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Amazon outlives prediction of demise

A year ago, analyst Ravi Suria made headlines when he predicted that Amazon would burn through its cash and go broke by the end of the first fiscal quarter of 2001. The online retail giant was spending too much, owed too much, and had too little in the bank--it was "under extremely high risk," said Suria, then a Lehman Brothers bond analyst.
Written by ZDNET Editors, Contributor
A year ago, analyst Ravi Suria made headlines when he predicted that Amazon would burn through its cash and go broke by the end of the first fiscal quarter of 2001.

The online retail giant was spending too much, owed too much, and had too little in the bank--it was "under extremely high risk," said Suria, then a Lehman Brothers bond analyst.

With the Internet bubble already losing air, Suria's report went off like a bomb. Amazon, which called the report "hogwash," saw its stock tumble 20 percent the day it was released. And it ignited an almost yearlong scrutiny of the company by analysts, investors and reporters alike.

Yet today, with scores of busted e-commerce companies fading into history, Amazon is still ringing up orders. Full story. --Greg Sandoval, Special to ZDNet News

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