A dot-com silver lining?

Or are we just clutching at straws?

Not only is it the beginning of another week, it is also the beginning of a period of tentative optimism for dot-com entrepreneurialism, it seems. Covisint, the automotive B2B exchange set up by the world's biggest car manufacturers, today told us it will be in profit by the middle of next year and will IPO, providing things continue to go well. Find a higher-profile dot-com spin-off, we dare you. Earlier, secure email service provider Critical Path celebrated receiving just short of $100m in an uncharacteristic show of VC confidence. The money will be used to wipe out the company's debt and help it expand outside of the US. This is all very positive news and it underlines a ray of hope in the high-tech sector that we hope to see more of as the year comes to an end. However, a chink of sunlight can all too often pass, only to be replaced by dark storm clouds again. If we get more positive messages from BEA Systems, Energis and Vodafone tomorrow, then Telewest and Dell later this week, and from Alan Greenspan's address to the US Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, then maybe we can start to look forward to a festive season. But it's still wise to stay wrapped up warm for the winter. For related content see:
Dot-com secures $95m funding
http://www.silicon.com/a49071
The Daily Round-Up: spending high, Gates upbeat, a $100m IPO - is it 1999?
http://www.silicon.com/a49066
B2B player pledges profit and IPO
http://www.silicon.com/a49074