Microsoft Drags Apple Stock Down

Yesterday, Apple shares closed at $52.96, off $2.69, or 4.8 percent, on Nasdaq, their lowest since October 2005. This sudden drop has, unfortunately less to do with Apple and more to do with Microsoft.

The stocks of many technology companies dipped into the red yesterday, following Microsoft's lead. The cause was the European Commission fining Microsoft, the biggest software company, for failing to adhere to an antitrust ruling. The fine was $357 million, but the EC said if they don't obey the stipulations of the 2004 antitrust order, begin fining Microsoft $3.82 million a day beginning July 31.

Among other companies that saw their stock tank, were Adobe Systems Inc., Apple Computer Inc., International Business Machines Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., Intel Corp. and Oracle Corp.

This is not the first time that Microsoft has caused Apple's stock to go down, especially as of late. Many pundits and analysts have been going on about Microsoft's Zune portable player, and how it is an "iPod Killer" and a threat to Apple. Whether or not Microsoft's player is actually a threat to Apple's iPod remains to be seen. If Zune is anything like Vista, Apple could go on vacation for half a decade and still be number one.

Until Microsoft actually gets their product out the door and it actually turn out to be a product that can compete with Apple's own, any such talk of 'iPod Killers' is nothing more than a bomb threat that cause Apple's stock to go down.