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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (74462)	1/25/2000 9:08:00 PM
From: Mike M2	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 132070

Mike , the gov't should allow the PC companies to report in chain weighted dollars -g- Don't forget about the low global market penetration. ho ho ho I guess there are 2 billion plus people in India and China who don't own a PC . -g-

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (74462)	1/25/2000 10:50:00 PM
From: Don Lloyd	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 132070

MB - washingtonpost.com How does a story of empire translate into DOW points? -g- Regards, Don

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (74462)	1/25/2000 11:11:00 PM
From: bluejeans	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 132070

Mike, Is there a site that I can check the discount out on HQH daily or weekly? Thanks, VISX is getting lower and lower and lower. Some days it doesn't pay to buy fallen angels;)

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (74462)	1/26/2000 8:56:00 AM
From: bluejeans	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

Have you checked out coolsavings.com ?

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (74462)	1/26/2000 9:22:00 AM
From: Earlie	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 132070

MB: I just got my hands on the IDC data yesterday and immediately experienced a feeling of deja-yogi. (g) I don't know how many times we have seen this bunch of cheerleaders publish inaccurate data, then have to quietly come back later with revisions, but this report maintains their fine track record. A conversation with Fred Hickey about this report invoked an octave leap in his voice. He reminded me of the fact that they used ESTIMATED numbers for the last quarter. As is the case at this end, Fred maintains broad contact with the field. Like myself, he considers these numbers to be wildly out of whack with reality. Other facts need to be kept in mind when reading this report. A few years ago, PC companies would "stuff the channel" at year end to "make their numbers". The wholesale community got tired of the damage they suffered as a result of this practice and began to rebuff this activity. The anxious box builders responded by providing a generous "return" policy. Investors of course rarely get any idea of how big this practice is, as the "returned merchandise" is "OFFSET" against (subtracted from) the following quarter's revenue line. It is an incredibly sleazy way to hide the year end shenanigans and is nicely covered by the now popular "seasonality" concept (which was a non-issue three years ago). I love the fact that nobody talks about PC revenue anymore. A few years ago, PC revenues routinely experienced 35% to 40% year-over-year gains. Now we are into NEGATIVE year-over-year revenue growth. It strikes me that even the dumbest sheep ought to recognize that the price wars allow more boxes to be sold, but that margins and profits are cremated. Of course momentum investing does not worry about such arcane things as profits,..... at least not yet. One final observation. A year ago, these cheerleader organizations were publishing world-wide PC unit sales (for the just-completed 1998 year) in the 100.0 million range (having forecast a 22% expected rise at the beginning of the year). The final figure, by their own admission, was 90.3 million. (up 9.9% year-over year). I took considerable heat for suggesting that they were considerably wide of the mark. Revenues of course were simply ignored. 1999 was worse. (g) Best, Earlie

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (74462)	1/26/2000 9:43:00 AM
From: valueminded	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 132070

Mike: You have mentioned UCL in the past as a stock you like. I have looked at it and cant figure out what makes it so appealing to you. Obviously, I what I see when I look at book value, earnings, sales and debt is not necessarily what you are seeing. Can you tell me what your target is on it and basically how you arrive at that ? It would be most helpful. I get the impression that you dont necessrily look at ratios when evaluating stocks as I cant see this one coming up on a stock screening tool. And given that you probably didnt find it on a stock screening tool, how did you chooose it among the other oil and gas plays. BR - it would seem is grossly undervalued based on their natural gas field holdings. This one was easier for me to figure out. Also, what do you think of the golds now that they have been decimated again due to recent lowering of price targets by Lehman. For example, NEM, ASA, or HM Finally, it would appear that dell will make the numbers this quarter, last quarter they warned about 3weeks ahead, this quarter they are scheduled feb 10 and havent warned yet. Do you still have puts ? Are you considering fresh puts on Micron given the upcoming debacle in dram pricing ? thanks