LineOne for sale, tech stocks in crisis and the virtual wallet

NEWS LineOne, the fifth largest UK ISP, reportedly no longer features in either companies' long term strategy and it now joins Freeserve in the ISP shop window. The fact that the venture was deemed to be unprofitable hints at why the founders were no longer keen to persevere but also suggests buyers may be few and far between... The Independent reports that techMARK, the UK high tech stock index, has hit a low following continued investor unease in the sector. November represented the worst month of trading to date on the index with companies losing more than a quarter of their value over a bleak 30 day period. Persistent profit warnings have caused the freefall and the situation was compounded yesterday when Gateway followed suit with an announcement that its profits were likely to be down on expectations due to poor sales. This news in turn triggered a wave of investor retreat that saw shares in related companies Microsoft, Intel and IBM all fall... The Times takes a new angle on the continued woes of tech stocks with a gloating piece in this morning's edition welcoming old economy firms back to the fold of the FTSE 100. The return of the old guard - including Rolls Royce and Scottish & Newcastle - is a clear indication of how far the new economy has fallen from grace, but The Times talks in terms of 'revenge' - no doubt feeling the traditional firms have victoriously returned to overthrow the upstart stocks that usurped them so irreverently... However, amid all this economic uncertainty and investor insecurity those who still have some money left will now be able - should they ever feel the need - to email it around the world. The Guardian reports on a service to be launched next month by UK firm Earthport that will allow users, initially in Hong Kong to email a virtual wallet for no more than the cost of a stamp. The service is being pitched at Hong Kong's immigrant workforce who may wish to adopt the technology for sending money back to their families but Earthport plans to roll out the technology to other regions, including the UK in the future...