Merrill Postpones Arizona Net Conference

Merrill Lynch has postponed an Internet conference originally scheduled for December, saying it will instead take place this spring -- when, hopefully, Internet stocks will be stronger.

The conference, which was set to include presentations from companies in the new media and advertising, e-commerce, B2B, infrastructure software and wireless sectors, was to take place Dec. 10-13 at the posh Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix. The delayed version will be on the East Coast, Merrill says.

"December in Phoenix didn't work for investors," says Merrill spokeswoman Susan McCabe. "They've been bombarded with a lot of conferences lately." In addition, "Right now [the sector] is more of a defensive story, and in the spring it will be more of an offensive story."

She's not kidding about the defensive story bit. Among the 37 public companies first scheduled to present, all but three (Research in Motion (RIMM Quote), CheckFree (CKFR Quote) and EarthWeb (EWBX Quote)) have seen their shares decline over the past two months -- sometimes dramatically so. priceline.com's (PCLN Quote) shares have fallen 77%. Inktomi's (INKT Quote) are down 76%. Ariba's (ARBA Quote) have fallen 50%.

Earlier this month, TheStreet.com reported that Chase H&Q has canceled its annual ski fest/Internet stock conference called "planet.wall.street."