Apple Sees Volatile Trade on PC-Price Rumors
Dow Jones Newswires</br></br>NEW YORK -- Rumors of a new, lower-priced Macintosh computer drove options traders to Apple Computer on the first day of trading this year.</br></br>Last week, two independent Web sites reported that Apple will introduce a Mac priced below $600 at the MacWorld Conference & Expo to be held in San Francisco next week. One site, Think Secret, predicted that Apple will launch a Mac priced at $499, sans monitor, on Jan. 11.</br></br>Industry observers say the product would be aimed at personal- computer users who want a second computer to use with their iPod, the hand-held digital-music player made by Apple.</br></br>Merrill Lynch analyst Steve Milunovich wrote in a note yesterday that Apple could sell a Mac without a monitor for less than $500 without hurting margins.