Summary: Interview with a Microsoft executive and another Red Hat speculation from Jefferies

SOME weeks ago, the more reputable Australian press wrote about Novell's response to a question regarding Microsoft buying it. There was another recent article in the Australian press where the other company was talking about the very same subject. There is now yet another new article in the Australian press where one of Microsoft's biggest amongst chiefs is asked a similar question. His response following this question:

Does it make sense for Microsoft to buy a Linux company?

I don't think so at this point.

They don't rule it out, either. This may not mean much, but it is worth keeping track of.

In other related news, Katherine Egbert is once again playing with Red Hat (RHT) by spreading rumours, and subsequent speculations sure have an impact. For a little bit of background on her track record, see this post. Time after time she has always been wrong and every now and then she says things that damage Red Hat's position. First she said Oracle would hurt Red Hat (2006). Red Hat sank as a result at the time, but 3 years later we know that she was wrong.

More recently she said that Oracle would buy Red Hat. Well, Oracle bought Sun Microsystems.

So on she moves to another target, having already missed twice (at least). She even admitted her mistakes once or twice.

Now she says IBM will buy Red Hat. It's like the boy who cried "Wolf!", is it not? Here is some coverage which -- interestingly enough -- comes from Microsoft-friendly press for the most part (especially at the early stages):

● IBM To Buy Red Hat (Eventually), Jefferies Contends

At some point, IBM (IBM) is almost certainty going to buy Red Hat (RHT), according to Jefferies analyst Katherine Egbert.

● IBM Won't Buy Red Hat, but You Should

Barron's has gone a bridge too far this time. The venerable investing magazine this week calls Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) "a tempting target" for takeovers. Yeah, right after these pigs fly down to Miami for a snowball fight. Ain't gonna happen, folks.

● Red Hat 'inevitably' a target -- stock jumps 8%

● Is an IBM purchase of Red Hat inevitable?

● 'A Hot Hat' – Analysts add sizzle to Red Hat shares with more takeover talk. Will IBM buy?

Does that make much sense? Regardless, the source of the rumour/speculation is one that always gets it wrong on Red Hat. In theory, she could pump the stock for friends and colleagues with such rumours. For those who think this is not done, see this video of Dennis Kucinich versus fraudsters. There is also this in the news (fraud in the SEC itself): "CBS News has learned that two attorneys at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are under "active" criminal investigation by the FBI for trading stocks based on inside information." We wrote about the SEC's proven incompetence before (e.g. [1, 2, 3]). ⬆

“One of the questions I've always hated answering is how do people make money in open source. And I think that Caldera and Red Hat -- and there are a number of other Linux companies going public -- basically show that yes, you can actually make money in the open-source area.”

--Linus Torvalds