Excerpt from today's Wall Street Journal annotated summary:
Microsoft Delays Release of Office and Microsoft Manager to Join Google
- Summary: Microsoft announced that it would release the next version of Office at the end of this year instead of in October as planned. It blamed the delay on "product performance" issues. The product is now scheduled for broad delivery to customers in early 2007, potentially later than the January release of Vista. Both product releases will now miss the all-important holiday season. Separately, Vic Gundotra, a general manager responsible for encouraging software developers to use Microsoft platforms, will join Google next year. He joins other key Microsoft managers: "Kai-Fu Lee, who headed Microsoft's China business; Mark Lucovsky, a top engineer; and Adam Bosworth, a former general manager and software expert."
- Comment on related stocks/ETFs: The news flow from Microsoft and the sentiment on its stock (MSFT) can get worse. Value investors who bought MSFT aren't looking smart. This news will add to calls that CEO Steve Ballmer should be fired.
