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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (84945)	11/7/2000 12:21:12 AM
From: PaperChase	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

Don't buy suits, buy any dip in CSCO below $50. Unlike suits, CSCO always wears well over time. If you like volatility and living on the edge, then buy any dip in new issue Optical Communications (OCPI).

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (84945)	11/7/2000 3:21:25 AM
From: S. maltophilia	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

Hello all. Just got back from 2 weeks in Australia. Some random thoughts before the jet lag kicks in: Great timing on the exchange rates. This isn't quite SE Asia but a US buck goes a long way down under. Like the Camry that I rented for 12 days for A$630 from Delta/National. They may rethink this when they notice the 4000 km we put on it.-g- The main issues on Australian radio seem to be horse racing and cricket. Tuesday is the Melbourne Cup, which is the Kentucky Derby, Super Bowl and Indy 500 rolled into one. Now I get why the 747 we flew down in was packed and the one we left Melbourne on was almost empty except for us and a karate team from Trinidad. There was some talk about our elections. Most commentary lamented our choice of candidates. Nuff said. Petrol is ~$2/gallon for unleaded. The level of whining is about the same as here, with some talk of rearranging the gasoline tax there. Most of the tax talk is about the 10% GST that was recently instituted. A major filing deadline is coming up and there appears to be some non-compliance by some businesses that are supposed to collect it. The big Australian banks reported profits for the past quarter. Nice numbers -- in the billions for the big 4. Not bad for a country that size. Apparently it's coming from nickel and diming their customers with fees that subsidize consumer loan operations of somewhat dubious profitability and quality. The natives are getting restless. There was a delightful piece on ABC (their analogue to BBC) radio, featuring a "poet" trying to find a word to rhyme with "banker." Otherwise the economy down under seems reasonably sound. There are help wanted ads in the Melbourne paper for crafts jobs that only prefer experience or are willing to train. Shortly after arriving I took a walk in downtown Melbourne during lunch hour. Can't remember the last time I saw so many suits. And so few fat people.... Generally the Aussies, from Melbourne all the way to Kangaroo Island, seem upbeat and happy to be alive. I didn't really notice until we got off the plane at LAX. What a hole (sorry, all you Californians) and very few folks seemed to be enjoying their lives.