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To: Sir Francis Drake who wrote (504)	8/16/2000 11:29:46 AM
From: J. Conley	Respond to of 955

Morgan, I don't know if the S&P rating will change anytime soon...maybe in the year 2002 when they get around to reviewing financial statements for this year. The S&P rating change was based on such old information that I am not certain how much of a negative effect it has, or had, on investors. In addition, I personally did not see much usefulness in a rating based on a stand-alone analysis when there is a distribution of assets between the various subsidiaries. And a lot has changed in the last 18 months or so. I am pretty certain FBR felt likewise about the rating and in fact would say that S&P nearly admits they don't know what they're doing with some of these type ratings. However, I do agree that this is a blemish. The margins issue, why that was a problem according to S&P, and how it might have worsened or improved, I simply don't know....perhaps Paul Senior or someone else might comment on this. A few weeks ago I asked about a potential change in the rating of A.M. Best (B++ right now and reviewed early this year). The response was the company was focusing on the bottom line. In other words, they did not intend to sell equities just to invest in investment grade bonds or other like investments in an attempt to raise the rating. However, in my view, the kind of performance they have had, and resolving some of the old debt issue, likely gives them the flexibility to raise their A.M. Best rating...if they want to. Pretty nice position to be in.

To: Sir Francis Drake who wrote (504)	8/16/2000 6:22:23 PM
From: J. Conley	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 955

Below is from a Market Guide/Provestor Plus report issued today on LDP, posted for humor value only, but appropriate since you recently mentioned "margins." This is from the section "Profitability Ratios." The percentage columns are: LDP, Industry Average, Industry High, Industry Low, S&P 500 Gross Margin (TTM) 100.0% NM NM NM 50.3% Gross Margin - 5 Yr. Avg. 64.8% NM NM NM 48.3% EBITD Margin (TTM) 31.3% NM NM NM 22.7% EBITD Margin - 5 Yr. Avg. 81.2% NM NM NM 21.1% Operating Margin (TTM) 97.7% 19.8% 209.7% (98.1)% 17.9% Operating Margin- 5 Yr.Avg. 60.5% 15.9% 68.9% (92.8)% 17.1% Pretax Margin (TTM) 97.7% 19.6% 209.7% (98.1)% 17.7% Pretax Margin - 5 Yr. Avg. 61.2% 15.7% 62.9% (17.7)% 16.8% Profit Margin (TTM) 82.0% 12.4% 208.1% (46.1)% 12.9% Profit Margin - 5 Yr. Avg. 49.5% 10.5% 49.5% (17.9)% 10.3% Effective Tax Rate (TTM) 16.1% 36.6% 311.4% 0.0% 34.7% Effective Tax Rate -5 Yr. Avg. 18.2% 32.5% 68.0% 0.0% 35.6% LDP’s TTM profit margin is higher than the average for the industry. (Their comment, not mine.) Best Regards