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To: Jenna who wrote (56876)	8/22/1999 10:22:00 PM
From: puborectalis	Respond to of 120523

Rate hike appears inevitable Bonds may be nearing peak By Elaine Garzarelli, CBS MarketWatch Last Update: 1:07 PM ET Aug 22, 1999 Also: columns & opinion NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- The stock market continued to move without much direction last week as participants focused on another rate hike. We believe there is not much doubt about a Fed tightening at the Federal Open Market Committee meeting next week (we believe there is an 80/20 chance of a 25 basis point increase). In fact, we would not be surprised to see another tightening after this one if the CIBCR leading inflation index registers another rise. What does all this tightening mean for the economy? Monetary policy operates with a long lag, so the effect of the June rate hike will not be clear until next spring. We believe that although there are mixed signs of a strong economy (i.e., housing demand), we see a pre-emptive rate hike as a curb on any future inflation and economic strength. Although a tightening creates some short-term uneasiness in the market, it is good for the long-term health of the economy, stock and bond markets. We believe the S&P 500 can reach 1,600 (and the Dow 12,400) within the next six to 12 months (a 20 percent gain from here). Bonds may be nearing peak Bond yields retraced some of their rise this week as we get closer to next week's FOMC meeting. As we mentioned before, since both the stock and bond markets are a discounting mechanism, we believe bonds have factored in another tightening and therefore may be peaking. The recent benign producer price index report and last week's market-friendly consumer price index allowed bond prices to sustain their rally. We believe it is possible to see more nervousness in the bond market as talk of another Fed tightening approaches (we believe this depends on the outcome of the CIBCR leading inflation index), however, we continue to recommend investors buy bonds as our bond model continues to predict a 10-year bond yield near 4.5 percent sometime in the next six to 12 months. Also see Bond Report. Elaine Garzarelli is a columnist for CBS MarketWatch. You can get more information at her Web site.

To: Jenna who wrote (56876)	8/22/1999 11:34:00 PM
From: Teri Garner	Respond to of 120523

Jenna, ZRAN is starting to remind me of SNDK when it was in the 50s & 60s. DVD's sales are continuing a nice ascent as witnessed by sales from outlets like Circuit City & Best Buy. And with X-mas coming, DVD sales are expected to soar as their popularity increases. This is giving ZRAN very nice momentum heading into the fall/winter season. In addition, DISNEY just announced that it will be putting their most popular animated films on DVD. ZRAN was recently upgraded by CE Unterburg and Salomon initiated coverage on Fri. **DISNEY going into DVDs: Tuesday August 17, 6:56 pm Eastern Time INTERVIEW - Disney debuts animated classics on DVD (adds quotes from unit chairman) By Deena Beasley LOS ANGELES, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co.'s (NYSE:DIS - news) home entertainment unit said on Tuesday it plans to offer, for a limited time, classic animated film titles like 'Pinocchio' on digital video disk (DVD). ''It's a market that's ready to bust loose,'' Richard Cook, chairman of Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, told Reuters. Buena Vista Home Entertainment said it will release nine popular Disney animated features on DVD over the next four months as part of a ''once-in-a-millennium celebration.'' ''We felt like the timing was right,'' Cook said. ''First, we are going into the holiday season, when a lot of DVD players will be sold. Also the process is similar to 1985, when we released 'Pinocchio' on tape.'' At that time, as now with DVD, consumers needed assurance that product would be available for the new entertainment medium, the Disney executive explained. Disney estimated that around 5 million households will have a set-top DVD player or a computer capable of playing DVDs by the end of the year. ''DVD is becoming a much, much bigger platform,'' Cook said. Each of the titles will be available for a limited 60-day time period. Some of the offerings will then be placed on moratorium for up to 10 years and some will stay on release, the company said. Going forward, Disney will release movies simultaneously on both DVD and videotape, Cook noted. ''Pinocchio,'' which was the studio's first animated classic to be released as a video in 1985, will debut on DVD on Oct. 26. Another three titles -- ''101 Dalmatians,'' ''Hercules'' and ''Mulan'' -- will be released Nov. 11. ''Lady and the Tramp,'' ''Peter Pan'' and ''Simba's Pride (''Lion King II'') will be released on Nov. 23. ''The Jungle Book'' and ''The Little Mermaid" will be available on DVD starting Dec. 7. The company noted that this year, ''A Bug's Life'' became the second-best-selling DVD title, behind ''Armageddon.''