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Technology Stocks : Dell Technologies Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lee who wrote (134664)	6/26/1999 11:34:00 AM
From: PAL	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

It'll be fun for sure and may provide some good buying opportunities to boot! Lee, I am in Mohan-san's camp. We are tired of buying opportunities. How about selling opportunities? Best regards Paul

To: Lee who wrote (134664)	6/28/1999 1:40:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

Clinton Says U.S. Budget Surpluses to Rise, Debt May Be Wiped Out by 2015 Hi Lee: Best news I heard all day. ============================== By Richard Keil and David Ward Clinton Says Surpluses to Rise, Debt May Be Wiped Out (Update3) (Adds comments from Rubin.) Washington, June 28 (Bloomberg) -- President Bill Clinton said the U.S. government will generate larger budget surpluses than earlier predicted in the next 15 years, clearing the way for the elimination of all publicly traded Treasury debt by 2015. ''This is a remarkable milestone'' that puts the government on a path to pay off $5.6 trillion in Treasury debt if the nation's longest peacetime expansion continues in the years ahead, Clinton said. Clinton's prediction that the surplus will rise to $142 billion in the fiscal year starting Oct. 1 -- and grow over the next decade and a half by $1 trillion more than the administration estimated only four months ago -- also opens the door to new spending programs or tax cuts. That's because next year's projected surplus, up from a projected $99 billion this fiscal year, will include a first-ever surplus when Social Security receipts aren't counted, Clinton said. It would also be a third year in a row that the government avoided a deficit in its unified budget, the first time that's happened since 1949. An estimate from the Office of Management and Budget that $5 billion will be left over after all Social Security commitments are made in fiscal 2000 -- and the prospect of more in future years -- offers cover for the president and congressional Republicans who want to spend a portion of the surplus on tax cuts or additional spending without violating their pledge to protect the Social Security system. Breathing Room A higher surplus would ''give the president and the Republicans a little breathing room on the budget this year,'' said James Glassman, senior economist at Chase Securities Inc. ''The pressure is to get the surplus up because there's so much at stake and there's so little to work with.'' Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin said the OMB's numbers are ''based on conservative and prudent projections,'' and ''the future is inherently uncertain.'' For that reason, the U.S. should ''commit surpluses to increasing national savings and fiscal discipline'' rather than adopt tax cuts that could have ''exploding costs in the later years,'' Rubin said at a White House briefing. U.S. bonds posted their biggest gains in more than a week on Clinton's plan to pay off the national debt, and on news that prices paid for goods and services weren't changed in May,showing inflation in check. The yield on the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond fell about 4 basis points to 6.11 percent. 9-Year Expansion The U.S. economy's economic expansion, now in its ninth year, contributed to a $70 billion surplus in fiscal 1998, the government's first in three decades. The new OMB estimates released today by Clinton boosted the fiscal 1999 surplus estimate to $99 billion from an earlier forecast of $79 billion. Next year's projected $142 billion surplus was also boosted from $117.3 billion anticipated earlier. ''In fact, improvements in the outlook since February have added $179 billion to the projected budget surplus over five years, half a trillion over 10 years and a trillion over 15 years,'' Clinton said. ''Fiscal discipline does bring real results.'' Clinton called on Congress to use the surplus to pay down the national debt and bolster the Social Security and Medicare systems. Clinton also proposed a new, $156 billion education trust fund for children, saying the money would go for expanded Head Start and health care programs. Partisan Split Republicans and Democrats in Congress have competing ideas. Republican leaders want to use a portion of the surplus to pay for tax cuts, including a cut in the capital gains tax rate. Other Republicans and some moderate Democrats are backing a tax-cut package drafted by Republican Senator Paul Coverdell and Democratic Senator Robert Torricelli that would cut income taxes for more middle-income Americans by changing tax laws to allow more people to qualify for the lower 15 percent tax bracket. Asked today if he's open to tax cuts beyond those in his budget proposals, Clinton said he'll negotiate with legislators and gave no specifics. ''Within the framework of achieving these objectives, obviously I'll be working with the Congress to achieve them,'' Clinton said. The budget surplus currently includes all government tax and fee revenue, and since 1969 has also included all net revenue from Social Security. In order to provide funding to pay for President Lyndon Johnson's domestic spending priorities as well as the Vietnam war, Congress merged the Social Security and general revenue budget accounts in 1969. That provided an instant surplus because there's currently much more money coming in as Social Security taxes than is being paid out in benefits. Extending Social Security Social Security will start paying more in benefits than it takes in from taxes in 2014 as the baby boom generation begins retiring, however, unless the system is changed or taxes are cut. The system would run out of money after 2032 without changes. While the government still maintains a ''unified'' budget, congressional Republicans and Clinton have pledged not to spend any of the surplus from Social Security, which totals $137 billion next year, for tax cuts or additional spending. The Congressional Budget Office, which independently releases its own budget estimates that Congress uses in its tax and budget bills, will raise its surplus estimates on Thursday. CBO currently projects a $111 billion surplus for this fiscal year, and a $133 billion surplus for next year. ''Current trends suggest that the surplus is likely to be slightly higher than the current projection,'' CBO said in its monthly budget review released earlier this month.