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Strategies & Market Trends : Value Investing -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LauA who wrote (9533)	1/5/2000 6:55:00 PM
From: James Clarke	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 78618

So much for ready, fire, aim. I looked at the debt level and the ten year history of SK, and it was pretty clear that I have no idea what this company is capable of earning, but I can guess they are capable of going bankrupt. And that was before I read Lau's post on the Laidlaw angle. I know this one from researching Laidlaw a couple years ago. Generally speaking, if a business is so bad that even Laidlaw wants to get out of it, you don't want it. You bought the shares, so I figure you're "aiming" tonight. If you find something that convinces you you have a margin of safety here, please let us know - I would be willing to do a lot more homework if I was at least a little bit convinced I wasn't wasting my time.

To: LauA who wrote (9533)	1/6/2000 11:49:00 AM
From: Bob Rudd	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 78618

SK Ready, Aim, Fired - Closed position with modest loss early today on expectation of more bad news ahead and probable significantly lower share prices. Some of the stuff that concerned me: Sales push with rising AR's indicate they got as close to 'channel stuffing' as a service co can this quarter Seasonality - current quarter is usually weaker Cyclicality - Activity begets waste as higher rates raise concerns this co would have a bit of a headwind Unconfirmed indication that market is shrinking by 5% annually due to conservation waste prevention methods - maybe customers are recycling thier own stuff - oil, dry-cleaning etc History - Red ink for several years and reverse split indicate all is not well Morale - employees seem dispirited, defensive, internal competition, little faith in upper management [Small sample but fits with other info] No strategic buyer and financial buyer won't want to play problem-solving role unless it's dirt cheap - [as Lau pointed out, Laidlaw is pushing for a sale] But most important - they don't seem to have a handle on systems - not quite sure of numbers as result - So PE may not mean much if E=? bob