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To: Haim R. Branisteanu who wrote (55367)	6/26/2000 7:01:00 PM
From: Benkea	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 99985

Monday June 26, 6:46 pm Eastern Time SEC again gives more time on revenue recognition By Jeremy Pelofsky WASHINGTON, June 26 (Reuters) - Securities regulators gave another reprieve to U.S. corporations on Monday that will allow them at least another five months to conform with guidelines on properly recognising revenue in their financial statements. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which has already granted one extension, said companies will have until they file fourth-quarter financial statements for the fiscal year that began Dec. 15, 1999 to implement guidelines on accounting for revenue. That includes the agency's interpretation of how to properly recognise revenue, how to fairly present that data and the appropriate method for disclosing revenue in financial statements filed with the SEC. ``Members of the accounting profession and industry have noted that they need additional time to properly'' conform with the guidelines, Lynn Turner, the agency's chief accountant, said in a statement. An SEC spokesman was unable to say how many requests the agency received on the matter from companies and accounting firms. The SEC in December had issued a so-called Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 101 to spell out the criteria to which companies must adhere and gave them until March 31 to comply but in late March extended that deadline until June 30 due as many corporations needed more time. One common earnings management tool is reporting revenue before a sales transaction has occurred and improper revenue can skew financial statements, according to the SEC. Some have already been hard-hit by the change in accounting procedures, including software maker MicroStrategy Inc. (NasdaqNM:MSTR - news) which had to revise earnings for three years because it accounted for revenue on contracts that had not yet been received. On March 20, the company said it would change the way it booked revenue from 1999 and 1998 to conform with regulatory guidelines and a month later it said revisions to 1997 statements were also necessary. The company accounted for revenue from contracts long before the funds were actually received and the revised statements show that MicroStrategy lost money for those years. Investors punished the thought-to-be high-flyer as shares of MicroStrategy plummeted from a high of 333 to a low of 17-5/16 on May 25. Shares were recently trading at 38-1/4 on Nasdaq. American Greetings Corp. (NYSE:AM - news) would have posted earnings of 60 cents per share in the first quarter of 2000, but for the accounting change and instead reported 27 cents a share. Quality of information has been a catch-phrase of SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt who has been beating the drum for companies to only account for revenue actually received and not attempt to make the numbers meet expectations of Wall Street. ``The motivation to satisfy Wall Street earnings expectations may be overriding long established precepts of financial reporting and ethical restraint,'' he said in an April speech. On Monday, the SEC said it will soon issue a ``Frequently Asked Questions'' document developed with the industry and audit firms that will provide further guidance on the accounting issues raised by its bulletin.

To: Haim R. Branisteanu who wrote (55367)	6/26/2000 8:45:00 PM
From: Tunica Albuginea	Respond to of 99985

OT, " Buy low sell high ". I can't argue with that. I think that eventually you'll do better than buy high and sell low, -g-. However this market is in so screwed up (double-bubble cepr.net ) that heaven knows how long it will take to untangle the mess we are in. Meanwhile time is money in my book. So My personal investing philosophy is to short term trade. Perhaps because of some aspects of impatience in my personality. Note I said: Trade, as opposed to Investing. I believe they are different. Just my style. My hope however is that one day I'll become a man for all seasons: a trader and an investor! :-) cheers TA Message #55367 from Haim R. Branisteanu at Jun 26, 2000 6:57 PM ET TA, that is exactly my point ...... buy the stock that nobody loves and sell those that any one wants. or how they say ....... buy low sell high? ....... it is so simple <GGG> Haim