To: Les H who wrote (72198 ) 3/14/2001 6:50:15 PM From: High-Tech East Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 99985 heh Les, talk about a meaningful Greenspan 'put' - we could probably rally for two, maybe 3 or 4 days on that, eh ... and just when the experts are saying that everything will turn around in the U.S. economy by Q3 or Q4 ... uh, huh ... Could we be headed for recession ... nahhhhhhhhhh. Ken _______________________________________________________ Gross urges 1.5-pt rate cut - PIMCO's Bill Gross urges Fed to cut interest rates by 1.5 percentage points March 14, 2001: 5:26 p.m. ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bill Gross, one of the most influential U.S. bond investors, on Wednesday urged the Federal Reserve to slash interest rates by 1-1/2 percentage points in the near future. "What Greenspan needs to do is to lower interest rates by 75 basis points next week and 75 basis points the month thereafter -- in other words, 150 basis points," Gross, who oversees $250 billion of fixed income investments at Pacific Investment Management Co., said in a broadcast interview. The Fed's rate-setting committee meets next Tuesday and is widely expected to cut its benchmark 5.50 percent federal funds rate by at least half a point for the third time this year. After the March 20 meeting, the Fed is next scheduled to meet on May 15. Wednesday's fresh round of severe losses in the stock market, with the Dow Jones industrial average tumbling more than 3 percent to breach its 10,000 level for the first time since last October, sparked fresh speculation the Fed may need to cut rates more aggressively to shore up sagging confidence. Futures contracts traded on the Fed's key overnight bank lending rate showed market players saw the chances of a very aggressive 75 basis point cut in rates next week at 64 percent, versus 33 percent on Tuesday.cnnfn.cnn.com