7, which connects me to the Net. I use it constantly. And I’m sure many more people will, too. I expect this IPO to do extremely well. Wireless appears to be a major, long-term trend and Palm will be a […]

In the wake of JDS Uniphase, everyone wants more and more fiber companies. One to look at is Newport Corp. Last week, JDS Uniphase (JDSU) once again used its stock to build its fiber empire. The acquisition totaled about $15 billion and the target was E-Tek Dynamics (ETEK). True, this stuff seems outlandish. Then again, […]

Among many others, Commerce One (CMRC) announced its financials. Despite the fact that it is a leader in the business-to-business space (b2b), the company still underperformed expectations. Troubling investors was the net loss of $28.8 million (40 cents a share), which compares to $7.6 million in the same period a year ago. This was worse […]

Recently, there has been lots of activity in spin-offs. Unfortunately, there is also lots of confusion. Here’s a primer on what it all means to investors. How to Spin Spin-Offs In the past year, there has been much activity in spin-offs and tracking stocks. Despite this, there has been little explanation as to what these […]

Health Gate Data is an IPO that has been on the calendar for what seems to be an eternity (the company filed its IPO in April 1999). This is typically the proverbial “kiss of death.” If Health Gate were a hot deal, it would currently have an active ticker symbol. Health Gate Data is a […]

Finally, we’ll see some juicy IPOs this week. Of course, a good number are Net-related. Expect Turnstone Systems to turn heads on Wall Street. The company is at the cutting-edge of loop-management technology. This is a fancy way of saying that the company allows local exchange carriers to deploy DSL (digital subscriber line), so as […]

You recommended VerticalNet last year. With the new Microsoft deal, is the company still a good buy? Or is it overvalued? Reply: I still think there is much more potential with this stock. Announced last Friday, Microsoft agreed to invest $100 million into VerticalNet (VERT) . Also important was that VerticalNet and Microsoft would provide […]

Of course, many people live beyond their means — using their trusty credit cards. So, whenever I hear of a new application for credit cards, I listen. One that is very interesting comes from a company called Official Payments (OPAY). Basically, the company lets people use their credit cards to pay federal and state income […]

Even though many etailers showed tremendous sales gains in the fourth quarter of 1999, the fact remains that losses continue to pile-up. The major concern of investors, of course, is: Will the companies ever make money? Just as fast as a Net company can soar, it can also plunge. This has been the case with […]

In our busy lives, we do not have lots of time to read. But we can listen. However, cassettes are not very flexible. But the Web can be. A company called Audible (ADBL) allows users to download content to a handheld device and play it back anytime, anywhere. I wrote about the company in early […]

Often I get e-mails about my opinion on small stocks. Of course, in many cases, I’ve never heard of the company (nor really want to). Most of these stocks are on the so-called Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board (OTC BB). My advice: in many cases, stay away. NASDAQ is a major exchange, which has rigorous listing requirements. […]

With the explosion of the Web, there is a desperate need for protecting intellectual property from piracy and counterfeiting. The International Intellectual Property Alliance estimates that US companies lost about $12.4 billion worldwide because of piracy in 1998. The European Commission estimates that more than 5 percent of world trade is lost to counterfeiting. There […]