In article
<linuxlovesosx-B4F6F8.12475318112007@mpls-nnrp-05.inet.qwest.net>,
Oxford <linuxlovesosx@superart.com> wrote:

> David Friedman <ddfr@daviddfriedman.nopsam.com> wrote:
>
> > > Apple is wealthier than Google by quite a wide margin.
> >
> > In terms of cash, about 40% wealthier, comparing Google in March to
> > Apple currently. I'm not sure if that's what you mean by a wide margin.
>
> 40% in terms of a football game or baseball score is a wide margin. for
> a loan, it's the difference of yes or no.

Except that both companies have more cash than anyone is likely to pay
for what is going to be up for auction. So the real question isn't how
much they have but how much they are willing to offer.

And that's aside from the fact that they can go out on the capital
market and borrow more. The difference between their cash holdings, as
of the figures I quoted, is something like two percent of the market cap
of either firm, so negligable compared to what they could raise if they
wished.

....

> > > Banks don't look kindly on such ".com" bubbles, so Google is in a much
> > > weaker position than Apple to bid on the upcoming spectrum sale.
> >
> > The price of Google's stock provides evidence of their ability to raise
> > capital--they could, after all, issue some more of it.
>
> yes, but banks will also look at Yahoo, Excite, pets.com, eToys.com,
> etc. there is far more risk with Google than Apple since Google isn't
> anything more than a web site, Apple actually builds products, sells
> them and has a much more loyal following.

I'm not sure how long you have been following Apple's stock, but
building products and selling them has its own quite substantial risks,
as its history will demonstrate.

--
http://www.daviddfriedman.com/ http://daviddfriedman.blogspot.com/
Author of _Harald_, a fantasy without magic.
Published by Baen, in bookstores now