Gates: "Where are the computer science students" 4166

Straydog

After going through several annual financial reports, I've developed a quick rule of thumb on the state of the company.

If the report is thick and printed on glossy paper with a sizeable fraction (say, a quarter) of the pages devoted to saying nice things about itself, complete with buzzwords that jump out at the reader, the company's either in financial trouble or it's trying to hide something.

If it's printed on ordinary bond paper with no pictures or fancy cover, the company's nearly skint. Those reports that fall in between seem to indicate the company's in good shape and likely doesn't have much debt.

Then, of course, one has to read it. If, as I described earlier, it's hard to follow, then things might not be as the company claims they are.

It'll be interesting to see what happens in the trials of the Enron officials.

Many investors see a rapid rise in the price of a stock in a short space of time and figure it's worth buying. They don't check to see if the financial numbers make sense.

That's one way how companies like the one I referred to get their employees. They are dazzled by the possibility of quick riches and are willing to accept stock options in lieu of actual cash as payment.