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To: John Hunt who wrote (45943)	12/13/1999 6:16:00 PM
From: re3	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 116764

meanwhile this guy says, what ? oil TO 50 bucks by y2k ? there's less than 3 business weeks...somehow i doubt it... you think ?

To: John Hunt who wrote (45943)	12/14/1999 7:25:00 AM
From: Alex	Respond to of 116764

Fed cash reserve bigger than planned Cites new $20 bills in its bid to stave off Y2K-related shortages By Ross Kerber, Globe Staff, 12/13/99 he Federal Reserve holds a bigger pile of cash than it had planned to stave off Y2K-related shortages - thanks to the introduction of crisp new $20 bills issued last year. Fewer twenties have been retired than usual this year because of the additional new currency that went into circulation in mid-1998, say officials at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. As a result, the central bank has been left with a cash reserve 'well above' the $200 billion it had planned to hold nationwide at the end of the year, said Paul Connolly, the Boston Fed's chief operating officer, in an interview last week. 'We've wound up with more cash than we thought' would be necessary to build consumer confidence against the software glitch known as Y2K, Connolly said. He declined to be more specific about the total amount of cash on hand. Connolly and the Boston Fed's president, Cathy Minehan, have taken a lead role in planning the response to the changeover to Jan. 1, 2000. These efforts include the printing of extra money and greater audit scrutiny, both to minimize technical glitches and to discourage hoarding, which itself could prove disruptive. With the date change less than three weeks away, these efforts seem to be paying off. Major banks including Fleet Boston Financial and Citizens Financial Group say they have seen no rise in demand for cash among consumers - or among businesses, for that matter. 'We've seen nothing unusual,' said Fleet spokesman Jim Schepker. The average cash withdrawal from ATMs has crept up to $80 in recent years, he said, but that seems to reflect attempts by consumers to avoid surcharges rather than fears of financial chaos. Technically, the problem stems from the convention of much older software to use just the last two digits of each year to indicate the date. Left unfixed, systems might misinterpret the new year and crash or shut down, leaving vulnerable everything from cash-management networks to traffic lights. To stave off problems, banks, utilities, hospitals, and other institutions have spent billions of dollars in recent years, and since June almost every major organization in New England has said it has met fix-it deadlines. Last week, Connolly said all of the roughly 1,500 financial institutions that the Federal Reserve oversees have completed their Y2K preparations. Connolly and other regulators have also begun a public-relations campaign to convince consumers not to stockpile. Officials suggest households need only three to seven days' worth of extra cash, food, and water, or about as much as it would take to last comfortably through a winter storm. In August 1998 the Fed announced plans to print up to an additional $50 billion to have on hand along with the $150 billion it usually keeps as a currency reserve. The increase due to the new $20 bills comes on top of this amount. By way of comparison, economists estimate there is about $175 billion now in circulation, Connolly said. The Fed's actions were partly based on a poll it commissioned earlier this year that suggested about a third of consumers might take out extra cash at the end of the year. But consumers don't seem to be backing up their words, Connolly noted, citing reports from banks that they haven't noticed extra withdrawals. 'So far the activity doesn't seem to reflect the [polling] data we have,' he said. This story ran on page F02 of the Boston Globe on 12/13/99. ¸ Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company. boston.com