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Non-Tech : Bill Wexler's Dog Pound -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill Wexler who wrote (4714)	11/7/1999 3:35:00 AM
From: Bill Wexler	Read Replies (5) \| Respond to of 10293

More on MSFT. I have thought this over carefully, and I stand by my original conclusion. In fact, MSFT is now at the top of my must-buy list. 1) I believe the judge's decision will have little or no effect on MSFT's bottom line - where the real impetus for the stock price lies. 2) In my investor mindset, the only way I see this decision is simply as an acknowledgement by the U.S. government that MSFT is the most successful corporation on Earth. 3) Past anti-trust actions by the U.S. government have generated enormous shareholder value. 4) Even though I don't think MSFT will get broken up (I would mortgage the farm to buy the stock if it did), I do believe MSFT will be more inclined to spin off "Baby Bills" from this point forward. One way or another we are eventually going to get tracking stocks...count on it. 5) The histrionics and bashing from the small fry on message boards and the smiles and high-fives among Janet Reno's crew tell me that this is more of a PR victory, and should be seen as an extreme contrarian indicator. 6) In all the "analysis" I have seen from the media there is no mention of MSFT's changing business...specifically its investment of billions into communications infrastructure. 7) Contrary to popular belief, I think that a lot of institutions that have missed the boat are going to see this as an excellent buying opportunity. The message boards are crawling with Linux and Corel touts claiming Microsoft is dead. I am certain that the damage - if any - short term will be negligible. In fact, I think there is a possibility that the stock may actually close UP on Monday - maybe driven there by short covering and institutional buyers who will try to place bids underneath Friday's close. This is a spectacular buying opportunity. Ignore the noise and keep an eye on what really counts - the bottom line. I think the stock will trade significantly higher from here...but I'm betting on a much bigger - and now likelier - payoff - the eventual creation of "Baby Bills" or tracking stocks. There is a real chance for small investors who missed the ride from 1986 to the present to become wealthy off this amazing company - again! Do not miss it.

To: Bill Wexler who wrote (4714)	11/7/1999 7:41:00 PM
From: RockyBalboa	Respond to of 10293

The plot thickens: biz.yahoo.com Sunday November 7, 5:10 pm Eastern Time Senate probes Citigroup unit for dictator clients NEW YORK, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc.'s (NYSE:C - news)Co-Chairman John Reed, who is to go before U.S. senators investigating the bank's ties to international dictators this week, said that changes in the practice of determining whether monies were legally obtained may not have happened fast enough, Time magazine said in it's Nov. 8 issue. Looks like there are some out who want to take the market down by all means. And there is no answer about the huge block trades in C on Nov 4th. Thursday November 4, 2:36 pm Eastern Time FOCUS-Two huge blocks of Citigroup stock are traded (updates with second block trade, adds details) NEW YORK, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Two huge blocks of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - news) stock -- one of 18.27 million shares and another of 13.4 million shares -- changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. The trades had a combined value of about $1.7 billion. Neither the buyers nor the sellers were identified. Both trades were handled by Citigroup's Salomon Smith Barney securities arm, traders said. The 18.27-million-share block crossed at 10:35 a.m. EST (1535 GMT), at a price of 53-5/8 per share, the exchange said. The 13.4-million-share block crossed 17 minutes later at the same price, a trader said. A spokesman for Citigroup, the nation's biggest financial services company, declined to comment on the trades. According to traders, rumors cited three possible sellers: Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a long-time holder of Citigroup stock; billionaire investor Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRKa - news); and corporate insiders. A spokesman for Alwaleed in Dubai declined to comment. A Berkshire Hathaway spokeswoman said, ''We never discuss our holdings or business activity.'' Citigroup was up 7/8 at 53-3/4 in afternoon trade and was the most active issue on the New York Stock Exchange. More than 46 million shares had changed hands by 2 p.m. (1900 GMT), more than four times the stock's average daily trading volume. Citigroup, which has about 3.37 billion shares outstanding, said in a recent government filing that no one person owned more than 5 percent of its outstanding stock. Alwaleed, whose investments range from luxury hotels, broadcasting and computers to airlines and cars, is best known for buying Citicorp convertible bonds worth $600 million in 1991, when the bank faced difficulties. Last year Citicorp, whose profits have long since recovered, merged with Travelers Group to form the financial services powerhouse Citigroup. The company is expected to earn close to $10 billion this year.