Years ago, from a back-row press seat at a Microsoft financial analyst meeting, I heard CEO Steve Balmer bellow that Microsoft would make software that “just works.” If memory serves, the much unloved Windows Vista was then the flavor of the month. In time it was succeeded by Windows 7, [continue reading . . . ]
For those of a certain age, the billboard remains etched in memory. It was April 1971. Boeing employment over the course of about three years had collapsed from more than 100,000 to fewer than 40,000 following cancellation of government funding for a supersonic transport and commercial orders for the then-shiny-new [continue reading . . . ]
Three questions that we’ll know the answers to before 2013 is over: 1. Will Steve Ballmer remain in the driver’s seat at Microsoft? He’s been responsible for day-to-day operations for more than 14 years and CEO for a nice round dozen years. During his tenure, Microsoft has missed the boat [continue reading . . . ]
Skip the pricey drink and buy the stock. If you had put $1,000 into Starbucks stock at the end of March 2009, a few days following the bottom of the current stock-market cycle, you would be sitting on a gain of roughly five to one. No one can know whether [continue reading . . . ]
I’ve been working on some new charts that I will present to U.S. Bank customers in Bellingham Tuesday. I’m on a panel for the bank’s 23rd annual economic outlook forum. I plan on saying what I have said in this space and on KUOW’s air: Amazon.com’s hiring and building sprees [continue reading . . . ]
Amazon.com is on a roll. Last Friday, it announced a blockbuster real-estate deal, the purchase of its South Lake Union campus for more than $1 billion. It unveiled late in summer plans for three high-rise office towers on the edge of downtown Seattle — a quick streetcar ride from its [continue reading . . . ]
Things on my mind as I prepare for my every-third-week appearance on KUOW‘s Weekday program Aug. 8: 1. Knight Capital Group (KCG). All investors ought to be concerned that a highly regarded Wall Street firm either didn’t have or (more likely) failed to hit the “kill switch” on an “algo” [continue reading . . . ]
If you live in the Seattle area, savor this time. It seems to me you and I live in a lush oasis of relative prosperity, surrounded by a grimy desert of gloomy economic news. There are no guarantees. Enjoy it while it lasts. Boeing is booming. Aerospace employment in Washington [continue reading . . . ]
The economic headlines are grim almost everywhere you look. An item on Page 1 of today’s Financial Times sums things up succinctly: Growth in the US is slowing, much of Europe is in recession, China’s growth outlook has weakened, the reform processes in India have stalled and other large emerging [continue reading . . . ]
Is it too late to buy Apple stock (symbol AAPL)? I don’t know. I do know that an Apple store I visited recently was swamped. People weren’t quite lined up on the sidewalk, but it was a close call. The store was crawling with potential customers. Every age group from [continue reading . . . ]
Is Microsoft CEO a Charlie Brown, tumbling embarrassingly into a heap as Lucy repeatedly snatches the football away at the last minute. Hedge-fund manager David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital, famous for spotting trouble early at Lehman Brothers Holdings, thanks so. Einhorn, whose fund owns 9 million Microsoft shares, told the [continue reading . . . ]
Facebook worth $76 billion, more than Boeing ($57.9 billion) or Ford ($57.8 billion)? LinkedIn, a Facebook for professionals, worth $3.3 billion, 200 times 2010 profit? Microsoft pays 400 times operating profit for Skype, where only a tiny minority of registered users pay anything. What’s wrong with this picture? Does this [continue reading . . . ]
