Tech stocks retreat as European Commission fines Microsoft

“Technology stocks headed into the red Wednesday, with Microsoft Corp. leading the retreat after the European Commission fined the No. 1 software maker for failing to adhere to an antitrust ruling,” Rex Crum reports for MarketWatch.

“Microsoft (MSFT : 22.66, -0.44, -1.9% ) fell after the EC fined the company $357 million, saying it didn’t obey the stipulations of a 2004 antitrust order,” Crum reports.

“The EC said Microsoft hasn’t lived up to an agreement to provide its rivals with technical information that would enable their software products to work more easily with Microsoft’s Windows operating system,” Crum reports. “The EC said it would begin fining Microsoft $3.82 million a day beginning July 31 if the company doesn’t comply with the agreement’s terms.”

Losses also came from Adobe Systems Inc., (ADBE : 28.55, -1.00, -3.4% ) Apple Computer Inc., (AAPL : 53.23, -2.42, -4.3% ) International Business Machines Corp., (IBM : 75.08, -1.39, -1.8% ) Hewlett-Packard Co., (HPQ : 31.73, -0.81, -2.5% ) Intel Corp. (INTC : 18.11, -0.56, -3.0% ) and Oracle Corp. (ORCL : 14.24, -0.30, -2.0% ).”

Full article here.

Related article:
Source: EU to raise future Microsoft fines to $3.8 million per day – July 10, 2006

17 Comments

  1. “Quick sell AAPL .. nobody is ever going to buy another iPod again, and Mac sales? What’s a Mac anyway? Didn’t Microsoft buy Mac? Or is it the iPod company that bought Apple? Oh, are Macs PCs now? Oh I dunno its all too complicated. I just heard that batteries in Macs run out after a year and with iPods now running Windows, Microsoft is set to steal the market. Errrr.. or something like that.

    Hell, I just know I need to sell AAPL because I heard its going to be a disaster for some reason.”

    ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”shut eye” style=”border:0;” /> The idiocy of Wall Street reigns supreme yet again.

  2. “The EC said it would begin fining Microsoft $3.82 million a day…”

    This would be the equivalent of the loose couch change in the NE wing of Gates Manor. Or the cost of Ballmer’s weekly back waxing session. Redmond’s towel budget?

  3. In other news, the EU announced that its budget was now able to support the 9-hour work week demanded by French workers. EU officials say that an expected influx of money into its coffers later this month has allowed it to…

  4. WALL STREET AND THE GAME

    Wall St. has the game on – big time.

    While some analysts are playing the “sell AAPL” and delivering unfounded earnings warnings, they are playing the market like a fiddle.

    1. Tell the market to dump AAPL.
    2. Buy AAPL while they are telling the market to dump it.

    It is nice to see that at least some at MDN get the game, and are doubling up, or getting into the stock for their first time.

  5. gorsh:

    Hey numbnuts…. the EU’s budget is bigger than the US budget: $12.85 trillion compared to $12.45 trillion.

    My suggestion to you is, try thinking before speaking, that way you don’t look a complete moron… like you do now.

  6. You know, sometimes I wonder about Analysts. Sometimes I don’t think they can see the big picture. Also, I think too many are technophobes. How can it be that absolutely EVERYTHING is tied to M$? If you decide to sell out your tech stocks because Bill takes a hit, YOU ARE A MORON.

    People complain about volatile markets but can’t figure out that volatility is directly related to stupid investment decisions suggested by Wallstreet. Short-term traders are another issue that causes volatility.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.