BALLMER SAYS `GOLD RUSH' MENTALITY INFLATES STOCKS.Byline: Martha Mendoza Associated Press The president of Microsoft Corp. warned Thursday that technology stocks are overvalued Overvalued A stock whose current price is not justified by the earnings outlook or price/earnings (P/E) ratio and thus, expected to drop in price. Overvaluation may result from an emotional buying spurt, which inflates the market price of the stock or from a deterioration in a , including those of his own company, in public remarks that helped accelerate a sharp selloff sell·off n. The sale or disposal of a relatively large number of stocks, bonds, or commodities that often causes a sharp decline in prices. Noun 1. on Wall Street. The Nasdaq composite index Nasdaq Composite Index An index that indicates price movements of securities in the over-the-counter market. It includes all domestic common stocks in the Nasdaq System (approximately 5,000 stocks) and is weighted according to the market value of each listed , which is dominated by technology bellwethers such as Microsoft and Dell Computer, fell 108.33 to 2,749.83, its fourth-biggest decline ever. Microsoft shares fell $4.875 to $91.1875 while Dell fell $3.0625 to $43. Microsoft president Steven Ballmer was speaking during a question-and-answer session at a conference of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers The Society of American Business Editors and Writers is an association of business journalists. Its headquarters is at the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri–Columbia. See also: Business journalism Source: Official site . When asked what story business writers are not covering these days, Ballmer said he doesn't think there's much emphasis on writing about the overvaluation o·ver·val·ue tr.v. o·ver·val·ued, o·ver·val·u·ing, o·ver·val·ues To assign too high a value to: overvalued the painting. of tech stocks in general. ``There is such an overvaluation of tech stocks that it's absurd,'' he said. ``I would put our company and I would put most companies in that category.'' Ballmer blamed a ``gold rush'' mentality for the stock rises, saying that the profits being earned by the tech companies don't justify the high prices. ``It's bad for the long-term health of the economy,'' he said. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion