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Pastimes : Things That Annoy Me -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Edwarda who wrote (3321)	8/31/1999 3:32:00 PM
From: Wigglesworth	Respond to of 4023

People who don't return phone calls!! Or Why only scums show up on Cramer's show!! On TheStreet.com's TV show that aired on Fox News last July 24 and 25, Robert Friedman, chief investment officer for the Mutual Series Funds listed Bank One (ONE:NYSE) as one of his three picks for the "Stock Drill" segment. Friedman called Bank One "the lowest cost producer of credit cards in the country," projecting the bank would have "about $4.50 of earnings for next year," with "about a third" coming from its credit card business, First USA. After a back-and-forth between Friedman and Jim Cramer about the difficulties of having online and traditional banking under the same roof, Herb Greenberg questioned Friedman's optimism, specifically as it pertained to the credit card business. ... "They have the cleanest book of credit cards in the country," Friedman replied. "But at the Mutual Series Funds, we do deal in bankruptcies and distressed securities, and that could offer a huge opportunity in the world out there, not from Bank One but from other credit card issuers, that have less quality to them." Oops. Last Wednesday, you'll recall, Bank One plummeted 22.6% after warning of a profit shortfall due mainly to problems in its credit card business. Friedman did not return multiple phone calls seeking comment today. I hope to catch up with him soon to ask about the Bank One meltdown, and about one of his other picks -- J.C. Penney (JCP:NYSE), which is down 16.7% since his appearance.