Tom Taulli

The broader markets ended the day deep in the red Tuesday, primarily on the news of a worse-than-expected trade deficit. However, several Internet stocks managed to escape with gains. internet.com’s Internet Stock Index fell 4.27, or .86 percent, to 492.72, the Nasdaq Composite closed off 64.80 to 2,821.35 and the Dow Jones industrial average ended […]

In the pioneering book, Customers.com, Patricia Seybold says the formula for success for e-commerce is simple, that is focus “on your existing customers, figuring out what they want and need and how you can make life easier for them.” Sounds great, right? Well, many companies are not doing this. For example, in a Jupiter Communications […]

A major deal in the Internet sector was about the only thing investors could get excited about Monday during a light trading session. Monday marked the lightest trading day of the year on the NYSE and the Nasdaq Composite came within one point of setting a record high. internet.com’s Internet Stock Index rose 1.60, or […]

What’s your opinion of the upcoming Kana IPO? Reply: This company develops high-end software solutions for eBusiness. The software can be used for start-ups, as well as blue chip companies. Basically, Kana helps companies manage huge volumes of inbound and outbound email, as well as Website-based communications. Thus, a company can profile customer information and […]

It’s rare to find a portal with strong Media Metrix numbers selling below a $500 million market cap. But there is one: About.com (BOUT). Actually, the site is a conglomeration of 650 vertical areas full of news, links, original content and community. What’s more, there is an actual person (not a bot) that manages every […]

Nothing thrills me more when Barron’s trashes a Net stock. As far as I’m concerned, Barron’s is a great Net stock contrarian indicator. Of course, this week Barron’s has America Online Inc. (AOL) in its crosshairs, as hedge-fund manager Doug Kass gave many reasons to be bearish. He sees lots of competion, such as from […]

After teetering in and out of positive territory for much of the day, Internet stocks ended lower along with all the major indices despite a positive consumer price index report. internet.com’s Internet Stock Index ended off 7.79, or 1.54 percent, to 499.27, the Nasdaq Composite was off 52.57 to 2,815.72 and the Dow Jones industrial […]

The US population represents a mere 4 percent of the world population. In other words, there is tremendous potential growth for international markets. And, yes, this means great opportunities for Web businesses, as well. Consequently, we’ve already seen the emergence of foreign portals, such as StarMedia (STRM) (which caters to Latin America) and China.com (CHINA). […]

The success rate for online shopping has been, well, nil. Peapod (PPOD), which went public, has been dead money, the stock selling for $8-5/16 or a $145 million market cap. As for NetGrocer, it had to cancel its IPO last year. There have been two big problems with online grocery shopping. First, there is no […]

NaviSite, a subsidiary of CMGI, is having an IPO on Sept. 24, 1999. Any thoughts about this company or the potential success of this IPO? Thanks in advance. Reply: This one looks like a winner. NaviSite is a Web hosting, as well as an application hosting company. In other words, the company allows companies to […]

Internet shares soared Friday, helping the Nasdaq Composite set a new record led by the leaders, such as Yahoo! and eBay. internet.com’s Internet Stock Index climbed 13.05, or 2.59 percent, to 517.56, the Nasdaq Composite closed up 34.67 to 2,886.69 and the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 51.29 to 11,028.11. America Online Inc. (AOL) closed […]

The online brokers are not the only firms making full-service stockbrokers miserable. There is another group, represented mainly by StockPower and NetStock Direct. They allow for direct stock-purchase plans (DSPPs). That is, you can buy stock directly from the company — say Dell or Yahoo! There are many advantages to DSPPs. The commissions are usually […]