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To: Dealer who wrote (11120)	4/5/2000 12:27:00 PM
From: Grandk	Respond to of 35685

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To: Dealer who wrote (11120)	4/5/2000 12:32:00 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 35685

Comments on the Market.... <<Wednesday April 5, 12:21 pm Eastern Time Goldman's Cohen still optimistic about U.S. stocks By Arshad Mohammed WASHINGTON, April 5 (Reuters) - Top investment strategist Abby Joseph Cohen opened a White House conference on the ``new economy' on Wednesday with a ringing endorsement of U.S. stocks despite a week of wild gyrations on Wall Street. ``Many of you know that my day job is as a stock market strategist and for the past decade we have been enthusiastic about the outlook for U.S. stock prices ... and we remain so,' Cohen, who chairs the investment policy committee at Goldman Sachs Group, told the gathering in the White House East Room. Cohen, who is one of the most influential strategists on Wall Street, depressed stock prices last week by trimming the proportion of assets she advises clients to keep in stocks. Her comments to the conference, called by President Bill Clinton to discuss how to keep the record U.S. expansion going, may have helped buck up the U.S. stock market, which fell at the opening bell and then gradually recovered before falling some again. The Dow industrials were down roughly 14 points about 11,153 in mid-morning trading while the Nasdaq composite was down about 2 points at 4,147 after earlier dropping as much as 100 points. On Tuesday the Nasdaq plunged more than 500 points in intraday trading before recovering to close 74.79 points lower -- latest in a week of volatile moves in the market. The ``White House Conference on the New Economy' gathered economic luminaries including Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan and Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates for an all-day discussion on the state of the U.S. economy. The term ``new economy' refers to the idea that the broad application of information technology throughout the U.S. economy has altered the rules previously thought to govern the business cycle, unemployment and inflation. While there was a festive air at the White House as participants mingled while a Marine Corps string band played songs in the mansion's Grand Foyer, the optimism was tempered by concern about the recent wild gyrations on Wall Street. Clinton opened the discussion saying he wanted it to concentrate on what could derail booming U.S. growth. Many economists believe a sharp drop on Wall Street is one such potential damper for the U.S. economy. ``This conference is designed to focus on the big issues of the new economy: how do we keep this expansion going; how do we extend its benefits to those still left behind in its shadows; what could go wrong and how do we avoid it?' Clinton said. Roger Altman, the former U.S. deputy treasury secretary who works as an investor, said he believed the U.S. stock markets were ripe for a correction but insisted this did not mean the new economy does not exist. ``We are already seeing all of the preliminary signs of that type of correction,' he said. ``Should such a shakeout occur, my point of view is that it does not signal that we are not in such a new economy after all, nor that the higher growth potential and milder business cycle effects are less likely.' ``We are at the beginning stages of a new economy, which is beginning to rewrite the rules of business and economic growth and cylicality but it's still early days,' he said. ``I think it's pretty clear the speed limits have been raised,' concurred Yale University economics professor William Nordhaus, saying high technology may have raised the level of potential noninflationary growth to 3-3.5 percent from the 2.5 percent economists previously estimated. ``The new economy is real, and it's impressive, but we can't let it cloud our judgment,' he added, saying the U.S. economic boom would not last forever. Economists attribute America's remarkable run of roaring growth combined with quiescent inflation in part to productivity gains resulting from the broad application of high technology through the economy. With the conference, Clinton was reviving a forum that he used after winning the White House in 1992 when he invited dozens of economists, academics and executives to Little Rock, Arkansas, for a talkfest about the then-ailing U.S. economy. After Clinton's speech opening the conference, participants were to break into smaller groups for five panel discussions on topics ranging from ``Is a Debt-Free U.S. Government Good for America's Economic Future?' to ``Next Stages of the Internet.' Greenspan was to kick off the afternoon sessions with a 1:45 p.m. (1945 GMT) speech on ``Technology and Its Impact on the Economy,' followed by panel discussions on ``Closing the Global Divide: Strategies for Health, Education and Technology' and ``Can New Economy Tools Empower Civil Society and Government?'>>