[Previous entry: "Partisanship, Primaries and Political Parties"]
01/19/2008: "The Worst Company on Earth"
AMD – the company that Capital District political leaders and economic developers have put their money on to lift the region to the ranks of Austin, Silicon Valley and North Carolina’s Research Triangle – was named the “Worst Company on Earth” Friday January 18 by Guy Adami, one of the expert traders on CNBC’s Fast Money. And if Adami is even close to being correct, what does that say about the decision of Andrew Cuomo to go to court on behalf of AMD accusing archrival Intel of “anticompetitive conduct”? While Cuomo is claiming that monopolistic practices, not better products at a lower cost is what has driven marketshare, Intel says denies any basis for the suit, arguing that it just mimics a still unresolved suit filed by AMD in 2005. As such, is it worth the risk to Cuomo’s reputation if he can’t make his case or does he believe merely filing the suit will be enough to help AMD?
Further what does Adami’s evaluation of AMD say about the judgment of those economic developers and state officials who bet heavily on AMD with taxpayer dollars? One might say that the Worst Company on Earth is just one man’s opinion, but it appears to be supported by the investment community which this year drove AMD’s stock under $7. While AMD is cutting its loses and its stock has risen from its lowest point, how much confidence can one have in a company that recently admitted overpaying when it spent $5.6 billion to purchase graphics chip maker ATI Technologies?
Senator Joe Bruno still wants us to believe that AMD will build that chip plant in Malta. But there’s just as good chance that it will never happen. The reason? Competition in the chip-making world is increasing with new entries trying to take market share away from market leaders. Is AMD nimble and smart enough to fight off those incursions? Not if you believe Adami. The worse thing that could happen to the Capital Region is for AMD to start on the plant and be unable to complete it. But when you’re backing the Worst Company on Earth that scenario also has to be considered.