Rate rise threat to dot.coms

By David Whitely Swiss private bank Pictet & Cie has warned that the rise in internet stocks has parallels with the biotech bubble of the mid-1990s and the Japanese real estate boom of the 1980s. Edgar van Tuyll, chief strategist, said that the rise of internet and new economy stocks could not be explained by conventional methods such as expected earnings or interest rate levels. In 1997 the Datastream Internet Index rose some 171.8% in dollar terms, climbing a further 470.4% in 1998 before posting a 161.3% return last year. He added: "Internet-related stock prices have delivered the ...