Investing For Growth
Investing For Growth
by Robert Sheard (MF DowMan) LEXINGTON, Ky. (Apr. 30): Medtronic <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE:MDT)") else Response.Write("(NYSE:MDT)") end if %> heard what would appear to be troubling news today, but the market thought otherwise. Today, Guidant <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE:GDT)") else Response.Write("(NYSE:GDT)") end if %> surprised the medical device market by getting FDA approval six months earlier than expected for its new implantable defibrillator - Ventak Mini HC and Ventak Mini II. Morgan Stanley analyst Glenn Reicin claimed that the move put Guidant "two generations ahead of Medtronic." Yet Medtronic was up nearly 4% on the day!
In other Medtronic news, the company's Micro-Rel division in Tempe, Arizona announced its second major expansion and enhancement project in less than two years. The project adds 36,000 square feet to the facility where Micro-Rel manufactures circuits for pacemakers, defibrillators and other Medtronic devices.
Tellabs <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ:TLAB)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ:TLAB)") end if %> announced a new contract today. Telecom Eireann has chosen Tellabs' Martis DXX managed access and transport network system for a nationwide expansion of the DASSNET service network in Ireland. Martis DXX nodes will be installed at about 50 sites throughout Ireland and will be connected using SDH (synchronous digital hierarchy) transmission links. The entire network will be monitored and controlled using the Martis DXX network management system (NMS) at Telecom Eireann's management center in Dublin. Despite the announcement, Tellabs' stock slumped today.
And in typical Oracle <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ:ORCL)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ:ORCL)") end if %> fashion, the software maker announced a series of new launches and agreements all on the same day, and all in language that makes me realize why I was a liberal arts major in college.
First up, Oracle's Applications & Services unit management predicts no slowdown for the unit's tremendous recent revenue growth. "We don't see anything slowing that down," said Robert Shaw, senior vice president of Applications & Services in an interview after speaking to the Hambrecht & Quist Technology Conference. The unit's third-quarter sales were $168 million. Because of the applications unit's phenomenal growth, Oracle plans to expand the unit's staff by 50 percent in the near future, Shaw said, from 6,000 people currently.
Oracle also announced today immediate availability of Oracle WebServer 2.0 for 60-day free trials via the company's public Web site (www.oracle.com). "Oracle WebServer 2.0 is the first scalable Web application platform to offer advanced security and native connections to corporate databases, allowing users to easily access and publish dynamic data over corporate Intranets and public Web sites."
Oracle also announced general availability of Oracle PowerBrowser 1.0, "an easy-to-use, state-of-the-art Web navigation tool and development environment that has been designed from the ground up for corporate Intranets. Unlike current Internet browsers, Oracle PowerBrowser 1.0 is a powerful corporate-focused client that's based on a strong, extensible architecture. Incorporating several new and unique features, like programming wizards and a drag-and-drop personal Web server, Oracle PowerBrowser is the first browser designed for universal corporate data access and publishing. It is also the first to offer built-in BASIC programming in an Intranet client."
Did they really say "extensible"? Yep ... and believe it or not, it's a word! (I looked.)
At the Electronic Messaging Association Conference and Exposition here, Oracle made two more announcements. First, Oracle and ISOCOR today jointly announced "new X.400 connectivity solutions for Oracle Office and Oracle InterOffice messaging servers. The new X.400 Gateway will run with ISOCOR ISOPLEX message transfer agent. The integration will provide customers with connectivity and transparent interoperability via private and public messaging networks worldwide."
And second, Oracle announced beta availability of Oracle InterOffice, "the first scalable groupware product designed for the web. Oracle InterOffice provides electronic mail, calendaring and scheduling, threaded discussions, document management and workflow functionality from a standard web browser such as Oracle PowerBrowser or Netscape Navigator, a Windows 95 Oracle InterOffice client or any MAPI-compliant client."
Maybe it's just the old English teacher in me, but indiscriminately using one part of speech as a substitute for another always set my teeth on edge. I, for one, will not be "calendaring" anything, even if my software says I can! Have a great evening and go "impact" the world. Yikes!
Transmitted: 4/30/96 | ||||||||
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