9 www.taipanonline.com APRIL 2005 Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer feel like dancing. The
system debuted in Japan in mid December and to
this point has shipped around 1.2 million units.
Sony expects that number to increase to 1-2 million
per month for the spring and summer and 3 million
per month around the holidays. A MIPS match       OK, it’s time to get technical. MIPS Technologies
(MIPS:NASDAQ) makes both the CPU core and
Media Engine for the PSP. Both are 32-bit R4000
microprocessors that Sony claims will run at ten
times the speed of the PS2 CPU. The CPU core has 8
MB of eDRAM memory, while the Media Engine has
2 MB. Both are low power (1.2 V) processors,
extending the PSP’s battery life.       MIPS also provided the Emotion Engine Core, the
CPU for the PS2. When the PS2 launched to incredi- ble success in early 2000, MIPS stock hit an all-time
high of US$111.62 a share in a 20 month run from
US$9.62, a gain of 1,060%. It now trades for under
US$11.       For the last six months of 2004, MIPS’s revenues
rose 43% to US$30 million year-over-year. Expenses
fell 15% in that period. MIPS recorded net income of
US$6.67 million compared to a loss of US$5.3 million
the year before—a nice turnaround. Total assets rose
6% and liabilities declined 17% in the last six months.       Considering MIPS’s phoenix-like revival, its cen-
tral position in the PSP and the success it enjoyed
with the PS2, this is one stock that’s ready to move.
By mid April, when there are swarms of teenagers
walking heads-down, eyes glued to their PSP’s, you
won’t even have to say “I told you so”—you can just
point to your portfolio. Buy MIPS under US$11.50. n       Is the S&P maxed out?
Have we seen the
absolute top for the next
few months or even the
year? Or is America’s
broadest index and best
proxy for the market as
whole getting ready to
dumbfound the naysayers
yet again and put on a
major move?                                     One just can’t pose a
more salient question. Are the US econo-
my’s many, many endemic troubles—such
as years of inflationary central bank policies,
massive trade imbalances, outrageous
national debt and crushingly expensive
crude oil—finally getting some traction? The answer is almost, but not yet. Nuggets of gold in the High
Sierras       While we do see the first warning signs that
these issues will make broad gains difficult for those
who are arriving late to the party, there are still nuggets of profit to be extracted from this market.       Note on the accompanying chart that we are still
in rally mode on a monthly scale, with price working Next... Here comes 2005’s last hurrah The next 30 days will see the last broad rally. From here on
out, only the fast and the choosy will make money. Adam Lass 0% 23.6% 38.2% 50% 61.8% 1400 1200 1000 800 100% 2003 2004 2005 +200 0 -200 -400 0 -50 -100 MOMENTUM MACD-H FIBONACCI BLOW OFF TOP!