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Screwed By Association (10/17/02)
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Ahhh, unfounded rumor-- what would we ever do without it? Case in point: if we mention anything real and verifiable about Motorola these days, the viewing audience usually just wanders off all depressed, because it's either going to be about layoffs or plant closures, or possibly how the fastest G4 runs at less than 50% of Intel's clock speed ceiling. But if we dip into the wacky world of apocryphal hearsay, we can actually dig up a little pep without having to wade through another 48,000 pink slips or listen to Jon Rubinstein regale us with his sparkling explanation of the Megahertz Myth. Hallelujah!
So here's the latest dirt sticking to the walls about Motorola: as faithful viewer Michael Brendler pointed out, the Financial Times is reporting that European chipmaker ST Microelectronics is "in talks" to buy Motorola's entire semiconductor business. You may recall that when Motorola's chipmaking division lost $381 million in one quarter last year, analysts were pressuring the company to sell off the unit; Motorola originally said it wouldn't, but eventually admitted the possibility of a selloff unless the semiconductor folks could find a way to turn a profit within an undisclosed time period. So this rumored ST-Motorola deal isn't completely out of left field.
However, it's worth noting that, according to a Reuters article, ST Micro was quick to deny that it has any interest whatsoever in shelling out ten billion dollars for Motorola's semiconductor unit-- and wisely, too, since when investors got a whiff of just the possibility that ST was talking with Motorola about a potential deal, ST's stock dropped like a sock full of BBs. Imagine that: evidently the merest hint that a company might wind up working with Motorola's chipmaking unit is grounds for an immediate 8% stock price plunge. Here's hoping the Motorolans don't take it personally.
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SceneLink (3782)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 10/17/02 episode: October 17, 2002: Apple posts a quarterly loss, but the red ink is all due to investment "issues." Meanwhile, the company also drops the price of the entry-level iMac, and rumors are flying that Motorola might sell off its chipmaking business...
Other scenes from that episode: 3780: Hey, Black Ink Gets Boring (10/17/02) Ouch-- Apple posted its Q4 '02 earnings yesterday, and apparently CFO Fred Anderson had to reach for his red pen for a change. It seems the company managed to lose some $45 million over the course of the past three months, and since it's not under the cushions of the sofa in the lounge (they checked), apparently that cash is gone, gone, gone... 3781: It's All A Matter Of Timing (10/17/02) Hey, it's a day of the week that ends in "Y," and you all know what that means: Apple has gone and revised its iMac pricing again! Okay, so it's not exactly news; Steve Jobs changes the sticker price of various iMac models more often than he changes his socks (when he wears them)...
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