This resulted in the revenues and earnings associated with the ASP deals not being realized in the third quarter, as is the case for license sales, but instead recognizing these on a monthly basis over the life of each contract. The focus on profits has motivated some companies to manipulate their earnings reports, such as was tried by Microstrategy, in a manner that assists their stock price. The insiders are more able to decipher the earning statements and use them to benefit their own investment strategies. This is only one part of a process by which powerful market controllers regulate the flow of investments to their advantage. By a series of transactions the market controllers continually increase their wealth in a growing stock market.
Investment bankers nurture and develop companies as a parent preparing a child for a future career.
The IPO is the traditional method for making money in the stock market. In the last decade it has been the primary method. In the last years even the risk has been removed. IPO's issued by major investment houses have proceeded to market at inflated prices and then multiplied to prices that insured the IPO issuers would make substantial profits. Considering that many companies had little, or in some cases, no revenues, had their stocks escalate to high prices and then drop to almost nothing, the dotcom fever was more likely supported by inadequate advice than public exhuberance.