| 1. | ***Apple Stock Up -- Oracle Plots Hostile Takeover? |
| 2. | Mark Stahlman writes: "Stock up 10% on rumors of hostile takeover by Philips, Matsushita and Oracle. As wacky as it sounds, it's seems plausible to me. Larry is nuts enough to try a hostile move. He had board authorized talks last year to merge Oracle with Apple which fell apart." |
| 3. | I checked it out. Apple's price is up 3.625 (actually 9.3%) at 42.500 as of 1:48PM Eastern. The Reuters report quotes Apple and Oracle spokeswomen with no comment, but they aren't denying the truth of the InformationWeek report that caused the stock to jump. |
| 4. | On the other hand, from another Reuters report, a Philips spokesperson said: "How can I put it? It's nonsense, as far as Philips is concerned." |
| 5. | So -- Oracle and Apple aren't denying. Philips appears to be saying no. |
| 6. | Dave Winer |
| 7. | PS: Stay tuned. Another essay is in the works. |