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Pastimes : Clown-Free Zone... sorry, no clowns allowed -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: pater tenebrarum who wrote (98385)	4/27/2001 3:32:34 PM
From: ild	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

Commercials sold lots of gold and shorted a little more of S&P. Sigh.

To: pater tenebrarum who wrote (98385)	4/27/2001 3:44:32 PM
From: Lucretius	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

cot sucks for gold...

To: pater tenebrarum who wrote (98385)	4/27/2001 3:45:41 PM
From: UnBelievable	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 436258

CFTC Commitments: CME NASDAQ 100 futures-Apr 27 Futures World News - April 27, 2001 15:36 Apr. 27-MAR-- Nasdaq-100 Stock Index - Chicago Mercantile Exchange Reportable Positions As Of 04/24/01 \| ---------------------------------------------------------\| Nonreportable Non-Commercial \| Commercial \| Total \| Positions -------------------------\|---------------\|---------------\|--------------- Long \| Short \|Spreading\| Long \| Short \| Long \| Short \| Long \| Short ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12,832 5,053 347 26,815 37,114 39,994 42,514 12,427 9,907 Changes From 04/17/01 (Change In Open Interest: -5,174) 2,131 -1,354 -36 -5,044 -2,207 -2,949 -3,597 -2,225 -1,577 Percent Of Open Interest For Each Category Of Traders 24.5 9.6 0.7 51.2 70.8 76.3 81.1 23.7 18.9 Number Of Traders In Each Category (Total Traders: 116) 29 16 2 45 35 74 53 (Nasdaq 100 Index X $100) Open Interest: 52,421 End

To: pater tenebrarum who wrote (98385)	4/27/2001 4:02:31 PM
From: re3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

punch up a quote on GLG ho ho ho

To: pater tenebrarum who wrote (98385)	4/27/2001 4:49:21 PM
From: UnBelievable	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

Would You Call The SPX Pattern Since March 31 A Bear Flag?

To: pater tenebrarum who wrote (98385)	4/27/2001 5:16:13 PM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

SEC Eyeing Recent Inventory Write-Downs by Technology Companies By Judy Mathewson Washington, April 27 (Bloomberg) -- The Securities and Exchange Commission is ``closely following'' a spate of inventory write-downs by technology companies out of concern the practice may mislead investors, said Chief Accountant Lynn Turner. At issue is whether the write-downs, which companies are supposed to record when inventory is obsolete or devalued, are being used for material that will still have value if business picks up. ``My concern is that people are taking write-downs now and maybe later anticipating selling this (inventory) at a profit,'' Turner said in a telephone interview. Turner stopped short of saying the SEC would launch an inquiry into the write-downs. Though he declined to comment on specific companies, those taking write-downs include Cisco Systems Inc., which plans a $2.5 billion charge in the fiscal quarter that ends today. ``This is truly shareholder capital that's been lost,'' said David Tice, president of David W. Tice & Associates, a manager of the Prudent Bear Fund. Tice is known for causing Tyco International Ltd. shares to tumble by one third in two months in late 1999 when he questioned the company's accounting. The SEC's interest in the write-downs at Cisco and other companies was reported in this morning's Wall Street Journal, which listed Extreme Networks Inc. Copper Mountain Networks Inc., Conexant Systems Inc. and Avanex Corp. and New Focus Inc. as companies taking inventory write-downs. `Pro Forma' Statements The question is whether some of these write-downs will greatly reduce the value of the inventory on the companies' books -- with the profit recorded later if demand rebounds. The companies can also leave the charges out of the ``pro forma'' financial statements they issue in the form of press releases. This ``pro forma'' format, which isn't governed by accounting rules, enables companies to exclude expenses that must be reported in regulatory filings, Tice said. That means that in addition to a future profit that may appear artificially large, the initial cost appears artificially small. ``The best way to show improved results in the future is to make it as bad as possible for now and provide for a big bath where massive charges are taken because Wall Street ignores those charges,'' he said. Cisco spokesman Kent Jenkins said the company has done nothing unusual this year. ``The only thing that has changed this quarter is a very significant change in demand for some of our products,'' he said. That drop in demand comes on the heels of the company's efforts last year to build up inventory to address a parts shortage, he said. Same Process ``We are using exactly the same process this quarter that we have used every quarter for years,'' he said. ``That process has been examined and approved by our auditors. We look at our entire product line product by product. We estimate what the demand for each product will be for the next year, and then if we have on hand parts or supplies that exceed what we would need to produce that product for the next year, we write them off.'' Agreeing with Cisco is Robert Willens, a Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. managing director who specializes in accounting and tax issues. ``This is something that does come up in business downturns,'' Willens said. ``Write-downs like this are a very accepted and mandatory procedure in circumstances where the inventory is being carried on the books at greater than it's net realizable value.'' ©2001 Bloomberg L.P. All rights reserved. Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and Trademarks. quote.bloomberg.com

To: pater tenebrarum who wrote (98385)	4/27/2001 5:22:49 PM
From: Dr. Jeff	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

biz.yahoo.com Friday April 27, 1:32 pm Eastern Time Greenspan Confident Debt to Be Paid Off By Jonathan Nicholson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan predicted on Friday that the United States is likely to see large budget surpluses for some time, enabling it ultimately to pay off the publicly held portion of the national debt. ``While the magnitudes of future federal unified budget surpluses are uncertain, they are highly likely to remain sizable for some time,'' the central bank chief told the annual convention of The Bond Market Association. Greenspan addressed the meeting, which was in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., by satellite from Washington. He did not mention the near-term outlook for the U.S. economy, except to note that the current slowdown in growth probably would cause a weak spell for productivity gains. But he said the long-term trend of fast productivity growth should remain intact, which bodes well for the government's balance sheet. The government posted a $236.92 billion surplus last year, its third straight annual surplus. Both the White House and Congressional Budget Office project a continued rise in the surplus, which they see hitting about $281 billion in the current fiscal year that ends in September. However, the slowing economy will put a damper on revenues, and plans to speed up an income tax cut to make it effective this year may put also make a dent in those estimates. But Greenspan suggested there is little reason for concern. ``Current forecasts suggest that under a reasonably wide range of possible tax and spending policies, the resulting surpluses will allow the Treasury debt held by the public to be paid off,'' Greenspan said. The national debt, the accumulation of past annual budget shortfalls, totals about $5.601 trillion, of which about $3.327 trillion is in the hands of the investing public. The remainder is held by government trust funds, including the trust fund for the Social Security retirement program. ``CONFIDENT'' MARKETS WILL ADAPT While financial markets have worried about the potential loss of the U.S. Treasury debt market -- which serves as a benchmark for pricing private-sector issues and as a ``safe haven'' for investors during rocky markets -- Greenspan offered reassuring comments about the impact of a dwindling supply of low-risk government paper. ``I am confident that U.S. financial markets, which are the most innovative and efficient in the world, can readily adapt to a paydown of Treasury debt by creating private alternatives with many of the attributes that market participants value in Treasury securities,'' he said. As surpluses have mounted in recent years, the Treasury has needed to issue less and less debt to finance government operations. As a result, the Treasury eliminated some debt issues and dramatically curtailed issuance of others, raising concerns on Wall Street that the Treasury securities market will become less active and eventually disappear. Greenspan admitted there would likely be transition costs as markets moved to replace Treasury securities with other financial instruments, such as swaps, agency securities and corporate debt. But he said those costs are likely ``to be outweighed by the benefits to the country of a higher capital stock and the resulting increases in productivity and income that appear to be the consequence of debt reduction.'' And even if the Treasury market should vanish, Greenspan told the bond industry participants he had ``great confidence'' in their ability to renew a market for Treasury debt in the future. Government deficits, and their attendant financing needs, are expected to return as the retirement of the Baby Boom generation puts a strain on Social Security. Greenspan also repeated that the central bank, which buys and sells Treasury securities itself to carry out interest rate policy, is examining its options for the future. Any adjustments to its operations, he said, would depend on how rapidly the supply of Treasury debt shrinks and for how long the market is unavailable. DOLLAR NOT SEEING PAYDOWN EFFECTS Greenspan discounted concerns that the U.S. dollar could weaken as the supply of Treasury securities -- a favorite for foreign investors -- dwindles. ``The evidence of the past year and a half gives little support to this notion: Foreign private investors, on net, have run off their holdings of U.S. Treasury securities, while they have built up their holdings of private dollar assets by an even larger amount, and the foreign exchange value of the dollar has appreciated.'' The Fed chief repeated his concern, which he outlined in detail earlier this year in testimony to Congress, that the government could accumulate large stores of private assets once the debt is paid down. In that testimony, Greenspan announced his support for tax cuts as a means of forestalling a sudden accumulation of private assets, a controversial switch from his previous emphasis on paying down the national debt. In his remarks to The Bond Market Association, he suggested looking into other options, such as individual savings accounts, for dealing with the need to put aside accumulated surpluses to pay for future retirement program benefits.