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Non-Tech : Conseco Insurance (CNO) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tunica Albuginea who wrote (2199)	8/6/2000 11:18:56 AM
From: Kevin Podsiadlik	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 4155

Okay, Tuna, time for your debunking session. has gotten things wrong in the past Yeah, yeah, like anyone hasn't. But note that one of Abelson's most vilified pieces ("Amazon-dot-bomb") has turned out to be remarkably prescient (stock has dropped about 40% since the article, and analysts are fleeing it in droves). Mr. Wendt got $45 million before even discovering the location of the men's room. You used a lot of bluster and somehow completely failed to touch, much less grasp, Abelson's point, that Wendt had a $45 million check in his pocket or waiting for him when he came to the office for his first day of work. This is utter fact and no amount of spin from you can change it. Gary Wendt took a $20,000,000 cut to take this job at CONSECO. I see you continue to perpetuate this myth. All right, let's go. For starters, we don't know (and GE won't say) whether the $65M Wendt would have drawn was pre-tax or post-tax. Is there any particular reason to assume pre-tax? The one story on it mentioned how GE was "saving $65 million". If that amount didn't include taxes, why didn't the article say GE was saving $100 million? And, needless to say, if Wendt $65M was normal "salary" and therefore taxable, the $45M he got net of tax is already greater than what he would have gotten from GE. But even assuming that to be wrong, the $20 million is bogus anyway. Wendt is guaranteed, for any event short of him leaving Conseco for something better, another $8 million in two years. There's the interest advantage from having the lump sum payment up front which figures to be $2 million or so. And then there's the $1.5 million pension he gets after retirement, which will make up the rest rather rapidly. And that's the reward for complete failure. PS: And don't forget that Barron's and Colin Devine havebeen short on CONSECO since $20. Talk about conflicts of interest! Dow Jones Inc. is short Conseco?!?!? That's either incredibly careless wording on your part or you're just making stuff up.

To: Tunica Albuginea who wrote (2199)	8/6/2000 11:57:30 AM
From: donjuan_demarco	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 4155

Indy Star article: starnews.com Tunica, I am going to have to rely on you to maintain the board's rigorous quality standards the next couple of weeks, as I will be doing a lot of traveling.

To: Tunica Albuginea who wrote (2199)	8/6/2000 10:26:12 PM
From: Jack Hartmann	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4155

CNC in WORTH Magazine via Maverick Capital's Hedge Fund Manager - Lee Ainslie. Ainslie is a noted short seller who has averaged 24.8% after fees with $5B under management. He made millions shorting CTXS this year. "On the short side, Maverick is looking for the exact opposite set of conditions - companies with poor fundemental business, weak competitive positions, and, ideally mediocre management. That had certainly been the case with insurer Conseco, one of Mavericks better performing shorts this year. But when former GE Capital cheif Gary Wendt made it official in late June that he was taking the top job at Conseco, replacing ousted chairman and CEO Stephen Hilbert, Maverick started to cover its position, 'We don't want to be short a manager like Gary wendt. who has proven, over time that he can add value for shareholders,' says financial service director Duke Buchan." (of Maverick Capital) I typed this from the issue received via subscription Saturday. Online and newstand print edition won't hit for another week or so. Maverick Capital is the cover story. One of the highly capitalized shorts on CNC covered his position. I remember Softechie or someone talking about this. Jack