usu was a suggestion of tom? or someone to you via icq. dividend was 67 quarterly on 500 shares i picked up at 4+.
here's one investools analyst take on current market:
Bernie Schaeffer screamed "buying opportunity of historic
proportions" at such market bottoms as October 1990, November
1994 and October 1998. But today is different: "I'm not buying
this 'bottom' scenario yet." He sees too much complacency in
the face of a 50% Nasdaq plunge, saying Wall Street analysts
and newsletter writers are as bullish as ever. Big techs are
"cheaper" but not "cheap," he says; examples include Cisco
(P/E 43x projected earnings, market cap $270 billion), EMC
(90x, $130 billion) and Oracle (60x, $165 billion).
Schaeffer just recommended buying puts on three well-known
tech stocks. One is IBM (IBM), the only major PC maker still
holding steady; competitors Gateway, Compaq and Dell have all
released earnings warnings. The stock lost 40% since September
2000, dropping shares below previous support Schaeffer saw at
90 and 82.
The contrarian Schaeffer also sees robust in-the-money put
open interest on Big Blue; 70% of this is above the stock's
current price. He notes that such put activity is often
institutional trading vs. speculative out-of-the-money
activity, which he calls "dumb money" and advises betting
against. "This combination of in-the-money put speculation,
negative news within the sector, and technical weakness
suggests further struggles for IBM," he says. In late December
2000, he advised buying the July 90 put (IBMSR).
For more on Bernie Schaeffer's advice see "Long-Term Options
Portfolio," January 2001, The Option Advisor. Bernie Schaeffer
provides practical option investing recommendations that are
simple to understand and execute.
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