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***Apple Stock Up -- Oracle Plots Hostile Takeover?
Mark Stahlman writes: "Stock up 10% on rumors of hostile takeover by Philips, Matsushita and Oracle. As wacky as it sounds, it's seems plausible to me. Larry is nuts enough to try a hostile move. He had board authorized talks last year to merge Oracle with Apple which fell apart."
I checked it out. Apple's price is up 3.625 (actually 9.3%) at 42.500 as of 1:48PM Eastern. The Reuters report quotes Apple and Oracle spokeswomen with no comment, but they aren't denying the truth of the InformationWeek report that caused the stock to jump.
On the other hand, from another Reuters report, a Philips spokesperson said: "How can I put it? It's nonsense, as far as Philips is concerned."
So -- Oracle and Apple aren't denying. Philips appears to be saying no.
Dave Winer
PS: Stay tuned. Another essay is in the works.