The Cisco Skid: Weak Stock Gums Up Networker's M&A Machine

Pessimism in the stock market is choking off Cisco Systems' (CSCO Quote) perpetual motion machine, the mergers-and-acquisition dynamo that it has driven to networking dominance.

Losing Steam Cisco's down year

Discouraging words out of CEO John Chambers this weekend at Davos, regarding the developing slowdown in the U.S. economy, sparked a 6% selloff in Cisco shares Monday. The market's reaction to Chambers' comments, which are strikingly similar to remarks he made three weeks ago at an investor conference, illustrates the queasiness investors increasingly feel about tech stocks. And with investors losing their faith in tech's blue-sky promises, Cisco investors face the prospect of the company's vital buying spree being curtailed. ...