USA Today -- Y2K worries easing on Wall Street
usatoday.com
[Calm before the storm, or wimpy storm coming?]
[...]
So with less than a month to go, many market watchers are dropping their guard and calling
for U.S. financial markets to sail easily into Y2K. The most surprising vote of confidence
came on Monday from Edward Yardeni, chief economist at Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown.
Yardeni was one of the first Wall Street analysts to warn of major disruptions if the world's
computers failed to recognize the year 2000 and instead read the date as 1900. Often ranked
among the nation's best economic forecasters, Yardeni accurately predicted the beginning of
the bull market's run in the early 1990s, but turned decidedly bearish in 1997, due largely to
his Y2K concerns.
Monday, Yardeni changed his tune -- slightly.
''As we enter the holiday season, I am feeling more optimistic and bullish about the future
beyond the Year 2000 problem,'' Yardeni said in a note to clients. ''I'm not on Prozac ... yet.
But as I said, I am getting into the holiday spirit.''
A day later, Yardeni said he still believes there's a 70% chance that Y2K will cause a
recession. But he lowered his odds on a severe recession to 35% from 40%.
[...] |
