"Microsoft: Next Stop, $40?"

--Eric Savitz in Barrons.com, 2007

Summary: Belated flagging of a known Microsoft pseudo-journal/journalist

FOR THOSE who think that this assessment is based on one single article, it's not. In fact, for several years I have been pointing out in several separate places that the Microsoft bias at Barron's and Motley Fool should be taken for granted already and the publications treated accordingly. It is hardly even concealed that Barron's and Eric Savitz in particular are known for their pro-Microsoft bias, which some other publications even complained about openly (e.g. The Street).

See for example:

i. Stop the Barron's Microsoft Series

That particular story about how Microsoft was still a growth stock was dated€ July 26, 2004. Between then and now, it bears mentioning, Microsoft's stock € price has been stuck in the mud, barely budging in a market that has flown€ to the heavens. € 

But a horrid call, even made twice, is forgivable. What got me was that somewhere else in my steel trap of a mind was the memory of yet a third big bullish profile in Barron's by Savitz about how Microsoft was, uh -- hey, you're really catching on here -- still a growth stock! That was titled "Pointing Up," from a bit over a year ago, April 3, 2006. €  € 

The Business Press Maven has a couple of concerns here. These articles appear written from the same template, without enough new information to merit such repetition, especially this latest one. € 

Stop the presses! A company stated publicly that it was still relevant! It is overkill, boosterism. Microsoft has a public relations department that takes care of that; it does not need outside help. € 

ii. Barron's Battle Goes Another Round

The contretemps between The Business Press Maven and Barron's turned a bit ugly in recent days, even degenerating into a Barron's reporter putting a hex on Alex Rodriguez as I headed toward what I hoped to be his 500th home run. The hex, I'm sorry to report, worked. € 

For those who may insist that we randomly pick on Eric Savitz, we recommend reading the following posts where we specifically mentioned Eric Savitz [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] (and Barron's too). We did not mention most of his writings, which are quite consistently pro-Microsoft, but we just never tackled this issue separately until he decided to attack GNU/Linux using spin and lies.

Two readers have just independently written to us to warn that Eric Savitz is at it again. Calling it "yet more Google FUD," one reader writes: "you should collect these into an article for BN." Only 25 minutes apart, another reader contacts us to say "I wonder how much Microsoft paid this guy," who concludes with a folksy statement: "The boys in Redmond are holding the better hand."

“Two readers have just independently written to us to warn that Eric Savitz is at it again.”"Among his more outrageous claims," claims the latter reader: "Windows 7 is well-reviewed. Ha! Virtually everything else he says shows massive bias. Barron's could do better."

Beneath the PR it is clearly visible that Vista 7 is the real Mojave. It is a marketing bubble boosted by bribed bloggers and Windows enthusiasts who can't help waiting for Vista 7 to reach store shelves. Critics of Vista 7 come under attacks. As for Microsoft's simultaneous attacks on Google and GNU/Linux, we anticipated and wrote about this just a few hours ago. We gave more examples yesterday.

When Microsoft constantly attacks something using its pseudo-journalists/analysts, then we know that Google is on the right track. Fear rationalises aggression. ⬆

"Every time you use Google, you're using a machine running the Linux kernel."

--Chris DiBona, Google

PS - It seems like a good opportunity to make an Ogg out of the following video, which we mentioned here after Moody's had given Microsoft (MSFT) debt a high rating. Welcome to FraudStreet.