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Pastimes : Clown-Free Zone... sorry, no clowns allowed -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: patron_anejo_por_favor who wrote (4669)	7/20/2000 3:14:09 AM
From: patron_anejo_por_favor	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 436258

Monitization of Shareholder Ignorance Hall of Fame inductees: quote.bloomberg.com Washington, July 7 (Bloomberg) -- Following is a ranking of the total value of a U.S. companies' shares sold or bought by executives, directors and officers in the first half of the year. The figures, as of June 30, are compiled from Securities and Exchange Commission filings by Washington Service. TOTAL SALES BY INSIDERS Rank, Person, Company Name Shares Amount 1. Paul Allen, Microsoft 43,459,000 $4,045,957,090 2. Michael Dell, Dell Computer 14,000,000 $755,414,000 3. George Roberts, Safeway 13,100,000 $617,403,000 4. Theodore Waitt, Gateway 6,656,700 $387,715,710 5. Julian Brodsky, Internet Capital 2,325,000 $327,060,050 6. Gregory Reyes, Brocade 1,065,500 $215,572,235 7. Seth Neiman, Brocade 886,500 $208,959,920 8. Eugene Isenberg, Nabors Indus. 4,700,000 $178,600,000 9. Carl Ferenbach, Crown Castle 5,016,804 $173,523,549 10. Saul Steinberg, Symbol Tech. 2,647,360 $168,898,766 11. William MacAulay, Weatherford 3,453,082 $165,090,865 12. William Gates III, Microsoft 1,610,000 $153,099,750 13. Lodewijk de Vink, Warner-Lambert 1,589,027 $152,040,201 14. John Chambers, Cisco 1,150,000 $151,512,500 15. Gary Winnick, Global Crossing 4,521,074 $149,179,825 16. Richard Frisbie, Allegiance Tele. 1,400,000 $147,000,000 17. Bobby Johnson Jr., Foundry 1,200,000 $144,558,195 18. Sanjiv Sidhu, I2 Technologies 1,170,000 $137,394,700

To: patron_anejo_por_favor who wrote (4669)	7/20/2000 3:34:01 AM
From: patron_anejo_por_favor	Respond to of 436258

Bubble Boy a Chicken Hawk? Sounds about right.... prudentbear.com Late this afternoon we have this report from Bloomberg News. “Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert McTeer said the U.S. economy is growing ‘at a gradual rate, and I think things are looking pretty good,’ according to an interview with Business Week magazine. McTeer also likened the impact of monetary policy to ‘drinking vodka,’ saying the effects of six interest-rate increases have begun sneaking up the economy, and ‘we started to get a little tipsy a couple of months ago.’” It is almost as if we are looking at completely different data. To be sure, we see nothing “gradual” about the U.S. economy. And as far as the vodka analogy, we do believe Fed policy has created the “drunken sailor” economy. McTeer’s “a little tipsy” metaphor, however, is an understatement worthy of the history books. Tomorrow, Fed Chairman Greenspan makes his twice-yearly trip to address and then answer questions from Congress. Whether he will be the “New Paradigmer,” the “hawk,” the “Dove,” or the generally more applicable “chicken hawk,” we would expect that recent strong economic and pricing data have him a bit on edge. After all, it is becoming increasingly clear that overheated business and consumer demand, massive trade deficits, rising wage pressures, continued problematic housing inflation, and heightened general inflationary pressures leave the Fed’s work quite uncompleted. And we suspect that reality is returning to the financial markets after what has been about two months of liquidity driven price gains. If the stock market retreats, perhaps the credit market can hold together. Without a meaningful decline in stock prices, however, it is difficult to see interest-rates going anywhere but higher. Throw in all the leverage endemic to our system and unfathomable derivative positions, and you do have a recipe for financial instability.

To: patron_anejo_por_favor who wrote (4669)	7/20/2000 9:53:56 AM
From: oldirtybastard	Respond to of 436258

On that note: oklahoman.com Natural gas prices probably will double this winter, and some parts of the country may experience shortages, an Oklahoma oil and gas industry leader warned Tuesday. A large majority of Oklahomans and businesses will feel the jump in price regardless of whether they heat with natural gas or electricity. Dr. Bruce M. Bell, chairman of the Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association of Oklahoma, said the price increase could affect even those whose electricity is generated by gas. "For Oklahomans, shortages are not likely, but higher consumer prices are a near certainty," Bell said. All major natural gas suppliers to Oklahoma consumers are expected to issue similar warnings to their customers today. "Obviously, prices are increasing, and it's no secret that consumers can expect to see that in their bills this winter," said Don Sherry, a spokesman for Oklahoma Natural Gas. One natural gas supplier to Oklahoma, Reliant Energy, formerly Arkla, said the increase in gas prices "could result in winter gas bills that are twice the usual amount if there is harsh weather." Reliant said summer electrical generation at gas-burning plants "has caused the price of natural gas to skyrocket during the time that we traditionally store fuel at low prices." The Houston-based company also said a drop in natural gas production in recent years has caused the price to increase. The American Gas Association, which represents local natural gas utilities, will hold a news conference today in Washington to address the anticipated increase in gas prices and possible shortages. Paul Renfrow, spokesman for Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co., said 80 percent of the power that OG&E produces is generated by low-priced coal, with the remainder coming from gas-fired plants. A fuel adjustment clause permits OG&E to pass fuel cost changes to its customers. Renfrow said OG&E is paying a higher price for gas, "and that price is passed along to 650,000 customers in Oklahoma." "However, it is significantly offset by the amount of coal we burn. We try to minimize the amount of gas we burn." Bell, chief executive officer of Post Oak Oil, said wellhead gas prices are more than double what they were last winter. In late 1999, wellhead prices were in the range of $1.60 to $1.80 per thousand cubic feet, he said. "On today's futures market where gas already is being sold for October delivery, they are above $4 per thousand cubic feet," he said. "Some believe it will go as high as $5 later in the year. There is little likelihood that they will drop significantly." Natural gas storage is a crucial element in the supply of gas in the winter. Today, storage is 22 percent below this time last year, which was the lowest on record, he said. "Current projections suggest that by November when withdrawal begins, there will be nearly one-half trillion cubic feet less than the total storage capacity of 3 trillion cubic feet," Bell said. He said the natural inclination is to say this is happening because of supply and demand, but "there are several other components to that." Low prices in 1998-99 drastically reduced drilling, he said. "Last year at this time, there were 350 rigs drilling for natural gas," Bell said. "Today, there are 662, but it takes about 800 rigs just to replace the daily usage of natural gas. "Since 1995, demand has risen each year, but supply has remained constant, in the 51-52 billion cubic feet per day range. Demand is expected to grow more rapidly in the next two years." Bell said production from new wells is declining more dramatically during their first year of production than it has in the past. "This is particularly true in the Gulf of Mexico and Canada, which supply the majority of North America's natural gas," he said. Now that the price has risen to $4, the industry has begun to drill more wells, "but there are reasons it may not be as quickly as needed," he said. Many independent producers are still paying off debt from trying to operate gas wells last year at prices below break-even, Bell said. "Moreover, there is no guarantee prices will stay up in the long term, even though all indications point to that," he said. "Some producers are gun-shy, having already been burned. Many bigger companies have increased drilling budgets, but so far it has been a tentative move." Bell said that perhaps the most important factor is that workers for drilling operations are in short supply, and the problem is growing. "Tens of thousands of oil-field workers have been laid off in the last two years," he said. "And with unemployment at 2.3 percent in Oklahoma, they aren't coming back. "Until all of these components have been satisfied, gas and electricity consumers in Oklahoma and the nation will be faced with these higher prices." Bell said a warm winter would help avoid shortages. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------