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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (27320)	6/30/1999 2:52:00 PM
From: steve susko	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

what do you think the next major resistance is for SPU? 1364 solidly broken.

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (27320)	6/30/1999 3:03:00 PM
From: Judy	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 50167

Ike, a neutral bias is positive for this rally ... but excellent for stocks with accelerating earnings growth potential. The fundies will be scratching their heads figuring what more to buy in the next few days.

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (27320)	7/1/1999 3:46:00 AM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Respond to of 50167

Gains Seen for Both Sides in AltaVista Deal Technology: Compaq sheds distraction and gets a range of Internet stakes, while CMGI plans a new portal. By JOSEPH MENN, Times Staff Writer Compaq Computer's $2.3-billion sale of 83% of its AltaVista Internet search engine to CMGI Inc. on Tuesday allows the struggling computer maker to shed a distracting and money-losing unit and concentrate on its core PC and server businesses. The sale would allow acting Chief Executive Ben Rosen to focus on finding a new CEO and help Compaq reshape itself as a one-stop hardware and software vendor to businesses. "It makes sense for Compaq to make such a move, because management doesn't have the bandwidth to give AltaVista the proper attention," said Hambrecht & Quist analyst Walter Winnitzki. "They have some bigger issues they have to solve." Houston-based Compaq, the world's largest maker of personal computers, would keep the rest of AltaVista and become the largest outside shareholder in CMGI, which has a variety of Internet holdings in various stages of development. The deal requires shareholder and regulatory approval. In a conference call with securities analysts and journalists Tuesday, Rosen maintained that the move will not hurt Compaq's quest to become a leading provider of Internet expertise. "We did not sell our Internet assets," he said, touting Compaq's investment in and technology alliance with CMGI. "We found it made much more sense to have a share in a much broader range" of Internet companies. Analysts said the move is clearly a good one for Compaq, which has little experience managing Internet assets and which, on paper at least, recovers about a quarter of what it paid for AltaVista's parent, Digital Equipment Corp., last year. In the deal finalized Monday night, Compaq would receive a stake in CMGI worth $2.1 billion at Monday's closing price. CMGI would also pay Compaq $220 million in cash over three years. Analysts suggested Tuesday that AltaVista is likely to do better under CMGI's Internet-savvy management than it has as part of Compaq. "Compaq has essentially let this asset flounder for the better part of a year and a half," said analyst Patrick Keane of Jupiter Communications. Compaq rose $1.06 to $23.38 on the NYSE, up from a 52-week low of $20 earlier this month, amid a rally in technology shares. Compaq stock peaked at $51.25 in January, before it revealed that sales and earnings would fall short of projections. The company has been losing money as it tries to fend off more efficient competitors who sell directly to customers instead of through retailers. Falling PC prices have made matters worse. For CMGI, the deal represents an opportunity to link its welter of Internet marketing and e-commerce businesses to a powerful and well-known, if under-marketed, search site. Although AltaVista registers 1.5 billion page views monthly and ranks among the top 10 Web sites in terms of visits, its popularity falls far behind that of Yahoo, Excite and Microsoft's MSN. CMGI Chief Executive David Wetherell said his Andover, Mass.-based company will integrate its stock chat service Raging Bull and other holdings into AltaVista's engine for finding Web sites. The resulting portal would be displayed as the home page for Compaq's popular Presario PCs for at least the next three years. CMGI already has a minority investment in rival search engine Lycos, raising the awkward prospect of competition between the two. CMGI executives declined to say if the firm intends to sell its Lycos holdings. For CMGI, the acquisition of a majority stake in AltaVista averts its reclassification as a stock mutual fund for tax and regulatory purposes. Many of the company's holdings are minority interests in other firms. CMGI shares surged $12.63 to $110.31 on Nasdaq. CMGI executives acknowledged that the deals it made with Compaq aren't exclusive and it can't mandate that the companies it only partially owns do business with the computer maker. "There has to be good business sense," said CMGI Executive Vice President Andy Hajducky. "But as a result of this transaction, it's going to be a lot easier working with Compaq in new and different areas." Compaq veteran Rod Schrock would remain in charge of Palo Alto-based AltaVista, its related retail site, Shopping.com, and Zip2, which develops local Web sites for media and other companies. Analysts and rival portals said it is far from clear that consumers will flock to another all-in-one site, since Yahoo, Excite and others already crowd that space. "As people become smarter, I look for more bookmarks and vertical portals" focused on particular interest groups or industries, said analyst Keane. "It's becoming Coke versus Pepsi." Compaq's acquisition of CMGI shares may enable it to benefit from the boom in Internet stocks. Compaq can begin selling CMGI shares in one year and is free to sell its entire stake in two. CMGI hopes investors will still be wild for AltaVista later this year, when it plans to sell shares to the public. The search engine has revenue of less than $200 million annually but would be marketed as part of a $100-million joint CMGI-Compaq campaign. "CMGI is positioned to be able to do a lot with AltaVista," Keane said. "It's kind of the black sheep of the herd, but it has good traffic. You always have to roll the dice in this space."

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (27320)	7/7/1999 9:28:00 AM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Respond to of 50167

Lot of people are interested in Drug sector.. I think this is a great interview.. this sector will take off irrespective of market direction.. New Drugs PFE, SGP, AHP among Pharmaceutical BUYs July 7, 1999 Gruntal & Co.'s David Saks shares his thoughts on pharmaceuticals. Read the transcript from the June 29 live event held on AOL's MarketTalk, hosted by Sage, via keyword: AOL Live. Sage is proud to introduce Mr. David Saks, Managing Director of Gruntal & Co., and Gruntal's senior pharmaceuticals analyst. Thanks for joining us today, David. Do you have anything to say before the questions start? DAVID SAKS: Yes. The pharmaceutical industry is poised to deliver great new pharmaceutical products and record earnings. It should offer investors above-average appreciation over the next three to five years — better than the overall stock market, in my judgment. Q: How big of a threat to major pharmaceutical companies is President Clinton's Medicare drug proposal? SAKS: President Clinton's proposals are only proposals, and for the past 20 years the industry has experienced growth every year with increased regulation. I see more growth, more demand, and very little chance, in my judgment, of government interference. Those concerns have been there a long time and never slowed growth. In fact, government assistance has produced more new drugs, more growth, and greater shareholder wealth. There is nothing to fear, in my judgment. Q: Given the considerable drop in the price of Pfizer Inc. (PFE), do you consider it a BUY? SAKS: We consider Pfizer a standout top-choice BUY as the company is poised to have one of the best lineups of new products launched and of new products with blockbuster potential in the pipeline. The company also has a global opportunity to remain at the top of industry growth. The upcoming three-for-one split will bring the share price to more affordable levels and represents an especially great opportunity now that the stock has backed away from its all time high. We expect Pfizer to report all-time-record earnings this year and into the next several years. Q: Do you have any opinion on Sepracor Inc. (SEPR), a drug company that works to improve existing drugs? Q: I was one of the first analysts on Wall Street to recognize Sepracor's potential. It is one of my favorite specialty drug companies. There are no earnings from new drugs today, but the company is poised for huge growth in earnings in 2001. The only company likely to have a better record in the same category is Andrx Corp. (ADRX), also a terrific specialty drug and drug technology company. Q: I'm frustrated with my Warner-Lambert Co. (WLA) shares and not making any money. Should I hold or sell? SAKS: I'm sorry for your frustration, but I think you should stay where you are. If anything, I would recommend buying more shares today, not selling the ones you already have, because Warner-Lambert is the fastest growing blue-chip drug company in the market. Q: What about biotech in general? SAKS: The average investor should avoid it. The segment is high risk and also high potential, and most people cannot tolerate the long time horizon and the very high risk that most biotech stocks carry. If you like biotech, we recommend Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP) and American Home Products (AHP). They have high biotech components yet blue-chip financial strength. Or buy Amgen (AMGN) and Biogen Inc. (BGEN), the leading companies in the field. Q: What are your short- and long-term views on Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY)? SAKS: Eli Lilly's outlook short and long term is outstanding. We see lots of new products, such as the drug for diabetes, Actos, and we see lots of opportunity for existing big drugs, such as Zyprexa for mental illness. Q: What are your thoughts on IVAX Corp. (IVX)? SAKS: IVAX is one of Gruntal's new featured BUY recommendations. So far as I know, I'm the only senior drug analyst on Wall Street who recommends the company. We see a major earnings turnaround at IVAX and a major new-product story in generics, in cancer and in asthma. Q: What do you think of Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK)? SAKS: Merck has the lowest price-to-earnings multiple of all the blue chip drug stocks, thus making Merck a favorite value drug stock. The company has lots of blockbuster new drugs, such as Vioxx for arthritis; however, it also has lots of patent-loss risk in the coming years. Q: Do you like Abbott Laboratories (ABT) short or long term? SAKS: I don't suggest Abbott for the high-growth investor in pharmaceuticals. The company has made a good new move by buying one of our favorite specialty companies, (ALZA). If investors want high growth, I suggest switching from Abbott and buying Pfizer, Warner-Lambert, or Schering-Plough. If you're ultraconservative, Abbott's fine. Q: Are there any large-cap pharmaceuticals that you would avoid? SAKS: I would not avoid large-cap pharmaceuticals because the future is so bright, but at their current levels, I do not recommend Glaxo Wellcome (GLX) or SmithKline Beecham (SBH). Q: What is your opinion on Amgen? SAKS: Amgen, the leading and highly regarded biotech company, faces fabulous earnings near term and a bigger-than-ever pipeline. I would be a buyer, and I think the stock is cheap. Q: Can Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) maintain earnings growth of 15% a year? SAKS: Johnson & Johnson has a track record of growth going back 110 years. I have great confidence that it will continue to have another five or ten years of upward earnings. Fifteen percent might be a stretch; growth will probably be closer to 13 - 14%. Johnson & Johnson would be my favorite stock for the growth investor who wants a security blanket of growth in healthcare and drugs. Q: Is Warner-Lambert stock a BUY, even with the well-reported problems surrounding diabetes drug Rezulin? SAKS: Yes, Warner-Lambert is an outstanding BUY idea. It is the fastest growing of the big drug companies and its recent acquisition of biotech firm Agouron makes Warner-Lambert even more attractive. In my opinion, the Rezulin problem has already been discounted in the share price. Q: What view do you have on SmithKline Beecham? SAKS: It is one of the great companies in the field. The recent sale of its non-drug operations brought in billions of dollars that can be redeployed in new areas. However, because it is British, non-U.S. based, it is subject to currency volatility that is difficult to predict. SAGE: Thanks for joining us today, David. Do you have a last word for investors? SAKS: Investors who look out into 2000 and beyond should invest heavily in a portfolio of big drug companies and smaller specialty drug companies, including some of those we've mentioned. The earnings of the entire industry of stocks is likely to continue to grow at the recent unparalleled rates because of the great need, yet to be fully appreciated, of an aging population, the excitement over new blockbuster drugs, and the global merging of the industry.