March 3, 5pm EDT

A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains. But it is good to have HyperBrains too. HyperPumper has a hot date tomorrow, so don't expect the next diary entry until sunday night.

As HyperPumper lays down to sleep
Hyper prays that Mister Market will repeat
On Monday, Net investors will be so happy
and brick'n mortars will be all crappy.

Have a good weekend, boyz.

March 3, 4pm EDT

Why is DoubleClick up 16+% today? HyperPumper issues new opinion about the rapidly developing DoubleClick situation. Stay tune.

March 2, 8pm EDT

HyperPumper is writing this on the plane back to good ol' Kennedy Airport. It will be good to be home again after a night out in crazy California.

HyperPumper is looking at a copy of the San Francisco Chronicle; they provide it free to business class travelers on United Airlines. Free plug for UA.

What are those crazy Californians up to nowadays. A quick look at the business column. A headline about one of HyperPumper's little darlings! The headline reads:

A rolling stone gathers moss. Or was that no moss? What goes around, comes around for Rolling Stone.

The 'Stone made its name by chronicling the rock and roll party that grew up in San Francisco in the 1960s. When HyperPumper's mom was a young "chickie." (Hi Mom!) But Rolling Stone then forsook its hometown roots and moved to New York City in 1977.

Bagels and cream cheeze instead of milkshakes for breakfast.

Now that the Internet is revolutionizing the music industry, Rolling Stone's electronic arm is coming home . . .

To who?!

Get this. The magazine is staying put in its Manhattan offices, across from Radio City Music Hall. But its Web site, at www.rollingstone.com, has been acquired by a Silicon Valley upstart, Emusic.com.

E-M-U-S

Under the deal, which closed two weeks ago, Rolling Stone magazine retains ownership of the domain name. On the site, the magazine posts its extensive archives, its writers contribute breaking news, and a staff of five Web-only writers and editors post articles and review music.

Emusic owns the exclusive license to RollingsStone.com until 2010, with an option to renew it to 2015. Emusic gives the magazine company, which is still owned by founder Jann Wenner, an undisclosed set payment each quarter and keeps everything above that. Wenner also has an equity stake in Emusic.

The magazine had licensed out the main business of running the Web site to various Internet providers, most recently to a Chicago company called JamTV that later became Tunes.com. In the deal that closed two weeks ago, Emusic of Redwood City bought Tunes.com for about $140 big'uns.

HyperPumper issues the following opinion about this deal. A venerable media brand loved by HyperPumper's mom (that's Nasdaq:MOM) is teaming up with a young agressive teenage Internet company. Rolling Stone brings to the table a huge brand, an unbeatable brand. But the magazine needed training wheels online. This is a business in which the 'Stone needed some MOSS (as in eMUSic). RollingStone.com likes the huge MP3 library that Emusic brings and sees an opportunity to use its musical expertise to help Web surfers navigate the MP3 maze. ``There is so much material out there, it's chaos,'' said Larry Carlat, editor of RollingStone.com was quoted as saying in The Chronical. ``Who do you trust to filter these things? People do trust Rolling Stone.''

Emusic was established in January 1998 and is led by 24-year-old Gene Hoffman. Hoffman is a "young" 24 years; did you see him on "Business Unusual" with Jan Hopkins last week? He also may be the youngest CEO of a Nasdaq company. The unusual nature of a partnership between an established old media brand and a flashy technology company is underscored by the different routes Carlat and Hoffman took to their current posts. Hoffman, who attended the University of North Carolina, came from the geeky side of the business, having started a software firm. He moved to Silicon Valley when he sold his company to Pretty Good Privacy. He was a music fan who had managed bands and worked in radio, and he launched GoodNoise Corp. in 1998, later changing the name to Emusic.com.

Emusic has been agressively expanding through acquisitions; in addition to snapping up Tunes.com, it also has bought DownBeatJazz.com and the Internet Underground Music Archive, or IUMA.com. It says it's the leading seller of downloadable music, with direct relationships to post the digital MP3 formats of such artists as Elvis Costello, Phish, Tom Waits, B.B. King and They Might Be Giants.

In the past quarter, it reported, ending December 31, Emusic had revenue of $423,000, while its net losses were more than $14 million. Its stock, which peaked in June at $35 a share, this week hit its 52-week low. It closed yesterday at $5.59

Did somebody say bargain? Don't say HyperPumper didn't tell ya.

Good night, boyz. HyperPumper's stewardess says dinner is served!

March 1, 10pm PDT

HyperPumper is on a swing through california today and is looking out at the San Jose airport from HyperPumper's suite at the Holiday Inn. HyperPumper is sleepy, but HyperPumper just cannot get DoubleClick off his mind.

Kozmo.

Kozmo Cramer?

No, that's Kozmo as in "we plan to IPO" soon.

And Kozmo was playing the political expediency game today, telling the Wall Street Journal that the company wants out of the DoubleClick circle. The home-delivery site plans a relaunch next month and was planning to dump banner ads even before the DoubleClick controversy arose, CEO and Kozmo Founder Joe Park told the Journal. The brouhaha just confirmed the wisdom of that move, he said. Of course the move had nothing to do with reports that DoubleClick was siphoning the video-rental data of Kozmo customers.

AltaVista has also backed away from DoubleClick, according to the Wall Street Journal article. The CMGI-backed search engine, which is also planning to IPO soon, will switch to an opt-in model, meaning that DoubleClick will only be able to round up the stats of Web surfers who have OK'd the scrutiny.

Why is this bad? AltaVista is not dumping DCLK; it is merely choosing a special brand of DCLK. But AltaVista's public distancing is bad news for DoubleClick, which rakes in 20 percent of its revenues from the portal.

For its part, Kozmo hopes it's exchanging the nose-holding aroma of DoubleClick for the sweet smell of greenbacks. News.com identified unnamed sources as the basis for its report that Kozmo is about to file for an IPO. In November, online grocer Webvan made its debut at $15 and opened at $26. Webvan is now trading for less that $12, but hey - isn't it the opening-day pop that counts the most?

Bottom line: HyperPumper is holding DCLK. Long and strong. HyperPumper does not dump gorillas.

Feb 29, 6pm EDT

What to make of FreeMarkets, Inc. (Nasdaq: FMKT)? Ostensibly, FMKT is the world's leading business-to-business online auction marketplace. Is it a baby gorilla in a vast rain forest? Today announced its continued global expansion with the establishment of an office in New Delhi, India. That's halfaway around the world, Ed!

FreeMarkets' move into India is the latest in a series of global expansions the Company has made this year. In January, FreeMarkets moved its European operations to a larger facility in Brussels, Belgium, and announced the launch of operations in Asia with offices in both Singapore and Hong Kong.

Hmmmmm. HmmmmPumper.

Why does FMKT need an Indian branch? Surely, there are good Indian restaurants in Walnut Creek, CA. Through this new office, FreeMarkets will focus on enhancing its relationships with both India-based and other global suppliers, leveraging India's talent pool for continued development of its industry-leading auction technology, and expanding the FreeMarkets knowledge management function. The "Company" (as my more formal colleagues like to say) will also provide access to its online auction marketplace to industrial buyers based in India.

HyperPumper believes that the establishment of an Indian operations branch is further evidence of FMKT's continued investment in a global infrastructure to support the ever-growing number of clients we serve and suppliers who participate in our online auction marketplace. Glen Meakem, chairman and CEO of FreeMarkets, Inc. was quoted on the newsires saying ``A great deal of research is required to manage a high-quality database of suppliers. Providing these services at a low cost from India will enable us to significantly scale our business.''

Yeah. HyperPumper gives this a thumb and a half up.

Watch out for HyperPumper Capital Management's new March picks. HyperPumper will put these out as soon as he finishes his history assignment and cleans his room.

Feb 28, 3pm EDT

Is it just HyperPumper, or did everyone read The Gorilla Game?

We have a new emerging Gorilla on our hands, folks. Yes, they are all gorillas --- AOL, YHOO, CMRC, eBAY --- but today, HyperPumper is talking specifically about ... DoubleClick Inc. (NASDAQ:DCLK). DCLK is the industry's leading global Internet advertising solutions company, has added three more Web sites, including its first extreme sports site, to the Entertainment & Youth Select Network. DoubleClick's Select Network represents premium Web sites in an exclusive advertising sales and sponsorship relationship.

You can tell DCLK is the industry leader because lawyers sue them ahead of their competitors in the law suit wave.

You can tell Internet advertising is a healthly industry by the increasing number of ambulance chasing lawyers this industry is attracting the high priced attention of.

The three (that's one-two-three) Web sites joining DoubleClick's Entertainment & Youth Select Network include: Gravity Games (http://www.gravitygames.com), Movieline (http://www.movieline.com) and teen movieline (http://www.teenmovieline.com). These up and coming sites are owed by Kick (as in Kick Ass) Media, an innovative publisher of youth-oriented sites based on established offline media brands.

Gravity Games (www.gravitygames.com) is a joint venture of Kick Media, EMAP USA and NBC Sports. The site serves as an online extension of the Gravity Games winter and summer sports event broadcast on NBC. As well as being an event driven site, Gravity Games is an extreme sports destination with original content from EMAP USA's offline publications: Surfer, Snowborder, Powder, Dirt Rider, The Box, and Bike. Gravity Games capitalizes on a growing area of sports for younger men. The inaugural Gravity Games was held in the summer of 1999. The Winter Games are airing this month on NBC.

Movieline (www.movieline.com) is the leading provider of movie information. It's site features everything you want to know in and about the movie world, from box-office hits, reviews, to the buzz in Hollywood, film festival coverage, games, to recommendations and flops, and much more.

Teen(ie eenie minie moe) movieline (www.teenmovieline.com) is the newest addition for the teenage Internet community. The teenage online movie website, spun-off from MovieLine, focuses on teen trends, fashion styles, gossip, beauty tips, sneak-previews, surveys, quizzes, and games. It also features close-ups and interviews with young Hollywood actors.

HyperPumper believes these sites are a great addition for DoubleClick. They increase our reach and offer advertisers cutting-edge content in the Entertainment & Youth category. According to a recent CyberDialogue survey (everybody who is anybody reads this newsletter BTW), 70 percent of the content retrieved off the Web by U.S. online users is related to entertainment, and of that, sports and movies and TV content were the most popular. This represents an enormous opportunity for advertisers -- and for DoubleClick.

Now is the time to doubledip on DoubleClick.

The addition of these 3 sites further expands DoubleClick's Select Network, consisting of high-traffic sites, for which DoubleClick delivers and sells advertising online. These new sites include some of the Internet's most popular entertainment sites, covering a variety of interests, including extreme sports, teens and movies. Expand. Popular. Entertainment. These are the catch words HyperPumper wants to see and read.

HyperPumper's opinion is that DoubleClick is an industry leader with state-of-the-art technology and an excellent sales team. Being a part of DoubleClick's Entertainment & Youth Select Network not only boosts the client's ability to generate more revenue, but also allows us to develop sophisticated relationships with online advertisers.

Win win.

Feb 25, After the Bell.

Woooooooweeeee! What a monumental day for B2B! What an incredible catch for Commerce One!

Earlier this week, Commerce One Inc. (NasdaqNM:CMRC - news) -- the technology partner for GM's own network announced late last year -- struck separate deals with BellSouth Corp. (NYSE:BLS - news), Portugal Telecom SA (PTCO.IN) and Spanish utility Endesa (ELE.MC) to set up online supply networks.

Today, CMRC's auto partner, General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM - news), announced a triumverate three prong partnership with Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F - news) and DaimlerChrysler AG (NYSE:DCX - news) (DCXGn.DE). All three major auto dealers said today they planned to funnel their combined $240 billion in annual spending on supplies through a single Internet portal, creating the world's largest virtual market.

Detroit's traditional Big Three said the new unified network would be open to all their suppliers -- who themselves spend a combined $500 billion annually -- in addition to other automakers and their respective suppliers, partners and dealers around the world. The system would give the industry a powerful and efficient tool to buy and sell everything from hubcaps to paper clips, as well as collaborate on building automotive components. Later the network could be expanded for use by other industries. Hello VerticalNet (VERT)?!!

But this is not even the tip of the tulip. GM's Japanese partners -- Isuzu Motor Co. Ltd. (7202.T), Subaru (7270.T) and Suzuki Motor Corp. (7269.T) -- as well as Ford's Japanese affiliate, Mazda Motor Corp. (7261.T), are expected to join. Some other automakers will be offered equity stakes in the new ventures as an enticement to join, Kutner said. France's Renault SA (RENA.PA) and its Japanese partner Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (7201.T) said on Friday that they would participate in the online venture. A Renault spokeswoman declined to say if they were offered an equity stake.

Harold Kutner, group vice president in charge of GM's worldwide purchasing, was ecstatic. As quoted in the wire services, Mr. Kutner exclaimed ''We're going to create the world's biggest, fastest, largest exchange for transacting business that the Internet or probably other businesses have ever seen.'' The yet-to-be-named online supply network will cut costs substantially and potentially generate billions of dollars in transaction fees. It is similar to efforts by companies in the chemical, steel, financial services, and other industries, but on a far-larger scale.

HyperPumper believes this is the way industries are going to go. This is the wave of the near future. E-procurement is happening right in front of our eyeballs. Watch and thou shalt observe.

Ford's technology partner Oracle Corp. (NasdaqNM:ORCL - news) showing particular strength. FreeMarkets (Nasdaq:FMKT) suffered a small drop on light volume despite putting out a press release saying this has little impact on their prospects. FMKT is going after other industries, not the auto industry.

Feb 24, After the Bell.

HyperPumper finished an article about CMRC. Read it here.

********************

Feb 24, Before the Bell

AOL! CMRC! Yeah! These are must owns. No brainers. But at exciting times like this, HyperPumper likes to take a step back and think longer thoughts.

What is the NEXT STEP? (Besides splurging on a good wordprocessor, HyperPumper?)

What should HyperPumper buy NOW before it starts to run up like AOL or RNWK? What company will surprise on the upside like EGGS? What is the next CMRC??

HyperPumper is thinking today about poor downtrodden and ignored ATHM. Remember the number 2 portal? As it attempts to derive more value from its assets, Excite@Home is betting that loosely linked entities and separately valued ventures will serve it well, even as competitors such as America Online consolidate. This latest joint venture, the first of what HyperPumper predicts will be a long string for this company, could be seen as Excite@Home's bold first step into the emerging market for B2b business-focused Web destinations. The spin-off would become the third ticker symbol spawned by the five-year-old Internet company. Excite@Home also plans to introduce a tracking stock in August to separately value its media and content business--the assets that used to fall under Excite's unfolded umbrella.

Excite@Home execs in Redwood City, Calif maintains that their timing could not be better; they say their plans are a way for them to appropriately value an emerging jewel in the company's crown. Work.com should be a home run, not just one more base hit," a senior vice president proffered. The spin-off could provide greater focus for both the residential consumer and business halves of the company. Excite@Home currently caters largely to residential consumers via its high-speed Net access and Web portal properties; Work.com will operate separately and serve business customers, keeping the audiences distinct.

But this is not all. Excite@Home's business portal market is expected to take off. Blast off. 10-9-8-7-6-5-4... No kidding. The company's plans indicate that executives are assuming the stock market's bull run will continue to support new Net stocks, whether they are initial public offerings by start-ups or spin-offs from established companies. Excite@Home executives said they would rather have a large equity ownership position in a strong spin-off than have to internally develop a lesser-known business portal simply to keep the resulting revenue. Equity ownership by Dow Jones was a prerequisite for the partnership, they said.

What's the deal? When you have an equity position you treat it much differently than a commercial relationship. It's important that @Work subscribers gets more than (news) stories from Dow Jones. ATHMs needs their full corporate commitment. That you can't get from an arm's-length contract. This is the modern form of corporate marriage. Without equity rewards, powerful, large companies are reluctant to give away their business.

The combo of Excite's portal prowess and the top-notch news and information created by Dow Jones are a natural fit. Giving both companies an equity stake only creates a greater incentive to make Work.com a success, and the lack of a leader in the business portal market means the time to act is now.

Competition? Yahoo and MSFT have been letting users build small business portals on their sites. AOL also has taken steps to turn Netscape's Netcenter into a business portal. The online giant has mulled ways to tie together the browser and Web portal components of the firm--as well as Net access--as a separate product for businesses.

Because the majority of AOL's users log in at night, the Netcenter portal could attract more daytime users to its services. Late last year, Netcenter underwent a redesign in an effort to appeal to a market it calls the "business professional." AOL's pending acquisition of Time Warner could alter these efforts, however. AOL executives already have hinted that Netcenter could just as well become a hub for spotlighting Time Warner's Web content.

In any case, ATHM's DOW deal is a winner. HyperPumper gives it 2 thumbs up and HyperPumper is accumulating. Now!

********************

Feb 23, 2000 After the bell.

HyperPumper's Incredible edible EGGS!

Alert: Egghead.Com Q4 Revs $146.1 Mln Vs $100.9 Mln (NasdaqNM:EGGS)

Eggs may finally qualify for some attention. After recently signalling its quality by winning a private placement from a small I bank, EGGS is moving forward with a 45% revenues upside surprise.

Revenue for the fourth quarter of 1999 added up to a whopping $146.1 million, compared to combined revenues of just $100.9 million in the comparable quarter a year ago, or a 45% increase. Net loss before merger costs for the quarter was $38.9 million, or $1.05 per share on 37.1 million weighted average shares outstanding (both basic and diluted), compared to a net loss of $12.0 million or $0.36 per share in the comparable quarter a year ago. Jeff Bezos, Michael Dell, are you listening?! Slapping in the one-time merger costs, net loss for the quarter was $90.4 million or $2.43 per share on 37.1 million weighted average shares outstanding (both basic and diluted). For the whole annum, revenue was $514.8 million, a 44% increase over combined revenues of $356.5 million in 1998.

Egghead.com, Inc. Q4 1999 Quarterly Earnings Announcement conference call be be on the Internet. Be there or be square!

Keep on pumping.

********************

Feb 22, 2000

HyperPumper's Net portfolio did not do well today. Think long term. HyperPumper is still very bullish about the B2B auction sites and eyeball aggregators.

The patient approach may pay off. Money manager Ryan Jacob delayed a foray into hot business-to-business, or B2B, Internet stocks for valuation reasons. Recently he added two B2B stocks, Commerce One (CMRC:Nasdaq) and Chemdex (CMDX:Nasdaq), after they dropped to what he thought were bitchin prices. Jacob says he's comfortable with his portfolio and approach, and so is HyperPumper. Keep up the good work. The keey is patience. Think in terms of months and years, not days.

DCLK is probably down due to its impending placement of additional shares. Same thing happened last time, and the price bounced back strong after the placement.

EGGS earnings after the bell Feb 23.

HCM Top 5 Accumulate List
1. America Online (AOL)
2. @Home-Excite (ATHM)
3. Yahoo! (YHOO)
4. Charles Schwab (SCH)
5. Miscrosoft Corp. (MSFT)
(last update February 2000)
These are HyperPumper's informal thoughts during the trading day. HyperPumper uses this diary to keep HCM subscribers on HyperPumper's intimate thoughts. This page is so informal, it does not have any ads or even a BACK button. Hit the back arrow on your browser to go back to the HCM home page.

*************************************************************

LEGAL DISCLAIMER: HyperPumper is frequently long the same securities he recommends. HyperPumper is NEVER short ANY security. Shorting is too much trouble.

*************************************************************

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws