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To: pater tenebrarum who wrote (42652)	11/30/2000 5:26:31 PM
From: NOW	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

Waiting For The Other Shoe To Fall One of the amazing attributes of the current decline is the refusal of investors to panic or capitulate. The market drop has been orderly with no hint of panic or excessive volume on the downside. This is undoubtedly the result of a long bull market where patience has been a virtue and anyone who sold eventually regretted it, at least until the past six months. Even now with all the negative earnings news that has been coming out, 55% of market advisors surveyed by Investors Intelligence remain bullish, while only 29% are bearish. This is almost the exact reverse of what one would expect if we were close to a solid market bottom. This lack of the type of fear that usually accompanies significant bottoms is also illustrated by the absence to date of a big decline in margin debt. During the bear market of 1969-1970 margin debt dropped by 43%, and in the market debacle of 1973-1974 by 51%. Over the past 34 years the average bear market decline in margin debt following a big buildup was about 37%. In the current cycle margin debt zoomed from only $61 billion at the end of 1994 to $278 billion in March of this year, but since then dropped by only 16% to $230 billion at the end of October. Although the November numbers will not be out for another four weeks, we have not heard much about any significant amount of margin calls with the exception of a few well-known dot-com and telecommunications entrepreneurs. This lack of fear and continued complacency is a negative indicator for the market and, until we get some kind of capitulation that clears the air, we are likely to see the market grind its way lower in a zigzag pattern. © 2000 Gabelli & Company, Inc. All rights reservered. Member, NASD and SIPC. Shares of the Comstock Funds are only offered for sale in the United States. The materials in this website are not an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any security , nor shall any such security be offered or sold to any person, in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, purchase, or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. Please call 1-800-GABELLI (1-800-422-3554) or your Advisor for a free prospectus for the Comstock Funds, which contains more complete information on the Funds, including management fees, charges and expenses. Please read it carefully before investing or sending money.