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To: upanddown who wrote (52174)	9/30/1999 11:08:00 AM
From: SliderOnTheBlack	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

Mavis "Woodward&Bernstein"-Scanlon - new EXPOSE ON FGI ...again ! well I'd be happy to furnish a link so that you inquiring minds can get more dirt: messages.yahoo.com messages.yahoo.com Can't post the entire article due to TSC's copyright request not to... but I "can" link to where it is posted entirely on Yahoo. ... and "I" did not post it on Yahoo I am not Mavis I am no longer short FGI - too much money upside elsewhere I have no real ax to grind with FGI I am highly entertained by the incredible emotional reaction by individual shareholders of FGI - it could be a Doctoral Thesis subject on Individual Investor behavior and their inability to accept logical reality into the face of emotional & financial pain... classic, sad, but classic...these guys have ridden this down $8 to $10; how many doubled down - only to get entirely wiped out via margin calls. FGI's blowoff has probably destoryed more individual investor capital than any stock in the 'patch of late. The absolute "blind loyalty" in riding this down is really sad. Even if you believe there is value here - christ; honor the tape and the technicals. Should have got the hell out at $13ish at the worst - and WAIT; make JL show the Street the money. Do what every single institutional investor will do: wait for 2-3 reporting qtrs and wait untill we see new orders and a growing backlog before jumping back on. Sadly' these guys won't learn a damn thing here. They'll go broke, thinking it was some Hedge Fund Short Selling Conspiracy... and they will never look to J&L and Co. and the shennanigans they've pulled here accountingwise per Mavis's piece... lemmings following each other off the cliff here. It's not a pretty sight to watch either... if the merger falls apart; where does FGI go from here ? And a bigger question than who shot JR, is - is "JL" short ? ...short; as in hedged short his inside position. - a "question" and not a statement there folks...

To: upanddown who wrote (52174)	9/30/1999 11:15:00 AM
From: RealMuLan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

For private use only. More Problems Upstage Friede Goldman's Merger With Halter Marine By Mavis Scanlon Staff Reporter 9/30/99 7:00 AM ET More disappointments are on the way for Friede Goldman (FGI:NYSE) investors as the company tries to close its merger with Halter Marine (HLX:AMEX). In a registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Monday, Friede discloses that it may take a third-quarter earnings charge stemming from its ongoing dispute with Norway's Ocean Rig over construction delays for two semisubmersible rigs. In addition, it's unlikely Friede will meet minimum man-hour requirements this year at its Canadian subsidiary. If so, Friede will have to pay the Canadian government a penalty of about $3.5 million on a pretax basis, the document says. Analysts say Friede may set up a reserve for this fine in the third quarter. Friede didn't return calls seeking comment. Separately, the SEC documents disclosed that Friede and Halter expect to save $15 million on a pro-forma basis (or as if the merger had already occurred) this year and another $15 million next year after they merge to form Friede Goldman Halter. Shareholder meetings to vote on the merger are set for Oct. 28. The possible charges would add to a year of frustration for Friede shareholders. Jackson, Miss.-based Friede, known for its rig-building and design prowess, has seen its backlog drop precipitously. One possible customer has been unable to secure financing for a rig-building project that would add another $143.5 million to Friede's backlog. Then there's the Ocean Rig dispute. Most recently, the company was forced to amend its acquisition agreement with Halter. Halter shareholders will now receive 0.57 shares of Friede stock in exchange for each Halter share. That ratio originally was 0.4614. And Friede's shares have plummeted 46% since May. Friede was trading at 10 3/4, up 3/8, Wednesday afternoon. The Canadian fine "is more important because that is surprising and out of the blue," says Poe Fratt, who follows Friede at A.G. Edwards in St. Louis. "The market should know about Ocean Rig and the possibility they'd have to take a charge to back out some of the profit and fixed-cost absorption. But the surprise is they have 1.2 million man-hours they might not be able to book up in Canada, and they are not getting enough work." When Friede purchased the facilities in Newfoundland in early 1998, it agreed to maintain a minimum of 1.2 million man-hours a year from 1998 through 2000. In exchange, the Canadian government sold Friede the shipyard for $1. At June 30, 459,000 man-hours had been booked. FGI may just pay a fine this year while pushing other projects into next year to meet that minimum, Fratt says. The fine works out to about 10 cents per share on an after-tax basis, he adds. Current First Call/Thomson Financial estimates see Friede earning 22 cents for the third quarter and $1.22 for the year. The Canadian fine is not a huge setback, Fratt points out, due to the bargain purchase price. It's simply "turned from a great deal to a so-so deal," he says. Fratt has a buy rating on the stock; A.G. Edwards hasn't participated in underwriting for Friede. More uncertain for Friede is the Ocean Rig dispute. It stems from construction delays, which Friede asserts were initiated by Ocean Rig. Ocean Rig claims it's Friede's fault. If the Ocean Rig dispute isn't resolved before FGI reports its earnings in late October, it would recognize as revenue only its direct costs associated with the two rigs it's building for Ocean Rig. It would charge off the fixed costs and related revenue it would typically place in the quarter under its percentage of completion accounting. It estimates these charges could be 20 cents to 30 cents per share on an after-tax basis. "Some [uncertainty] is reflected in the stock, but we really don't know how much," says Brent Rakers, who follows Friede at Morgan Keegan in Memphis, Tenn. "I don't think there's material upside until they get beyond all these things." Rakers rates FGI market perform; his firm hasn't performed underwriting for Friede. But Rakers also stresses the opportunity for the new company. It may actually have a whole new market in addition to rigs and boats, Rakers says. Floating, production, storage and offloading vessels allow for deep-water production in areas with little or no infrastructure. Although they're not permitted in the Gulf of Mexico, the rules may change over the next year or two.