While most investors avoid Internet stocks like the plague, Wall Street Journal and CNBC correspondent Stephen Frank thinks the sector is worth a second look. In NetWorth, Frank sorts through the wreckage of the dot-com crash and offers a framework by which savvy investors can assess who the winners will be in the next few years. Frank's basic premise: the Internet is here to stay, and that every company will in some way soon be an Internet company. He begins the book with an insightful chapter on the merger of AOL and Time Warner, calling the new company "the paradigm of the new economy." Frank then examines all the categories of Internet stocks and the companies within, including consumer (Amazon.com, Yahoo!, E-Trade), business to business (Ariba, I2, DoubleClick), and infrastructure companies (Akamai, Oracle, VeriSign). In all, NetWorth is a useful overview of this downtrodden sector that should interest anyone with a long investing horizon and a contrarian point of view. --Harry C. Edwards
From Publishers Weekly
"The demise of so many dot-coms means a bit counterintuitively that for everyone who sat out the market's gravity-defying rise, the time to get involved may finally have arrived," declares Frank, the on-air Internet correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and CNBC. In guiding readers to solid ground in today's so-called new economy, he avoids rehashing some notable dot-com investing disasters, such as theStreet.com and ValueAmerica. Instead, Frank refreshingly advises readers to step back and take a broader look at how the Internet has transformed the economy and will continue to do so. With this big-picture perspective, he maintains, investors can safely diversify and take advantage of Internet-related businesses that are still booming. According to Frank, this means looking at large, diversified companies, rooted firmly in both the old and new economies, such as AOL Time Warner; consumer-oriented companies, like Yahoo! and eBay; B2B firms and other, more traditional companies that service the Internet economy, such as Gateway, Motorola and UPS. Given the dramatic downturn of the stock market this spring, Frank's well-reasoned approach is both cautious and optimistic. He offers very credible explanations for both the Internet's explosive growth as well as the poor stock performance of many companies. His advice "figure out your objectives... use common sense... do your homework" isn't new, but Frank's expertise in making the elusive nuances of investing is clear: not only are his suggestions sound, they can be readily understood by even novice investors.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
The recent failure of so many dot-com companies means either of two things: it presages a precipitous financial disaster, or it presents an exceptional investment opportunity. Frank writes a column, "Playing the Net," for the Wall Street Journal and is a CNBC commentator. He breaks down Internet-related companies into sectors to analyze investment potential. First, though, he makes the case for including Internet stocks in an investment portfolio. He argues that the Internet is "here to stay," that it is "for real," and that it is not too late to become an Internet investor. He provides an in-depth analysis of AOL Time Warner, suggesting that it "stands as a paradigm of the new kind of corporation the Internet makes possible." Frank then looks at consumer-oriented Internet companies, business-to-business companies, and infrastructure enterprises. He also identifies other companies that benefit from the Internet, such as chip makers, telecom providers, and package delivery services; and he identifies Internet mutual funds and start-up incubators as alternative investment possibilities. David Rouse
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
From Library Journal
Frank offers a guide for those still interested in investing in Internet stocks but who need more facts about particular companies and the industry as a whole before making a financial commitment to this volatile market. The on-air Internet correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and CNBC, Frank hopes to help readers "cut through the overstatement and hype that accompany so much of what is said about the Internet." Thus, he does not recommend specific securities but instead gives readers a "better grasp of key concepts and major players" so that they can make "smarter, better-informed investment decisions" on their own. He includes a brief history of the Internet and a guide to how it works; an examination of AOL Time Warner, a company that the author describes as a "paradigm" of the new corporation the Internet makes possible; and investment advice. Especially helpful are the snapshots of various Internet companies, from eBay to DoubleClick to Amazon.com. Offering a great deal of information for investors and for those who want to learn more about Internet companies, this timely book is especially recommended for public libraries, though college students may wish to consult it as well. Lucy Heckman St. John's Univ. Lib., Jamaica, NY
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
There's no doubt that the Internet has shaped and will continue to shape the stock market -- and the broader economy -- in the new millennium.
But while many investors have made fortunes on Internet-related stocks, racking up returns that would have been unthinkable a few years ago, countless others have lost their shirts amid the NASDAQ's frequent stomach-turning gyrations.
Finally, there's a voice of reason above all the confusion. In a clear, easy-to-read style, Stephen E. Frank -- known to millions of television viewers and newspaper readers as the Internet correspondent for The Wall Street Journal and CNBC -- explains what we need to know about investing in today's dot-com economy. Frank lays out a straightforward framework for understanding how the Internet works, how different business models stack up, and how to think about Internet stocks as part of a broader investment portfolio. He weighs in on the potential risks and rewards of each Internet subsector, and profiles a slew of dot-com companies, from obvious candidates like Amazon.com to transformed titans of the old economy, like United Parcel Service.
Above all, Frank urges investors to adopt a long-term approach -- to avoid despairing when the market is down or getting carried away when tech stocks soar. For anyone interested in developing sound investment strategies for the rewarding but turbulent Internet market, NetWorth is a trusted, indispensable adviser.