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To: Les H who wrote (51031)	5/16/2000 8:53:00 PM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Respond to of 99985

Financial Engineering of Profits HWP reports exactly the same operating profits on higher sales. Implication - SHRINKING MARGINS But the headline of earnings is misleading - growth in earnings. Judge for yourself HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED CONDENSED STATEMENT OF EARNINGS (Unaudited) (In millions except per share amounts) Three months ended Percent April 30 increase/ 2000 1999 (decrease) ------ ------ -------- Net revenue: Products $10,231 $ 8,999 Services 1,797 1,456 ------- ------- Total 12,028 10,455 15 Costs and expenses: Cost of products sold and services 8,595 7,299 Research and development 671 633 Selling, general and administrative 1,872 1,628 ------- ------- Total 11,138 9,560 17 Earnings from operations 890 895 (1) Interest income and other, net 210 194 Interest expense 40 45 ------- ------- Earnings from continuing operations before taxes 1,060 1,044 2 Provision for taxes 244 278 ------- ------- Net earnings from continuing operations 816 766 7 ------ ------ Net earnings from discontinued operations 119 152 (22) ---- ------- Net earnings $ 935 $ 918 2 ======= ======= Net earnings per share: Continuing operations(A) Basic $ 0.82 $ 0.76 Diluted 0.79 0.73 Net earnings per share: Discontinued operations(A) Basic $ 0.12 $ 0.15 Diluted 0.11 0.15 Net earnings per share: Total(A) Basic $ 0.94 $ 0.91 Diluted 0.90 0.88 Cash dividends per share $ 0.16 $ 0.16 ======= ======= Average number of shares and equivalents Basic 994 1,010 Diluted 1,042 1,051

To: Les H who wrote (51031)	5/17/2000 11:18:00 AM
From: Fun-da-Mental#1	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 99985

Investor Awarded $111 Million in Trading Case Against Bear Stearns By Colleen DeBaise, Staff Reporter NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- A federal jury Tuesday awarded $111.5 million in damages Tuesday to a Canadian investor who accused Bear Stearns Cos. of making unauthorized currency trades in his account. Henryk de Kwiatkowski, 76, claimed Bear Stearns (BSC) lost $300 million of his fortune and squandered a trust account he set up for his children and grandchildren. During the two-week trial, he testified that the New York-based securities firm and his former broker, Albert J. Sabini, failed to warn him about the risks of foreign-currency trading. The jury dismissed the claims against Sabini, a managing director at the firm, but found Bear Stearns negligent for allowing de Kwiatkowski to buy billions of dollars worth of foreign-currency futures contracts. Company spokeswoman Hannah Burns said the firm planned to appeal the ruling, which Bear Sterns feels was wrong. During the trial, Bear Stearns attorney Jim Linn said de Kwiatkowski had been warned of the speculative risks involved when he opened his account. He portrayed de Kwiatkowski as an "absolute gambler" who made bad trading decisions even as losses mounted. Paul J. Curran, de Kwiatkowski's attorney, told the jury that his client suffered $230 million in currency-trading losses in a matter of weeks in 1995. He said de Kwiatkowski was persuaded to move about half of his currency-trading account to the unregulated over-the-counter currency market, and that Bear Stearns allowed his losses to grow without margin calls. Eventually, the firm liquidated the trust account to pay back losses, leaving nothing in the account for his heirs, Curran said. While finding Bear Stearns negligent, the jury didn't find that the firm breached its fiduciary duties to de Kwiatkowski, which could have made Bear Stearns liable for even more damages. Outside the courtroom, de Kwiatkowksi said he was pleased with the jury's verdict. De Kwiatkowski, who lives in the Bahamas, is a native of Poland who fled from the Nazis and built a fortune in the airplane leasing and sales business. He owns Calumet Farm, a Kentucky thoroughbred horse-breeding farm. (Compiled from Dow Jones Newswires and other sources) Copyright (c) 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. smartmoney.com