MARKET TRENDS EASE Y2K WORRIES, SAYS U.S. CZAR
WASHINGTON, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Financial markets seem to reflect growing confidence that U.S. computer systems will glide through the Year 2000 challenge problem-free, President Bill Clinton's top Y2K trouble-shooter said on Monday.
"I think the markets are giving an indication that the basic infrastructure systems are going to function just fine in January," John Koskinen, chairman of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion, said in an interview with Reuters.
Koskinen referred to a scramble by U.S. companies, reflected in bond and credit markets, to boost cash by replacing shorter-term securities, which often must be refinanced every seven to 28 days, with securities maturing next year.
This move to dodge a possible year-end, Y2K-related lull in credit markets, he said, is the reverse of what many experts originally predicted ...
y2ktoday.com
LOL - And now, the rest of the story:
Y2K FEARS SEEP INTO WORLD MARKETS AT LAST
LONDON, Aug 17 (Reuters) - A slew of financial market distortions and anomalies in recent weeks have at last provided hard evidence that international investors are moving to price in the risks surrounding the Y2K problem.
Years of hand-wringing by pundits and politicians about millennium computer problems have until recently caused only slight and arcane moves in market prices.
But recent sharp increases in bond market credit spreads, a fresh seller in emerging markets and the gloomy interest rate horizon implied by short-term futures market have all been at least partly spurred by the Y2K effect, analysts said ...
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Y2K FEARS HAVE INVESTORS JUMPING FROM JUNK-BONDS
Wall Street Journal - Aug 23 - Section C
Investors are yanking money out of mutual funds that invest in high-yield, high-risk junk-bond funds, and many portfolio managers say year-2000 jitters could make life tough for them in the next few months ...
WORRIES OF THE YEAR-2000 BUG SPARK CORPORATE OFFERINGS
Wall Street Journal - Aug 23 - Section C
U.S. companies are scurrying to raise money, in part to sock away cash before any market disruptions caused by the Y2K computer bug. Or to be more precise, disruptions caused by fear of the Y2K bug.
Since May 1, $23.8 billion of initial public offerings have been completed, up from $14.7 billion in the same period last year, according to CommScan LLC, in part due to an impetus to go public ahead of potential year-2000 market problems ...
Says Geoffrey Coley, co-head of global capital markets at Salomon Smith Barney: "Y2K has been part of the calculus in virtually every decision by corporate issuers in the last three months." It's difficult to distinguish exactly how much of the rush is from Y2K-specific fears, of course. Also driving the capital-raising drive are fears of rising interest rates by the Federal Reserve, concern about a fourth quarter that has been difficult for bond investors for the past two years, and a desire to issue before summer vacation season peaks ...
wsj.com
Cheryl
130 Days until 2000
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