Jul 27, 2001 : Public Web Hosts - Last Week in Review

📅 July 27, 2001 - It was a mixed week for the Nasdaq, as the tech-heavy index toyed with the sub-2000 level mid-week before finally pulling itself above the mark Thursday and Friday.
The Nasdaq picked up 6.11 points Friday to finish the week at 2029.07.
Strong sessions late in the week were helped by companies like Exodus Communications, who released their Q2 earnings late Thursday.
The Web hosting firm exceeded lowered expectations, causing shares in the company to pick up nine percent on Friday to close at $1.18.
"Exodus has delivered a solid quarter in a challenging economic environment,'' CEO Ellen M. Hancock said in a release.
There was also some big news from IBM on Friday - the tech giant unveiled 30 new Web-hosting services to meet growing market demand. The managed services range from programs to help small business customers get retail Web sites operating quickly, to new security and Linux offerings for larger hosting customers.
On Thursday, Web hosting company Globix reported their quarterly results, and the news was not good.
The company posted an EBITDA loss of $15.5 million, compared to $15.1 million for the same quarter last year.
Investors hammered the stock on the news. Shares in Globix lost more than 30 cents, and finished the week at $1.40.
Here's some good news for Canadian consumers awaiting ADSL service: on Wednesday, Canadian telecom Telus said that its original target completion date of 2005 for expansion of high-speed ADSL service will be reached two years ahead of schedule. The company said ADSL service will be available to over 95% of homes and workplaces in 38 specific communities by the end of 2003.
Speaking of high-speed service, European telco and hosting provider Ebone announced the extension of their 10 gigabit network to the United States Tuesday. Ebone, which owns Europe's largest and fastest optical broadband and IP network, built the connection over its own sub-sea fiber facilities. Ebone now hopes to reduce the company's monthly operating costs by approximately 1.2 million pounds, which should provide some financial relief for the company. Ebone had previously stressed that the high cost of leased transatlantic facilities had been putting serious pressure on the company's margins during the first half of the 2001 calendar and financial year.
And finally, broadband and hosting provider Level 3 Communications said Monday it has signed a new one-year agreement to provide co-location and IP services to Directv Broadband Inc., a nationwide provider of home broadband services.
Under the terms of the agreement, DIRECTV Broadband purchased Level 3's Center Colocation and CossRoads IP services in Seattle, and is now using both to serve its customers in multiple US markets.
As earnings season rolls along, it seems like only news of a disastrous scale will have any adverse effects on market direction. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues next week.