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To: T L Comiskey who wrote (29990)	1/26/2001 12:14:10 PM
From: T L Comiskey	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

More Than 1,000 Feared Dead in Indian Quake AHMEDABAD (Reuters) - More than 700 people died when a powerful earthquake rocked western India on Friday and officials feared the toll could rise above a thousand as rescue workers searched for survivors buried under debris. The earthquake, measured at 7.9 on the Richter scale by the U.S. Geological Survey, was the most intense to hit India in half a century and struck early in the morning. It sent tremors across the country and into neighboring Pakistan, toppling buildings in towns across the state of Gujarat. State Home Minister Haren Pandya told reporters in Ahmedabad, the main town in Gujarat, that reports were being gathered from remote areas of the state to determine the death toll. "The figure at the moment is 726, out of which 249 are in Ahmedabad alone," he said. But Indian Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani said he feared many more deaths. "The death figure in the earthquake could be one thousand or more," he said. Official Indian estimates indicate the earthquake measured 6.9 on the Richter scale, Information and Technology Minister Pramod Mahajan said. Eighteen aftershocks had been recorded and more were expected in coming days, but their scale was declining, he said. The quake hit as India was celebrating Republic Day, the anniversary of its transition to a republic in 1950. In Ahmedabad, hospitals were crammed with injured people, as rescue workers dug through debris in search of more survivors. While firemen used chain saws and drills to reach people trapped in the rubble, others joined the rescue workers to dig with their bare hands. Some, their faces paralyzed with fear, waited for help to arrive to dig out friends and relatives. In Pakistan, officials and rescue workers said the quake had killed at least four people there, including a 15-day-old child and an eight-year-old girl. PAKISTAN RULER SENDS CONDOLENCES Pakistan military ruler General Pervez Musharraf wrote to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee expressing sorrow for the deaths. "I have been saddened at the tragic loss of life and property in the earthquake which hit large parts of India today," he said in a message of sympathy. "The government and people of Pakistan share the grief of the bereaved families." The Indian Meteorological Department said the quake was the region's most intense in half a century The Meteorological Department said the epicenter of Friday's earthquake was in an area 20 km (13 miles) north-east of Bhuj in the marshy and sparsely populated Rann of Kutch, which lies on the border with Pakistan. The earthquake sent tremors as far as Nepal in the north and Madras in the south. It was the world's second major quake of the year. On January 13, a quake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale killed at least 700 people in El Salvador and made 10 percent of that country's population homeless. A 1999 quake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale killed more than 2,400 people in Taiwan. Residents of Ahmedabad, Gujarat's commercial capital with a population of around five million, said the tremors lasted for about 45 seconds from 8:46 a.m. (0316 GMT) and sent people scurrying from their homes. "It was like being on a swing. Nobody could get out for those 20 or 30 seconds," said Vinay Kumar, who works for Gujarat Petroleum Corp. "The building shook so much that it developed cracks." Television pictures showed mangled piles of masonry and twisted metal and the bloodied body of a small child. Elsewhere, a foot protruded from a heap of rubble. Many Ahmedabad phone links and power lines went down. The Press Trust of India said that a five-story building collapsed killing 150 people in the coastal town of Bhuj. The region around Bhuj, near the epicenter of the earthquake, is however among the most sparsely populated areas in the state and initial reports suggested it was Ahmedabad which suffered the highest number of deaths. Ahmedabad is home to one of India's largest gold markets and is a leading oilseed trading center. It also produces textiles and chemicals. Vajpayee called an emergency federal cabinet meeting to discuss the quake, while army battalions and aid workers rushed to the region. Many were expected to spend the night outdoors. Nights are cool in Gujarat, but not chilly. Earthquakes with intensity of 6-7 on the Richter scale can cause severe damage in populated areas. The last time that Gujarat, which is prone to tremors of up to seven on the Richter scale, suffered a quake of such intensity was in 1819. The last major earthquake to hit India was in March 1999. Measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, the quake and its aftershocks killed 100 people and injured 300 in the Himalayan foothills and was felt across many parts of northern India, western Nepal and southern China. A 1950 quake in the Indo-China border area measured 8.6 on the Richter scale. It killed hundreds of people.

To: T L Comiskey who wrote (29990)	1/26/2001 12:28:41 PM
From: edamo	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 65232

tim....market perceptions are reality, but at some point in time the reality becomes the perception....maybe a bit of double speak....but look at the last year...certain issues were grossly over valued and had no intrinsic value, but the market kept them flying high on perceived hopes....when reality sets in, it drives the reverse to an excess...but begins to normalize prior to the next euphoric cycle....dell a perfect example....company posting great numbers, stock starts slipping, reaches a point where the perception and negative expectations cross the reality of disappointing earnings....stock slides lower, stabilizes, and enters the "only way is up" phase...many stocks are at this point...dell, cpq, wcom, atml, xlnx, intc, msft, qcom....barring any added tangible stock specific bad news, they begin a bottoming and basing...tend not to move in tandem with the market, have a mind of their own....this is good... conversely the still overvalued, albeit some very good companies move in tandem with the market but in excessive amounts....this is not good.... "investors?" must question at this point do they want to ride a wild bull, and hope they don't get thrown off and trampled, or get on the old gray mare that ambles along, stops to eat the vegetation on the side of the road, but ultimately gets you to your destination...too many got used to riding the wild bull, and as luck has it, were never thrown off....this is not how it is now... be cautious and good luck....watch the trading action of xlnx and atml today...they have become linear with an upward bias...brcm beginning to do this...jdsu all over the place.... ed a.