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Strategies & Market Trends : Value Investing -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brendan W who wrote (12620)	6/8/2001 5:20:17 AM
From: Crossy	Respond to of 78751

Goodwill, usually that is created when a company does an acquisition under the "purchase" rule, the only remaining option in the US now.. the difference btw. the assets in the books of the company acquired and what was paid for (the takeover cost) is recorded in the "goodwill" item. And that is reduced by a straight line method over a chosen timeframe (usually 2-10 years). A similar item is created when a company does a Chapter 11 restructuring. In all those situations the earnings "LOOK" depressed but they aren't. I look at it as an "artificial" accounting treatment. Wallstreet thinks acc. the same lines and created the "cash earnings" figure which excludes the goodwill amortization. Techs in Europe ? ACtually Europe is a shameful place regarding the market. They think here only of rising taxes not lowering it. Actually most governments here hate free market thinking. I wouldn't invest here big time. What I like ? Mediaset of Italy (no kidding) - they should thrive now that Berlusconi is Italy's PM. Mediolanum of Italy (an Insurer). Maybe Pfeiffer Vacuum (traded on NYSE too) and Oxford Instruments (OXIG) and Gooch & Housego (GHH) of London. Maybe the Netherlands are good too but I have to analyze that more. And yes a French company called "Riber" is also valued attractively IMHO.. best wishes CROSSY