From dhenwood at panix.com Tue Mar 16 08:59:47 1999
There have always been takeovers, but the corporate practice of
buying your own stock to boost its price is relatively new.
And of course it's not just to boost the stock; it's often required to cover options you've given your employees. Microsoft and Intel are two prime examples of companies whose dealings in their own stock dominate the market, especially in the options markets.
By the way, this shrinkage in publically traded stock is my biggest technical indicator for medium-term directionality of the market: up.
/jordan