[ Thanks to Robert
McMillan for this link. ]
“Stock-price watching is fast replacing baseball as the
American national pastime, but years before cab drivers and fry
cooks were discussing the Nasdaq, computer geeks had their eyes
locked in on the stock of their favorite companies. This is
how it happens: Every so often, some geek becomes an amateur
investment advisor and tells his fellow geeks that the best way to
support their favorite company, in good times or bad, is to buy
stock in Company X. This is why any decent Macintosh site will tell
you how AAPL did today….”
“Yes, it’s true, on some levels stock price does matter to a
company’s well-being. Generally speaking, a company with a hot
stock has more financial options and greater flexibility than a
company with its ticker in the toilet. And yes, the fate of a
company or group of companies can have a personal and professional
impact on its customers and adherents.”
“But unless you plan to acquire enough stock to plop yourself on
the board of directors, don’t waste your time investing in stock to
support technology. Remember, on any given day a massive financial
institution could buy up millions upon millions of dollars worth of
a stock to put in a mutual fund or pension plan. And yes, such
major trades cause short-term spikes or dips. But the long-term
meaning of stock value is set by just that-the long-term. Trying to
jigger a stock price is a losing proposition unless you’re backed
by Gordon Gekko. If you don’t believe me, consider a sad tale from
not so long ago.”