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Is Microsoft Out of Ideas?
,----[ Quuote ]
| Yesterday Bloomberg reported an analyst's expectation that Microsoft (MSFT)
| would institute a $20 billion share buyback program.
|
| There hasn't actually been a formal announcement from Microsoft that I have
| seen, yet the news has rapidly spread around the Internet as the Bloomberg
| report was picked up by bloggers, news sites and technology sites.
|
| [...]
|
| For those of you who would like to see a resurgent Microsoft stock trading
| higher based on organic growth and compelling new product introductions, you
| may have to wait for quite a while. In the meantime, financial shenanigans
| appear to be the rule.
`----
http://seekingalpha.com/article/90020-is-microsoft-out-of-ideas
Hold c*. Watch this:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/dayart/20080811/microsoft-shares.gif
They burn up the savings very fast.
Recent:
Ex-Microsoft Manager Sentenced for Fraud
http://www.hardocp.com/news.html?news=MzM3NjYsLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdCwsLDE=
Ex-Microsoft Manager Pleads Guilty, Sentenced For Embezzlement
http://www.crn.com/software/209400603
Microsoft: The Giant Buyback Theory Resurfaces
,----[ Quote ]
| Bloomberg published a story today which said that the company is about to
| unveil a plan to buy back as much as $20 billion of its stock. The notion was
| attributed to UBS analyst Heather Bellini, who actually floated the idea in a
| July 25 analyst report. And she is not the only one who thinks a huge buyback
| would be a good idea: in a July 22 post, I noted a report from Friedman
| Billings Ramsey analyst David Hilal, who theorized that the company could do
| a leverage buyback and repurchase as much as $50 billion of its shares.
`----
http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2008/08/06/microsoft-the-giant-buyback-theory-resurfaces/
Microsoft to buy $20B shares: UBS
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft's share price is down 26 per cent so far this year. It has about $3
| billion remaining of a $36.2-billion, five-year repurchase program it started
| in 2006.
`----
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/calgarybusiness/story.html?id=4532d822-898d-4dc3-8073-da6d0fcfda8e
Data: Cash balances at large tech companies
,----[ Quote ]
| PictureMicrosoft has reduced its legendary cash balance by tens of billions
| of dollars in recent years through a series of buybacks, dividends and
| acquisitions. The importance of cash was evident in the Microsoft-Yahoo saga:
| Had the Redmond company succeeded in the proposed $44.6 billion acquisition,
| it would have needed to borrow money for the first time in its history to
| fund the deal.
`----
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/138129.asp?source=rss
Microsoft sees slide in profits
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7366106.stm
Related:
Microsoft Lawyer Fees Focus in Iowa
,----[ Quote
| Microsoft settled the Iowa case for $179.95 million in April.
`----
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070831/ia_microsoft_lawyer_fees.html?.v=1
Corrupt countries were more likely to support the OOXML document format
,----[ Quote ]
| Is this just a random coincidence? The median of the CPI index of the above
| mentioned 70 countries is 3.95. Of the most corrupted half (CPI index less
| than 3.95) 23 or 77% voted for approval (approval or approval with comments)
| and 7 or 23% for disapproval; 5 abstained. Of the least corrupted half (CPI
| index more than 3.95) 13 or 54% voted for approval and 11 or 46% voted for
| disapproval; 11 abstained - see the table below.
`----
http://www.effi.org/blog/kai-2007-09-05.en.html
Microsoft buying it's way into OOXML ISO certification?
,----[ Quote ]
| It appears that Microsoft is just buying the OOXML ISO certification!
`----
http://masuran.org/node/90
Ecuador Tax Agency Closes Microsoft Branch Offices For 7 Days
,----[ Quote ]
| "We have twice requested balances, payment reports and complete tax
| information, but the company hasn't given it to us, so in accordance with our
| laws we have proceeded with the closure," the SRI official in charge of the
| proceeding said.
`----
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200710041610DOWJONESDJONLINE000810_FORTUNE5.htm
Microsoft Office raid in Hungary
,----[ Quote ]
| "Such behavior could lead to the exclusion of competitive products from
| the market and violate European Union rules, according to the authority
| known as the GVH."
`----
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/07/26/ap3957835.html
Cringely the Unemployable on the fallacy of Web 2.0, Microsoft ruthlessness,
and the CB radio of our decade
,----[ Quote ]
| Davidson: Which software company would you hate to compete against? What
| makes you single them out?
|
| Cringely: Microsoft of course. They have the deepest of pockets, unlimited
| ambition, and they are willing to lose money for years and years just to make
| sure that you don't make any money, either. And they are mean, REALLY mean.
|
| Davidson: Why do you think Microsoft is mean? Are you implying some kind of
| malicious intent rather than just ruthlessness?
|
| Cringely: Maybe "mean" is the wrong word to use for Microsoft. "Ruthless" is
| good. The company is built in the image of Bill Gates and Bill is a guy who
| gets caught-up in the game of business and doesn't typically see its personal
| cost. To use what might seem to be an obscure example, just look at all the
| various partnerships and industry consortia that Microsoft has announced
| through the years that never produced a product or even a usable
| specification. There have been literally dozens of these operations that are
| intended solely to freeze the competition until Microsoft can figure what the
| heck it actually wants to do. To Microsoft its a PR exercise that helps them
| compete but to customers it is just a damned lie. That's ruthless. There are
| plenty of other examples I can give but you get the point. I represent the
| concerns of users, not vendors, and Microsoft doesn't really care about
| users.
`----
http://blog.businessofsoftware.org/2007/07/cringely-the-un.html
Microsoft exec dumped stock prior to Red Ring announcement
,----[ Quote ]
| To make matters more murky, the sales were not registered with the Securities
| and Exchange Commission within the mandatory two days of the transaction, a
| result of an alleged "administrative error." Microsoft has since remedied the
| issue by following the "procedures required of late-filers."
`----
http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2007/08/14/microsoft-exec-dumped-stocks-prior-to-red-ring-addresment
Microsoft's Bach sold more stock before Xbox news
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft Corp. executive Robbie Bach sold $3 million more in company stock
| during the period leading up to an announcement about a costly flaw in its
| Xbox video game console than previously reported, according to a filing
| Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
`----
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/microsofts-bach-sold-additional-stock/story.aspx?guid=%7BBECA3A50-EF33-4161-A111-A43BDC8B0462%7D&siteid=yhoof
Insider Trading Hasn't Affect Microsoft Stock - Yet
,----[ Quote ]
| MarketWatch.com reports that Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's
| Entertainment and Devices division, sold $6.2 million of Microsoft
| stock just prior to announcing that Microsoft was going to have to
| extend XBox 360 warranties to three years because of extensive
| failures. The filings note that this was not part of any
| scheduled diversification or selling program; this was a
| conscious, unscheduled sale by the guy in charge of releasing
| news that could affect the value of Microsoft stock.
|
| [...]
|
| Insider trading is a very serious violation of the law; just
| ask Martha Stewart, who served five months in prison for
| avoiding losses of $43,000 through trades that just had suspicious
| timing (no insider trading was actually proven). This is $6.3
| million that went straight into Robbie Bach's pocket.
`----
http://biz.yahoo.com/seekingalpha/070713/40947_id.html?.v=1
Evidence of Microsoft Influencing OOXML Votes in Nordic States
,----[ Quote ]
| "This is how a standard is bought," Bosson wrote later. "I left the meeting
| in protest - pissed off."
`----
http://www.betanews.com/article/Evidence_of_Microsoft_Influencing_OOXML_Votes_in_Nordic_States/1188335569
,----[ Quote ]
| So, even as Microsoft claims superior quality over Linux, they act as if they
| don't even buy their own FUD. If they really believed that Windows was
| superior to Linux, they wouldn't have to bribe people with “marketing help”
| to get them to choose Windows.
`----
http://www.linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2007-11-09-030-26-OP-MD-MS
[Mandriva CEO:] An open letter to Steve Ballmer
,----[ Quote ]
| Wow! I’m impressed, Steve! What have you done for these guys to change their
| mind like this? It’s pretty clear to me, and it will be clear to everyone.
| How do you call what you just did Steve, in the place where you live? In my
| place, they give it various names, I’m sure you know them.
|
| Hey Steve, how do you feel looking at yourself in the mirror in the morning?
|
| Of course, I will keep fighting this one and the next one, and the next one.
| You have the money, the power, and maybe we have a different sense of ethics
| you and I, but I believe that hard work, good technology and ethics can win
| too.
`----
http://blog.mandriva.com/2007/10/31/an-open-letter-to-steve-ballmer/
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